Fast Track Concrete Paving (FTCP) is a process developed in Iowa, USA which allows a concrete road to be opened to traffic within 24 hours of construction instead of the two or three weeks normally required. The high early strength of FTCP that is necessary for this early opening is achieved partly by the use of a rapid-hardening cement and partly by high-temperature curing. The high-temperature curing is achieved by covering the concrete with thermally-insulated blankets which maintain the initial high temperature of the concrete, derived from the heat of hydration of the cement, within the mass of the concrete. Laboratory studies, described in Part 1, confirmed that cements available in Britain could be used to reproduce the conditions for FTCP that are specified in Iowa. They were therefore followed by a full-scale trial, which is described in Part 2. This trial verified that the technique could be used successfully under British climatic conditions. Two adjoining lanes of a single carriageway were constructed on consecutive days and opened to traffic within 24 hours of completion; strength sufficient to meet the criterion for trafficking was reached within 12 hours. (A)
Abstract