Joint Sealant Failure
If you have joint sealant failure, you need to perform:
Joint/Crack Resealing
Uncontrolled water ingress, especially water from a pavement’s surface, contributes to multiple types of pavement distress. It can lead to spalling, base or subgrade softening, dowel bar corrosion, pavement joint blow-ups and/or materials-related distress.
For many concrete pavements, proactively sealing or filling transverse and longitudinal joints and cracks to reduce water penetration improves long-term pavement performance. In addition to limiting the entry of water, joint sealing can reduce the entry of incompressibles into the joint reservoir that exert pressure on the pavement. Performed alone, joint resealing
is a maintenance activity. However, it is also an important part of the concrete pavement preservation (CPP) toolbox.
There are two basic approaches to joint treatment (other than leaving the joint open): joint filling and joint sealing. Joint sealing involves a foam backer rod and more rigorous preparation of a sealant reservoir than filling, which often involves simply filling up a diamond saw cut joint with sealant material after minimal preparation. Joint filling may be appropriate when the reservoir is narrow and difficult to prepare, but full adhesion of the filler may be difficult to achieve, resulting in less protection from moisture penetration. In CPP projects where joints have previously been sealed, resealing them is important.
See also our industry partner website Seal/No Seal to learn more about the benefits of sealing joints.
Resources
Evaluation of Backer Rod Absorption
Seal/No Seal (SNS) Tech Brief: This study was conducted as a result of concerns that backer rod absorption may be a contributing factor in premature joint deterioration. To evaluate this, a limited survey of contractor practices was conducted to determine the types of backer rods in use. A limited backer rod absorption study was then conducted to determine if they absorbed and retained water.
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Airport/Airfield, City/Municipal, Highway, Industrial, Race Track
Joint and Crack Resealing
Structural/Material Issues
The Effect of Joints in Portland Cement Concrete Pavement
An experimental investigation was conducted by Purdue University to determine the effects of Portland cement concrete (PCC) pavement joint width, fill condition and faulting on tire-pavement noise generation. Tire pavement noise generation due to pavement joints was found to be a strong function of joint width suggesting that in order to decrease noise levels it is necessary to construct pavements with the narrowest joint width practical.
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City/Municipal, Highway
Joint and Crack Resealing
Tire/Pavement Noise
Research of Test Methods to Evaluate Joint Preparation for Sealing
Seal/No Seal (SNS) Report: Wiess, Janney, Elsner Associates, Inc. (WJE) has completed research to develop practical field tests procedures that can measure and indicate when a sawcut joint is clean and dry enough to accept sealant. The intent of this test program was to develop reliable and practical test methods for assessing the cleanliness and moisture conditions in sawcut concrete joints to determine their preparedness for accepting sealants.
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Airport/Airfield, City/Municipal, Highway, Industrial, Race Track
Joint and Crack Resealing
Structural/Material Issues
Construction of Long Life Sealant Performance
The longevity of any sealant installation is a function of the joint sealing design, the materials used, the workmanship of the installation, and the prevailing environmental and traffic conditions. One experiment included joint resealing. Sealant performance can be significantly improved through proper joint preparation for very little cost.
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Airport/Airfield, City/Municipal, Highway, Industrial
Joint and Crack Resealing
Structural/Material Issues
SR59 SB Roadway Joint Sealant Experiment
This preliminary report, prepared by the Seal No Seal Committee (SNS), outlines an approach to study transverse joint sealant effectiveness on SR59 near Joliet, Illinois. The experiment consists of constructing 8 sealed sections and two unsealed sections.
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Highway
Joint and Crack Resealing
Structural/Material Issues
Minimize Wheel Slap: Keep Your Joints Narrow
Wheel-slap is not as critical an issue today in some states as it was five years ago, because many agencies have changed their details for joint sealing to use a narrow 1/8-inch wide reservoir (i.e. single sawcut), filled with sealant. The agencies taking this approach are getting all of the associated benefits from their decision, including the opportunity for multiple resealing projects before joint reservoirs become wide enough to start causing wheel slap.
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City/Municipal, Highway
Joint and Crack Resealing
Structural/Material Issues