Design of Roads

and Highways:
Rigid Pavements

Engr. Jefferson R. Vallente Jr., CE, M.TSSP, M.EASTS

Asst. Instructor, Civil Engineering Dept.
 Asphalt Overlay
Binder Course
Temperature Steel
Expansion Joint Concrete Cement

Dowel bar

Base Course: Gravel

Subbase: Soil

Subgrade: Soil

• Typical Rigid Pavement Layers

I. Materials Used in Rigid Pavements
• Portland Cement

Passing No.200

About 1538°C 0.028m^3 or 42kg

I. Materials Used in Rigid Pavements
• Coarse Aggregates
 I. Materials Used in Rigid Pavements

• Fine Aggregates, most

common is sand
(AASHTO Designation
M6)
• Cleanliness, maximum
amount of silt is
usually 2 to 5 percent.
• Organic materials
reduce hardening of
concrete
I. Materials Used in Rigid Pavements
• Water, which is suitable for drinking
• As long as quantity of organic matter, oils,
acids and alkalis are not greater than
allowable amounts.
 I. Materials Used in Rigid Pavements
• Reinforcing Steel
Temperature Steel
– Temperature steel, bat mat
or wire mesh used to
control cracking
– Dowel bars, load transfer
mechanisms across joints
– Tie bar, tie two sections of
the pavement
Dowel bar
Tie bar
I. Joints in Concrete Pavements
• Joints • Joints
– Expansion Joints – Contraction Joints
I. Materials Used in Rigid Pavements
• Joints • Joints
– Hinge Joints – Construction Joints
(a) Jointed Plain Concrete
Pavement (JPCP), maximum
length of 6m per slab

(b) Jointed Reinforced

Concrete Pavement (JRCP),
maximum length of 30 m
per slab
(c) Continuous Reinforced Concrete
Pavement (CRCP)
III. Pumping of Rigid Pavements

• Visual Manifestation:
– Discharge of water from cracks and joints
– Spalling near the centerline of the pavement
and a transverse crack or joint
– Mud boils at the edge of the pavement
– Pavement surface discoloration
– Breaking of pavement at the corners
Prevention:
-Limit number of expansion joints
-Replace soil or by soil stabilization
IV. Stresses in Rigid Pavements
• Factors contributing to stresses:
– Action of traffic wheel loads
– Expansion and contraction of the concrete due to
temperature changes
– Yielding of the subbase or subgrade
– Volumetric changes
• Simplifying assumptions:
• Concrete pavements are unreinforced beams. Any flexural
strength added by rebars are neglected.
• Flexural and direct tensile stresses will inevitably result in
transverse and longitudinal cracks.
• Supporting subbase and/or subgrade layer acts as an elastic
material.
IV. Stresses in Rigid Pavements
1. Stresses induced by bending

p
y, deflection
P = ky,
k, modulus of subgrade reaction
 IV. Stresses in Rigid Pavements

General differential equation relating the moment at any section

Basic differential equation for the deflection on an elastic foundation

IV. Stresses in Rigid Pavements
 IV. Stresses in Rigid Pavements
Stiffness of slab, D

Radius of relative stiffness, Westergaard

IV. Stresses in Rigid Pavements
2. Stresses due to Traffic Wheel Loads
Westergaard equation is most commonly used to determine the flexural
stresses in concrete pavements due to traffic wheel load.
2.1.1 Westergaard Modified Equations

- 0.675h
2.1.2 Ioannides et. Al. Revised Equations for edge loading

• Above equations assume a poisson’s ratio of

0.15.
• Values taken from this equations differ greatly
from Westergaard’s.
IV. Stresses in Rigid Pavements
2.2 Simpler analysis using Westergaard eqns;
Interior

Edge

Corner
 X lb

Note: X is last three digits of your

XU ID number

• Seatwork!!!

- 0.675h
IV. Stresses in Rigid Pavements
3.0

Where:
e, thermal coefficient of expansion (⁰F)
t, temperature difference between top and
bottom slab (⁰F)
Cx;Cy, coefficients dependent from figure 20.7
4.0 Stresses due to Temperature Effects

Per unit length

L
temperature

time
5.0 Stresses due to Warping Effects
Interior

Edge

Corner

In SI units

This may be used instead of Westergaard

+ Warping stress