Modeling of flexible pavement structure behavior – comparisons with Heavy Vehicle Simulator measurements

Author(s):  
A Ahmed ◽  
S Erlingsson
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 61-74
Author(s):  
Sahar Ghasemi ◽  
Amir Mirmiran ◽  
Yulin Xiao ◽  
Kevin Mackie

A super lightweight deck can enhance load rating and functionality of a bridge, especially those identified as structurally deficient. This study was aimed to develop and experimentally validate a novel bridge deck as an ultra-lightweight low-profile waffle slab of ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) with either carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) or high strength steel (HSS) reinforcement. The proposed system lends itself to accelerated bridge construction, rapid deck replacement in bridges with load restrictions, and bridge widening applications without the need to replace girders. Performance and failure modes of the proposed deck were initially assessed through extensive lab experiments and finite element analysis, which together confirmed that the proposed deck panel meets the AASHTO LRFD requirements. The proposed deck system is not susceptible to punching shear of its thin slab and fails in a rather ductile manner. To evaluate its long-term performance, the system was further tested under the dynamic impact of wheel load at the Accelerated Pavement Testing (APT) facility of the Florida Department of Transportation using a Heavy Vehicle Simulator (HVS).


2003 ◽  
Vol 1823 (1) ◽  
pp. 141-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
John T. Harvey ◽  
Lorina Popescu ◽  
Abdikarim Ali ◽  
David Bush

The California Department of Transportation uses dowel bar retrofit (DBR) as a rehabilitation strategy for concrete pavements. Two test sections were retrofitted with dowel bars and a third section was designated as a control on US-101 near Ukiah, California. All three sections were subjected to accelerated pavement testing by using the Heavy Vehicle Simulator (HVS). The results obtained with the HVS demonstrated a large improvement in load transfer efficiency (LTE) and decreases in maximum vertical deflections and vertical deflection differences from DBR. LTE was not damaged by trafficking on the sections with DBR and was less sensitive to temperature changes than the control section. Falling weight deflectometer testing showed damage to the interlock at the joint on the control section and no damage on the sections with DBR. Joint and crack deflections and deflection differences increased with trafficking. A total equivalent loading of approximately 11,000,000 equivalent single-axle loads was applied to each of the sections with DBR without failure occurring.


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