Composite Pavement Systems – A Sustainable Approach for Long-Lasting Concrete Pavements

This paper summarizes work performed under the Strategic Highway Research Program project R21 on developing Mechanistic Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG) compatible mechanistic-empirical design procedures, test methods, and construction guidelines and specifications, for two-lift PCC/PCC composite pavements and HMA/PCC composite pavements. Composite pavements consisting of high quality top layer(s) have been proven in Europe and in the United States to provide long lives with excellent surface characteristics and rapid renewal when needed. The lower PCC layer is a sustainable JPC or CRC pavement that utilizes recycled and lower cost locally available materials, thus reducing the need to haul aggregates over long distances. As part of this research, three full-scale instrumented test sections on the MnROAD mainline roadway (I-94, west of Minneapolis) were constructed in Spring 2010. The sections include one HMA/JPC and two two-lift PCC sections subject to real highway traffic. Accelerated Pavement Tests (APT) using the Heavy Vehicle Simulator (HVS) were used at the University of California Pavement Research Center (UCPRC) at Davis to evaluate various HMA/PCC test sections. These test sections were constructed in Fall 2009. The research also includes evaluation of in-service composite pavement across the U.S., Canada, and Europe. The results from these experiments were used to develop performance models and procedures for designing HMA/PCC and PCC/PCC composite pavements.