STUDENT SPOTLIGHT: Each month, or every other month, a student will provide a 1-page illustrated abstract of the research they are currently conducting. This is a wonderful opportunity for the student, for our International Society for Concrete Pavements (ISCP) Members, and for the transferring and sharing technology/research through our concrete paving industry.
The ISCP “STUDENT RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT” for January 2026 is Ghazal Gholami Hossein Abadi, a PhD student in Materials Science, Engineering, and Commercialization (MSEC) at Texas State University (San Marcos, USA), working under the supervision of Dr. Carlos Moro Martinez and Dr. Anthony Torres.
BIO:
Ghazal Gholami Hossein Abadi is a civil engineer from Iran whose work focuses on concrete materials, testing, and durability. She completed her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering in Tehran, graduating near the top of her class. Her academic training was originally in structural engineering, where her master’s research, supported by the Tehran Urban Research and Planning Center, examined the seismic behavior of steel frames. That work gave her a strong engineering foundation, but her professional path has since shifted fully toward cement-based materials and performance-based concrete systems. She is currently a PhD student in Materials Science, Engineering, and Commercialization at Texas State University, working under the supervision of Dr. Carlos Moro Martinez and Dr. Anthony Torres. Her doctoral research is part of the TxDOT Project and targets the early cracking and durability problems of concrete bridge deck overlays in Texas. Her research combines mix design, materials testing, and data-driven modeling to understand how curing temperature and binder chemistry control cracking, permeability, strength, characterization, and non-destructive test (NDT) methods. She has published peer-reviewed papers in Construction and Building Materials and Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers Structures and Buildings and regularly presents her work at different conferences. Before starting her PhD, she spent more than five years working as a structural engineer in Tehran, an experience that now keeps her materials research grounded in real construction practice. Her goal is to develop concrete overlays that crack less, last longer, and use fewer resources, helping transportation agencies build more durable and sustainable infrastructure.
TITLE: Improving the Sustainability of Performance-Based Concrete Overlay Mix Design Made with Rounded Aggregate
Ghazal’s research addresses one of the most critical challenges in concrete infrastructure: the premature failure of bridge deck overlays caused by early age cracking, moisture and chloride ingress, and subsequent reinforcement corrosion. This problem is particularly severe in states such as Texas, where large temperature fluctuations, heavy traffic loads, and aggressive environmental conditions significantly accelerate deterioration. Even when these overlays achieve adequate compressive strength, early cracking allows water and aggressive ions to penetrate the concrete, drastically reducing service life.
This research is based on the assumption that overlay concretes should not be designed solely using prescriptive specifications but rather based on their actual performance under realistic environmental and construction conditions. Accordingly, multiple performance-based overlay mix designs were developed using locally available materials, particularly rounded Texas aggregates, combined with modern cementitious systems including ordinary Portland cement, Portland limestone cement, and calcium sulfoaluminate cement. These systems were blended with supplementary materials such as fly ash, silica fume, latex, and polymers to improve workability, durability, and crack resistance. Aggregate gradation was optimized using the FHWA 0.45 power curve and the Tarantula method to minimize paste content, since cement paste is the primary driver of shrinkage and cracking. This approach enables the production of high-durability concretes with lower cement content, resulting in more sustainable and cost-effective mixtures. Figure 1 illustrates one of our project mini-decks, which was constructed to simulate a bridge deck. The selected best-performing mix design was applied to this mini-deck and exposed to outdoor conditions to represent real-world field performance.
Figure 1: Mini bridge deck
However, mixture design alone does not solve the problem. In practice, engineers must be able to evaluate overlay quality and performance in the field without damaging the structure. For this reason, a major component of this research focuses on non destructive testing methods. The results show that NDT responses are highly sensitive to curing temperature, because concrete specimens cured at 5, 20, and 45 °C develop fundamentally different microstructures and strength evolution patterns. This temperature dependency has largely been neglected in current practice.
To address this gap, specimens were cured at three different temperatures and tested at multiple ages. NDT results were then correlated with compressive strength from 1 to 90 days. The findings demonstrate that temperature has a major impact on the relationship between NDT measurements and true strength, particularly at early ages. Traditional linear models were unable to capture these complex relationships with sufficient accuracy. To overcome this limitation, artificial neural networks were employed to model the nonlinear interactions between temperature, NDT response, and strength development. Using Gaussian noise-based data augmentation significantly improved model stability and accuracy, achieving prediction accuracies above 95 percent.
The final phase of the study evaluates the sustainability of the developed mixtures using life cycle assessment LCA, focusing on environmental impact, material efficiency, and long-term durability. By integrating performance-based mix design with sustainable material selection and advanced testing and modeling methods, this research supports the development of cost-effective, resilient, and environmentally responsible concrete overlays tailored to the specific demands of Texas bridge infrastructure. Overall, by combining performance-based design, the use of sustainable rounded aggregates, temperature-sensitive non-destructive testing, and intelligent modeling, this research provides a new framework for concrete overlays with reduced cracking, enhanced durability, lower maintenance costs, and reduced environmental impact. This approach represents a meaningful step toward a more sustainable future for concrete and transportation infrastructure.
ISCP would like to feature a “STUDENT RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT” each month, or every other month. If you would like to nominate a student, or if you are a student and would like to nominate yourself or a colleague, please send ISCP an email to: newsletter@concretepavements.org