1. Road pavements

We distinguish between :

• concrete pavements where the stiffness and movement of the concrete must be compensated for by the presence of joints ;

• asphalt mixes based on hydrocarbon binders (bitumen, asphalt) for flexible, seamless pavements.

In the first case, the appearance and evolution of cracks must be foreseen right from the design stage.

In the second case, the joints are either construction joints or cracks if the sub-base layer moves too much for the hydrocarbon binder to tolerate.