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
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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Technical Info
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
Minnesota State Aid Concrete Pavement Rehabilitation Best Practices Manual
This manual has been developed, with permission, from information published by the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) and the American Concrete Pavement Association’s Concrete Pavement Repair Manual, which was printed in May 2003. It includes joint repair, partial-depth repair (PDR), full-depth repair (FDR) and dowel bar retrofit (DBR).
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Bridge, City/Municipal, Highway
Concrete Pavement Preservation and Restoration
Structural/Material Issues
Joint Slap Evaluation and Prevention
Seal/No Seal (SNS) Tech Brief: Joint Slap Evaluation and Prevention. An often overlooked aspect of quiet pavement design is the impact of transverse joints on the overall tire-pavement noise level. This aspect is important both for the design of new pavements and the rehabilitation of existing pavements.
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Highway
Joint and Crack Resealing
Structural/Material Issues, Tire/Pavement Noise
Concrete Pavement Joint Sealing/Filling
Joint filling, joint sealing and leaving pavement joints open (unsealed) are the three main approaches to joint sealant. This bulletin discusses the proper consideration of joint sealants and fillers, and provides details on proper installation. Joint resealing is necessary during concrete pavement preservation activities.
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Technical Info
Airport/Airfield, Bridge, City/Municipal, Highway, Industrial, Race Track
Concrete Pavement Preservation and Restoration, Joint and Crack Resealing