Road Research

MnROAD | NRRA | Structure & Teams

Rigid Team

The rigid team is comprised of technical experts in the area of new and rehabilitation of concrete roadways. Activities include prioritization of short and long term research, development of long term research test sections at MnROAD and providing input for technology transfer team.

Meeting minutes

Rigid team meeting minutes are accessible on the Minnesota DOT online asset management platform eDOCs. Minutes from previous meetings back to 2016 are available upon request.

Rigid Team Research Efforts

Concrete Materials

• Effect of Low and Moderate Recycled Concrete Aggregate Replacement Levels on Concrete Properties (2020) - Complete
• Development of Concrete Mix Designs/Matrix of Materials, Performance Properties, and Construction Field Sampling and Testing Expectations During Construction (2022) - Complete
• Reducing Embodied Carbon with Mineral-Blended Polymeric Microspheres (2023)
• Use of Alternative Cementitious Materials in Concrete Pavements (2022)
• Use of Alternative Pozzolanic Materials Towards Reducing Cement Content in Concrete Pavements (2022)
• Use of Carbon Dioxide for Sustainable and Resilient Concrete Pavements (2022)
• Use of Innovative Sustainable and Durable Materials in Concrete Pavements (2024)
• Reduced Cementitious Material in Optimized Concrete Mixture (2017) - Complete

Concrete Overlays

• Evaluation of the Use of Early Loading to Increase Joint Deployment in COA (2023)
• Concrete Overlay Test Section Repairs Utilizing PEM and Diamond Grinding (2022)
• Incorporate Joint Faulting Model Into BCOA-ME (2019) - Complete
• Performance of Concrete Overlays over Full Depth Reclamation (FDR) (2020) - Complete
• Performance Benefits of Fiber-Reinforced Thin Concrete Pavement and Overlays (2017) - Complete
• Design and Performance of Concrete Unbonded Overlays (2017) - Complete

Concrete Pavement Evaluations

• Automated 3DGPR Analysis for Concrete Pavements (2023) (co-sponsored with ICT Team)

Concrete Pavement Joints

• Incorporate Joint Faulting Model Into BCOA-ME (2019) - Complete

Concrete Pavement Rehabilitation

• Continued Monitoring of Original I-94 Westbound Asphalt Overlay Sections and Use of Cracking and Performance Data MRCC Project (2023) (co-sponsored with Flexible Team)
• Repair of Joint Associated Distress in Concrete Pavements (2017) - Complete

Concrete Testing

• Enhanced Entrained Air Void System Characterization for Durable Highway Concrete (2021) - Complete

Construction

• Evaluation of Long-term Impacts of Early Opening of Concrete Pavements (2017) - Complete

Distress in Concrete Pavement

• Solutions to Mitigate Dowel/Tie-Bar Propagated Cracking – Phase 1 (2021) - Complete

Fiber-reinforced Concrete Pavement

• Construction & Performance Reports for Jointless FRC Roundabout in Minnesota (2019) - Complete
• Performance Benefits of Fiber-Reinforced Thin Concrete Pavement and Overlays (2017) - Complete
• Toward the Development of Pavement-specific Synthetic Fibers (2020)

Roller Compacted Concrete Pavement

• Compacted Concrete for Local Streets (2018) - Complete