The role of temperature differential and subgrade quality on stress, curling, and deflection behavior of rigid pavement

Abstract

To determine performance of rigid pavement, pavement engineers should not only conduct stress, curling, and deflection analysis, but also understand weather conditions and subgrade quality effects on rigid pavement performance well. This study aims to analyze and visualize the mechanical behaviors of rigid pavement in terms of stress, curling, and deflection using the KENPAVE Program under different curling temperature and subgrade quality. Besides, this study also evaluated temperature differential and k-value effects on the stress, curling, and deflection behavior of concrete pavement. The findings revealed that there is a linear correlation between stress and both k-value and curling temperature, with the latter having more significant impact in controlling stress than the former. However, even though curling is not affected by subgrade quality, it significantly depends on the temperature differential since a higher curling temperature produces higher curling behavior. Lastly, a higher temperature differential produces greater deflection, but a higher k-value produces smaller deflection. Nevertheless, deflection behavior has a more significant curve and the position of the highest deflection shifted towards the center of the slab as the curling temperature and subgrade quality increase.