Committee Chair

Onyango, Mbakisya

Committee Member

Owino, Joseph; Fomunung, Ignatius; Wu, Weidong

Department

Dept. of Civil and Chemical Engineering

College

College of Engineering and Computer Science

Publisher

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Place of Publication

Chattanooga (Tenn.)

Abstract

After several years of service, concrete pavement slabs tend to settle due to weak subgrade or erosion of the subgrade soil. Different treatment techniques have been used to rectify the problem. In recent years, high-density polyurethane (HDP) foams were introduced on concrete pavements after their success in leveling settled sidewalks and building bases/foundations. Compared to other traditional slabs jacking/stabilization material, HDP foams are cost-effective, their installation requires shorter lane closure times and protects the subgrade from subsurface water infiltration by filling the voids. In 2015 and 2016, the Tennessee DOT applied HDP material on sections of Interstate I-24 and I-75 in Chattanooga, Tennessee to lift and level settled concrete pavement slabs. Longitudinal profiles data were collected using a standard high-speed inertial profiler before and after application of the material to assess the performance of the treated sections over time. These data were evaluated by using the profile viewing and analyzing (ProVAL) software to compute the international roughness index (IRI) and the transverse joint faulting. Results show that application of HDP foams did neither improve nor retrogress the pavement condition but maintained it in its state before application of the material. This study recommends an in-depth ground investigation to be carried out before injection of the material, establishment of a standardized protocol for selecting pavement sections suitable for HDP foam injection, and contractors to use sophisticated leveling equipment, instead of the adjacent slab as a reference, to avoid accumulation of errors due to over correction.

Acknowledgments

This research is part of the Research Project Funded by the Tennessee Department of Transportation (Project #: RES2016-18)

Degree

M. S.; A thesis submitted to the faculty of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Science.

Date

8-2018

Subject

Pavements, Concrete -- Maintenance and repair; Polyurethanes -- Properties

Keyword

Polyurethane foam, Pavement preservation, Joint Faulting, Ride Quality

Document Type

Masters theses

DCMI Type

Text

Extent

xiii, 83 leaves

Language

English

Rights

https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en

License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/

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