Field experiments and numerical analysis of curling behavior of cast-in-situ short paneled concrete pavement on lean concrete base

ABSTRACT

Studies to understand the behaviour and structural integrity of square-shaped short slabs have gained enormous interest in the highway pavement community. Unfortunately, the quantification of curling deformations and subsequent performance studies are very limited. This study examines the curling behaviour of cast-in-situ short paneled concrete pavements (CiSPCP) on a lean concrete base (LCB) of NH-18 (old NH-33) test sections. The test site includes CiSPCP of three different slab sizes, thicknesses, and slab – LCB interface conditions. The curling displacements at the centre and edge of the slabs are measured using a simple experimental setup. The slab length is found to have more influence on curling as compared to the thickness and interface condition. Interestingly, the occurrence of slab response is not expeditious with the maximum temperature gradient (TG). The time lag for the response is around two to four and a half hours of the occurrence of a maximum TG. A multi-slab, finite element (FE) four-layer pavement model is developed to represent the CiSPCP test sections and also to reproduce the evolution of the curling response fairly. Field measured and FE computed displacements are compared and conclusions are drawn.

KEYWORDS:

• Curling behaviour
• Short slabs
• Slab curvature
• Surface profile
• Thermal curling
• Thinner slabs

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to express sincere thanks to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), New Delhi for sponsoring the test sections of Cast-in-situ Short Paneled Concrete Pavements (CiSPCP).

Data availability statement

Some or all data, models, or codes that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request, including code used to run the FE model.

Disclosure statement

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