Evaluation of the Effect of Average Annual Temperatures in Slovakia between 1971 and 2020 on Stresses in Rigid Pavements

Abstract

The scientific community in Central Europe often discusses the extent to which temperature changes over the last two decades have contributed to changing the stresses induced in structures. In the field of road and environmental engineering, this question is especially pertinent for pavements. The pavement structure must first be defined methodologically by identifying and defining the types of parameters that change with time. Additionally, it is important to identify the areas of Central Europe that are most affected by climate change. The most important parameters must be described statistically for these areas. Slovakia is one of the countries that may be able to contribute to the solution of this issue due to its location in the middle of Europe. This paper provides a statistical analysis for the period from 1971 to 2020 in Slovakia. A concrete pavement, which is the most commonly used type of pavement, must be used as an example to numerical assess the situation. The conclusions and discussion in this scientific field are directed towards the evaluation of the measurement results in the context of the designed pavement composition and the calculations using the different methods specified in the standards.

Sustainable Adaptive Cycle Pavements Using Composite Foam Concrete at High Altitudes in Central Europe

“…With the increase in global warming, the construction sector [17,18,57] is trying to find an alternative to ordinary concrete and presently the emerging trend is the use of foamed concrete, which is a lightweight concrete having a greater strength-to-weight ratio with density varying from 300 to 1800 kg•m −3 [33,63]. To use in the base layers of road structures, the need to increase its tensile strength in bending was identified [27,62].…”

“…Criterium B. for the assessment of mechanical efficiency of asphalt pavements is described in detail in [17,18] and CCP in [57,58]. According to [39], implemented through TP 098, the structural safety design of cement concrete (CC) cover must satisfy the condition that the maximum flexural tensile stress from a single load and repeated loads on the longitudinal or transverse joint of the CC plate must be greater or equal than to the flexural tensile strength of the cement concrete at the specified utilization factor.…”

“…According to TP 098 for the pre-assessment of CCP can be used modified Westergaard equations, the rigid plate calculation on elastic multi-layered half-space, Pickett, and Ray influence surfaces, and for the final assessment it is necessary to use FEM calculation. The method of thermal stress calculation is detailed in [57], where the research results presented in the Conclusions of this article are presented.…”

Effect of Asphalt Pavement Base Layers on Transverse Shrinkage Cracking Characteristics

“…At present, the research on reducing the transverse shrinkage cracking of asphalt pavement in cold areas mainly focuses on improving the performance of base layer materials [7,8]. For example, Sha [9] has explored the damage model of a semi-rigid base through many experimental studies to describe and predict the main causes of water damage performance for semi-rigid materials.…”

FEM Modelling of the Temperature Influence on the Stress-Strain State of the Pavement

“…In papers [29][30] there are demonstrated the results of the finite element modeling of the stress-strain state of the cement concrete pavement under the action of passing vehicles for various temperatures of the pavement.…”