Degradation of Concrete Pavements Under Confined Compression

One year after the concreting of the airport runway at Modlin Airport in Warsaw, the surface of 26 cm thick plate was damaged. On the average, 500 concrete particles were peeled off over a 5x5 m area of the expansion segment. Several experimental studies were performed on the samples taken. The concrete quality was good from a macroscopic point of view. Therefore, a microscopic analysis of peeled parts of concrete was performed. The detected carbonation depth at the fracture area showed that cracks occurred shortly after concreting. A probable mechanism of gradual degradation of the concrete slab surface will be described. The cause of concrete damage was identified. It turned out to be water absorption by the aggregate used. The standard requirements, which have proven to be inadequate, are discussed.

Dr.nd Zdenek Bittnar is Professor of Mechanics in the Faculty of Civil Engineering at the Czech Technical University in Prague, and a licenced Civil Engineer. Fellow of the Czech Engineering Academy, a Honorary Member of the Czech Chamber of Authorized Engineers, Chairman of the Scientific Board of the Czech Grant Agency. He has trained 21 PhD students. He was Principal Investigator of more than 20 research projects with total support of 40 M Euros. He was a co-founder of European Construction Technology Platform and a member of its High Level Group. He served as the Dean for 7 years and as the Head of the Mechanics Department for 10 years.