Parametric study to investigate the deflection and stress behaviour of Interlocking Concrete Block Pavement

Abstract

Interlocking Concrete Block pavement (ICBP) is a prominent pavement type that is extensively used in low and high traffic areas. The objective of the present study is to analyse the influence of the block shape, block thickness and block laying pattern in the deflection behaviour of Interlocking Concrete Block Pavement (ICBP) using repetitive and nonrepetitive static plate load tests. Linear Variable Differential Transformer (LVDT) and pressure cells were utilised to study the deflection and vertical stress of the pavement section. Also, non-destructive portable devices, namely Light Weight Deflectometer (LWD) and geogauge were used to measure the deflection and modulus values of the prepared test sections. The optimisation of the most influential parameters was performed using design expert software. It was observed that the lowest deflection is experienced by the ICBP section of 120 mm block thickness, zigzag shape laid in herringbone laying pattern.

KEYWORDS:

• Plate load test
• deflection
• vertical stress
• optimisation
• LWD
• geogauge

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).