Effect of daily temperature variations on the continuous deflection profiles of airfield jointed concrete pavements: Fid-Bau Portal

Effect of daily temperature variations on the continuous deflection profiles of airfield jointed concrete pavements

Nam, Boo Hyun / Yeon, Jung Heum / Behring, Zachary

Highlights • The effect of daily temperature variations on the continuous deflection profiles of airfield JCP was evaluated using RDD. • The continuous deflection profiles of JCP varied considerably as the time elapsed from the early morning to noon. • The effects of other affecting parameters on the curling behavior of JCP were numerically investigated. • The temperature effect needs to be considered for adequate evaluations of in-situ pavement/subsurface conditions.

Abstract Compared with highway roads primarily damaged by repeated vehicle loads, airfield pavements suffer more from heavier aircraft loading, along with environmental factors. In particular, a pavement temperature is one of the critical factors affecting the behavior and response of airfield jointed concrete pavements (JCP). Temperature variations cause curling and expansion/contraction of a slab, which may ultimately influence the in-situ deflection measurements. Along with the pavement temperature, it is well known that other parameters such as subsurface conditions (i.e. stiffness of base/subbase layers), setting temperature of concrete, slab dimensions, and joint/crack width also affect the behavior and response of JCP. The main objectives of this paper are to characterize: (1) the behavior of airfield JCP due to temperature variations in terms of pavement “deflections” (defined as the dynamic movements of a pavement induced by dynamic loading); and (2) the effects of various affecting parameters on the vertical displacement profile of JCP slabs. The primary research means include in-situ pavement deflection measurements at different times of a day. For this purpose, a rolling dynamic deflectometer (RDD) which measures the continuous deflection profiles along a selected pavement section (100% coverage of a tested path) was employed. Also, extensive two-dimensional numerical simulations were performed to provide supporting evidence for the behavior trends generated by RDD.