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Abstract
The influence of pavement temperature variations on field thermal-induced strains has not been well studied. Measuring the thermal- and load-induced strains in field conditions will assist in developing realistic pavement performance fatigue models. A field investigation programme was developed at the University of Waterloo to quantify thermal-induced strains in typical Eastern Canadian climate conditions. The main objective of this field study was to measure and compare the amplitude of load- and thermal-induced strains over a 1-year monitoring period. Results indicated that the average monthly thermal-induced strains were higher than the load-induced strains by a 49 kN wheel load moving at 25 km/h. Although the frequency of thermal-induced strains is lower than the traffic loads, damage from thermal-induced strains could be more than load-induced strains due to higher amplitudes.
Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge our private and public sector partners, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), Ontario Innovation Trust (OIT) and Ontario Research and Development Challenge Fund (ORDCF), along with the Centre for Pavement and Transportation Technologies (CPATT) for providing research funding. The authors also acknowledge the University of Waterloo technical staff, Ken Bowman, Terry Ridgway and Doug Hirst, for their guidance, help and assistance with the field instrumentation.