Comparison of Stress Fields near Longitudinal Construction Joints of Tied and Doweled Sections in Portland Cement Concrete Pavements

Geuntae Hong, Jiyoung Kim, Jung Heum Yeon, Moon Won and Seongcheol Choi
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Geuntae Hong: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Chung-Ang University, Seoul 06974, Korea
Jiyoung Kim: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Chung-Ang University, Seoul 06974, Korea
Jung Heum Yeon: Civil Engineering Program, Ingram School of Engineering, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX 78666, USA
Moon Won: Department of Civil, Environmental, and Construction Engineering, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409, USA
Seongcheol Choi: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Chung-Ang University, Seoul 06974, Korea

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 20, 1-14

Abstract: In Portland cement concrete (PCC) pavements, tie bars are commonly used at longitudinal construction joints (LCJs) to prevent the lanes from separating. Meanwhile, the increase in multiple lanes due to greater traffic volumes has raised concerns about potential longitudinal cracking; this has led to the use of dowel bars instead of tie bars at LCJs. However, there is a paucity of studies focused on the comparison between the behaviors of concrete pavement based on the restrained conditions provided by tie and dowel bars at LCJs. In this study, we investigated the effects of the placement of tie and dowel bars at LCJs on the potential for longitudinal cracking in response to the increase in concrete stress that may occur when the lanes are tied together in PCC pavements. Field testing verified that the variation in concrete strain was more restrained in the case of a tie bar than a dowel bar, whereas it resulted in higher stress in the concrete element in the tie bar section. However, the use of dowel bars caused more movement in the transverse direction at LCJs as compared with tie bars. Thus, our results indicate that using dowel bars reduces the potential for longitudinal cracking; however, it may increase the potential for lane separation.

Keywords: concrete stress; dowel bar; LCJs; longitudinal cracking; PCC pavement; tie bar (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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