ABSTRACT
Surface slab systems, otherwise known as ‘rigid’ pavements, are the most easily recognised form of cement bound pavement construction. Three alternative and interchangeable forms are commonly found in civil engineering projects:
• mass concrete slabs or unreinforced concrete (URC); • jointed reinforced concrete (JRC); • continuously reinforced concrete (CRC). Concrete surface slab systems have specific advantages when compared
with bituminous pavements; a concrete pavement consists of a system of stiff plates connected together to form a continuous, hinged slab system. The specific advantage of a concrete pavement is that the relatively rigid plates apply load over a wide area. Concrete surface slab systems are useful when:
• low subgrade strengths are anticipated; • exceptional heavy point loads will be encountered; • low flashpoint petrochemical spillage may be expected. The essential features of a concrete slab system are:
• The pavement will include a system of joints which may be natural cracks, as in CRC, or formed joints as in URC or JRC.
