Environmental Effects on the Behavior of Jointed Plain Concrete Pavements

Abstract

A concrete slab was constructed at Texas A&M University to investigate environmental effects in terms of temperature and moisture effects on the behavior of jointed plain concrete pavements. The slab behavior was delineated relative to equivalent linear temperature and humidity differences as a function of time. As expected, the trends of these differences were found to relate with the trends of ambient temperature and relative humidity. The slab had daily periods of tensile and compressive strain corresponding to the daily changes in the ambient temperature and relative humidity. Furthermore, the trends in the slab displacements were clearly dependent upon the changes in ambient temperature and slab temperature gradients. Drying shrinkage and creep strains primarily in the vicinity of the top surface appeared to cause an overall shift in the slab movements. This shift manifest in both the strain and vertical displacement of the slab was determined from data collected up to 2years after placement of the concrete.