National Concrete Pavement Technology Center

Project description

Cracking of concrete bridge decks is a problem throughout the country. The cracking leads to the penetration of water and road salts that accelerates corrosion of reinforcement in the deck which can further increase cracking and detrimental effects. States have to invest significant resources to repair and replace damaged decks caused by the cracking. A new additive for concrete has been developed that could greatly improve on some of the difficult issues that the curing process of concrete creates. The four objectives of this study are: (1) Measurement of internal temperatures during curing; (2) Measurement of strains during curing caused by restraint; (3) Testing for compressive strength and modulus of rupture material properties; and (4) Generation of thermal gradient through the deck samples to monitor effects. If Cool-crete shows superior behavior, it can be utilized as an option for better performing concrete in bridge decks as well as other locations susceptible to cracking.