Journal of Transportation Research

Journal of Transportation Research

Plastic Shrinkage Cracking in Concrete Pavements: Assessing the Competing Roles of Viscosity Modifying Agent (VMA) and Micro Polypropylene Fibers

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Ehsan Sobhanifard 1
Hassan Ziari 2
1 Ph.D., Student, School of Civil Engineering, Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran, Iran.
2 Professor, School of Civil Engineering, Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran, Iran.
10.22034/tri.2025.510369.3324
Abstract
The incorporation of novel materials in the pavement construction is essential for mitigating the initiation and propagation of early-age distresses as well as optimizing the costs of users. Plastic shrinkage cracking is a prevalent form of early damage in concrete pavements, significantly affecting durability. Present study investigates the changes in the severity of plastic shrinkage cracking distress in concrete pavements influenced by the addition of concrete viscosity modifier agent (VMA) and micro synthetic polypropylene fibers using microscopic image analysis. In this regard the average width, length, and area of plastic shrinkage cracking were evaluated according to the ASTM C1579 standard method. The results showed that the fibers and VMA material have a significant effect on cracking behavior. The fibers led to a decrease in the average width, length, and area of cracks by a maximum of 50%, 37%, and 6%, respectively. However, the VMA material increased the average width, length, and area of cracks by a maximum of 11%, 11%, and 17%, respectively. The greatest reduction in the average width, length and area of cracks occurred in the concrete mixture containing both materials, by 47%, 33% and 60%, respectively. The fibers caused more transverse changes, but the VMA material caused similar transverse and longitudinal changes. In the concrete mixture with lower fiber amounts (455 g/m3) and different VMA materials, the transverse and longitudinal changes were similar, but in higher fiber amounts (910 g/m3) and different VMA materials, the effect of fibers dominated the transverse and longitudinal changes of cracking, and transverse changes occurred more than longitudinal changes. These findings contribute to a more optimized design of concrete mixtures for enhanced resistance to early-age cracking in pavement applications.
Keywords
Concrete Pavement
Plastic Shrinkage Cracking
Micro Polypropylene Fibers
Concrete Viscosity Modifier Agent (VMA)
Cracking Severity
Subjects
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Journal of Transportation Research
Volume 23, Issue 3
Summer 2026
Pages 109-124