High Volume Fly Ash (HVFA) concrete was developed nearly two decades ago.

In this type of concrete, about 40-60% of the Portland cement is replaced by a

suitable quality of fly ash for different applications including concrete pavements.
HVFA concrete exhibits improved fresh concrete properties and excellent
mechanical properties and long-term durability along with economy.

Improvement in properties of HVFA concrete with respect to bleeding, setting

time, autogenous temperature rise, development of compressive strength with
age, flexural- and splitting-tensile strength, drying shrinkage, resistance to
abrasion along with efficient use of cementitious material is leading the increased
use of HVFA concrete in various applications in concrete constructions.

Good quality HVFA concrete can be produced with judicious use of cement and
superplasticisers for different structural applications with varying percentage of fly
ash additions. It can be used successfully in our country with very low life cycle
cost and good performance, because fly ash is abundantly available and the
temperature is also conducive for better reactivity of fly ash as compared to
countries like Canada and US, where the cold climate is prevailing for most of the
year.

 Do Provide Contraction joints: The temperature and moisture

gradient that exists between top and bottom of the concrete pavement
slabs causes the curling and warping of the slab therefore Contraction
joints which are generally provided at each 4.5m interval, are specifically
meant for controlling the location of these type of cracks.

 Don’t Forget to Cure: As mentioned, proper curing is essential for

durability. Contractors typically begin the curing process by applying a
curing compound following completion of the concrete placement. You can
sustain the curing process by maintaining the moist condition of newly
placed concrete by moist curing. The usual duration for moist curing is
seven days, but the longer the concrete is cured, the better.

 Don’t Misplaced Saw Cuts at Transverse Joints:

 Don’t Misalign The Dowel Bars: The alignment of dowel bars only
becomes a factor of restraint if a crack extends below the joint saw cut and
misalignment exceeds a tolerance of 3 percent. 
 Do Ensure Proper Compaction Of Sub grade/Sub base:
Settlement of the sub grade and sub base can cause the cracking of the
concrete pavement. Cracks resulting from settlement of sub grade are
normally variable in direction but most commonly they appear diagonally
and extend continuously to many slabs. 

 Don’t place concrete in very hot temperature: In order to

prevent plastic shrinkage cracks the concrete should not be placed at a
very high temperature or in case of placement use fog sprays to spray fog
into the air over the concrete surface and in the direction opposite to the
direction the wind is blowing. Using of fog sprays reduce the rate of
evaporation from the concrete surface.