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Published: 2012

Total Pages: 230

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This study evaluated the impacts of construction on the air content and air-void system structure of Portland cement concrete pavements. The primary intent was to quantify the air content of fresh concrete before and after it has gone through the slipform paver. The air-void system parameters of hardened concrete were then assessed using cast and extracted core specimens. The results of the air content testing on fresh concrete and the concrete cylinder specimens cast in the field suggested that there is some loss of air as the concrete passes through the paver. Laboratory testing performed on cores extracted from the pavement did not provide any conclusive evidence that entrained air is lost during the slipform paving process. In fact, many of the extracted cores had measured air content values that were much higher than the specification requirement. If excessive, this could result in increased permeability and low-strength related issues. Although a rigorous statistical analysis was not performed, the results suggest that the air content testing on fresh concrete is not capturing the true air content of the concrete placed with a slipform paver. The fresh concrete air content is generally lower than the air content measured in the cores.