Abstract
As large parts of the Netherlands are situated on a soft subsoil, a new thickness design method has been developed in which differential settlements can be taken into account in a quantitative sense. Supposing a sinusoidal settlement profile of the subgrade, the bending stresses in concrete slabs have been calculated. These proved to be dependent on the quotient of settlement amplitude and the square of the half wave-length as well as on the slab dimension, slab stiffness and the modulus of subgrade reaction. To determine the fatigue life these stresses have been combined with those of the traffic loading and those following from a thermal gradient. For a practical case of a highway pavement a nomograph has been derived, relating the thickness of the slabs to the settlement amplitude and the half wave-length, Also critical values for the settlement characteristics have been calculated in order to avoid that the slabs would loose contact with the subgrade. From the calculations it followed that for concrete pavements differential settlements with half wave-lengths which are sometimes the slab's length are acceptable. However, settlements which take place over small distances (about one time the slab's length) must be avoided for they could lead very soon to premature cracking.
Published Version
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