I3C Symposium on Industrial Infrastructure Research

Precast Bendable Concrete Paving Slab for

Speedy Road Construction

presented by

Yang En-Hua, PhD, LEED AP

Assistant Professor & Assistant Chair (Academic)
School of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Nanyang Technological University (NTU)

23 November 2017

TSB Public Lecture Series on Sustainable Urban Living

8 April 2016, Singapore
Research Group of Living Stones @ NTU School of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Research Group of Living Stones @ NTU
 Hot-Mixed Asphalt (HMA) Road
Surface in Singapore
rutting cracking • Almost all road surface except
for junctions and bus stops

• Subject to heavy vehicles, heat,

and high humidity

• Fast surface distress (cracking,

rutting, shoving, etc.)

• Sound granite base and sub-

base

• Major repair every 10 years

Standard road section in Singapore

(LTA website) School of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Research Group of Living Stones @ NTU
Concrete Pavement in Singapore

Typical concrete pavement at traffic junction in Singapore (Source: LTA)

Concrete pavement lasts longer

However, …
School of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Research Group of Living Stones @ NTU
 It Takes Longer to Build

May cause traffic

jam and delay

Concrete takes weeks

to gain strength

Source: www.nairaland.com
Placement of steel
reinforcement is labour
intensive and time consuming

Source: www.eiffeltradingcompany.com
School of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Research Group of Living Stones @ NTU
 Precast Concrete Pavement for Quick
Installation & Less Traffic Disturbance
From weeks for conventional concrete to hours

Source: Chang et al.,2004 Source: National Precast Concrete Association

However, conventional precast concrete

pavement slab is heavy and bulky
School of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Research Group of Living Stones @ NTU
 Hot-Mixed Cast-in-situ Precast Concrete Slab
Asphalt Concrete
Milling-off thickness ~100 mm ~250 mm ~250 mm
Service life expectancy 10 years 15-20 years 15-20 years
Open to traffic Overnight At least 14 days Overnight
Constructability Practiced Practiced for • One pilot project at Tanah
for years in years in SG Merah Coast Rd.
SG • Complicated fabrication with
heavy reinforcement and joints
• Heavy crane (4-8 tone/slab)

dowel bar

Joint between precast slabs (Tanah Merah Coast Rd.)

School of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Research Group of Living Stones @ NTU
 Bendable Concrete for Slim and
Light Precast Paving Slab

Conventional concrete is Bendable concrete is still

hard and brittle hard but tough and deformable

• Elimination of reinforcement and pre-stressing

• Reduced thickness (i.e. slim and lightweight)
• Reduced joint
• Improved durability and extended service life
• Reduced environmental impact and (initial & life cycle)
cost
School of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Research Group of Living Stones @ NTU
Field Demonstration (On-going)
10-12 slabs

Silicone sealing between slabs 2.4m

Traffic direction

3.4m
Total BC volume: ~6-8 m3

School of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Research Group of Living Stones @ NTU
 Large Scale Processing and Slab
Manufacturing (On-going)

Batching Mixing Casting

Surface treatment Curing Levelling

Research Group of Living Stones @ NTU School of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Research Group of Living Stones @ NTU
 Comparable Material Performance
Obtained
Typical flexural stress-deflection curve

Lab prototype
Large scale
processing

Comparable fresh properties

(Lab vs large scale processing)

Lab Large scale Comparable mechanical properties

prototype processing (Lab vs large scale processing)
Compressive strength (MPa) 71 58

Flexural strength (MPa) 12.9 10.3

Ductility (%) 1.3 2.7

School of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Research Group of Living Stones @ NTU
Lifting and Handling of Full Size Precast
Bendable Concrete Slab

• 2.4 m x 3.6 m
• 60 mm in thickness
• No reinforcement
• Satisfied skid
resistance (BPN
~70-75)
• No cracking
observed
• Minimum
deformation during
lifting

School of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Research Group of Living Stones @ NTU
 Future Tasks
Full scale slabs manufacture (on-going)

Wheel tracker tests (structural performance evaluation)

Grouting tests

Full scale slab installation

Full scale wheel
tracker

1/3 scale (0.8 m x 1.15 m) pavement sample with whole structure for
the wheel tracker test
School of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Research Group of Living Stones @ NTU
 Acknowledgement
• JTC Corporation
• LTA
• NTU-JTC I3 Centre
• School of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE),
NTU
• TUM CREATE
• Mr. NG Kian Wee, Dr. Bernhard LECHNER, Dr. QIU
Jishen, Dr. Nen NGUYEN DINH, Mr. Ali Aryo
BAWONO, Mr. HE Shan

School of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Research Group of Living Stones @ NTU
Thank You for Attention!

Q&A

School of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Research Group of Living Stones @ NTU