Title:
Concrete Q & A: Expansion Joints in Exterior Pavements?
Author(s):
Publication:
Concrete International
Volume:
28
Issue:
1
Appears on pages(s):
107-08
Keywords:
DOI:
Date:
1/1/2006
Abstract:
I’m an architect in an area where the average high temperature in July is 85 °F (29 °C), and the average low temperature in January is 20 °F (–7 °C). When specifying concrete slabs for driveways, parking lots, sidewalks, and other exterior pavements, I require the contractor to install expansion joints at a maximum spacing of 30 ft (9 m) with stainless steel pins used to transfer load across the joint. An engineer recently told me that, according to the American Concrete Institute, no expansion joints are needed in any flatwork exterior concrete pavements. Is this true and, if so, what is the rationale for it?