Evaluation of performance and design of GFRP dowels in jointed plain concrete pavement – part 2: numerical simulation and design considerations

Abstract

The article presents a numerical investigation using three-dimensional finite element analysis (FEA) to compare the performance of glass fibre reinforced polymer (GFRP) and steel dowel bars as load transfer devices across the transverse joints of jointed plain concrete pavements (JPCP). The FEA model used concrete damaged plasticity formulation to characterise the concrete pavement; elastic, transversely isotropic material characteristics were assumed for the GFRP dowels and classical metal plasticity formulation was used for the steel dowels. The numerical results were validated with the experimental results, and a good agreement was achieved. The results showed less stress concentration in the concrete underneath the GFRP dowels (38 mm diameter) compared with the steel dowels (25 mm diameter) of similar flexural rigidity. Finally, on the basis of a detailed parametric study, design considerations for the GFRP dowels in JPCP are suggested.

Keywords::

• jointed plain concrete pavement
• GFRP
• dowel bars
• finite element
• concrete damaged plasticity
• dowel design considerations

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Prof. Max Porter of Iowa State University for letting us use the data presented in Figure 7.

Notes

^1. Email: [email protected]

Additional information

Funding

The first author acknowledges the financial support for his Ph.D. from the Ministry of Higher Education, Iraq.