Abstract
This study investigates the effectiveness of full-depth Portland Cement Concrete (PCC) patches for rehabilitating jointed concrete pavements, focusing on load transfer efficiency, stress distribution, and deflection characteristics under heavy axle loads. The deterioration of jointed PCC pavements, primarily at transverse contraction joints due to heavy traffic and environmental conditions, necessitates maintenance strategies like Concrete Pavement Restoration (CPR) which includes full-depth patching among other techniques. The research emphasizes the importance of dowel bar size, spacing, and concrete thickness in the design of full-depth patches to ensure effective load transfer and minimize pavement deflections and stresses. Key findings reveal that deflections along transverse joints increase with fewer dowel bars, while joint efficiency improves with thicker slabs and more dowel bars. Tensile stresses were found to be less influenced by the number and size of dowel bars, not exceeding rupture limits, indicating stresses alone are insufficient for patch design. The study highlighted that bearing stresses are critical, with six and seven dowel bars configurations exceeding allowable stresses, suggesting that a minimum of eight dowel bars of at least 1 1/4-inch diameter is necessary for effective design. The optimum design proposed involves a 10-inch thick patch with eight dowel bars positioned strategically across the transverse joint for improved load transfer and reduced bearing stress, thus enhancing pavement longevity and performance. (Abstract generated by AI tool ChatGPT 4)
Published Version
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