Test Methods and Specifications
Concrete Pavement Base
- Publication no: ATS-3530-25
- Published: 5 March 2025
- Edition: 1.0
- PDF (free) Download
Austroads Technical Specification ATS 3530 sets out the requirements for the supply of concrete and construction of the base (upper) layer of the following formats:
- plain concrete pavement (PCP);
- continuously reinforced concrete pavement (CRCP);
- jointed reinforced concrete pavement (JRCP); and
- steel fibre reinforced concrete pavement (SFCP).
The technical specification can also be downloaded as a Word document.
- 1. Scope
- 2. Referenced Documents
- 3. Definitions
- Abbreviations
- Symbols
- 4. Quality System Requirements
- 5. Materials
- Aggregates – General
- Combined Aggregates
- Fine Aggregate
- Coarse Aggregate
- Alkali-Aggregate Reactivity
- Cementitious Materials
- Admixtures
- Curing Compounds
- Joint Sealant
- Steel Reinforcement
- Water
- 6. Design
- General
- Survey at the Top of the Underlying Layer
- Survey Report Prior to Placing Base
- Thickness of Surface Debonding Treatment
- Redesign of Pavement Levels
- 7. Design of Concrete Mixes
- General
- Mix Particle Size Distribution
- Cementitious Content
- Strength
- Consistence
- Shrinkage
- Other Concrete Attributes
- 8. Nominated Concrete Mixes
- Submission of Nominated Mixes
- Details Required for Each Nominated Mix
- Variations to Authorised Nominated Mixes
- 9. Placing Steel Reinforcement
- General
- Chair Support
- Tiebars
- Dowels
- Testing General
- Protective Coatings
- Bending of Steel Reinforcement
- Welding
- Lapped Splices
- Mechanical Splices
- Storage
- 10. Production and Transport of Concrete
- General
- Production Mixes
- 7-Day Compressive Strength
- Frequency of Moulding of Flexural Test Specimens
- Flexural Strength Test Specimens
- Assessment of 28-day Flexural Strength
- Process Control Charts
- Mixing, Transport, Consistence and Air Content
- Mixing Time
- Mixer Uniformity Testing
- Admixture Addition
- Incorporation during initial batching
- Addition of admixtures to a mobile mixer after Completion of Batching
- Batch Delivery Docket
- Consistence (Slump)
- Minimum Frequency of Routine Testing - Tipper Delivery
- Minimum Frequency of Routine Testing - Mobile Mixer Delivery
- Retempering
- Forming Time
- Air Content of Concrete
- Transport of Mixes for Fixed-form Paving
- 11. Concreting Personnel
- General
- Paving Supervisor
- Paving Crew
- 12. Paving Concrete
- General
- Slipform (Mechanical) Paving
- Fixed-Form (Manual) Paving
- Placing and Paving Operations
- 13. Temperature
- Concrete Temperature
- Air Temperature
- 14. Prevention of Moisture Loss
- 15. Texturing of Surface
- General
- Hessian Drag and Brooming (Initial Texturing)
- Tining
- Texture Testing
- Sawcut Grooves
- 16. Curing
- General
- Materials and Equipment
- Application Rate
- Curing of Other Structural Concrete
- 17. Protection of Work
- Temperature
- Rain
- Anchor Slabs
- Trafficking of Base
- 18. Concrete Paving Trials
- General
- Acceptance of Trial Section
- 19. Joints and Edges
- General
- Joint Cleaning and Sealants
- Transverse Construction Joints
- Transverse Contraction Joints
- Isolation and Expansion Joints
- Longitudinal Joints
- Mismatched Joints and Re-entrant Angles
- Outer Edges
- 20. Kerb And Channel
- 21. Special Slabs
- Odd-shaped and Mismatched Slabs
- Anchor Slabs
- 22. Slab Anchors
- Slab Anchors
- 23. Traffic Islands and Medians
- 24. Conformity – Concrete Cracking
- 25. Conformity – Concrete Compaction
- Sub-Lot Delineation
- Conformity for Compaction – Fixed-form Paving
- Conformity for Compaction – Slipform Paving
- Moulding and Testing of Cylinders
- Core Specimens
- Frequency and Location of Coring for Compaction
- Locations of Coring for Compaction
- Repair of Core Holes
- Core Testing for Unit Mass
- Within-core Variability
- 26. Conformity – Concrete Compressive Strength
- Cylinder Strength Testing
- Core Strength Testing
- Assessment of Compressive Strength – Test Cylinders
- Assessment of Compressive Strength – Cores
- Correction Factors for Age and Shape
- 27. Conformity – Geometry and Thickness
- Alignment Tolerances
- Level Survey
- Thickness Assessment
- Conformity for Thickness
- 28. Conformity – Surface Profile
- Transverse Profile
- Longitudinal Profile
- 29. Conformity - Ride Quality
- Testing
- Incentives/Deduction for Pavement Roughness
- 30. Removal and Replacement of Concrete Base
- General
- Jointed Base
- Continuously Reinforced Concrete Pavement (CRCP)
- 31. Rectification of Finished Surface and Ride Quality
- 32. Steel Fibre Reinforced Concrete
- General
- Steel Fibres
- Fibre Dose Rate
- Steel Fibre Reinforced Concrete
- Consistence
- Shrinkage
- Air Content
- Batching, Mixing and Transport
- Nominated Concrete Mixes
- Texturing
- Conformity for Flexural Strength
- Conformity for Thickness
- Conformity for Compaction
- Representative Beam Unit Mass
- 33. Testing Procedures
- Mixer Uniformity
- Unit Mass of Cylinders and Cores
- Annexure A: Summary of Hold Points, Witness Points and Records
- Annexure B: Mixer Uniformity Testing
- B1 Mixer Uniformity Testing - General
- B2 Uniformity Testing of Continuous Mixers
- B3 Uniformity Testing of Central Batch Mixers
- B4 Uniformity Testing of Mobile Batch Mixers
- B5 Compliance for Uniformity
- Annexure C: Minimum Frequency of Testing
- Amendment Record
Related publications
ATS-3520-25
ATS-3550-25
ATM-000-25
Latest Test Methods and Specifications News