Guidelines for construction of low volume concrete roads in Sri Lanka

A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Civil Engineering for the Degree of Master of Engineering in Highway and Traffic EngineeringThe purpose of the study was to develop guidelines for construction of low volume concrete roads in Sri Lanka. It describes the most suitable way of preparation of subgrade, subbase, mixing and pouring of concrete, construction of shoulder and maintenance of concrete pavements. A survey was carried out to study current concrete road construction practice and identify their advantages and disadvantages. Incorrect construction of contraction joints were also observed in most of roads during the site visit and special attention was given to develop a new method to construct them. An experiment was carried out to study effective curing using coir dust and saw dust. The spraying Frequency of water for curing was determined through that experiment. A special tool was developed to measure surface undulation on local concrete pavements. A comparison of various kinds of concrete producing methods and their performance were included in the report. "Check lists" have been introduced for most of activities to enhance the quality of the pavement construction. Quality and cost control techniques in the field of low volume concrete road construction in Sri Lanka are also described. I