Abstract

The objectives of this research were to 1) investigate the effects of lower concrete albedo on the thermal behavior of concrete pavement by directly comparing temperatures and moisture contents of typical and darkened concrete pavements and 2) investigate changes in roughness of both typical and darkened concrete pavements as a result of changes in temperature and moisture gradients. The scope of the research included instrumentation, testing, and analysis of typical and darkened concrete pavements constructed in northern Utah.Procedures related to field testing included infrared thermography, thermocouple readings, sensor data collection, and roughness surveys. Elevation surveys and albedo measurements were also performed to further characterize the site. Procedures related to laboratory testing included elastic modulus, compressive strength, rapid chloride permeability, thermal conductivity, and Schmidt rebound hammer testing of cylinders prepared from typical and darkened concrete.When considered over the entire monitoring period, the average surface temperatures of the darkened pavement were higher than those of the typical pavement by 3.3°F, and the average subsurface temperatures of the darkened pavement were higher than those of the typical pavement by 3.1°F. A strong positive correlation exists between the air temperature and both the surface and the subsurface pavement temperatures. The difference between both the surface and subsurface temperatures of the darkened and typical pavements decreases as the air temperature decreases. The results of a simple linear regression suggest that, when the air temperature is 32°F, the surface temperature of the darkened concrete is just 0.2°F higher than that of the typical concrete and the subsurface temperature of the darkened concrete is 1.1°F higher than that of the typical concrete. The difference in surface temperature is expected to be 0°F when the air temperature is 30.5°F, while the difference in subsurface temperature is expected to be 0°F when the air temperature is 17.9°F. Therefore, the darkened pavement is unlikely to melt snow and ice faster than the typical pavement or provide significantly greater frost protection to subsurface layers and buried utilities during winter for conditions similar to those in this research. The roughness measurements for the typical pavement exhibit much more daily variability than seasonal variability. The roughness measurements for the darkened pavement also exhibit more daily variability than seasonal variability but less overall variability than that of the typical pavement. Neither pavement temperature gradient nor moisture gradient appears to be correlated to roughness for either the typical pavement or the darkened pavement.

Degree

MS

College and Department

Ira A. Fulton College of Engineering and Technology; Civil and Environmental Engineering

Rights

http://lib.byu.edu/about/copyright/

Date Submitted

2016-06-01

Document Type

Thesis

Handle

http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/etd8844

Keywords

concrete pavement, curling, moisture gradient, roughness, temperature gradient, warping

Language

english

Download

Share

COinS