Crack Resistant Concrete Material for Transportation Construction

Most transportation infrastructures are exposed to a combination of mechanical and environmental loads. Normal concrete is brittle and tends to crack, resulting in a lack of durability and frequent repair needs. This paper describes an ultra ductile cementitious composite which is highly crack resistant, with a tensile strain capacity over three hundred times that of normal concrete. Apart from the unique tensile properties, the durability performance of this material subjected to loadings typical to transportation construction will also be presented. It is shown that the material is highly durable under accelerated weathering tests, restrained drying shrinkage tests, freeze-thaw exposures, as well as under fatigue and wheel loads. Recent developments of link-slabs for applications in continuous concrete bridge decks and demonstrative patch repair will be summarized to illustrate the performance of this material in realistic transportation construction settings.