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Numerical analysis of longitudinal cracking in widened jointed plain concrete pavement systems

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Abstract

While widened slabs have been used to mitigate transverse cracking in jointed plain concrete pavements (JPCP), it is well-known that use of such slabs increases longitudinal cracking potential in JPCP. Field investigations have been conducted in Iowa widened JPCP and it was found that: (1) all longitudinal cracks are top-down cracks; (2) longitudinal cracks start mostly from transverse joints about 0.6–1.2 m (2–4 ft) away from widened slab edges (3) sites with a tied PCC shoulder exhibited fewer longitudinal cracks than sites constructed with hot mix asphalt (HMA) shoulders. In this paper, the longitudinal cracking mechanism of widened JPCP was demonstrated and longitudinal cracking potential was evaluated using numerical analysis. The critical load configuration with the highest longitudinal cracking potential for widened JPCP was identified. Three shoulder design alternatives were also compared in terms of their contributions to mitigation of longitudinal cracking potential. Compared to the use of a widened slab, the use of a regular size slab was found to be beneficial in mitigating longitudinal cracking at the cost of increasing transverse cracking potential. The findings of this study provide explanations as to where and how longitudinal cracking is likely to be initiated as well as recommendations as to how longitudinal cracking potential could be mitigated.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) for sponsoring this research. The project’s Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) members, Ben Behnami, Chris Brakke, Vanessa Goetz, Todd Hanson, Kevin Merryman and Jason Omundson of Iowa DOT; Jacob Thorius of Washington County, Iowa; Greg Mulder of Iowa Concrete Paving Association (ICPA); Gordon Smith of ISU CP Tech Center and John Cunningham of Snyder & Associates, Inc. are gratefully acknowledged for their guidance. The contents of this paper reflect the views of the authors who are responsible for the facts and accuracy of the data presented within. The contents do not necessarily reflect the official views and policies of the Iowa DOT. This paper does not constitute a standard, specification, or regulation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering (CCEE), Iowa State University, Ames, IA, 50011-1066, USA

    Orhan Kaya, Yang Zhang, Halil Ceylan, Shuo Yang & Kasthurirangan Gopalakrishnan

  2. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Partnership to Enhance General Aviation Safety, Accessibility and Sustainability (PEGASAS) Center of Excellence (COE), Ames, IA, 50011-1066, USA

    Halil Ceylan

  3. Program for Sustainable Pavement Engineering and Research (PROSPER), Institute for Transportation, CCEE, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, 50011-1066, USA

    Halil Ceylan & Sunghwan Kim

  4. National Concrete Pavement Technology Center, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, 50010-8664, USA

    Peter C. Taylor

  5. Research, School of Engineering & Applied Sciences (SEAS), SRM University-AP, Amaravati, 522 502, India

    Kasthurirangan Gopalakrishnan

Authors
  1. Orhan Kaya
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  2. Yang Zhang
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  3. Halil Ceylan
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  4. Sunghwan Kim
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  5. Shuo Yang
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  6. Peter C. Taylor
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  7. Kasthurirangan Gopalakrishnan
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Orhan Kaya.

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Peer review under responsibility of Chinese Society of Pavement Engineering.

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Kaya, O., Zhang, Y., Ceylan, H. et al. Numerical analysis of longitudinal cracking in widened jointed plain concrete pavement systems. Int. J. Pavement Res. Technol. 12, 277–287 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42947-019-0034-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42947-019-0034-z

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