Road Weather Management Program
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Best Practices for Road Weather Management Version 2.0

Title:

Investigation of Winter Pavement Tenting

Abstract:

The term "pavement tenting" refers to a condition of localized heave that develops at pavement cracks or joints during winter weather. This research looked at the perceived causes and winter maintenance strategies of tenting through a survey sent to municipal, county, and state engineers in Minnesota, before conducting field research based on the theory that deicing chemicals, sands, and crack sealing all influence pavement tenting. Data from test section monitoring, profile measurement, and test pit excavations was collected for several winters during periods when roads were deemed likely to produce tenting. A set of measurements was obtained for examining relationships between tenting severity, temperature conditions, the presence of deicing chemicals, and the effect of maintenance activities. Measurement of base materials showed that the concentration of deicing salts decreased with depth and distance from pavement cracks. Measurements also showed that crack sealing can reduce roughness and height of tented cracks.

Source(s):

Minnesota DOT Office of Materials

http://www.lrrb.org/PDF/200803.pdf

Date: 2008

Author:

Johnson, Olson

Keywords:


Anti-icing/Deicing chemicals

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