Nonlinear strain distribution in a field-instrumented concrete pavement slab in response to environmental effects

Abstract

For curling and warping analysis of a concrete pavement slab, the strain along the slab depth is normally assumed to be distributed linearly, and a plane section is assumed to remain a plane after deformation. However, as concrete is a viscoelastic material, the strain distribution in a concrete slab might not be linear. This study measured the development of temperature and strain at different depths in a field-instrumented concrete pavement slab starting from 12 h after construction. The nonlinear distribution characteristics of temperature and strain along the slab depth were evaluated at the slab corner and centre. The measurements indicated that both the temperature and the strain were nonlinearly distributed along the slab depth. The nonlinear distribution, particularly that of the strain, was more severe at the slab corner than at the slab centre. A method is proposed herein for quantifying the magnitude of drying shrinkage due to external drying along the slab depth.

Keywords:

• instrumented concrete pavement slab
• nonlinear strain distribution
• nonlinear temperature distribution
• shrinkage
• strain measurement

Additional information

Funding

The authors wish to thank the supports from National Natural Science Foundation of China under [grant no. 51578316 and 51778331].