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.