Asessing the Compressive Strength Properties of Semi-Flexible Pavements

Semi-flexible pavements are manufactured by producing a very open porous asphalt skeleton and filling the voids with selected cementitious grouts. The resultant composites, referred to as “grouted macadams”, combine the flexibility of the bituminous component with the strength and rigidity of the cementitious component. Grouted macadams thus combine the best qualities of concrete and asphalt pavements, namely the flexibility and freedom from joints that characterize asphalt and the high static bearing capacity and wear resistance of concrete. The properties of the grouted macadam composites were assessed using a range of engineering, compressive strength is the most common strength test for rigid pavements since it is relatively easy to conduct compared to other tests and numerous correlations exist to predict other material properties based on compressive strength values Since semi-flexible pavements possess mechanical properties in between bituminous mixtures and concrete, the compressive properties of the grouted macadams designed in this study have been investigated. The unique correlations between each component, namely asphalt skeleton, grout, aggregate type and size were established also the comparison to the other type of investigations and conventional concrete.