Construction and Materials Best Practices for Concrete Sidewalks: Phase II – Long-Term Performance and Hot-Weather Placement Effects
Funding Source: MassDOT
Title: Construction and Materials Best Practices for Concrete Sidewalks: Phase II – Long-Term Performance and Hot-Weather Placement Effects
Date: March 2023
Status: Completed
Summary: This report summarizes the investigation of construction practices and materials to develop durable concrete sidewalks which can resist scaling damage caused by exposure to freezing environment and deicer application. Over 16 months, a field study accompanied by laboratory testing was conducted to identify factors that affect the performance and durability of sidewalks. The variables considered for the study are concrete mix design, placement and finishing practices, curing methods, and deicer application. The placement of the sidewalks took place in late July 2021, to investigate the impact of hot weather concreting practices on the performance of sidewalks. Forty-eight sidewalk panels were placed behind Robert Brack Structural Engineering Laboratory at University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass). During the sidewalk placement, cylinders and rectangular prisms were placed for laboratory testing. Thirty-two rectangular prisms were subjected to same curing method as the corresponding sidewalks for scaling resistance test in laboratory via BNQ NQ 2621-900. The results of this study indicate that mixture design formulation, curing method, de-icing method, and temperature based concreting practices impact the performance of scaling in concrete sidewalks. Recommendations incorporating these variables are presented in this report with accompanying testing standards and procedures.
