01476255

Component

Jointed concrete pavements continue to suffer from joint failure as the main distress and rehabilitation issue. The shear stress in the vicinity of dowel bars resulting from heavy traffic loads is the major factor that contributes to initiation of microcracks and joint faulting. A new load transfer assembly is introduced in this paper to be used in place of the conventional dowel bars. The introduced load transfer assembly was approved by the United States Patent Office as a new invention. The assembly comprises a spine and a plurality of dowel bars projecting from the spine where the spine comprises an elongated, freely rotating hinge. Finite element modeling was employed to evaluate the effect of using the new apparatus on the reduction of shear stress in concrete slabs. The finite element model was solved under various loading conditions and subgrade support. The obtained results showed that the suggested system reduces the shear stress level in the concrete by 15 to 20 percent. This amount of reduction in the shear stress can significantly reduce the shear-induced cracking near the joint. Furthermore, using the new load assembly was shown to be more effective on shear stress level than stabilizing the subgrade. The new invention has the capability of addressing curling and warping induced stresses as well as horizontal movement due to contraction and expansion. Furthermore, the new system prevents the dowel bars misalignment during new construction, as well as expediting the process of retrofitting damaged joints.

This paper was sponsored by TRB committee AFD50 Rigid Pavement Design.

01470560

13-2638

English

15p

2013

Transportation Research Board 92nd Annual Meeting

Digital/other

Figures; References; Tables

Alignment; Concrete pavements; Dowels (Fasteners); Load transfer; Pavement joints; Shear stress

Highways; Pavements; I22: Design of Pavements, Railways and Guideways

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2013 Paper #13-2638

PRP, TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Feb 5 2013 12:33PM