Abstract
The cracks in concrete pavements are formed at early-age as consequence of internal stresses in the concrete. Therefore, the stress relaxation has an essential influence on the cracking process. To model this process allows to identify, for instance, the time for saw-cutting the joints or the cracks width that affects load transfer. Previously, the authors proposed a new equation of the relaxation factor, based on a theoretical and practical analysis of the transversal cracking in jointed plain concrete pavements. The objective of the present paper is to analyze the utility of this new equation of relaxation in the design and construction of jointed plain concrete pavements. For that, other cracking processes in plain concrete pavements (jointed and non-jointed) were modelled with the proposed equation. Wherever is possible the modelling results were compared with observations of the real behaviour of pavements. From the design point of view, with the modelling results of transverse crack width (>1.0 mm) is possible to considerate in the design, optimal slabs length with thinner cracks for better aggregate interlock. And for the longitudinal cracking in jointed plain concrete pavements, the modelling and the field observations, yield cracks width that provide load transfer (0.1 mm). From the construction point of view, the cracking process in non-jointed plain concrete pavements, shows is possible to construct pavements of 7 m width in one gang without cracks risk, and adjustments can be made to a better prediction of the time of occurrence of the 1st transverse cracks.
Highlights
As this paper deals with the challenging subject of the prediction of the cracking process in Jointed Plain Concrete Pavements (JPCPs), and because similar difficulties were found in relaxation tests at Delft University of Technology, in the present analysis a practical approach has been considered to the particular case of JPCPs
For the design-performance approach the useful outputs of the modelling at early-age are the ones to linking the effect of the concrete behaviour at that age with the performance of JPCPs
Taking into account the limit of 1.0 mm for the provision of load transfer by aggregate interlock and the order of magnitude of the cracks width of the 1st series of cracks, the modelling allows concluding that the cracks width will not be able to provide load transfer for a good performance of the JPCPs
Summary
The modelling of the cracking process is important to knowing fundamental variables of the design and construction of Jointed Plain Concrete Pavements (JPCPs), for instance the cracks width that affects load transfer in JPCPs and the time for saw-cutting the joints. Knowing one of the main results of the modelling since early-age, the crack width, is possible to control the variables involve in the process of cracking in order to obtaining narrower cracks width to a better structural and functional behaviour of the JPCPs. Crack control is often the governing design criterion for the choice of the amount of longitudinal reinforcement in continuously reinforced concrete pavements and prestressing of reinforced concrete bridges. In JPCPs crack control allows, for instance, to design the pavement with an optimal slab length or to define the minimum relative joints depth (ratio of saw-cut depth and concrete thickness)
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