Recipient: Applied Research Associates, Inc. (ARA)
Grant: $100,350 PI: David K. Hein, P. Eng.
Completion: 2014
Project Summary: 11
Background and Need
For large concrete paving slabs typically used on highways, structural design includes well-established relationships between the number of standard axle loads and slab cracking to failure assuming a range of soil subgrade and base characteristics, concrete strengths and reinforcing. No such relationships exist for much smaller segmental concrete paving slabs defined in ASTM C1782 Standard Specification for Segmental Concrete Paving Slabs and CSA A231.1 Precast Concrete Paving Slabs. While such paving units can withstand only a fraction of the axle loads compared to interlocking concrete pavement, this research project used finite element modeling to characterize the permissible number axle loads for a range of paving slab and plank lengths, widths and thicknesses over aggregate base, lean concrete and concrete bases.