PURPOSES : The purpose of this study was to improve the performance of concrete pavements by measuring the unit-water content with an Internet-of-Things (IoT)-based unit-water content measurement device at an increased precision compared with that of existing measuring equipment. METHODS : We calculated the properties of concrete that varied according to variations in the unit-water content. To confirm the change in the performance of concrete pavements, we compared and analyzed the fatigue cracking rate and international roughness index of concrete pavements at the 20-year point of public use according to the changes in properties using the Korea Pavement Research Program(KPRP). RESULTS : We confirmed that IoT-based measurement equipment can improve the performance of pavements without changing their mixing designs or specifications. We confirmed that the performance of the concrete pavements changed significantly, even with unit-water content variations within the range of quality standards. According to IoT-based unit-water content management, we confirmed that the performance of the concrete pavement (fatigue cracking rate and international roughness index) improved without changing the mixing design. CONCLUSIONS : We confirmed that by using IoT-based unit-water content management, pavement performance can be improved. It is necessary to consider whether the application of this concept to other concrete property management items, such as the chloride content, is possible. Considering the changes in concrete properties according to the unit-water content based on laboratory tests and considerations of various load conditions will be necessary for future research.

PURPOSES : During the summer of 2018, a heat wave (temperatures > 33°C) lasted for more than 30 days, causing blow-ups at eight different locations in South Korea. The blow-up phenomenon occurred when the internal temperature of the concrete slab increased. Simultaneously, as the concrete slab expands excessively, the length of the end of the slab increases, thus resulting in a lateral compressive force; when the slab cannot withstand this force, it rises or breaks. Blow-up is caused by a variety of factors, including increased temperature and humidity, accumulation of incompressible substances inside discontinuous surfaces, alkali–silica reactions, and aging of the concrete pavement. Several researchers have presented models to forecast blow-ups, such as the A. D. Kerr and G. Yang models, which have been applied to explain the blow-up phenomenon. However, this model has some limitations. This paper discusses a method to overcome these limitations. METHODS : Buckling, the most important theory describing the blow-up phenomenon, was reviewed, and the buckling principle was confirmed. Subsequently, the input variables of the Kerr and Yang models and the mechanism for predicting the occurrence of blow-ups were identified. The PGBA program was used to confirm the lifetime of the expansion joint and the blow-up occurrence time based on the expansion joint spacing to review the limitations of the two studied models. RESULTS : The Kerr and Yang models did not consider variables such as the expansion joint spacing or length of the integrated adjacent slab. In other words, it is necessary to reconsider the appropriateness of blow-up time predictions in relation to changes in expansion joint spacing and slab length. The expansion joint lifetime and blow-up occurrence time were predicted using the PGBA program. It was confirmed that as the expansion joint spacing increases, the expansion joint lifetime decreases. However, the blow-up occurrence time was shown to be the same (equal to 59 years), which is a limitation of the Kerr and Yang models used in the PGBA program. This resulted in a limitation in which variables for the expansion joint spacing cannot be used. CONCLUSIONS : Through blow-up simulation experiments and actual field data, an appropriate slab length should be determined, and a blow-up model should be developed based on the slab length. If a blow-up prediction based on concrete slab length and a blow-up model based on are developed, the blow-up prevention technology will be applied to the appropriate blow-up time and location to avoid traffic accidents and reduce human and property damage.