Mechanism and modeling of transverse cracking development in continuously reinforced concrete pavement

Abstract

The relationship between the initiation and spacing of transverse cracking in continuously reinforced concrete pavement (CRCP) and transverse steel reinforcement has been investigated. Field evaluations of CRCP test sections included surface condition inspection using digital video, ground penetrating radar (GPR) survey to determine the relative location of transverse bars with respect to transverse cracks, falling weight deflectometer (FWD) testing to evaluate the crack load transfer efficiency (LTE), and ground-truth coring. Field-testing results suggested that the mean crack spacing was identical to the design spacing of transverse steel bars. A three-dimensional finite element (FE) model was then developed to evaluate the mechanisms that contribute to the initiation of transverse cracking in CRCP. Results of the FE model indicated that two controlling mechanisms may contribute to the initiation of transverse cracking in CRCP: build-up of uniform compressive longitudinal stress at the pavement surface and tensile stress concentration in the vicinity of the transverse steel bars. In general, a close correlation appears to exist between the spacing of transverse cracking and the design spacing of transverse steel bars.

Keywords:

• Continuously reinforced concrete pavement
• Finite element
• Transverse cracking
• Tensile stress

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the support of the National Center Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The assistance of S. Lahouar of Institut Supérieur des Sciences Appliquées et de Technologie de Sousse, E. de Leon of Virginia Tech, and K. Jiang and P-J. Yoo of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is greatly appreciated. The field testing was conducted at the Virginia Smart Road; FWD testing was performed by VDOT. The assistance provided by VDOT and VTRC personnel is appreciated.