RELATIVE EFFECTS OF STRUCTURAL VARIABLES ON THE PERFORMANCE OF CONTINUOUS PAVEMENTS

THIS PAPER DESCRIBES A SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS PERFORMED TO ESTABLISH THE RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF STRUCTURAL VARIABLES ON THE PERFORMANCE OF CONTINUOUSLY REINFORCED CONCRETE PAVEMENTS. THE EXPERIMENT DESIGN FOR THIS STUDY CONSISTED OF THREE BASIC VARIABLES: SLAB BENDING STIFFNESS, SUBGRADE MODULUS, AND CRACK SPACING. THE DISCRETE-ELEMENT METHOD OF SLAB ANALYSIS WAS THE MECHANISTIC TOOL APPLIED TO OBATIN SLAB RESPONSES, I.E., DEFLECTIONS, PRINCIPAL MOMENTS, AND STRESSES. FOR THE RANGE OF VARIABLES STUDIED, THE ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE SHOWED THAT THE MOST SIGNIFICANT VARIABLES, WHICH EXPLAINED ABOUT 90 PERCENT OF THE VARIATION IN DEFLECTION AND PRINCIPAL MOMENT (STRESS) RESPONSES, WERE SLAB BENDING STIFFNESS AND MODULUS OF SUBGRADE REACTION. ALTHOUGH THE FIRST VARIABLE MADE A HIGHER CONTRIBUTION TO PRINCIPAL MOMENTS THAN TO DEFLECTIONS, SUBGRADE MODULUS HAD A CONTRASTING EFFECT. THE ORTHOGONAL POLYNOMIAL BREAKDOWN INDICATED THAT IN A LOGARITHMIC MODEL THE LINEAR EFFECT OF BOTH SUBGRADE MODULUS AND SLAB BENDING STIFFNESS IS HIGHLY SIGNIFICANT. FURTHERMORE, INTERACTIONS BETWEEN THESE TWO DESIGN VARIABLES DO OCCUR, INDICATING THAT VARIATIONS IN DEFLECTIONS AND PRINCIPAL MOMENTS ARE NOT DEFINED BY THE MAIN EFFECT OF DESIGN VARIABLES ALONE. THE COMPARISON BETWEEN SLAB RESPONSES FOR AN UNCRACKED SLAB AND A SLAB WITH 90 AND 100 PERCENT REDUCTION IN BENDING STIFFNESS AT CRACK LOCATIONS INDICATED THE IMPORTANCE OF CRACKS AND CRACK WIDTH ON THE BEHAVIOR OF CONTINUOUSLY REINFORCED CONCRETE PAVEMENTS. AS CRACKS WIDEN TO APPROACH THE HINGE CASE, SLAB DEFLECTIONS INCREASE SIGNIFICANTLY, BUT NO APPRECIABLE DROP IS EXPERIENCED IN THE PRINCIPAL MOMENTS. INDEED, CRACKS AS NARROW AS POSSIBLE ARE DESIRABLE FOR THE SUCCESSFUL PERFORMANCE OF CONTINUOUS PAVEMENTS.

• Record URL:
  • http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/hrr/1973/466/466-003.pdf
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/0309022509
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Publication of this paper sponsored by Committee on Rigid Pavement Design. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
• Authors:
  • Abou-Ayyash, Adnan
  • Hudson, W Ronald
• Conference:
  • 52nd Annual Meeting of the Highway Research Board
  • Location: Washington District of Columbia, United States
  • Date: 1973-1-22 to 1973-1-26
• Publication Date: 1973

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 38-54
• Monograph Title: Pavement systems analyses
• Serial:
  • Highway Research Record
  • Issue Number: 466
  • Publisher: Highway Research Board

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Analysis of variance; Bending moments; Coefficient of subgrade reaction; Continuously reinforced concrete pavements; Cracking; Deflection; Discrete element method; Discrete systems; Mathematical models; Pavement performance; Pavements; Slabs; Spacing; Structural analysis
• Old TRIS Terms: Pavement deflection
• Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Highways; Pavements;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00207622
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 0309022509
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: May 15 1974 12:00AM