Prestressed Precast Concrete Pavement (PPCP): A Comprehensive Review of Structural Behaviour, Sustainable Materials, Construction Practices, and Life-Cycle Performance
Main Article Content
Abstract
Prestressed Precast Concrete Pavement (PPCP) is a rigid pavement technology that combines precast concrete panels with prestressing to improve structural performance and facilitate accelerated construction. This paper presents a structured narrative review of research on PPCP, covering structural behaviour, prestressing systems, joint and load-transfer mechanisms, construction methodologies, sustainable concrete materials, and life-cycle assessment and cost analysis. The review examines the reported benefits and limitations of PPCP in comparison with conventional concrete pavement systems, while considering the influence of traffic loading, foundation support, construction quality, material properties, and environmental conditions on pavement performance.
The reviewed literature indicates that PPCP offers potential advantages in crack control, construction efficiency, durability, and reduced traffic disruption. However, the extent of these advantages depends on pavement configuration, design assumptions, field conditions, maintenance requirements, and the quality of the available evidence. Sustainable material options, including supplementary cementitious materials, geopolymer concrete, and high-performance concrete, present opportunities for further investigation, although their suitability and life-cycle benefits require application-specific validation. Evidence on long-term field performance and quantitative PPCP-specific life-cycle outcomes remains limited, restricting direct comparison across studies.
The review identifies priorities for future research, including long-term field validation, consistent performance-based design procedures, improved assessment of joint and fatigue behaviour, and stronger links between structural performance, service-life prediction, life-cycle environmental impacts, and cost. For Indian implementation, further work is needed on locally applicable design provisions, construction quality assurance, and pilot projects under representative traffic, climatic, and foundation conditions. The findings provide an evidence-based synthesis of current PPCP research and a set of research priorities to support its further evaluation and development.
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