Effects of dowel bars misalignment in jointed plain concrete pavements – A numerical analysis considering thermal differentials and bonded slab-base interface

Abstract

Joints in concrete pavements are built to allow slab volumetric variations avoiding random cracks. Moreover, as they are discontinuities, the use of dowel bars prevents loss of load transfer across joints. During bars installation or even concrete casting, misalignments and misallocations of those devices may occur, affecting the concrete pavement structural performance. This study explores the effects of such non-conformities in the positioning of dowel bars through numerical modeling, using the 3D finite element program EverFE2.25. For, numerical simulations, bending stresses in concrete slabs of a typical bus corridor were ascertained, varying misalignments types and magnitudes (vertical tilt and horizontal skew), base type (cemented and asphalt), slab/base interface bond conditions and concrete thermal differential. Results disclosed the contribution of using bonded base in reducing stresses, even when the dowels were severely misaligned while slabs were subjected to high thermal differentials.