There are several shortcomings of using granular sub-base in concrete carriageway:
(i) Since sub-base is permeable, water can seep through sub-base and soil particles will be pumped out through contraction/expansion joints when subject to traffic load. Consequently, voids are formed underneath the pavement structure and the concrete pavement may crack under severe traffic loading.
(ii) Lean concrete increases the strength and renders the roads capable of carrying heavy traffic loads (David Croney and Paul Croney (1992)).
Advertisements
(iii) Due to workmanship problem, it may have uneven distribution of sub-base and this results in cracking of concrete carriageway when subject to severe traffic loading.
This question is taken from book named – A Self Learning Manual – Mastering Different Fields of Civil Engineering Works (VC-Q-A-Method) by Vincent T. H. CHU.
If you have a query, you can ask a question here.