LONGITUDINAL STRUCTURAL CRACKING OF

INDIAN CONCRETE HIGHWAYS: CAUSE, REMEDY

AND PREVENTION

Binod Kumar
Pr. Scientist, CSIR-CRRI, New Delhi
&
I. K. Pandey
ADG, MoRTH, Govt. of India, New Delhi
 Kentucky, USA
Two Lane with Central Joint
E. C. Sutherland, Public Roads, 1947
 Louisiana, USA
Danny X. Xiao & Zhong Wu, 2018

LC : Widened Lane LC : Tied Shoulder

 Indore Bypass
Four Lane with Widened Inner Lane (4.5 m) &
Bituminous Shoulder, LC in Inner Lane
Kanpur – Allahabad (NH – 2)
Four Lane with Tied Shoulder
LC in Outer Lane
Balasore – Kharagpur (NH – 60)
Four Lane with Tied Shoulder
LC in Outer Lane
 Rambha : Orissa (NH – 5)
Four Lane with Tied Shoulder, LC in Outer
Lane
VIZAG: Andhra Pradesh (NH – 5)
Four Lane with Tied Shoulders, LC in Outer
Lanes
Chittorgarh – Mangalwar (NH – 76)
Four Lane with Tied Shoulder, LC in Outer
Lane
 LUCKNOW - FAIZABAD
Four Lane with Tied Shoulders, LC in Outer
Lane
 ALLAHABAD BYPASS
Four Lane with Central Joint & Widened Lanes on
both Sides, LC in both Widened Lanes (4.75 m)
SIMGA – KAWARDHA (Chhattisgarh)
Two Lane with Tied Shoulders, LC in both Lanes
CAUSE FOR PREMATURE LONGITUDINAL
CRACKING

1. Tied Shoulder saw cut do not develop

crack under it leading to 5 m wide concrete
slabs in outer lanes

2. Lanes designed or constructed as

widened lanes with width from 4.5 m to 5 m.

Allahabad Bypass :Lane width – 4.75 m

Indore Bypass :Lane Width – 4.5 m

 Kentucky, USA
Two Lane with Central Joint
 BALASORE – KHARAGPUR : NO CRACK
INDUCED UNDER TIED SHOULDER SAW CUT
VIZAG – NH 5: NO CRACK INDUCED
UNDER TIED SHOULDER SAW CUT
SIMGA – KAWARDHA : NO CRACK INDUCED
UNDER TIED SHOULDER SAW CUT
Crack developing from top to down
MECHANISM FOR CRACK DEVELOPMENT
• Slab curls up during night

• Wider slabs curl more

• Predominant curling along the width of the slab

• Curled up slabs loose subgrade/sub-base support

• Heavy axle loads induce flexural stress at top of

slab in transverse direction

• Top-down cracking starts due to fatigue failure

under repetitive application of load
HOW CRACK DEVELOPS ?
Let us Differentiate LC of Rigid
Pavement from LC in Flexible
Pavement due to Expensive Soils
LC IN FLEXIBLE PAVEMENT
(Shrinkage of Expensive Soils)
 MECHANISM OF LC IN FLEXIBLE PAVEMENT
(Shrinkage of Expensive Soils)

• Crack initiation
Shrinkage tensile stress = 0.30 Mpa
Tensile strength of clays = 0.01 Mpa

• Crack propagation to layers above depends on

fracture toughness
FT for Asphalt concrete = 0.70 -1.2 MPa.√m
FT for Concrete = 5 - 7.5 MPa.√m
LAYERS UNDER RIGID PAVEMENT FOR
INDORE BYPASS

340 PQC
120 DLC
150 GSB

1000 BORROWED
SOIL

BC SOIL
DIFFERENTIAL SETTLEMENT DUE TO
SWELLING AND SHRINKAGE

(Indore Bypass)
 PQC AND DLC LAYERS EXPOSED AT
BALASORE - KHARAGPUR

DLC was intact, Cracks only in PQC, No role of

Expensive Soil
 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

• Monolithically cast tied shoulders and widened

lanes are major contributors to longitudinal
cracking, hence, should be avoided

Recommendation No. 1
• Tied shoulders, if to be provided should be laid
separately

•Lane by lane construction wherever feasible is

safer than monolithically laid lanes
(Delhi –Mathura and Mumbai-Pune Expressway)
 RECOMMENDATION No. 2

• Saw cut depth for longitudinal joints should be

increased from the present specifications of h/4 to
h/3

• May be more than half, but then tie bar

placement will be even deeper. Joint performance
may be an issue

• How much depth will be sufficient? Trials have to

be made
 RECOMMENDATION No. 3

• If full width pavers are to used, tied shoulders are

to be constructed, and present specifications of
saw cut depth are to be followed, then:

• Tied shoulder longitudinal joint should be placed

in the middle of the (outer lane 3.5 m + shoulder
1.5 m) i.e. 2.5 m from the shoulder edge
RECOMMENDED JOINT LAYOUT FOR TWO LANE
TIED SHOULDERS
10.0 m
5.0 m 5.0 m
1.5 m 1.0 m 2.5 m 2.5 m 1.0 m 1.5 m

LANE MARKING

LANE MARKING
LONGITUDINAL SAW
SHOULDER

SHOULDER
CUT JOINT

4.5 m
TRAFFIC DIRECTION

DOWEL
TRANSVERSE
BAR
CONTRACTION

TRAFFIC DIRECTION
JOINT
TIE BAR

LONGITUDINAL
CONSTRUCTION
BUTT JOINT
RECOMMENDED JOINT LAYOUT FOR FOUR
LANE TIED SHOULDERS
1.5 m 1.0 m 2.5 m 4.0 m

KERB SHYNESS 0.50m

TRAFFIC DIRECTION

LONGITUDINAL
SHOULDER

SAW CUT JOINT

4.5 m
DOWEL BAR

CONTRACTION
JOINT
LANE MARKING

LANE MARKING
LANE MARKING
TIE BAR
Thank You