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Concrete is an exceptionally durable material, and is therefore highly suitable in particular for arterial roads that need to withstand extremely high loads caused by heavy traffic. What is the sequence of operations when paving concrete slabs? What machines are used for concrete paving?
The standard method of slipform paving is used mostly for large-scale paving applications. Roads, airport runways, and other large traffic surfaces exposed to exceptionally high loads are usually built with the inset paving method. The following sequence of operations is typical of inset paving: Trucks dump the concrete in front of the machine. The slipform paver then performs the following work steps: It distributes the concrete material across the full paving width by means of a spreading auger or spreading plough, and shapes the concrete slab by means of the paving mould. Concrete vibrators inside the mould vibrate at high frequencies, consolidating the concrete by expelling the air entrapped in the material.
The slipform paver keeps moving all the time during the paving operation, its working speed ranging from 1 to 2 m per minute. The machine is capable of inserting dowel bars or tie bars into the freshly paved concrete in the same operation, their purpose being to reinforce the new pavement. Joints will be cut into the concrete above these equally spaced reinforcing elements later to ensure that cracks, which are inevitably caused by loads and temperature fluctuations, are transmitted into the concrete pavement in a controlled manner.
A finishing beam and super smoother mounted at the rear of the slipform paver remove any irregularities in the new concrete pavement. A burlap drag finish is often applied to produce the required grip, resulting in a surface texture of precisely defined roughness. Uniform hardening is ensured by spraying a curing compound on the freshly paved concrete using a texture curing machine.
Concrete roads were first built in the 19th century. Today, the highly stable material is laid in an economically efficient and highly precise paving operation by giant “road building plant”, the so-called slipform pavers.
Reinforcing steel mats are laid on the base layer ahead of the concrete paver when paving concrete slabs that will be subject to extremely high loads. Concrete is then delivered from the side of the paver.
Dowel bars are inserted in an automated operation at precisely the specified position, in Applying a liquid curing compound prevents premature and uneven drying of the concrete pavement.the required depth, and at the specified intervals.
The super smoother carries out a combined longitudinal and lateral movement, which levels out all remaining irregularities in the concrete surface.
Applying a liquid curing compound prevents premature and uneven drying of the concrete pavement.
Related links
to the websites of Wirtgen, Vögele, Hamm, and Kleemann:
