1

CONSTRUCTION AND SEALING OF JOINTS IN

CONCRETE PAVEMENT

By
Mr. Tha Kyaw Zan * & Mr. Tirtha Chandan Patra **

* Senior Pavement Expert, Louis Berger Group Inc, USA
** Manager(Tech), NHAI, Berhampur

CONTENTS

1. Introduction
2. Jointing Systems of Concrete Pavement
3. Selection and Application of Joint Sealing Materials in Concrete Pavement
4. Common Problems and solutions in Joint Sealing Application
5. Conclusions

SYNOPSIS

The joints play an important role in the performance of concrete pavements. The
failures of concrete pavement can be attributed mainly to failures at the joint, as opposed
to inadequate structural capacity. Satisfactory joint performance depends to a large extent
on satisfactory joint design, construction and sealing procedures. Otherwise distresses
that may result in concrete pavement from joint failure include faulting, pumping,
spalling, corner breaks, blowups, and mid-panel cracking etc.. This paper makes an
attempt to provide an insight into the significance of providing joints in concrete
pavements, its proper construction and sealing procedure. The common problems
encountered during the construction and sealing of joints along with its resolution
mechanism for a durable performance of the concrete pavement is also elaborated.


1. INTRODUCTION

Joints in concrete pavement are primarily provided to control the cracking
resulting from induction of stresses due to variations in temperature and moisture in
freshly laid cement concrete pavement. Concrete is subject to changes in dimensions due
to variations in temperature and moisture which cause it to warp, expand and contract. If
these changes are entirely resisted, such high stresses may be induced in the fresh
pavement so as to cause the concrete to develop tension cracks or buckling under
compressive stresses may occur. Therefore joints are primarily provided in concrete
pavement in order to keep these stresses within safe limits, thereby conserving the
strength of the concrete to resist the stresses induced by the traffic loads. Joints are also
required to be provided to facilitate a break in construction at the end of days work or for
any interruptions in progress of work. Joints are also necessary to allow construction of
the pavement in lanes of convenient widths depending upon the total width of
carriageway, the production capacity of the batching plant and the paving machine.
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The construction of joints should receive maximum importance at all stages i.e .
Joints Design, Joints Construction and the Joints Sealing because these play important
roles for the life and riding quality of the concrete pavement. Particularly, the joint
cutting and joint sealing plays the major role for governing the riding quality,
performance and the durability of the newly paved concrete pavement. There are several
types of sealant materials for the concrete joint sealing. It is very important to select the
correct sealant material which will be suitable to the conditions of the project, use the
correct methodology for the application of sealant material. The durability of the sealant
material in joint may depend on the experience of the applicator. If due care is taken
during the construction and sealing stages of the joints, it will result in good performance
concrete pavement with high durability and less maintenance cost.


2. JOINTING SYSTEMS OF CONCRETE PAVEMENT

Jointing systems for concrete pavement are designed to ensure the structural
capacity and riding quality of the pavement at the lowest annual maintenance cost. Joints
control the transverse and longitudinal cracking those results from restrained contraction
or the restrained warping or combined effects of both and traffic loads. They divide the
pavement into practical construction increments, delineate traffic lanes and accommodate
slab movements. They also provide some load transfer between slabs.

2.1. Joints in Plain and Reinforced concrete roads

Joints can be divided broadly into two types. Longitudinal joints which are
parallel to the centre line of the road and Transverse joints which are right angles to the
centre line which are of three types, namely Contraction joint, Construction Joint and
Expansion joint. The basic functions of these joints are as follows:

Longitudinal joint: These joints also called as Warping joints are provided along
the longitudinal direction to prevent warping of the concrete slab due to
temperature and subgrade moisture variation.
Contraction joint: These joints are provided along the transverse direction to take
care of the contraction of concrete slab due to its natural shrinkage.
Construction joint: These joints are provided whenever the construction work
stops temporarily.
Expansion joint: These joints are provided along the transverse direction to allow
movement (expansion/ contraction) of the concrete slab due to temperature and
subgrade moisture variation.
These joints could be extended to the full or partial depth of the slab as per
design. Sometimes iron bars are provided across the joints, the iron bars along the
longitudinal joints are called tie bars and along the transverse joints are called dowel bars.
For satisfactory performance of the concrete pavement the following major functional
requirements of joints are required to be considered:
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i) A joint must be waterproof at all times: Surface water which is entered
through a joint will weaken the subgrade design load resistant. If the underlying soil in
the embankment is of clayey type, the pumping may occur. This criteria clearly
emphasizes the importance of the selection and installing of the most durable sealing
materials in joints.

ii) Free movement of the slabs at the joint must be permitted at all times: The
selection and the application of the correct type Filler and Sealing materials and correct
pouring method are important for fulfilling this criteria . Both the materials must be
capable to resist the repeated expansion and contraction of the concrete. Most of the
defects in the expansion joints are occurred by the entry of the foreign materials get
between the slabs joints. It will prevent to the free expansion of the concrete which will
increase the stresses in the concrete and subsequent spalling of the edges.

iii) Joints should not form a deterrent to the Riding Quality of a road
carriageway: Improper design and/or construction can result in excessive relative
deflections of adjacent concrete slabs and also provides a bad riding quality. The
incorrect selection of the type of the sealant materials and its application may push off the
sealing material above the level of the surface of carriageway causing continuous series
of impacts by the traffic and thus causing an irritating experience to the road users.

iv) A joint should not be the cause of an unexpected, undersigned structural
weakness in a pavement: Transverse joints on either side of the longitudinal joint should
not be constructed in staggered positions because transverse cracks will be induced in the
slabs in line with the staggered joints. Furthermore, no joint should be constructed at an
angle of less than 90 degrees to an adjacent joint or edge of the slab unless it is required
as part of the design.

v) Joints should interfere as little as possible with the placing of the concrete
pavement: The numbers of construction/expansion joints should be provided as less as
possible. The bad workmanship of the construction/expansion joints will form surface
irregularities which result an uneven surface profile giving a bad riding quality to the
road user. An economical concrete road construction is facilitated by using the simplest
types of joints providing as less numbers as possible, consistent with the structural design
of the pavement.










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Fig.1 shows some typical joint configurations.



(a) Expansion joint with dowel bar (b) Contraction joint as dummy joint


(c) Contraction joint with dowel bar (d) Longitudinal joint as plain butt joint

(e) Longitudinal joint with tie bar (f) Tongue and groove longitudinal joint
Fig. 1 Some typical joint configurations.


2.1.1. Longitudinal Joints

Longitudinal joints are required in concrete pavement to control the irregular
longitudinal cracks which would occur as a result of thermal warping and loading
stresses. It is also designed to match with the paver available paving widths. Longitudinal
joint locations along wheel tracks should always be avoided. Longitudinal joints should
coincide with pavement lane lines whenever possible, to improve traffic operations. For
widths upto 4.5m of concrete pavement have performed satisfactorily without any
longitudinal joints.

Load transfer at longitudinal joints is achieved through aggregate interlock.
However, these joints should be tied with tie bars to prevent lane separation and/or
faulting. The tie bars should be mechanically inserted and placed at mid-depth. They are
not designed as load transfer devices, but only to withstand the tensile stresses. The
maximum tension in the tie bar across any joint is equal to the force required to overcome
the friction between pavement and subgrade/sub-base from the joint under consideration,
to the nearest joint or free edge.
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The area of steel required per/m length of joint is calculated by formula:
A
t
= ( d x f x w ) / W
s
_____________________( 1)
Where A
t
= Area of steel required per/m length of joint in sq. cm.
d = distance between the joints or joint and free edge in m.
f = coefficient of friction between pavement slab and subgrade
(generally taken as 1.5)
w = weight of pavement slab in Kg/sq.m. per cm thickness
(generally taken as 24 Kg/sq.m.)
W
s
= allowable working stress in steel Kg/sq.cm.

The length of tie bar should be at least twice that required to develop bond
strength equal to the working stress of the steel.

L = ( 2 x W
s
x A
t
) / (B
s
x p) ______________________(2)

Where L = Length of tie bar in cm.
W
s
= allowable working stress in steel Kg/sq.cm.
A
t
= cross-sectional area of one tie bar in sq. cm.
B
s
= permissible bond stress in Kg/sq. cm.
p = perimeter of tie bar in cm

The diameter of tie bar should not exceed 20mm in order to facilitate the angular
wrapping movement at the joint. Further, a placing allowance of 75mm is required to be
added to the above calculated length of tie bar so as to account for any inaccuracies in
placement.


2.1.2. Contraction Joints

The basic purpose of transverse contraction joints is to control the cracking that
results from the tensile and bending stresses in concrete slabs caused by the cement
hydration process, traffic loadings, and the climate. It also permits a subsequent
expansion up to the original length of the paved slab. Joint opening should be protected
from the entry of dirt or grit which will reduce the effectiveness of the expansion. There
are two types of contraction joint namely, Butt Joints and Dummy Joints. On large
concrete pavement construction for roads, the most commonly provided joint type is
Dummy Joint. This type of joint induces a controlled crack. Out of few type of Dummy
Joint, a groove in the top of the slab dummy joint is widely used. The proper dummy
joint interval for control cracking will depend on shrinkage properties of the concrete,
temperature during placing, slab thickness, sub-base or subgrade friction characteristics,
and properties of the joint sealant. The amount of longitudinal slab movement that a joint
experience is primarily a function of joint spacing and temperature changes and can be
estimated by the following equation:
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C = FL ( T
e
+ S
e
) ______________________________(3)
where:
C = the expected change in slab length
F = the base/slab frictional restraint factor (0. 65 for stabilized bases, 0. 8 for
granular bases) .
L = the slab length.
= the PCC coefficient of thermal expansion.
T
e
= the maximum temperature range (generally the temperature of the concrete
at the time of placement minus the average daily minimum temperature) .
S
e
= the shrinkage coefficient of concrete.
Designers commonly recommend a joint spacing of 4.5 meters. Random joint
spacings have been successfully used in plain undoweled pavements to minimize resonant
vehicle responses. When using random joint spacings, the joints may be spaced using a
spacing of 3.9m 4.5m 4.2m. . Similarly, skewed joints with a skew of 1 in 6 have been
used in plain pavements to provide a smoother ride so that the inside wheel crosses the joint
ahead of the outside wheel. Only one wheel crosses the joint at a time, which minimizes
vehicle response and decreases stresses within the slab. Skewed joints are generally used
when load transfer devices are not present.
The recommended Transverse Contraction Joint widths are shown in Table-1.
T A B L E 1
TRANSVERSE CONTRACTION JOINT WIDTHS
SPACING OF JOINTS JOINT WIDTH
4.5 m (15) 10mm
6.1 m (20) 12mm
9.1 m (30) 12mm
12.2 m (40) 16mm
15.2 m (50) 25mm
18.3 m (60) 32mm

Load transfer across the transverse joint can be developed by few methods but the
most effective and common use method is by the addition of mechanical devices across
the joint, such as Dowel Bars. The purpose of dowels is to transfer loads across a joint
without restricting joint movement due to thermal contraction and expansion of the
concrete. It placed at the mid-depth in the slab to resist the shear as loads cross the joint
and thus help to reduce the deflections and stresses at the joint. The dowel bar is designed
primarily to prevent crushing of the concrete below the dowel bar. High concrete bearing
stress can fracture the concrete surrounding the dowel bars, leading to final faulting of the
slab. The maximum bearing stress between the concrete and dowel (S
max
) should be less
than the allowable bearing stress in concrete (C
b
).
S
max
= K P
t
(2 + z) / (4
3
E I) ______________________________(4)

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where:
K = the modulus of dowel/concrete interaction in kg/cm
2
/cm
P
t
= the load transferred by a dowel bar
= the relative stiffness of the bar embedded in concrete
=
4
(K b / 4 E I)
E = the modulus elasticity of dowel in kg/cm
2

I = the moment of inertia of the dowel in cm
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b = the diameter of dowel in cm
z = the joint width in cm

C
b
= F
ck
(10.16 b) / 9.525 ______________________________(5)
where:
F
ck
= the characteristic compressive strength of the concrete in kg/cm
2

b = the diameter of dowel in cm

Dowels should be corrosion-resistant (be epoxy coated or stainless steel type) to
prevent dowel seizure due to corrosion, which causes the joint to lock up. Studies have
shown that larger dowels preferably more than 32mm diameter is more effective. The
recommended details of dowel bars for various slab thickness are as shown in Table 2.
T A B L E 2
DOWEL BAR DETAILS
Slab Thickness in
mm
Dowel Bar Details
Diameter in mm Length in mm Spacing in mm
250 32 450 300
300 38 450 300
350 44 500 300


2.1.3. Construction Joints

Construction joints are formed when construction work is unexpectedly
interrupted e.g. when the mechanical breakdown or by the onset of bad weather at the
locations not normally specified by the design. The structural integrity of the pavement is
best maintained by locating these joints at contraction joints location or within the third
of a slab bounded by contraction joints. Where transverse construction joints coincide
with contraction joints, it should be dowelled. The transverse contraction joints located
between contraction joints should be keyed in and tie bars should be provided. Good
construction planning ensures that end of the day joints are either contraction or
expansion joints, matching with the predetermined joint positions.

2.1.4. Expansion Joints

These joints are designed to provide space into which the expansion of concrete
slabs can take place when the atmospheric temperature rises at the place where the
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concrete was laid. The provision of expansion joints prevent the development of
compressive stresses of high magnitude which will damage the slab and result in the
buckling or blow-up of slabs. Expansion joints are also necessary to provide at the
locations where the concrete pavements will join with the fixed structures, such as bridge
abutments or at intersections with other pavements. Current international practice is to
provide expansion joints only near bridges. Good design and maintenance of contraction
joints have practically eliminated the requirement for expansion joints, except near
structures.

2.1.5. Construction of Joints

2.1.5.1. Placement of Concrete and Formation of Joints
Prior to start of concrete paving operation, a method statement giving minute
details of sequence of operation and co-ordination between different activities and
persons responsible for the same needs to be finalized between the Engineer-in-
Charge of the project and the project contractor. A pre-paving meeting should be
organized with all concerned and demo run should be carried out.
The lines of longitudinal joints are verified with respect to references of centre
line fixed on the outer paving lines. The inner lines of the outer lanes are also re-
checked after their completion to avoid from any deficiencies found in the line of
the outer lanes which is the cause of wavering of longitudinal joints.
Expansion joints are constructed at the planned locations using 20 mm wide filler
board with a height of its top should be 25 mm below the PQC top surface.
The locations of the contraction joints are marked on the surface of the dry lean
concrete surface before the pavement quality concrete paving starts. Nails with
painted head are used as reference points on either side of the outer paving lanes.
After concrete paving, these points are transferred accurately on top of the
constructed slab by means of plumb and long straight steel bars.
The dowel bars should be properly aligned in the dowel basket and that the dowel
basket should be securely anchored in the base.
Dowels should be thinly coated with grease or other substance over their entire
length to prevent bonding of the dowel to the concrete. Only a thin coating should
be used, as a thick coating may result in large voids in the concrete around the
dowels.
Care must be taken to ensure good quality concrete is used at construction joints,
which should be same as for the remainder of the slab. The practice of modifying
the mix at the joints is not advisable.
Care must be taken for adequate compaction of the concrete in the area of the
joints in order to ensure a good joint performance. Load transfer across a doweled
joint is greatly affected by the quality of concrete compaction around the dowels.
The placement of dowels should be carefully verified soon after paving begins. If
specified tolerances are not being achieved, then an evaluation of the dowel
installation, concrete mix design, and placement techniques must be made and
appropriate corrections should be made to the paving process.
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When paving full-depth full-width, a mechanical pre-spreader and finishing
machine in the paving train can be used to reduce drag and shear forces on the
dowels.
It is very important that debris do not enter the previously sawed transverse joint
reservoir. It is recommended that backer rod, tape, or other material be placed on
the vertical face of the transverse joint at the edge of the pavement to prevent
mortar from intruding into the existing joint.
2.1.5.2. Sawing of Joints
The sawing of transverse contraction and longitudinal joints should be a two-stage
operation. The initial sawing is intended to cause the pavement to crack at the
intended joint. The second sawing provides the necessary shape factor for the
sealant material. This second sawing can be made any time prior to the sealant
installation. However, the later the sealant reservoir is made, the better the
condition of the joint face. Both sawing should be periodically checked to ensure
proper depth, as saw blades tend to wear more when hard aggregate is
encountered.
The timing of sawing is important. Premature sawing will cause spalling and
raveling of concrete, and if sawing is late, shrinkage cracks will appear. It is of
utmost importance to begin sawing as soon as the concrete is strong enough to
both support the sawing equipment and to prevent raveling during the sawing
operation. All joints should be sawed within 4-12 hours of concrete placement.
Sawing should be done early during hot weather to prevent shrinkage cracking.
Once sawing begins, it should be a continuous operation.
For transverse contraction joints, an initial sawing depth of one 3
rd
of slab
thickness is adopted. Transverse contraction joints should be initially sawed in
succession. The dimensions of the final sawing should be dependent upon the
sealant type and the designed longitudinal slab movement.
For longitudinal joints, a minimum initial sawing depth of one 3
rd
of slab
thickness is adopted. A final sawing that provides a 10mm wide by 25mm deep
sealant reservoir is sufficient.
When a lengthy period is anticipated between the initial sawing of the joint and
the final sawing and sealing, then the joint should be filled with a temporary filler.
This filler material should keep all debris out of the joint.

2.1.6. Causes of the Joint failure in concrete pavement

A concrete pavement joint is sealed to protect from the entry of the debris or
water. If the joint seal fails, the pavement serviceability will be affected by the surface
damages e.g. forming cracks and spallings. If a formed joint fails to transmit the load by
means of keys, dowel bars, faulting may occur at the concrete pavement surface and will
affect to the riding quality. If joint dowels do not accommodate properly at the saw
cutting joint opening and closing the movements, the expansion movements formed
during the hot season can concentrate stress at the dowel bars and it may lead to spalling
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at the joints and the contraction movements of the of the concrete pavement can cause
cracks in concrete surface. If the joint system fails to prevent the pavement expansion
stress then two adjacent concrete slabs may lock and lift or blow-up the joint.


3. SELECTION AND APPLICATION OF JOINT SEALING MATERIALS IN
CEMENT CONCRETE PAVEMENTS

3.1. Joint Fillers and Seals

Joint sealants can be divided into two main groups, namely, Field-moulded
sealants and Preformed sealants. Field-moulded sealants are the ones which are poured or
gunned down in a liquid or semi-liquid form and take up the shape of the reservoir. They
will include hot and cold applied thermoplastics and thermosetting sealants. Preformed
compression sealants are often cellular in cross section and the cells are designed to
collapse as adjacent slabs expand.

When selecting a type of joint sealant material, information should be sought not
only to the initial cost of the material but also need to find out about the durability and the
maintenance technique. It should be chosen to match with the local weather conditions,
the traffic capacity and the design life of the pavement.

Filler boards are used to provide the gaps for expansion joints during the
construction time also to provide support for the sealing compound. Filler board materials
should be capable of being compressed without extrusion and sufficiently elastic to
recover its original thickness when the compressed force is released. It should be retained
these properties throughout the design life of the pavement. The details of sealing of
different types of joints is shown in Fig.2.





Fig.2a: Sealing Details of Contraction and
Construction Joint Groove
Fig.2b: Sealing Details of Expansion Joint Groove



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Fig.2c: Sealing Details of Longitudinal Joint
Groove
Fig.2d: Sealing Details of Longitudinal Joint
Between Cement Concrete Slabs and Bituminous
Shoulder


3.2. Performance and life of Joints

Regardless of the functions of joints as described before, all type of joints formed
in a concrete pavement should be made waterproof at the time of construction and
maintained in that way throughout the life of the pavement. Delay to prevent the debris
from entering into the joints can result in the development of stresses in hot weather
which are great enough to cause spalling of joint edges and in some cases, pavement
buckling or blow-ups will occur. Water entering into the un-sealed joints can be the cause
of pavement pumping.

Therefore performance and selection of the proper sealing compound is of utmost
importance. It depends upon the correct design of joints as well as the sealing compound
must meet certain physical properties to ensure life and performance of the joints.

3.2.1. Correct Design of Joints

Suggestions are given by the manufacturers of the sealing compound that it is
necessary to design the groove width of joints for (Contraction, Longitudinal and
Construction Joints) which should be constructed at least equal to 3 to 4 times the amount
of the pavement movement at joint. For dummy contraction joints which are constructed
for proper aggregate interlock to provide effective load transfer, the joint movement
should not exceed 1.5 to 2.0 mm. Therefore, the spacing of contraction joints should be
designed not only to maintain the aggregate interlock but also not have excessive size of
the joint groove-width which will discomfort to the road users due to bad riding quality.
As general rule, to meet these two conditions, the spacing of contraction joints should be
designed with a limit of maximum 5 m corresponding to a joint groove width of 6 mm.
The selection of the type of sealant to be used and its joint sealing procedure will be
depending on the type of joints provided by the designer. As the size of the designed joint
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groove-width shall vary due to the different type of joints, it is important to the field
engineers to choose and select the proper type of sealant materials for the joint sealing to
the corresponding joints. Otherwise, joint sealing work will not be effectively done and
re-sealing works should be executed within a unreasonable period.

3.2.2. Physical properties of sealant materials

Joint sealants must meet the following requirements for the good performance and
durability. They should

be impermeable.
deform to accommodate the total movement and rate of movement occurring at
the joint.
sufficiently recover their original properties and shape after cyclical deformations.
remain in contact with the joint faces.
not rupture internally.
not undergo unacceptable softening at high service temperatures.
not become unacceptable brittle at low service temperatures and remain elastic.
not to be affected to the durability and service factors by ageing, weathering and
other environmental conditions that may occur.
not become sticky or cause staining under hotter climatic conditions.
have resistance to indentation and intrusion of solids.
have high resistance to hardening with age.
have high bonding property with adjoining concrete with or without the
application of a primer.
not shrink after they have been poured.
satisfy to the standard tests like bond strength, retest for bond, flow penetration
and etc.


3.3. Materials required for Joint Sealing


3.3.1. Primer

The primer is used to improve the adhesive bond between sealing compound and
concrete, to penetrate the pores of the concrete and to coat it with a thin film of a viscous,
sticky material. Very low viscosity type of primer is required to penetrate the pores of the
concrete surface. The type of primer to be used should be checked with the sealing
compound manufacturers application manual to meet the condition that prevails at the
time of application. Trial tests should be carried out on actual concrete surfaces to be
sealed to ensure the optimum adhesion before the final application.




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3.3.2. Sealant Materials

Various types of sealant materials for the concrete pavement joint sealing have
been developed in the present time. They can be classified as Field Moulded and
Preformed. There are two different types in Field Moulded such as, Thermoplastic Type
and Thermosetting Type. Thermoplastic Type is the hot applied one and the materials are
based on asphalt, rubber asphalt, pitches, coal tar, rubber coal tar and hot applied PVC
coal tar. Thermosetting Type is the cold applied one and the materials are based on
polysulphide, polysulphide coal tar, polyurethane and polyurethane coal tar. The type of
sealants normally used in the concrete pavements are as follows:

3.3.2.1. Hot poured elastic type of sealants

It is bituminous based sealants mixed with siliceous materials which may or may
not have natural or synthetic rubber. This type of material can not satisfactorily resist
either hot or cold climate.

3.3.2.2. Hot poured rubberized asphalts (Thermoplastic type)

This type of sealant is improved to resist the hot and cold climates. But their
resistant to indentation and intrusion of solids is not much satisfactory. However this type
of sealant is better than the simple bituminous based hot poured sealants. The life span of
this material may vary from 2 to 5 years. This type of sealant is suitable for joints
between concrete and asphalt pavements.

3.3.2.3. Cold-applied thermosetting type of sealants

This two component systems polysulphide based products are found to be
excellent type of sealants for the application in joints of concrete works. As it is
chemically cured after mixing the two components, once they are mixed, they should be
poured within a short period before the sealant cures. It has good resistant to climatic
conditions and has good bondage property. It also exhibits good resistance to indentation
and intrusion of solids. It is applied with the hand gun. This type of Polysulphide
sealants are relatively very expensive but it is the most favorable, reliable type and
widely used in the sealing of all type of joints in the concrete pavements.

3.3.2.4. Preformed compression seals

This type of seals are made of neoprene rubber. It is premoulded to the required
shape and pressed into the joint groove keeping in compressed conditions. Primer is
required before inserting the seals into the groove. They are generally expensive.

3.3.3. Storage of sealing material

Before and during the sealing operation, sealing material shall be stored at the
temperatures recommended by the sealant manufacturer.
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3.3.4. Back-up material

Back-up material and joint filler installed in the joint shall be compatible with
sealant and primer and of a resilient nature, such as, closed cell resilient foam, sponge
rubber or a supporting type such as closed cell rigid foam, cork or non-impregnated fibre
board. Materials impregnated with oil or bitumen shall not be used without first checking
with sealant supplier. It is preferable to use non-impregnated materials. Size and shape
shall be as indicated by joint design details on drawings. Sealant shall not adhere to back-
up material and shall be as recommended by sealant manufacturer in writing to specifier.
Action of slab movement on sealants and the functions of the backup materials and the
de-bonding strip are shown in Fig. 3.





Fig.3a: Effect of Debonding Paper on Free Movement of Sealant






Fig.3b: Effect of Compressible Backup Material on releasing Extrusion Pressure to both top and bottom




15


3.3.4.1. Types of Back-up material

Suggested type of back-up materials for use with sealants are as follows:
Polyethylene closed cell foam
Polyurethane closed cell foam
Sponge rubber closed cell
Neoprene foam rod
Preformed gaskets

The final selection of the type of back-up material depends on the type of the
sealant which will apply in the joint. Mainly there are two type of sealants such as
Polysulphide sealant and Polyurethane sealant which are widely used. Different type of
sealants uses their preferred type of back-up material. One should refer to the sealant
manufacturers written instructions for the final selection of the type of back-up material.

3.3.5. Bond Breaker Tape

Where required, it shall be polyethylene tape or as recommended by the sealant
manufacturer in writing to the Engineer.

3.3.6. Solvents

Solvents, cleaning agents and other accessory materials used shall be as
recommended by sealant manufacturer in writing to the Engineer.


3.4. Samples and Testing of Sealant Materials

The specifications of the sealant materials should be tested as per BS 5212-1990.
The trial of joint sealing work should be applied at one section to see the performance of
the joint sealant materials after it is trafficked. Final approval for the application of the
proposed joint sealant materials should be given only after the satisfaction to the
performance of the joint sealing after trafficked. The contract specification may require:

Certification by the contractor that the sealant complies with appropriate reference
standard
That Field Testing and checking of joints have been sealed.
That wet samples of sealant should be kept for six months after job completion.

3.5. Work prior to Sealing Joints

Examination of Joints: This will include the inspection of the size and
conditions of all joints. Make a report and submit to General Contractor to all
conditions which are not acceptable and acceptable. A representative person from
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the sealant manufacturer is to be present at the start of the work and periodically
his present should be there to check the installation conditions.
Construction of Transverse Contraction Joint: The top portion of all transverse
contraction joints, other than expansion joints should be grooved to a minimum
width of 10 to 12 mm.
Construction of Expansion Joint: The width of all expansion joints shall be
such that the total anticipated movement of the slabs shall not exceed the overall
movement capability of the sealant.
Shape of Joint Groove: The shape of the groove shall form a rectangular or
square. The depth of the groove shall be sufficient to allow the placement of at
least 12 mm of sealant above the backup and bond-breaker material.
Depth to Width Ratio: The width to depth ratio (shape factor) of the sealant
should be near about 1 (squarish), so that stresses (tensile stress, compressive
stress, bond stress) in sealant do not reach excessive limits.
Preparation and cleaning of Joint: Joint should be sawn and clean from any
debris, oil and other contaminated materials. When sealant is applied, groove
surfaces should be dry and free of dirt or dust.
Making good: Where spalling of joint edges has occurred during construction
work, repair works in defected joints should be carried out systematically as per
the standard specifications. Further works in joints, such as , installation of sealant
or continuing of paving works should not be carried out until the repairs have
been completed.

3.6. Sealing of Joints

Grooves at the top of the joints which have been prepared and cleaned, shall be
sealed with the selected joint sealing material. Joints shall be filled as required
with the appropriate back-up material, de-bonding strip and primed with the
sealant material manufacturers recommended primer. The space which is above
the installed back-up material shall be sufficient to provide for the required
sealant depth.

The application of the sealant materials in the joints should be carried out by
specialist agency recommended by the sealant supplier and the applicator must be
fully conversant with manufactured sealants and their sealants.

The back-up material or bond breaker shall be placed in joint groove to allow the
placement of the sealant to a depth of at least 12 mm. The surface of which should
be recessed by not less than 3 mm and not more than 6 mm below pavement
surface. Debonding strip paper back (1 to 2 mm) thick is placed between the
sealant and the back-up material.

The joint edges are protected with the masking tape to prevent those areas from
being spoilt by the sealant due to overfilling or smearing in windy conditions.
Tape should be removed immediately after the sealant filling.

17
After the joint is cleaned and back-up material is in place, the primer which is
recommended by the sealant manufacturer should be applied to the faces of the
joint as per the written instructions of the sealant manufacturer. Priming of the
back-up material should be avoided. The time lapse between priming of joint
sides and placement of sealant should be accordance with the sealant
manufacturers written instruction. The sealing compound which is properly
proportioned, mixed and applied in the field either by hand or machine
accordingly by the sealant manufacturers written instructions shall be essentially
self-levelling and completely fill the joint groove in one pass from the bottom to
the top.The surface of the sealant shall be recessed by not less than 3mm nor more
than 9mm below the pavement surface. The temperature requirements for
applying the sealant material shall be in accordance with the sealant
manufacturers written instructions.

The traffic should not be opened to the freshly joint sealed pavement until the sealant has
adequately cool or cured not to pick up on vehicle tires. Any excess sealant material or
spills should be removed from the pavement surface. All construction related signs are
removed when opening to pavement to the normal traffic.

3.7. Photos of Sealing of Joints:



Application of Joint Sealing by Machine Application of Joint Sealing by Hand


Tool the sealant in the joint to level
3mm below the PQC pavement
surface
Cleaning the mask tape and the
excess sealant material from the
sealed joint
Final inspection in the finished
sealing work
18
4. COMMON PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS IN JOINT SEALING APPLICATION

The common problems encountered in joint sealing operation and their solutions
are presented here case wise.

Case 1 Sealant not adhering to joint

Sl. No. Causes of Problems Solutions
1 Joint not clean enough during
preparation
Clean the joint surface and reseal
2 Apply on the wet joint surfaces Allow the joint surface to dry before the
application
3 In hot applied sealants type due to
low sealant application
temperature
Heat up the sealant materials in the melter
pourer to the correct temperature or verify
the temperature gauges in the melter
pourer machine
4 In cold ambient temperature Allow the ambient temperature to raise up
for pouring the sealant into the joint
5 Insufficient space in joint width
for cold applied sealants and after
the road is opening to the traffic,
the traffic tires are pulling out the
sealant
Keep the sufficient space for joint width
6 Concrete is not cured sufficiently
when sealing work has done
Allow the concrete curing time sufficiently
before the joint sealing operation
7 Sealant application temperature is
below the dew point
Apply the sealant when the temperature is
warm to above the dew point

Case II Sealant pick-up or pull-out when opened to traffic

Sl. No. Causes of Problems Solutions
1 Opened to traffic too soon after
application
Refer to the sealant manufacturers written
instructions about the full setting time of the
sealant after application. Traffic should be
opened only after the full setting time of the
sealant
2 Sealing operation has done in high
ambient temperature
Joint sealing operation should be done in
cooler ambient temperature. Refer to
manufacturers written instructions about
the application ambient temperature
3 Excessive sealant application
without space under the concrete
top surface in the joints
Sealant should be applied with a specified
space in a joint
4 Type of sealant is too soft for the
particular climate
Use the stiffer type of sealant to resist the
extremely hot climate temperature

19
5 Due to overheated or under heated
temperature sealant was applied
Apply the sealant at correct temperature as
per manufacturers written instructions. The
temperature gauge on melter machine
should also be verified
6 Sealant material contaminated
with solvent or mixed with heat
transfer oil from leaking tank
Check the sealant material and the heat
transfer oil tank
7 Concrete joint faces contaminated
with old, incompatible sealant and
may also cause bleeding
Re-clean the concrete joint and remove the
old sealant from the joint surface
8 Pre-formed sealant installed too
high in joint
Keep sufficient space in a joint under the
concrete top surface during the sealant
application

Case III - Sealant gelling in melter

Sl. No. Causes of Problems Solutions
1 Sealant overheated in melter Check and verify the temperature gauges
in melter
2 Sealant reheated too many times Use the fresh sealant
3 Using sealant with short pot life Change the type of sealant with longer
pot life

Case IV Sealant cracking or debonding in winter

Sl. No. Causes of Problems Solutions
1 Applied sealant is too stiff at low
temperature
Use the type of sealant which is more
extendible at low temperature.
2 Poor cleaning the joint during
sealant installation
Improve the joint cleaning during
preparation
3 Sealing operation has done during
hot summer when the joint widths
are at their narrowest gaps
Avoid executing the sealing operation
during the extremely hot temperatures
4 Joint width is too narrow for the
movement experienced in concrete
pavement
Provide wider joints width
5 Joints spacing are too long Provide the closer joint spacing
6 Incorrect joint configuration.
Sealant installed too thick or too
thin in a joint
Apply the correct depth to width ratio as
specified






20
Case V Voids or bubbles formed in cured sealant

Sl. No. Causes of Problems Solutions
1 Due to high temperature and
moisture in the pavement when
sealing operation has done
Sealing work should be done in cooler
periods and allow the concrete pavement
sufficient time to dry or cure before the
sealing operation
2 Damaging of backer material It may be melting with the hot applied
sealants. Use the heat resistant backer
material and check for proper sealant
temperature during the sealing operation
3 Backer rod punctured and
damaged during installation
Install the backer rod cautiously without
damaging
4 Due to top to down sealing
sequence which can trap air at the
bottom
Apply the sealant from bottom to up
sequence which will avoid from trapping
air at the bottom
5 Air entering the sealant pumping
pipe lines
Tighten all the connections at the pipe
lines or bleed off the entrapped air
6 Moisture content high on backer
material due to early installation
before the sealing work can starts
Replace the high moisture backup
material with a new dry one
7 Sealant applied on the primer
surface which was not properly
cured
Allow the primed surface fully cured
before the sealing application

Case VI Sink holes in sealants

Sl. No. Causes of Problems Solutions
1 Sealant material flowing through
the gaps formed in backer material
Use the larger backer material, reapply
the sealant at the top surface to correct
the level or use the non-sag type sealant
2 Backer material fixed in the joint
is melting when pouring the hot-
applied sealants
Use the heat-resistant type backer
material

Case VII Cold-applied sealants not setting up

Sl. No. Causes of Problems Solutions
1 Sealant material shelf life is
expired
Use the fresh manufactured date sealant
material
2 Incorrect proportion mixing of two
component sealants
Correct the proportion of mixing the two
component sealants and the mixing
system. Refer to the sealant
manufacturers written instructions

21
The different types of deficiencies which occur in the concrete pavement joint sealants
are shown in Fig. 4.






4a) Bond Breakage due to
inadequate quantity of
sealant
4b) Faulty sealing
procedure has resulted in
air bobble embedded in the
sealant
4c) Without a debonding
strip the lower fiber has
started to crack
4d) Harder variety of
sealant has cracked in
cold season





4e) Sealant filled upto brim
is bulging out during
expansion of slabs
4f) Overfilled sealant has
caused bumpy joint
4g) Improper placement
of debonding tape has
resulted in leakage of
sealant inside the groove
4h) Embedded stone is
causing spalling of
concrete


5. CONCLUSIONS

The life and durability of concrete pavement depends upon the life and durability
of joints. The failure of concrete pavement starts mainly from the failure of joints.
Therefore design construction and proper sealing of joints for water and debris
impermeability as well as to allow for the designed contraction and expansion is of vital
importance. Since design of joints is more or less standardized, the correct supervision
during construction and sealing of joints is very important. This is more so as a variety of
sealant materials with varied properties are now available in the market. The correct
selection and proper application of sealant material holds key to the life of concrete
pavement. This also reduces the joint maintenance cost which forms a good component
of the overall maintenance cost of concrete pavement. This technical paper includes all
the stages which should be done properly as per the design criteria, joint construction
method and the correct sealing procedure as per the manufacturers manual. Proper
curing and setting time of the sealing material should be counted as the important role for
the good sealing job.

22

REFERENCES

1. IRC:15-2002, Standard Specifications and Code Practice for Construction of
Concrete Roads, Indian Roads Congress, New Delhi.
2. Handbook on Cement Concrete Roads, Cement Manufacturers Association, New
Delhi.
3. Flaherty, C. AO.,Rigid Pavements Design and Construction.
4. Joint Sealing Portland Cement Concrete Pavements, U.S. Department of
Transportation, Washington DC, USA.
5. Suggested Sealant Specification Guide (ROADS), Thiokol Chemicals Limited,
Conventry, England.
6. Technical Advisory on Concrete Pavement Joints, U. S. Department of
Transportation Federal Highway Administration, 1990.
7. Design & Construction of Concrete Pavements, NITHE, New Delhi.
8. IRC:58-2002, Guidelines for the Design of Plain Jointed Rigid Pavements for
Highways, Indian Roads Congress, New Delhi.
9. Concrete Pavement Design, Construction and Performance, Norbert Delatte, Taylor
& Francis, London.