United States Department of Transportation
i
Determining Optimum Thickness for Long-Life Concrete Pavement in Ohio
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2018-08-01
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[PDF-13.73 MB]
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Edition:Final Report August 2015 – December 2017
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Abstract:The AASHTO 1993 design equation for rigid pavements implies an increasing thickness of concrete will be needed as traffic increases. However, fatigue testing of concrete beams has shown concrete can endure an unlimited number of loads if the stress ratio (SR) is less than a critical value. Any greater thickness results in an overdesigned slab and is not cost effective. Field and experimental data from Ohio concrete pavements were used to validate a 3D finite element (FE) model with which critical slab stresses were calculated for several slab geometries. Long term pavement performance analysis conducted with AASHTOWare Pavement ME Design software showed the 12 in (305 mm) thick by 13.5 ft (4.1 m) long slab exhibited superior performance in terms of IRI, faulting, cracking, and cost over a 50-year design life. A fatigue analysis using the PCA and zero maintenance models, verified this conclusion. Small variabilities were noticed in the AASHTOWare Pavement ME Design software predicted percent cracking that were caused by different freeze-thaw cycles recorded at different weather stations in Ohio. An increase in k-values was observed when stabilized subgrade was introduced to the pavement system. The AASHTO method of determining a composite k-value is still valid when using the modulus of stabilized subgrade.
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