Characteristics of Diamond Ground PCC Surfaces - NRRA PM Team

MnROAD | NRRA | Structure & Teams | Preventive Maintenance Team

Surface Characteristics of Diamond Ground PCC Surfaces

Project summary

Minnesota has been diamond grinding concrete pavements for many years. Although historically this has been conducted primarily on existing pavements as a preservation technique, with the introduction the Next Generation Concrete Surface, this has extended to new construction as well. The traditional use of diamond grinding as a preservation treatment has been for smoothness improvement and friction enhancement. In more recent times, diamond ground textures have been used for noise reduction on both new and existing pavements as well as bridge decks.

The MnROAD facility has conducted extensive testing of diamond ground surfaces at the MnROAD facility. They have collected extensive data including smoothness, friction, and noise. As such, it would be beneficial to identify changes in surface characteristics of these textures over time. Additionally a number of states that use diamond grinding as an integral part of their concrete paving program have conducted research that can add to the collective knowledge base of this process.

The objective of this project is to determine the change in surface characteristics of diamond ground textures for both new and existing pavements.

This project will explore the state of practice of diamond grinding PCC surfaces and the benefits. Some of the question that will be explored are listed below:

At what point is diamond grinding best applied or required
Is there a particular depth that is required to obtain a certain level of benefit
What kind of improvements in smoothness, noise and friction are being obtained
Does diamond grinding expose the aggregates to early polishing and environmental effects that accelerate materials related distresses (D-cracking and ASR)

Project tasks

Original Need Statement: Surface Characteristics of Diamond Ground PCC Surfaces (doc) - Draft August 5, 2016

Task 1: Identify textures for evaluation:

Identify test cells at MnROAD and test sections within the MnDOT PMS system that can be used as candidate sections for evaluation.

Task 2: Develop before and after texture performance curves

Where possible, develop the pre-treatment and post-treatment performance curves for smoothness, noise, and friction for each of the candidate projects. For projects where textures were installed on new construction, evaluate the initial test values as well as the change in characteristics over time. For candidates where the treatment was installed on existing pavements, identify the percent improvement at the time of construction and the change in characteristics over time.

Task 3: Investigate the use of grinding in other states

The use of grinding in other states (CA) will be investigated in search of research reports, data collection, etc. This information will be compared to that obtained from MNROAD sources and used in the development of a synthesis/white paper.

Task 4: Prepare a synthesis/white paper

Prepare a synthesis/white paper identifying the characteristic behavior of diamond ground textures over their service period.

Deliverable: Final Report

Project team

Project Technical Advisory Panel (TAP) – Email the TAP

Robert Green, Michigan DOT
Joe Korzilius, SRF
Renae Kuehl, SRF
Maria Masten, MnDOT
John Roberts, International Grooving and Grinding Association (IGGA)
Jim Wilde, MSU
Zhanping You, MTU
Matt Zeller, CPAM

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