PURPOSES : In many European countries, the fine-size exposed aggregate concrete pavement (EACP) technique has been adopted for a quiet pavement. However, different noise reduction levels were reported based on the mixture design and texture conditions. This study aims to suggest a quality control condition for achieving low-noise texture and a mixture design procedure for exposed aggregate concrete overlay (EACO), which will provide the optimum mixture of the surface texture that can reduce the tire-pavement noise.
METHODS : The tire-pavement noise is highly influenced by the pavement surface texture. The surface texture of the EACP can be quantified by the mean texture depth (MTD) and the exposed aggregate number (EAN). The optimum condition for the low-noise texture of the EACP was investigated herein based on the analysis of the review of the texture conditions and noise measurement in many EACP sites.
RESULTS : The MTD and EAN criteria can be derived according to the investigated relationship between noise and texture condition. The optimum mixture design to satisfy these criteria can be achieved by controlling the maximum size of the coarse aggregate and the S/a.
CONCLUSIONS: This study aimed to suggest a quality control condition for achieving low-noise texture and an optimum mixture design for EACO. As a result, we found that the early traffic opening of EACO can be achieved by using high early-strength cement.