Evaluation of the Acoustic Bubble Spectrometer for Kansas Paving Mixtures

The proposed research has two primary objectives: (1) to understand the robustness of the recently developed ABS for typical Kansas paving mixes and (2) to assess which quantities of interest provided by the ABS are most suitable for prediction of air void system quality. A correlation experiment is proposed where multiple fresh concrete air characterization techniques including AASHTO TP 118, ASTM C231, C173, and the ABS ACOUSTIC BUBBLE SPECTROMETER® are used on the same fresh concrete samples. Hardened samples of the concrete mixtures will be collected and tested in rapid freezing and thawing according to ASTM C666, procedure B. Note that since this study will focus on the air void system and not aggregates, ASTM C666 will provide suitable sensitivity and will progress more quickly than KTMR-22. Approximately 40 unique concrete mix designs will be generated in such that all mixes are: (1) representative of typical Kansas paving mixes and (2) distributed throughout the relevant parametric space. The specific parameters for evaluation will be negotiated with the project manager or other Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) representative and may include water to cement ratio, aggregate fraction, aggregate type, slump, supplementary cementitious materials, and admixtures. In particular, the total air content for all mixtures will be controlled to between 4% and 6% as has been the case in KSU-19-1. Mixtures with greater than 6% total air content are very unlikely to have poor air void system quality, and similarly, mixtures with less than 4% total air content are unlikely to provide good freeze thaw protection. A fully populated mix design matrix will be developed and then selected mixes will be evaluated from the matrix that efficiently represent the parameters. For all selected mixes, multiple repetitions will be conducted so that uncertainty information can be captured.

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Funding: $61301
• Contract Numbers:

  K-TRAN: KSU-22-6

  RE-0840-01

  C2187

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Kansas Department of Transportation

  Eisenhower State Office Building
  700 SW Harrison Street
  Topeka, KS  United States  66603-3754
• Performing Organizations:

  Kansas State University Transportation Center

  Kansas State University
  Department of Civil Engineering
  Manhattan, KS  United States  66506
• Principal Investigators:

  Jones, Christopher

• Start Date: 20210701
• Expected Completion Date: 20230101
• Actual Completion Date: 0

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Admixtures; Air voids; Mix design; Spectrometers
• Geographic Terms: Kansas
• Subject Areas: Highways; Maintenance and Preservation; Materials; Pavements;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01832308
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Kansas Department of Transportation
• Contract Numbers: K-TRAN: KSU-22-6, RE-0840-01, C2187
• Files: RIP, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Jan 7 2022 12:31PM