Spotlight Friday: APTech shares innovative ideas at the 13th International Conference on Concrete Pavements
In 1990, the Illinois Department of Transportation constructed approximately 4,000 ft of experimental CRCP over OGDL.
Several APTech team members recently presented at the 13th International Conference on Concrete Pavements in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The conference, which took place August 26-29, aimed to facilitate the advancement of knowledge and technology related to concrete pavements.
Assessing CRCP performance on drainable bases
Engineering Associate Shafkat Alam-Khan was the first APTech representative to deliver a presentation. On Monday afternoon, he delivered his talk, titled “Long-Term Performance of Continuously Reinforced Concrete Pavement (CRCP) Over Open-Graded Drainage Layers (OGDL) in Illinois,” which consolidated 33 years of condition, performance, maintenance, and rehabilitation data to address questions regarding the use of CRCP placed on OGDL.
The presentation—co-authored by other APTech engineers, including Arturo Espinoza-Luque, P.E.; Kelly Smith, P.E.; and Kurt Smith, P.E.—shared research findings regarding the efficacy of OGDL beneath CRCP in Illinois and looked at the potential performance shortcomings associated with that design approach.
Innovative concrete preservation practices and new construction materials
Prashant Ram, P.E., a Pavement Engineer at APTech, also spoke on Monday with a presentation titled “Buried Treasure: Uncovering Concrete Pavement for Extended Performance and Enhanced Sustainability.” Co-authored by APTech’s Kurt Smith, this talk explored opportunities to implement concrete pavement preservation solutions after the pavement has already received an asphalt overlay. Prashant detailed several case studies in which an existing asphalt overlay was removed, and the underlying concrete pavement was restored using conventional concrete pavement preservation treatments.
On Tuesday, Prashant also shared a presentation on the “Findings from 2022 MnROAD Alternative Cement Cells.” This presentation detailed APTech’s work investigating the materials, production, placement, and early performance of alternative cementitious materials placed at the MnROAD test facility in 2022.
Concrete pavement preservation and Concrete pavement roundabouts
Vice President Kurt Smith, P.E., also represented APTech at the conference. On Tuesday, he kicked off the workshop, “Concrete Pavement Preservation—Sustainable Solutions for Tomorrow, Today,” by introducing concrete pavement preservation concepts and highlighting the role of pavement evaluation in that process. On Wednesday, he led a team presentation on “Concrete Pavements in Roundabout Intersections: Case Studies,” This presentation featured a case study review of in-service jointed concrete pavements, continuously reinforced concrete pavements, and precast concrete panels and highlighted key findings and observations from each installation.
The 13th International Conference on Concrete Pavements provided an excellent opportunity for APTech employees to share findings from recent research projects, to gain new insights into the future of concrete pavements, and to foster and forge relationships with others in the concrete pavement community.
