How Does a DOT Decide When to Open a Road to Traffic after Concrete Pavement Construction

The current methodology is to perform mechanical testing or use a maturity meter to determine the strength. Field engineers use that information to determine when the fresh concrete is suitable to drive on.

Both are widely used industry methods that have significant shortcomings when used in the field.Roadways and bridges are often exposed to premature failures and significant lifespan reductions because of this. In effort to improve the process of vetting the quality of a concrete pavement, Purdue University’s Lyles School of Civil Engineering research team has developed a reliable method to monitor jobsite concrete strength development in real-time, giving field engineers previously unprecedented precision and accuracy on concrete strength.

Mechanical testing requires concrete samples made from jobsite concrete pours to be prepped on site, transported to the laboratory, and have compressive and flexural strength performed on them (ASTM C78, C293, C39 and AASHTO T22, T97). Laboratory prepped samples give reliable results.