Development of temperature differential maps for rigid pavements in tropical climates for quick estimation of thermal stresses

Abstract

ABSTRACT Accurate estimation of the thermal stresses in rigid pavements is essential for the assessment of its service life. Thermal stress (an outcome of temperature differential) within the slab is significantly dependent on local weather conditions. This article presents a methodology for prediction of temperature profiles in rigid pavement. In this work, partial differential equations governing heat transfer through concrete pavement are numerically solved. The boundary conditions of the heat transfer model were formulated based on the real-time weather data. The temperature profiles predicted by solving the model were used to calculate the temperature difference between the top and bottom of the rigid pavement slab. The proposed methodology was implemented using 30 years of gridded weather data for whole of India. From the predicted temperature profiles, the annual M P T D and M N T D of the pavement slab were calculated. The mean values for each grid point observed over 30 years were used to develop temperature differential maps. The predicted values of maximum positive and negative temperature differentials had significantly higher values compared to the current codal recommendations of India. Developed maps can be used for estimating the design temperature differentials in places having similar climatic conditions presented in this study. Abbreviations: DLC: dry lean concrete; GSB: granular subbase; IRC: Indian Road Congress; MMMT: mean monthly maximum temperature; MMRH: mean monthly relative humidity; MTD: maximum temperature differential; MPTD: maximum positive temperature differential; MNTD: maximum negative temperature differential; PDE: partial differential equation; PQC: pavement quality concrete; SG: subgrade; TD: temperature differential