Field performance evaluations of partial-depth repairs

Before partial-depth repair using proper materials was implemented, Houston District of Texas Department of Transportation had to repair spalls and punchout constantly in the Continuously Reinforced Concrete Pavement (CRCP) pavements on US290 and SH6. The full-depth repair to address the cracking on US75 did not work well. Spalls, wide, cracks and punchouts due to mid-depth horizontal cracks represent functional and structural distresses in Portland cement concrete pavement. Traditionally, these distresses were repaired by partial-depth repair (PDR). The performance of PDR varies substantially. Two types of polymeric patch materials were used to repair the distresses. Material A is polyurethane-based and Material B is epoxy-based. Material A was used to repair spalls in CRCP. It provided quite satisfactory performance for more than 9 years. Material B was used to repair cracks in jointed concrete pavement and CRCP. Its performance was satisfactory when applied to stable slabs and the loose concrete was completely removed. Compared to full-depth repair (FDR), PDRs utilizing polymeric patch materials are much more cost-effective, and PDR takes much less time than FDR. It is believed that both chip-and-patch and saw-and-patch methods would work as long as the delaminated areas are completely removed and the concrete slabs are stable (e.g. no settlement or movement under moving trucks).