Cement Concrete Road Advantage And Disadvantage Of Cement Concrete Road

 CEMENT CONCRETE ROADS

The road having their wearing surface consisting of cement slab (plain or reinforced) are called cement concrete roads or simply concrete roads.

These roads is fall under the category of rigid pavements. 

The following are the advantages of cement concrete road.

1. These road provide good riding surface under all weather condition.

2. These road have long life.

3. They  provided an impervious surface.

4. They do not developed corrugations. 

5. They are quite durable and are practically unaffected by weather agencies.

6. They are practically non-slippery.

7. Their tractive and rolling resistance is low.

8. They provided good night visibility to traffic.

9. Their maintenance cost is very low.

Cement  Concrete Road

DISADVANTAGES OF CEMENT CONCRETE ROADS

The following are the disadvantages of cement concrete road.

1. Their initial coat of construction is very high.

2. They require long time (upto 28 days) for their curing and thus they cannot be opened to traffic earlier.

3. They required skilled persons for construction.

4. They are liable to crack and warp due to temperature variations.

5. It is very difficult to locate and repair sewers and water lying under cement concrete pavements.

6. These road may causes glare due to reflected sunlight.

7. These roads becomes noisy under iron-tyred traffic.

MATERIAL REQUIRED FOR CEMENT CONCRETE ROAD SLAB

The following different materials are required for construction of a cement concrete road slab :

(1) Cement : Ordinary portland cement is mostly used for concrete road slab construction. Rapid hardening cement may also  be used in emergency when the construction is to be completed in short time. Nowadays portland blast furnace slag cement is more preferred than ordinary portland cement.

(2) Coarse aggregates : Crushed stone, gravel and other suitable stone is used as coarse aggregates for concrete road slab construction. The aggregates should be clean, hard, durable and free from harmful materials.

    The maximum size of course aggregates should not be more than 1/4th of the slab thickness.

(3) Fine aggregates : Natural sand is commonly used as fine aggregates. When natural sand is not available, crushed stone sand may be used.

(4) Water: Water is used for mixing and curing of concrete. It should be free from harmful substances.

(5) Reinforcement : It consist of mild steel bars or steel wire fabrics. It is to be provided when the sub-grade is of poor quality and the road is subjected to heavy traffic.