An experimental and numerical investigation on the load transfer efficiency of a novel prefabricated cement concrete pavement

Abstract

Prefabricated cement concrete pavement (PCCP) is utilized more frequently in airport projects. Load transfer efficiency (LTE) is an essential mechanical index of PCCP. This study proposes a novel PCCP surrounded by tongue and groove joints. It uses both physical and numerical modeling to perform the investigation, and the mechanical responses and the LTE of the novel PCCP are presented in the experiments. The experimental results showed that the presence of tenon and mortise causes a difference in the stresses of two longitudinal and two transverse joints. Subsequently, a finite element model is developed to simulate the PCCP with and without transverse tongue and groove joint. In addition, the influence of different slab thicknesses, joint rigidity, and base elastic modulus on LTE is also discussed. The findings demonstrated that the transverse joints change the pavement slab's stress state. The LTE of the slab without a transverse joint is slightly larger than that with a transverse joint, while the maximum horizontal tensile stress of the slab without a transverse joint is 395% higher than that with a transverse joint on average. It is also observed that increasing the joint rigidity improves the LTE, whereas increasing the slab thickness decreases the LTE, and increasing the base modulus has no discernible effect on the LTE. Comparing the experimental and numerical results reveals a good agreement.