Module-90A: Design of Rigid Pavements

SUB: TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING MODULE-90A
MODULE- 90A
Design of rigid pavements
________________________________________________________
Modulus of sub-grade reaction

Westergaard considered the rigid pavement slab as a thin elastic plate resting on soil sub-
grade, which is assumed as a dense liquid. The upward reaction is assumed to be proportional
to the deflection. Base on this assumption, Westergaard defined a modulus of sub-grade
reaction K in kg/cm3 given by where is the displacement level taken as 0.125 cm
and p is the pressure sustained by the rigid plate of 75 cm diameter at a deflection of 0.125
cm.
Relative stiffness of slab to sub-grade
A certain degree of resistance to slab deflection is offered by the sub-grade. The sub-grade
deformation is same as the slab deflection. Hence the slab deflection is direct measurement of
the magnitude of the sub-grade pressure. This pressure deformation characteristics of rigid
pavement lead Westergaard to define the term radius of relative stiffness in cm is given by
the equation,
√
( )
Critical load positions

Since the pavement slab has finite length and width, either the character or the intensity of
maximum stress induced by the application of a given traffic load is dependent on the
location of the load on the pavement surface. There are three typical locations namely the
interior, edge and corner, where differing conditions of slab continuity exist. These locations
are termed as critical load positions.
Equivalent radius of resisting section

When the interior point is loaded, only a small area of the pavement is resisting the bending
moment of the plate. Westergaard's gives a relation for equivalent radius of the resisting
section in cm.
[√
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Where
a = the radius of the wheel load distribution in cm and
h = the slab thickness in cm
Wheel load stresses - Westergaard's stress equation
The cement concrete slab is assumed to be homogeneous and to have uniform elastic
properties with vertical sub-grade reaction being proportional to the deflection. Westergaard
developed relationships for the stress at interior, edge and corner regions, denoted as
in respectively.
[ ( ) ]
[ ( ) ]
√
[ ( ) ]
Where,
h = the slab thickness in cm,
P = the wheel load in kg,
a = the radius of the wheel load distribution in cm,
l = the radius of the relative stiffness in cm and
b = the radius of the resisting section in cm
Temperature stresses
Temperature stresses are developed in cement concrete pavement due to variation in slab
temperature. This is caused by (i) Daily variation resulting in a temperature gradient across
the thickness of the slab and (ii) Seasonal variation resulting in overall change in the slab
temperature. The former results in warping stresses and the later in frictional stresses.
Warping stress
The warping stress at the interior, edge and corner regions, denoted as in
respectively
( )
( )
( )
√
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Where,
E = Modulus of elasticity of concrete in ( )
= Thermal coefficient of concrete per ( )
t = Temperature difference between the top and bottom of the slab,
and are the coefficient based on in the desired direction and right angle to
the desired direction,
= Poisson's ration (0.15),
a =Radius of the contact area and
l =Radius of the relative stiffness.
Frictional stresses
The frictional stress in
is given by the equation
Where
W = unit weight of concrete in (2400),
f = co-efficient of sub grade friction (1.5) and
L = length of the slab in meters.
Combination of stresses
The cumulative effect of the different stress give rise to the following thee critical cases
1. Summer, mid-day: The critical stress is for edge region given by (bottom)
2. Winter, mid-day: The critical combination of stress is for the edge region given by
(bottom)
(+) tensile (-) compressive
3. Mid-nights: The critical combination of stress is for the corner region given by
(bottom)
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Design of joints
Expansion joints:
The purpose of the expansion joint is to allow the expansion of the pavement due to rise in
temperature with respect to construction temperature. The design considerations are:
Provided along the longitudinal direction, design involves finding the joint spacing for a
given expansion joint thickness (say 2.5 cm specified by IRC) subjected to some maximum
spacing (say 140 as per IRC)
Contraction joints
The purpose of the contraction joint is to allow the contraction of the slab due to fall in slab
temperature below the construction temperature. The design considerations are:
(i) The movement is restricted by the sub-grade friction
(ii) Design involves the length of the slab given by:
Where,
= allowable stress in tension in cement concrete and is taken as 0.8 kg/cm2,
W = unit weight of the concrete which can be taken as 2400 and
f = co-efficient of sub-grade friction which can be taken as 1.5.
(iii) Steel reinforcements can be use, however with a maximum spacing of 4.5 m as
per IRC.
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Dowel bars
The purpose of the dowel bar is to effectively transfer the load between two concrete slabs
and to keep the two slabs in same height. The dowel bars are provided in the direction of the
traffic (longitudinal). The design considerations are:
Mild steel rounded bars, bonded on one side and free on other side.
Bradbury's analysis
Bradbury's analysis gives load transfer capacity of single dowel bar in shear, bending and
bearing as follows:
( )
Where,
is the load transfer capacity of a single dowel bar in shear , bending and bearing ,
is the diameter of the bar in cm,
is the length of the embedment of dowel bar in cm,
is the joint width in cm,
are the permissible stress in shear, bending and bearing for the dowel bar in
Design procedure
Step 1 : Find the length of the dowel bar embedded in slab by equating,
( )
√ ( )
Step 2 : Find the load transfer capacities of single dowel bar with the
Step 3: Assume load capacity of dowel bar is 40 percent wheel load, find the load capacity
factor as
( )
Step 4: Spacing of the dowel bars.

a) Effective distance upto which effective load transfer take place is given by ,
where is the radius of relative stiffness.
b) Assume a linear variation of capacity factor of 1.0 under load to 0 at
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c) Assume a dowel spacing and find the capacity factor of the above spacing.
d) Actual capacity factor should be greater than the required capacity factor.
e) If not, do one more iteration with new spacing.
Tie bars:
In contrast to dowel bars, tie bars are not load transfer devices, but serve as a means to tie two
slabs. Hence tie bars must be deformed or hooked and must be firmly anchored into the
concrete to function properly. They are smaller than dowel bars and placed at large intervals.
They are provided across longitudinal joints.
Step 1: Diameter and spacing: The diameter and the spacing is first found out by equating
the total sub-grade friction to the total tensile stress for a unit length (one meter). Hence the
area of steel per one meter in is given by:
Where,
is the width of the pavement panel in m,
is the depth of the pavement in cm,
is the unit weight of the concrete (assume 2400 ),
is the coefficient of friction (assume 1.5) and
is the allowable working tensile stress in steel (assume 1750 ).
Assume 0.8 to 1.5 cm - bars for the design.
Step 2: Length of the tie bar: Length of the tie bar is twice the length needed to develop
bond stress equal to the working tensile stress and is given by:
Where,
is the diameter of the bar,
is the allowable tensile stress in and
is the allowable bond stress and can be assumed for plain and deformed bars respectively
as 17.5 and 24.6
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SUB: TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING MODULE-90A

Modulus of sub-grade reaction

Critical load positions

Equivalent radius of resisting section

Step 4: Spacing of the dowel bars.

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