Finite element investigation of the prestressed jointed concrete pavements

Abstract

Precast prestressed concrete pavement (PCP) technology is of recent origin, and the information on PCP performance is not available in literature. This research presents a finite-element analysis of the potential benefits of prestressing on the jointed concrete pavements (JCP). With using a 3-dimensional (3D) Finite-element modeling (FEM) the load transfer efficiency (LTE) of the prestressed pavement had been discussed. Longitudinal and transverse prestressing with various prestressing forces were analyzed. It was concluded that prestressing although increased the deflection at mid slab but the reduction in load transfer to adjacent is minor and engineers can benefit from the prestressing to reduce the slab thickness. The higher prestressing force, might affect the load transfer in the prestressed pavement, so using a prestressing for more than 400 kN should be revised carefully.

Keywords: Prestressed concrete pavement; Dowel bar; Finite element; Load transfer efficiency