Concrete durability evaluation in new built pavement sections of expressways in Poland

A review of concrete durability at several sections of the new built expressways in Poland is presented. Two-layers jointed plain concrete pavements were constructed using a slip-form technology. For freeze-thaw and deicing salts durability of concrete the specified air void properties, including the spacing factor and the microvoids content, was evaluated on core specimens drilled from the constructed pavements. The observed system of fine air voids indicates optimal features for increased frost and scaling resistance without a significant negative impact on strength. The correlation was established between the microvoid content in the hardened concrete and the data of the Super Air Metre on fresh concrete mix was established. Concrete durability in high moisture environment, combined with fatigue traffic load and external supply of alkaline deicing salt solutions, was considered using newly developed principles of nonreactive aggregate selection. The aggregate selection based on petrographic analysis and the assessment of expansive behaviour of concrete was fully confirmed using the performance tests with external supply of sodium chloride. The suitability of the established methodology for durability acceptance testing for exploration of alternative materials for paving is discussed.