Characterizing the performance of cementitious partial-depth repair materials in cold climates

• Laboratory criteria is proposed to evaluate PDR materials in cold climates.
• PDR materials showed high sensitivity to changes in water–cement ratio.
• Field surveys showed signs of degradation of PDR materials after winter.
• The mode of failure was used to indicate the effectiveness of PDR materials.
• Some PDR materials showed bond improvement after conditioning.

This paper examines the performance of partial-depth repair materials for concrete pavements in laboratory and field conditions. A laboratory evaluation method based on evaluating the compatibility between partial-depth repair material and concrete substrate was examined. Bond between repair material and concrete substrate; wet–dry and freeze–thaw durability of bond; and thermal compatibility were used to evaluate the performance of repair materials in cold climates. Materials were ranked based on the calculation of a score which combines the proposed evaluation criteria. Condition surveys were conducted to evaluate the field performance of the repair materials from an ongoing 3-year field study. The laboratory performance of the repair materials was validated by the results of the field study.