TKUPAV: Stress Analysis and Thickness Design Program for Rigid Pavements

Abstract

An alternative procedure for the determination of critical stresses and the thickness design of rigid pavements is presented. The effects of a finite slab size, different gear configurations, widened outer lane, tied concrete shoulder, second layer, and thermal curling are investigated. The well-known ILLI-SLAB finite-element program was used for the analysis. The program’s applicability for stress estimation is further validated by reproducing very favorable results to the test sections of Taiwan’s second northern highway, the AASHO road test, and the Arlington road test. Prediction models for stress adjustments are developed using a projection pursuit regression technique. A simplified stress analysis procedure is proposed and implemented in a user-friendly program (TKUPAV) to facilitate instant stress estimations at three critical locations of the slab; namely, the edge, corner, and interior. A modified Portland Cement Association stress analysis and thickness design procedure is also proposed and incorporated into the TKUPAV program. This program may be utilized for various structural analyses and designs of jointed concrete pavements in both the metric system and the U.S. customary system.