Test Method and Model Development of Subbase Erosion for Concrete Pavement Design

Abstract

The erosion of material beneath a concrete slab is an important performance-related factor. If applied to the selection of base materials, this factor can enhance the overall design process for concrete pavement systems. However, erosion of the subbase has not been included explicitly in analysis and design procedures because there is no well-accepted laboratory test or related erosion model suitable for design. Therefore, this paper focuses on advancing a simple laboratory test method to evaluate erodibility of a subbase material and then introducing and validating an erosion model that incorporates the results from the new laboratory test method. Erosion-related design procedures were reviewed relative to previous test methods. Erosion models were evaluated for their utility to characterize the erosion resistance of subbase materials. With this information, a new test configuration was devised; it used a rapid triaxial test and a Hamburg wheel-tracking device for evaluating erodibility in relation to the degree of stabilization, base type, and cement content. Test devices, procedures, and results are explained and summarized for application in mechanistic design processes. A proposed erosion model is validated by comparing erosion predictions to erosion results.

Improved Mechanistic–Empirical Continuously Reinforced Concrete Pavement Design Approach with Modified Punchout Model

“…A mechanistic-empirical erosion model is shown in Equation 5 based on a newly developed erodibility test method with the Hamburg wheel-tracking device (9)(10)(11). Mechanically induced horizontal shear stresses develop on the subbase surface as a function of the up-and-down slab movement that is simulated by deflection of a stiff plate.…”

Maximum Likelihood Estimation of Parameters for Advanced Continuously Reinforced Concrete Pavement (CRCP) Punchout Calibration Model

“…us, from the hazard rate prediction, the type of base has presumably decisive influence on the formulation of punchout. Actually, ATB exhibits much better resistance of erosion than CTB [26,27].…”

New Laboratory-Based Mechanistic–Empirical Model for Faulting in Jointed Concrete Pavement

“…The testing uses the Hamburg wheel-tracking device (HWTD) under wet conditions. The configuration of the test device is the same as that normally used with the HWTD except for the multilayered sample shown in Figure 2 (12). The test configuration consists of a subbase material 25.4 mm (1 in.)…”