Modelling of creep effect on moisture warping and stress developments in concrete pavement slabs

Abstract

One of the major reasons for the fatigue failure in concrete pavements attributes to the curling and warping deformations and the traffic loads, while creep effect can reduce such deformation and consequently the stress generated in slabs. The literature on the influence of creep effect on slab warping and stress generation is found rare. In this study, a test set-up was designed to measure the flexural creep of concrete beams exposed to sealed and drying conditions. The measured creep properties were then incorporated in finite element analysis to model the creep effect on warping deformation and stress generated in slabs under the conditions of bounded and unbounded with base. It is found that creep effect is significant in slab bonded with base, it reduces warping deformation and stress by 36 and 45%, respectively. The total stress is reduced by 34%. Therefore, it is of importance to take into account creep effect when conducting deformation and stress analysis in concrete pavement slabs.

Keywords:

• Cement concrete pavement
• flexural creep
• moisture warping
• total stress
• bonded and unbonded pavement

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank National Natural Science Foundation of China under [grant number 51578316] for the supports.