National Concrete Pavement Technology Center

Project description

Tennessee is part of the performance-engineered concrete mixtures initiative, led by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), aiming to improve the durability, economy, and sustainability of the concrete infrastructure using both prescriptive and performance specification provisions and emerging technologies. The Performance Engineered Mixtures (PEM) addresses concrete pavements durability and performance issues rather than designing and accepting concrete primarily on strength. Tennessee does not currently have procedures and/or specification requirements that fully support the use of optimized gradations in concrete. The current prescriptive specifications adapted by Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) and many state departments of transportation (DOTs) and agencies may preclude the acceptance of mixtures that have superior economy, durability, sustainability, and satisfactory mechanical performance. Thus, it is urgent to create new procedures to allow producers creating more durable and equal and/or higher strength concrete mixtures through optimizing aggregate gradation.