Numerical evaluation of horizontal cracking potential in continuously reinforced concrete pavement under varying saw-cut depths

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Kashif ◽  
Amelie Outtier ◽  
Muhammad Wisal Khattak ◽  
Pieter De Winne ◽  
Hans De Backer

<p>The objective of this study is to evaluate the horizontal cracking potential in terms of vertical tensile stress development near longitudinal steel bar in the continuously reinforced concrete pavement (CRCP). For this purpose, a three-dimensional (3D) finite element (FE) model of the CRCP segment with partial surface saw-cuts has been developed using the FE tool Diana 10.3. The early-age behaviour of CRCP subjected to external varying temperature field condition has been evaluated by using the staggered structural-flow analysis. The characteristics of the early-age crack pattern in terms of crack initiation and crack propagation obtained from the FE model are compared with the field observations of cracking developments on the CRCP sections in Belgium. The FE results indicate that the vertical tensile stress in concrete near the longitudinal steel bar develops at the transverse crack interface. It translates that the horizontal crack perpendicular to the vertical concrete stress can initiate from the transverse crack depending on the magnitude of stress against developing concrete tensile strength. It has also been observed that the deeper the saw-cut, the larger the magnitude of vertical tensile stress and the higher incident of horizontal cracking. Moreover, the developed 3D FE model can be further used to optimize the early-age behaviour of CRCP in advance of costly field trials.</p>

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 1659
Author(s):  
Muhammad Kashif ◽  
Ahsan Naseem ◽  
Nouman Iqbal ◽  
Pieter De Winne ◽  
Hans De Backer

The technological innovation of continuously reinforced concrete pavement (CRCP) that contains a significantly reduced amount of reinforcement and the same fundamental behavior as CRCP is called advanced reinforced concrete pavement (ARCP). This new concept of a rigid pavement structure is developed to eliminate unnecessary continuous longitudinal steel bars of CRCP by using partial length steel bars at predetermined crack locations. In Belgium, partial surface saw-cuts are used as the most effective crack induction method to eliminate the randomness in early-age crack patterns by inducing cracks at the predetermined locations of CRCP. The reinforcement layout of ARCP is designed based on the distribution of steel stress in continuous longitudinal steel bar in CRCP and the effectiveness of partial surface saw-cuts as a crack induction method. The 3D finite element (FE) model is developed to evaluate the behavior of ARCP with partial surface saw-cuts. The early-age crack characteristics in terms of crack initiation and crack propagation obtained from the FE simulation are validated with the field observations of cracking characteristics of the CRCP sections in Belgium. The finding indicates that there is fundamentally no difference in the steel stress distribution in the partial length steel bar of ARCP and continuous steel bar of CRCP. Moreover, ARCP exhibits the same cracking characteristics as CRCP even with a significantly reduced amount of continuous reinforcement.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Kashif ◽  
Ahsan Naseem ◽  
Nouman Iqbal ◽  
Pieter De Winne ◽  
Hans De Backer

<p>The technological innovation of continuously reinforced concrete pavement (CRCP) that contains a significantly reduced amount of reinforcement and the same fundamental behaviour as CRCP is called advanced reinforced concrete pavement (ARCP). This new concept of a rigid pavement structure is developed to eliminate unnecessary continuous longitudinal steel bars of CRCP by using partial length steel bars at predetermined crack locations. In Belgium, partial surface saw-cuts are used as the most effective crack induction method to eliminate the randomness in early-age crack patterns by inducing cracks at the predetermined locations of CRCP. The reinforcement layout of ARCP is designed based on the distribution of steel stress in continuous longitudinal steel bar in CRCP and the effectiveness of partial surface saw-cuts as a crack induction method. The 3D finite element (FE) model is developed to evaluate the behaviour of ARCP with partial surface saw-cuts. The early-age crack characteristics in terms of crack initiation and crack propagation obtained from the FE simulation are validated with the field observations of cracking characteristics of the CRCP sections in Belgium. The finding indicates that ARCP exhibits the same cracking characteristics as CRCP even with a significantly reduced amount of continuous reinforcement.</p>


2013 ◽  
Vol 690-693 ◽  
pp. 1817-1820
Author(s):  
Quan Man Zhao ◽  
Hong Liang Zhang ◽  
Yan Hui Wang

The longterm field investigations in the US showed that punchouts were the most important distress in continuously reinforced concrete pavement (CRCP) and often developed in the cluster cracking with the crack spacing of 0.3m-0.6m. But, it was not sure whether punchouts were the most important distress in CRCP in China, so this paper carried out field investigations on several CRC pavements in China. Results showed that punchouts were the most serious distress and often occurred in cluster crack regions. Furthermore, this paper analyzed the transverse crack spacing distribution. Results showed that the transverse cracks spacing distribution followed Weibull’s distribution.


Author(s):  
Seong-Min Kim ◽  
Mooncheol Won ◽  
B. Frank McCullough

Continuously reinforced concrete pavement (CRCP) performance depends on, among other factors, the characteristics of early developing cracks caused by environmental loads. The primary objective is to evaluate effects of design, materials, and construction variables on the characteristics of cracks in CRCP when subjected to environmental loads. A mechanistic model is developed using finite element formulations. Concrete and longitudinal steel are discretized using the plane strain and the frame elements, respectively. Various bond stress and slip models between concrete and longitudinal steel and between concrete and the underlying layers are developed using the spring elements. The creep effect is also included using the effective modulus method. CRCP responses from the model vary depending on the concrete and steel bond-slip models. An accurate bond-slip model needs to be investigated further by experiments to increase the accuracy of the mechanistic model. Concrete creep has beneficial effects on CRCP responses. The thermal coefficient of concrete has significant effects on CRCP responses. Using concrete with a low thermal coefficient will improve CRCP performance. Longitudinal steel variables—the amount of steel, bar diameter, and steel location—are important design variables that influence CRCP behavior. For given environmental conditions, an optimum steel design can be developed using the model developed.


2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (7) ◽  
pp. 634-642 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kukjoo Kim ◽  
Sangyoung Han ◽  
Mang Tia ◽  
James Greene

Field evaluation of distresses in continuously reinforced concrete pavement (CRCP) indicated punch-out distress associated with horizontal cracking at the depth of the longitudinal steel is the most severe performance problem in CRCP. The developed 3-D model was used to perform a parametric analysis to determine the effects of critical loading location, concrete properties, and longitudinal steel design on horizontal cracking potential. The maximum vertical tensile stresses in the concrete were slightly affected by the coefficient of thermal expansion of the concrete. The critical tensile stresses in the concrete were observed to decrease as the base modulus, slab–base friction, slab thickness, and transverse crack spacing increase. The vertical tensile stresses significantly decreased when the longitudinal steel spacing decreased. The use of varying longitudinal steel spacing and reducing the depth of steel may be one of the ways to reduce the horizontal cracking potential without changing the steel ratio of the slab.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 42
Author(s):  
Muhammad Kashif ◽  
Ahsan Naseem ◽  
Nouman Iqbal ◽  
Pieter De Winne ◽  
Hans De Backer

Since 1970, continuously reinforced concrete pavements have been used in Belgium. The standard design concept for CRCP has been modified through several changes made in the design parameters to eliminate the cluster of closely spaced crack patterns, since these crack patterns lead to the development of spalling and punch-out distresses in CRCPs. Despite adjusting the longitudinal reinforcement ratio, slab thickness, and addition of asphalt interlayer, the narrowly spaced cracks could not be effectively removed. The application of transverse partial surface saw-cuts significantly reduced the probability of randomly occurring cracks in the reconstruction project of the Motorway E313 in Herentals, Belgium. The field investigation has also indicated that the early-age crack induction in CRCP is quite susceptible to the saw-cut depth. Therefore, the present study aims to evaluate the effect of different depths and lengths of the partial surface saw-cut on the effectiveness of crack induction in CRCP under external varying temperature field. For this purpose, the FE software program DIANA 10.3 is used to develop the three dimensional finite element model of the active crack control CRCP segment. The characteristics of early-age crack induction in terms of crack initiation and crack propagation obtained from the FE model are compared and discussed concerning the field observations of the crack development on the active crack control E313 test sections. Findings indicate that the deeper saw-cut with longer cut-lengths could be a more effective attempt to induce the cracks in CRCP in desirable distributions to decrease the risk of spalling and punch-out distresses in the long-term performance of CRCP. These findings could be used as guidance to select the appropriate depth and length of saw-cut for active crack control sections of CRCP in Belgium.


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