A need has been identified to establish appropriate laboratory tests for assessing the suitability of repair materials for joint arris and surface repairs in concrete pavements. The authors have defined a series of tests which have been used to assess a number of generically different repair materials in the laboratory. Subsequently, an assessment of the performance of these materials has been undertaken when used in full scale trials under contract conditions on two sites on the trunk and motorway road network. The repair materials consisted of seven proprietary materials and an unmodified OPC/sand which were assessed using all the laboratory tests. The standard repair materials used on the repair contracts were later tested in the laboratory using a selection of the laboratory tests. This report details the laboratory tests and the performance of these materials both in the laboratory tests and in the full scale trial. In addition, a cost assessment exercise was conducted for all the materials using three hypothetical repair contracts. Overall, there appears to be good correlation between the results of the laboratory tests and performance in service. However, recommendations are made for some minor modifications to the laboratory test programme. The cost assessment exercise demonstrated that those materials showing good technical and in-service performance were not necessarily the most expensive. The relative costs between repair materials appeared to be independent of the size of the contract. (A)
Abstract