Ben Schoeman CRCP: Findings from an Accelerated Pavement Test on the Shoulder of a 23 year-Old Pavement

Findings from an accelerated pavement test conducted with the Heavy Vehicle Simulator on the shoulder of a 23-year old Continuously Reinforced Concrete Pavement (CRCP) are presented in the paper. The Ben Schoeman Freeway connects the cities of Johannesburg and Pretoria in South Africa. The freeway is one of the most trafficked freeways in South Africa, with sections carrying up to 150 000 vehicles per day. It is the first and only freeway in South Africa where a CRC overlay was applied over the full width of the carriageway using a side form paver. The APT test comprised 2750 200 load repetitions predominantly at load levels of 80 and 100 kN, using a dual-wheel loading configuration. Environmental conditioning entailed the artificial watering of the test section for a two-day period, followed by six dry days. All other environmental conditions throughout the test were ambient. Pavement performance was characterised in terms of surface deflection, relative movement and permanent deformation at transverse cracks under repeated loading. Falling Weight Deflectometer tests were conducted before and after the test. The test section did not suffer structural failure through punchout. Diagnostic evaluation indicated the stripping and washing away of fines from the 30 mm open-graded asphalt overlay which formed the bond with the CRC.