Comparison of the polishing resistances of concrete pavement surface textures prepared with different technologies using the Aachen polishing machine

Abstract

Due to greater durability and lower maintenance costs, concrete pavements are more competitive than asphalt pavements in areas where rigid pavements are required. To ensure the surface skid resistance of concrete pavement for driving safety, appropriate textures must be created on the concrete pavement surface. Common surface texturing treatments in Germany include exposed aggregate, grinding and grooving, and sealing methods. To investigate the influence of different surface texturing methods on the wearing resistance of concrete pavement, concrete pavement samples with six different surface textures were manufactured in this study. The advanced Aachen Polishing Machine (APM) was used to simulate the different polishing states on the extracted samples with 0, 16, 33, 100, 200, and 300 min of real-tire polishing effect. After each polishing stage, a series of surface characteristic tests was conducted to evaluate the wearing characteristics of pavement samples. The test results showed that different surface textures have different long-term polishing resistances. Of the texturing methods investigated, the exposed aggregate and sealing treatments provide the best long-term polishing resistance for plastic and hardened concrete, respectively. This research provided a comprehensive evaluation of and significant guidance on the selection of surface treatment methods for new construction of cement pavement and surface maintenance of hardened concrete pavement.