PAVEMENT THICKNESS DESIGN FOR NO-FINES CONCRETE PARKING LOTS

No-fines concrete is made from a uniformly graded coarse aggregate and a cement-water paste. Because of its excellent drainage properties, n o-fines concrete is found to be beneficial in areas that receive frequ ent and sometimes excessive rainfall, This paper discusses thickness d esign of no-fines concrete parking lot pavements. Based on the enginee ring properties of the no-fines concrete mixtures developed in the lab oratory, and various traffic conditions and subgrade characteristics, the thickness requirement of no-fines concrete pavements was determine d. Two design procedures, American Association of State Highway and Tr ansportation Officials (AASHTO) and Portland Cement Association (PCA), were used for the thickness evaluation of no-fines concrete parking l ots. Test results obtained in the laboratory indicate that, with prope r proportioning and densification, no-fines concrete can be successful ly utilized as a surface paving material for the construction of parki ng-lot pavements. The thickness design tables indicate that PCA design procedure is more reasonable for thinner pavements, whereas AASHTO yi elds a more conservative outcome for thicker pavements. For intermedia te traffic categories, both design methods provided similar thickness results.