Smoothness variations in early-age jointed plain concrete pavements

This paper discusses the variations in the early-age pavement smoothness at different measurement times and locations in three jointed plain concrete pavements (JPCPs) representing different ranges of construction times. Surface profile measurements were made during the early morning and late afternoon hours at different locations of the instrumented JPCPs during the first 7 d after construction. Variations in pavement temperature during this critical period were monitored using temperature sensors installed within the test sections. The results show that measurable changes of early-age jointed plain concrete pavement (JPCP) smoothness do occur at different measurement times and locations. Within the scope of this study, it can be concluded that the variations in early-age JPCP smoothness can be significant from the standpoint of smoothness specifications. The findings of this study also indicate that morning paving produces consistent smoothness measurements when compared with afternoon paving