Texas Workshops Highlight High Performance Concrete Paving Software
More than 300 representatives from State and local highway agencies,
contractors, and consulting engineering firms in Texas were introduced
to the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) HIPERPAV (HIgh
PERformance PAVing) software at workshops held this past summer in Dallas,
Houston, and San Antonio. Sponsored by the Texas Department of Transportation
(TxDOT) and The Cement and Concrete Promotion Council of Texas (CCPC),
the workshops looked at “What’s Hot in Concrete Paving?”
Topics included maturity, quality control, and hot weather paving, as
well as the introduction to HIPERPAV. The workshops also featured discussion
sessions designed to foster conversations among attendees with extensive
experience with concrete paving and those new to the technology.
“The workshop program was developed because of a need to discuss
hot weather concrete operations and pavement construction management
with TxDOT districts and personnel that are getting more involved in
concrete paving,” said Robert Lopez, head of CCPC. “The
demand has been so great that two workshops were required in Dallas
and two in San Antonio to accommodate the high level of interest.”
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| The workshop introduced the HIPERPAV software. |
An additional workshop is scheduled for October 30 in San Antonio.
Other areas of the State that have requested workshops include Austin,
south Texas, and west Texas.
HIPERPAV is a Windows-based software program that provides guidance
on the design and construction of concrete pavements and helps users
anticipate and prevent pavement performance problems. The software was
developed by The Transtec Group, Inc., under an FHWA contract. The program
evaluates the potential for uncontrolled cracking in new full-depth
jointed concrete pavements. This evaluation considers the impact that
specific construction procedures, mix and pavement designs, and environmental
factors might have over the initial period after the pavement is placed.
HIPERPAV has four input screens where a user enters information on
a project’s construction, environmental, mix, and general design
parameters. The program then analyzes the input values using a series
of predictions that estimate the amount of stress and strength that
will develop in the concrete during the early phase of construction.
If the analysis determines that the pavement will be prone to uncontrolled
cracking, the user can modify one or more of the job variables and rerun
the program until an acceptable combination of factors is reached. Ultimately,
HIPERPAV can help highway agencies optimize their pavement designs,
improve pavement performance, and cut costs.
A new version of the program, HIPERPAV II, is currently being tested.
HIPERPAV II builds on the original’s capabilities by also predicting
the cracking behavior of continuously reinforced concrete pavements
during the early-age period after pavement placement. This analysis
includes the width and spacing of cracks. The new version also provides
some information on how the pavement is expected to behave over time,
based on the conditions present during construction. In addition, the
software will provide capabilities to optimize concrete mix designs
to meet specific performance criteria and to predict the early-age behavior
of dowel bars in rigid pavements. HIPERPAV II is expected to be ready
for release in the spring of 2004.
For more information on the Texas workshops, contact Dan Rozycki at
Transtec, 512-451-6233 (email: dan@thetranstecgroup.com).
To learn more about HIPERPAV or to obtain a copy of the software, contact
Fred Faridazar at FHWA, 202-493-3076 (email: fred.faridazar@fhwa.dot.gov).
Information is also available online at www.hiperpav.com
or http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/pavement/pccp/hipemain.cfm.
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Articles in this issue:
Project Pegasus: TxDOT Accelerates the Reconstruction of Dallas Interstate
Texas Workshops Highlight High Performance Concrete Paving Software
Awards Honor the Best and Brightest in Highway Quality
FHWA Bridge Management Information Lab: Making the Most of the Nation's Bridge Data
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