Pavement Thickness Design for No-Fines Concrete Parking Lots

Abstract

No-fines concrete is made from a uniformly graded coarse aggregate and a cement-water paste. Because of its excellent drainage properties, no-fines concrete is found to be beneficial in areas that receive frequent and sometimes excessive rainfall. This paper discusses thickness design of no-fines concrete parking lot pavements. Based on the engineering properties of the no-fines concrete mixtures developed in the laboratory, and various traffic conditions and subgrade characteristics, the thickness requirement of no-fines concrete pavements was determined. Two design procedures, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) and Portland Cement Association (PCA), were used for the thickness evaluation of no-fines concrete parking lots. Test results obtained in the laboratory indicate that, with proper proportioning and densification, no-fines concrete can be successfully utilized as a surface paving material for the construction of parking-lot pavements. The thickness design tables indicate that PCA design procedure is more reasonable for thinner pavements, whereas AASHTO yields a more conservative outcome for thicker pavements. For intermediate traffic categories, both design methods provided similar thickness results.