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Placement

Mix laydown involves everything used to place the delivered HMA on the desired surface at the desired thickness. The asphalt paver is the principal machine involved in mix laydown and is assisted by the material transfer vehicle (MTV) in some instances.

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    • Building Smooth Pavements

      Building a smooth pavement means accurate grade control, steady paving without stops, automatic screed controls and careful truck exchanges.

  • Asphalt paving

    • HMA Placement

      Mix placement and compaction are the two most important elements in HMA pavement construction. Mix placement involves any equipment or procedures used to place the delivered HMA on the desired surface at the desired thickness.

      Calculator: HMA tonnage for a section

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    • Work Zone Safety

      Work zone safety covers the traffic control, equipment awareness, high-visibility apparel and night lighting that protect road workers and drivers.

  • Asphalt paving

  • Concrete paving

    • PCC Placement

      PCC can be placed directly in the desired location by truck or truck attachments (see Figures 1 and 2), or can be fed into a placement machine for more accurate and even placement.

    • PCC Paving Procedures

      The general rigid pavement construction procedure involves placement, consolidation, finishing, curing and jointing in rapid succession.

    • Slipform Paving

      Slipform paving is defined as a process used to consolidate, form into geometric shape and surface finish a PCC mass by pulling the forms continuously through and surrounding the plastic concrete mass.

    • Fixed Form Paving

      In fixed form paving, side forms are used to hold fresh PCC in place at the proper grade and alignment until it sets and hardens. These forms may also serve as tracks for various pieces of placing and finishing equipment.

    • Paving Equipment

      A stabilizer/reclaimer is a vehicle with a dual purpose.

    • PCC Consolidation

      Consolidation is the process of making the freshly placed PCC into a more uniform and compact mass by eliminating undesirable air voids and causing it to move around potential obstructions (such as reinforcing steel).

    • PCC Finishing

      Finishing involves all processes and equipment used to create the final surface finish and texture of fresh PCC. Generally, finishing can be divided into floating and texturing:

    • PCC Curing

      Curing refers to the maintenance of satisfactory moisture and temperature within a PCC mass as it sets and hardens such that the desired properties of strength, durability and density can develop (PCA, 1988).

      ASTM C1074

  • Concrete joints and steel

    • Joints

      Joints are purposefully placed discontinuities in a rigid pavement surface course. All types of joints are used in rigid pavement construction methods for all PCC pavement types.

    • PCC Joint Construction

      Typical joint locations are covered in the article on Joints, and are not repeated here. However, it is important to note that joint locations should be indicated on the construction plans and planned in advance (Figure 1).

    • Other Joints

      Expansion, isolation and construction joints are created by formwork before the PCC is placed.

    • Sawcutting

      Sawcutting involves the formation of joints or breaks in a PCC mass (slab) by the use of mechanical cutting tools.

    • Dowel Bar Placement

      Dowel bars can be placed either before PCC placement by using dowel baskets, or after PCC placement by using an automatic dowel bar inserter. Their placement is crucial to proper joint load transfer.

    • Tie Bar Placement

      Tie bars are typically placed after PCC placement either by hand or using a tie bar inserter attachment (slipform paving only).

    • Reinforcing Steel Placement

      Proper reinforcing steel placement is crucial to CRCP performance.

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