NUMERICAL SIMULATION ON MECHANICAL BEHAVIOR OF DOWEL AS A LOAD TRANSFER DEVICE TO DISTRIBUTE THE CRITICAL STRESS IN RIGID PAVEMENT SLABS OVER EXPANSIVE SOIL SUBGRADE

Abstract

The determination of the magnitude and location of critical stress in rigid pavement structures is very important. Critical stress occurs in an area that must be anticipated to prevent failure when subjected to service loads. Several previous researchers have studied this using various empirical, analytical, and numerical methods, yielding varying results from these studies. The stress distribution analysis on a single plate provides critical stress results according to variations in traffic load arrangements. Different results are obtained when the analysis is performed on more than one plate connected with dowels. This study examines the performance of dowels as load transfer devices from one plate to another and their effect on the magnitude and location of critical stress. The method used is a numerical study of the behavior of rigid pavement plates on expansive soil with axle loads. The implications of this further study are to improve the understanding of the flexural behavior of rigid pavement plates, thereby making it easier to determine the performance load of a rigid pavement construction.