Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity Testing for Assessing the Strength of Concrete Roads

The concrete for pavements must have adequate strength (M-35, M-40) to meet the design requirement, must be durable and able to resist the damaging effects of traffic and environment. Different sections of concrete have been constructed in Central Road Research Institute campus by part replacement of cement and aggregates by the mineral admixtures such as fly ash, silica fume, fibre etc. Quality of these sections of pavement have been compared with respect to the conventional concrete pavement by using the pulse velocity measurement method. Field testing was also carried out for evaluation of quality and in-situ strength of concrete roads. The pulse velocities obtained for different specifications are comparable with the average pulse velocity obtained for conventional specifications. By part replacement of cement with mineral admixture, good quality of concrete roads at lower cost can be produced.