PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF ECO-GEOGRID FOR ROADWAY

CONSTRUCTION
 Strength is the most commonly measured property of concrete and is often used

as the basis for assessing concrete quality. In rigid pavement, concrete strength is one

parameter that has significant impact on its performance. In the Philippines, the required

minimum flexural and compressive strengths for road applications are set by the

Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). This paper discusses the result of

conducted laboratory experiment to compare the strength performance of concrete made

from different types of local cements such as ordinary Portland cement (Type I), fly ash

blended cement (Type IP) and pozzolan blended cement (Type P) and to determine which

is most applicable in the Philippine setting. In the experiment performed, plain concrete

cylinder and beam specimens with varying water to cement ratios were cured at 3, 7, 14,

28, 56, 90 and 120 days. Statistical analyses were made in order to compare the strength

performance of concrete batched from the three cements. The result of the experiment

suggested that Type I and Type IP cements are more suitable for road construction in the

Philippines in terms of strength [1].

Keywords: Compressive strength; Flexural strength; Road applications; Rigid pavement;

Philippine cements;

Strength is the most commonly measured property of concrete and is often used

as the basis for assessing concrete quality. In rigid pavement, concrete strength is one

parameter that has significant impact on its performance. This is partly because strength

measurements give a direct indication of concrete’s ability to resist loads and partly

because strength tests are relatively easy to conduct [2].

 In construction, the control of strength is achieved through close control of the

mix proportions (aggregate, cement and water) and placement operations (ambient

temperature, consolidation and curing). The standard method for evaluating the strength

of concrete in pavement applications is to test molded specimens for compressive,

flexural or tensile strength. The properties of concrete depend on the quantities and

qualities of its constituents. Because cement is the most active component of concrete and

usually has the greatest unit cost, its selection and proper use are important in obtaining

most economically the balance of properties desired for a particular concrete mixture.

Most cement will provide adequate levels of strength and durability for general use.

Generally, a concrete mix design is developed to satisfy minimum strength requirements

corresponding to an accepted standard or specification. The age at which a given strength

is required will vary depending on the need. In the Philippines, the required minimum

flexural and compressive strengths are set by the Department of Public Works and

Highways (DPWH). Most loads on pavements result in bending (or flexure), which

introduces compressive stresses on one face of the pavement and tensile stresses on the

other [1].

Compressive Strength

The authors stated that compressive strength of concrete is the most common

performance check of structure. In pavement, it is a very dominant stress because of

heavy loads that pass on it. When a vehicle passes on the pavement, its large weight will

cause the slab to compress. Compressive strength is measured by breaking a cylindrical

specimen using compression-testing machine. The applied load to break the specimen
divided by the cross-sectional area where the load is applied will give the compressive

strength of concrete.

Flexural Strength

Flexural strength (sometimes called the modulus of rupture) is one measure of

tensile strength of concrete. It is typically used in checking the quality of concrete

pavement because it best simulates the slab flexural stresses when pavement is subjected

to loading. During loading, pavement slabs experience large bending moment that usually

causes its failure. While loads applied to concrete pavement produce both compressive

and flexural stresses in the slab, the American Concrete Institute considers the flexural

stresses to be more important because loads can induce flexural stresses that may exceed

the flexural strength of the slab. In his paper, Taylor et al agreed with this claim saying

that most slab failures are in flexure rather than in compression. Consequently, the

flexural stress and the flexural strength (modulus of rupture) of the concrete are used in

pavement design to determine required slab thickness [1]. Concrete pavement design

focuses on limiting tensile stresses by properly selecting the characteristics of the

concrete slab. The rigidity of concrete enables it to distribute loads over relatively large

areas of support [2]. For adequately designed pavements, the deflections under load are

small and the pressures transmitted to the subgrade are not excessive [3].
Standards

Two kinds of flexural test can be performed in accordance to ASTM and

AASHTO. These are ASTM C78/AASHTO T97 (third point loading) and ASTM

C239/AASHTO T177 (centerpoint loading). In ASTM C78 [4] (third point loading), half

the load is applied at each third of the span length. Maximum stress is distributed over the

center 1/3 of the beam. The resulting modulus of rupture (MR) in this case is lower

compared to center-point loading. For ASTM C239 (center-point loading), the load is

applied at the center span. In this case, the center of the beam experienced the entire load

which will results to greater MR. The variation in resulting MR is around 15% [1].

Between these two tests, third-point loading is more preferred because, ideally, in

the middle third of the span the sample is subjected to pure moment with zero shear. In

the center-point test, the area of eventual failure contains not only moment-induced

stresses but also shear stress and unknown areas of stress concentration. Also for

AASHTO thickness design, it is important that the third-point loading, 28-day flexural

strength be used in the AASHTO equation. Flexural strength of specimens is very

sensitive to different factors, including preparation, handling and storage. Beams can be

easily damaged if not properly handled. During testing, the specimens should not be

allowed to dry because it will result to lower strength. A short period of drying can cause

a big drop in flexural strength [5].

In order to characterize the strength performance of concrete made from different

types of cement different test cases were made. For the first case, strength performance
for two different water-cement ratios will be investigated whereas the second was to

investigate the strength development by varying the curing age as shown in Figure 1 [1].

Retrieved from Evaluation of Strength Performance of Concrete Made from Different

Types of Cement for Road Applications in the Philippines, p. 4 (Orozco and Diola, 2013).

For each set (i.e concrete made from Type I cement with 0.4 w/c cured for 3 days),

four specimens were prepared [1]. This is twice the minimum required number of

specimens required by the American Concrete Institute for acceptance of strength test

results of concrete [6].

Two sets of plain concrete samples were prepared. The first set includes four

specimens of 6 inches diameter by 12 inches height cylindrical specimens and the second

includes four specimens of 21 inches length by 6 inches width by 6 inches beam

specimens for each type of cement, water cement ratio and curing age. In this case, a total

of 168 plain concrete cylinders and 168 plain beam specimens will be prepared.
 Retrieved from Evaluation of Strength Performance of Concrete Made from Different
Types of Cement for Road Applications in the Philippines, p. 4 (Orozco and Diola, 2013).

The materials used in this study include cement, fine aggregates and coarse

aggregates sourced out from local suppliers. Three different types of cements were used

including: Type IP, Type I and Type P. The chemical and physical properties of these

cements were provided by the manufacturer. Both fine and coarse aggregates were sieved

following ASTM C136 in accordance to ASTM C33/C33M-11a. Also, both the coarse

and fine aggregates used were in compliant with the grading requirements set in the

DPWH Standard Specifications for Public Works and Highways, 2004 Edition: Volume

II, Highways, Bridges and Airports.

Prior to fabrication of test specimens, the aggregates were first washed with clean

water to remove impurities and then air-dried prior to their use. The physical properties

of the aggregates were tested in accordance to applicable ASTM standards. The

properties determined were absorption, initial moisture content, maximum dry density

and fineness modulus.

[1] Orozco, C. R., & Diola, N. B. (2013, September 30). Evaluation of strength
performance of concrete made from different ... EVALUATION OF STRENGTH
PERFORMANCE OF CONCRETE MADE FROM DIFFERENT TYPES OF
CEMENT FOR ROAD APPLICATIONS IN THE PHILIPPINES.
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Christian-Orozco-2/publication/
353043031_Evaluation_of_Strength_Performance_of_Concrete_Made_from_Diffe
rent_Types_of_Cement_for_Road_Applications_in_the_Philippines/links/
60e5b692a6fdcc348643213f/Evaluation-of-Strength-Performance-of-Concrete-
Made-from-Different-Types-of-Cement-for-Road-Applications-in-the-
Philippines.pdf

[2] Taylor, P. C., & Voigt, G. F. (n.d.). Integrated Materials and Construction
Practices for Concrete Pavement: A State-of-the-Practice Manual. Repository &
Open Science Access Portal. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/

[3] American Concrete Institute. (n.d.). ACI 360R-10 Guide to design of slabs-on-
ground. ACI 360R-10 Guide to Design of Slabs-on-Ground.
https://www.concrete.org/Portals/0/Files/PDF/Previews/360R-10web.pdf

[4] ASTM International. (2010, December 31). Standard test method for flexural
strength of concrete (using simple beam with third-point loading). Standard Test
Method for Flexural Strength of Concrete (Using Simple Beam with Third-Point
Loading). https://www.astm.org/c0078_c0078m-22.html

[5] Hover , K. C., Bickley , J., & Hooton, R. D. (n.d.). NRMCA. Guide to Specifying
Concrete Performance.
https://www.nrmca.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/GuideSpecFinal.pdf

[6] Hover, K. C., Bickley, J., & Hooton, R. D. (n.d.). ACI 214R-11 Guide to evaluation
of strength test results of concrete. Guide to Evaluation of Strength Test Results of
Concrete. https://www.concrete.org/Portals/0/Files/PDF/Previews/214R-11web.pdf