Investigating the micro/macro-texture performance of roller-compacted concrete pavement under simulated traffic abrasion

Abstract

Since the roller-compacted concrete pavement (RCCP) is almost smooth due to roller vi-brations in the construction process, the lack of macro-texture prevents it from being used as a final surface. This study has made efforts to improve the RCCP by proposing different scenarios to cre-ate new micro-/macro-texture surfaces and investigate their durability and skid resistance under traffic abrasion conditions. To prepare the micro-texture, eight RCCP specimens were cast using various 50–50% mixing proportions, and each of them alone in the form of siliceous and calcareous fine aggregates (natural and manufactured). For the macro-texture, each specimen was textured using such methods as seeding (three cases), stamping (two cases), and brooming (two cases). Since the durable texture should withstand the abrasive traffic flow, the RCCP-surface abrasion resistance was measured by the simulation method proposed in ASTM C944, and their skid resistance was evaluated by measuring the British pendulum test according to ASTM E303 before and after abrasion. The results showed that abrasion resistance of RCCP samples to changes in mixing design and skid resistance to changes in macro-texture have significant changes. In addi-tion, different siliceous-calcareous sand combinations not only made the concrete mix more eco-nomical but also improved its performance in case of abrasion and skid resistance. The more was the manufactured sand proportion, the higher the fracture rate was and, hence, the abrasion re-sistance. Different macro-textures created on RCCP specimens generally showed acceptable skid resistance. In this regard, stamping had the highest mean texture depth (MTD) as well as BPN, and seeding had the lowest.