Design of Rigid Pavement

As the name implies, rigid pavements are

rigid i.e, they do not flex much under

loading like flexible pavements. They are
constructed using cement concrete. In
this case, the load carrying capacity is
mainly due to the rigidity ad high
modulus of elasticity of the slab (slab
action). H. M. Westergaard is considered
the pioneer in providing the rational
treatment of the rigid pavement analysis.
1

Modulus of sub-grade reaction

Westergaard considered the rigid pavement

slab as a thin elastic plate resting on soil subgrade, which is assumed as a dense liquid. The
upward reaction is assumed to be proportional
to the deflection. Based on this assumption,
Westergaard defined a modulus of sub-grade
reaction in kg/cm3 given by where is the
displacement level taken as 0.125 cm and is
the pressure sustained by the rigid plate of 75
cm diameter at a deflection of 0.125 cm.

WHAT WE LOOK FOR IN A GOOD PAVEMENT

Good Riding Quality
Adequate Structural Capacity to withstand loads
Good anti-skid properties
Withstand ravages of weather (temperature/rainfall)
Hard wearing surface
Long life
Low maintenance
Economical not only in Initial Cost but over Life Cycle.
3

The rigid pavement has the slab action and

is capable of transmitting the wheel load
stresses through a wider area below. The
main difference in structural behaviour of
rigid pavement as compared to flexible
pavement is that the critical condition of
stress in the rigid pavement is the
maximum flexural stress occurring in the
slab due to wheel load and the temperature
changes where as in the flexural pavement
it is the distribution of compressive stresses.
4

As the rigid pavement has tensile strength,

tensile stresses are developed due to the
bending of the slab under wheel load and
temperature variations. The rigid pavement
does not get deformed to the shape of the
lower surface as it can bridge the minor
variations of lower layer.

The cement concrete slab can

serve as a wearing surface as well
an effective base course. The rigid
pavements are designed using the
elastic theory, assuming it as an
elastic plate resting on an elastic
foundation.

Rigid pavement
Rigid pavement is a pavement structure that
distributes loads to the sub grade through a
Portland cement concrete slab. The rigid

pavement has the slab action and is capable

of transmitting the wheel load stresses
through a wider area below.

ADVANTAGES OF CONCRETE PAVEMENTS

Long Life (30-40 years)
Practically Maintenance-Free
Good Riding Quality
Good Reflectivity
Impenetrability to Water
Can be Designed for Heavy Loading
Fuel Savings @ 14% as per CRRI Study
Favourable Life Cycle Cost
Consumes less Quantity of Aggregates
10

Can utilise Waste Material like Flyash

CONCRETE ROAD - LOCATIONS CHOICE

On poor sub-grade soil
Heavy rain fall areas/water logged areas
High Traffic volume
Aggregates are expensive
Cement available in close proximity
Easy availability of fly ash and slag
Which helps in cost reduction and better quality
durable roads
11

STRESSES IN CEMENT
CONCRETE PAVEMENT

12

Cement concrete pavements represents

the group of rigid pavements. Here the load
carrying capacity is mainly due to the rigidity
and high modulus of elasticity of the slab
itself i.e., slab action. H.M Westergaard is
considered the pioneer in providing the
rational treatment to the problem of rigid
pavement analysis.

13

Cement concrete pavements are relatively thin slabs

laid directly over soil subgrade or over sub base
course. The subbase of rigid pavement structure
consists of one or more compacted layers of
granular or stabilized material placed between the
subgrade and the rigid slab for the following
purposes:

14

To provide uniform, stable, and

permanent support,
To increase the modulus of subgrade
reaction(k)
To prevent pumping of fine-grained
soils at joints, cracks ,and edges of
the rigid slab, and
To provide working platform for
construction equipment.

15

Stresses are caused in a Cement Concrete

pavement (CC) pavements due to wheel loads, daily
and seasonal variation in temperature, changes in
moisture content and other factors. For the design
of CC pavement the stresses are calculated for each
trial thickness and the process is repeated until the
maximum resultant stress is within acceptable limit
with respect to the flexure strength.

16

The determination of stresses in rigid

pavement is based on analysis of
Westergaard. Westergaard worked out
stress equations when a wheel load is
applied at three critical locations
(Interior, edge and corner regions of CC
slab). The stresses due to a single wheel
load with circular contact were
considered.

17

Design Principle
Warping stresses are introduced in CC
pavement slab due to temperature variations
between top and bottom of the slab during 24
hours of the day.
Variations in temperature during different
seasons of the causes expansion and
contraction of the CC pavement and frictional
stresses are developed at the bottom of the
slab. However the magnitude of frictional
stresses is much low and is neglected.
18

The principle that is followed in the design of

CC pavement is to determine the maximum
values of Warping and load stresses for an
assumed trial thickness of the pavement.
The load stress is the highest in the corner of
pavement, less at the edge, and the least in
the interior of the pavement.
19

20

Temperature stresses are developed in

cement concrete pavement due to variation

in slab temperature. This is caused by (i)
daily variation resulting in a temperature
gradient across the thickness of the slab
and (ii) seasonal variation resulting in
overall change in the slab temperature. The
former results in warping stresses and the
later in frictional stresses.

Temperature stress is highest in the interior

of the pavement, less at the edge and least

at the corner. The corner stress due to
temperature is negligible as corners are
free to warp.

21

LATERAL PLACEMENT OF WHEEL

PAVEMENT
DIRECTION OF VEHICLE MOVEMENT

SINGLE AXLE
PAVEMENT
DIRECTION OF VEHICLE MOVEMENT

1.31 M

22

TANDAM AXLE

Stresses in Concrete Pavements

The stresses in concrete Pavements are due to
both temperature and load .
Stress due to temperature
The concrete pavement undergoes temperature
changes throughout the day .The temperature at
the top surface is maximum during the daytime.
Similarly during night time the bottom of the
pavement has highest temperature. There always
exists a temperature gradient across the
thickness of the concrete pavement.
s

23

te

EttC
2

Two factors are responsible for the development

of temperature stress in the concrete pavement
slab- the expansion and contraction due to
temperature change, and the temperature
gradient across the thickness of the slab. Thus
the daily variation in temperature causes warping
stresses in reverse directions at the corner, edge
and interior regions of the slabs.
s

24

te

EttC
2

Whenever the top and bottom surface

of concrete pavement simultaneously
possesses different temperatures, the
slab tends to wrap downwards or
upwards including warping stresses.
The difference in temperature between
top and bottom of the slab depends
mainly on the slab thickness and the
climatic conditions of the region.

25

EttC
Ste
2
Ste = temperature stress in the edge region,
Kg/ cm2
E = modulus of elasticity of concrete, Kg/cm 2
t

= maximum temperature differential during day

between top and bottom of the slab, oc

= coefficient of thermal expansion of cement

concrete, per oc
26

C = Bradbury`s coefficient, which can be

ascertained directly from Bradbury`s chart

L = slab length or space between consecutive

contraction joints , cm
B= slab width, or spacing between longitudinal
joints,cm
Eh3
l = radius of relative stiffness, cm =
12 (1 2 ) k

= Poisson's ratio
h = thickness of the slab,cm
k = modulus of sub grade reaction, Kg/ cm 3
27

Stresses due to loading

Due to loading, the maximum stress is included
at the corner, being discontinuous in two
directions. The edge stress is lower than that at
the corner, being discontinuous in one direction,
while interior stress is the maximum among all
these.

28

Critical loading Position

Since the pavement slab is finite length and
width, either the character or the intensity of
maximum stress induced by the application of a
given traffic load is dependent on the location of
the load on the pavement surface.
There are three typical locations the interior, edge
and corner, where differing conditions of slab
continuity exist. These are termed as critical
load positions.
29

Interior Loading : when load is

applied on an interior of the slab
surface at any place remote from all
the edges.
Corner Loading : when centre of load
application is located on the bisector
of corner angle formed by two
interjecting edges of the slab, and the
loaded area is at the corner touching
the two corner edges.

30

The stresses at the edge and corner

regions are generally found to be
more critical for the design of rigid
pavement for highways. The Indian
Road Congress recommends the
following two formulas for the
analysis of load stresses at the edge
and corner regions and for the design
of rigid pavements;
31

i)Westergaard`s edge load

stress formula, modified by
Teller and Sutherland for
finding the load stress Se in
the critical edge region,

0
.
529
(
1

0
.
54

(
4
log
10
e
2
h

32

b log b 0.4048 )

ii)
Westergaard`s corner load stress analysis
modified by Kelly for finding the load stress S c at
critical corner region.

sc
Where,

3P
1

h 2

1 .2

Se = load stress at the edge region, Kg/cm 2

Sc = load stress at the corner region,
Kg/cm2

33

the

P = design wheel load, Kg

h = thickness of CC pavement slab,cm
= Poisson's ratio of the CC slab
E = modulus of elasticity of the CC, Kg/cm 2
K = reaction modulus of pavement foundations
(i.e., base course, sub- base course or sub
grade), Kg/cm3

1
l = radius of relative
stiffness,cm
3

=
34

Eh

12 k (1 2 )

b = radius of equivalent distribution of pressure, cm

a
a = a, when h 1.724 and
b=

a
1.6 a 2 h 2 0.675 b , when 1.724
h

a = radius of contact, cm (assumed circular in shape)

35

Combined stress due to temperature

and loading
It is seen that the corner stress is minimum
due to temperature but it is maximum due
to load. Thus for design considerations, the
combined effects needs to be considered.
Moreover, the bottom stress, due to temperature,
during night time is compressive, and therefore
subtractive in nature with reference to tensile
bottom stress due to load. Thus, the temperature
stress situation at night time are not considered
while determining the combined stress
36

Considering the total combined stress for

the regions, viz., corner, edge and interior ,
for which the load stress decreases in that
order while the temperature stress
increases, the critical stress condition is
reached in the edge region. It is, therefore,
necessary that the concrete slab is
designed to withstand the stress due to
warping the wheel loaded at the edge
region. It is also necessary to check the
stress at the corner region if the dowel bars
are not provided at the transverse joints
and if there is no possibility of load transfer
37
by aggregate inter- lock.

Due to
temperature

Due to
load

This
direction

Increases in

This
direction

Edge
stress

Increases in

Corner
stress

Interior
stress

Stress levels due to temperature and loading

38

Moreover, the bottom stress, due to

temperature, during night time
is
compressive, and therefore subtractive in
nature with reference to tensile bottom
stress due to load. Thus, the temperature
stress situation at night time are not
considered while determining the combined
stress.

39

RIGID PAVEMENT DESIGN IRC:582002

Salient Features of the code

The guidelines cover the design of plain jointed

cement concrete pavements. The code is
applicable for roads having a daily commercial
traffic (vehicles with laden weight exceeding 3
tonne) of over 150. This code is not applicable
for low volume roads.
Computation of flexural stress due to the

placement of single and tandem axle loads

along the edge
Introduction of the cumulative fatigue damage

approach in the design

Revision of criteria for design of dowel bars

40

IRC: 58 recommends that both the

combined corner stress (load and
temperature) and the combined edge
should be checked for finding out the
most critical stress between the two.
The resultant maximum value of
flexural stress due to warping and
wheel load has to be less than the
flexural strength of concrete. The
trials are repeated varying
thicknesses until the resultant stress
is within limit.

41

RIGID PAVEMENT DESIGN IRC:582002

Design Inputs
Wheel load
Design Period
Design Traffic
Temperature Differential
Characteristics of Subgrade and

Sub-base
Characteristics of Concrete
42

Wheel load
Data on axle load distribution of the commercial
vehicles is required to compute the number of
repetitions of single and tandem axles of different
weights expected during the design period. An axle
load survey is to be conducted for a day in both
directions. Higher axle loads induce very high
stresses in the pavement and result in
consumption of fatigue resistance of concrete.
Contribution of different axle load groups towards
fatigue damage must be determined for pavement
design. For design purpose a tyre pressure of 0.8
Mpa
is adopted.
43

For computation of stresses in the pavement , the

magnitude of axle loads should be multiplied by
Load Safety Factor (LSF).
The value of LSF adopted = 1.2. This takes care of
unpredicted heavy truck loads. Basic design of
slab is done with 98th percentile axle load from the
survey.
Design Period
Normally Cement Concrete Pavements have a life
span of 30 yearsand should be designed for this
periodWhen the traffic intensity can not be predicted
accurately for a long periodof time, a design period
of44 twenty years may be considered.

Design Traffic
Average traffic should be based on 7 day 24
hour count. If growth rate data is not
available, an average annual growth rat of
7.5 % is to be adopted.
Flexural stresse caused in pavement is
maximum when axle loads travel along the
edge. However very few vehicle travel along
edges. As such a design traffic of 25% of the
total two lane two way vehicles is to be
considered conservatively.
45

C=

365 xA{(1 r ) n 1}
r

C = Cumulative number of axles during the design period

A = Initial number of axles per day in the year when the road
is operational
r = Annual rate of growth of commercial traffic (expressed in
decimals)
n = design period in years
Expected number of applications of different axle load
groups during the design period can be estimated from the
46
axle
load data.

Temperature differential
Temperature differential between top and
bottom of concrete pavements cause the
concrete slab to warp resulting in
stresses. Values of actually anticipated
temperature differentials at the location
of the pavement should be considered.
IRC code specifies these values for
different slab thicknesses and for
different States.
47

Recommended temperature differentials for concrete

Zone

states

temperature differential,oC in slabs thickness

15cm

20cm

25cm

30cm

Panjab,U.P,uttaranchal,
Gujarat,rajastan,haryana,and North
M.P.,excluding hilly region

12.5

13.1

14.3

15.8

II

Bhihar,Jarkhand,west Bengal, Assam

and Estern Orissa and coastal area.

15.6

16.4

16.6

16.8

III

Maharastra,karnataka, South
M.P,Chatisgarh,Andhrapradesh,West
ern Orissaand North Tamilnadu
excluding hill regions and coastal
areas.

17.3

19

20.3

21

IV

Kerala and south Tamilnadu excluding

hilly region and coastal areas.

15

16.41

7.61

18.1

Coastal areas bounded by hills

14.6

15.8

16.2

17

Coastal areas unbounded by hills

15.5

17

19

19.2

48 VI

Characteristics of subgrade and sub-base

The strength of subgrade is expressed in terms of
modulus of subgrade reaction (k) which is defined
as pressure per unit deflection of the foundation as
determined by plate bearing test with a 75 cm dia
plate as per IS:9214:1974. A frequency of one test
per km per lane is recommended for assessment of
k-value.
Modulus of Subgrade reaction (k)
Westergaards modulus of subgrade reaction for use
in rigid pavement design. It is the load in kg/cm2 on
a loaded area of the road bed soil or subgrade
divided by the deflection in cms of the road bed
soil/subgrade.(kg/cm2 /cm or kg/ kg/cm3).
49

As the limiting deflection for cement concrete pavements is

taken as 1.25 mm, the k- value is determined from pressure
sustained at this deflection.
An approximate value of k of homogenous soil subgrade
may be obtained from the CBR values as given in the code

Soaked CBR
value %
K value
kg/cm2 /cm

50

2
2.1

10

2.8

3.5

4.2

4.8

5.5

15

20

6.2 6.9

50

100

14 22.2

A Dry Lean Concrete (DLC) sub base is generally

recommended for concrete pavements particularly
those with high intensity of traffic as per IRC SP :
49 1998.The DLC should have a minimum
compressive strength of 7 Mpa at 7 days.
Separation layer between sub base and pavement.
Foundation layer below concrete slabs should be
smooth to reduce the inter layer friction. A
separation membrane of minimum thickness of 125
micron polythene is recommended between
concrete pavement and DLC.

51

Characteristics of Concrete
Design Strength
Since the concrete pavements fail due to
bending stresses, it is necessary that their
design is based on the flexural strength of
concrete. The mix should be so designed that
the minimum strength requirement is 45
kg/cm2 .

52

Flexural strength of plain concrete as per per IS: 456 2000 is

given below as

fcr 0.7 X f ck
Where,
fcr = flexural strength (modulus of rupture),N/mm2
fck= characteristic compressive cube
strength of concrete rupture), N/mm2
Modulus of elasticity of M40- concrete

E=3.0 x 105 kg/ cm2

Poisson's ration

= 0.15

Coefficient of thermal expansion, = 10 x 10 -6 per oC

53

Fatigue behaviour of Cement Concrete

Due to repeated application of flexural
stresses by the traffic loads, a
progressive fatigue damage takes place
in the Cement Concrete slab in the form
of micro cracks. The ratio between the
flexure stress due to the load and the
flexural strength of concrete is termed
as the stress ratio (SR). If the SR is less
than 0.45 , the concrete is expected to
sustain indefinite number of repetitions .
54

As the stress ratio increases , the number of load

repetitions required to cause cracking decreases. The
relation between fatigue life (N) and stress ratio is give
as
N = unlimited for SR < 0.45

3.268
4.2577
N
SR 0.4325

When 0.45 SR 0.55

0.9718 SR
log10 N
0.0828

For SR>0.55
Fatigue resistance not consumed by repetitions of one
load
is available for repetitions to other loads.
55

STRESS RATIO AND ALLOWBLE REPETiTIONS IN CEMENT CONCRETE

56

Stress ratio

Allowble repetations

Stress ratio

Allowble repetations

0.45

6.279x103

0.66

5.83x103

0.46

1.4335x107

0.67

4.41x103

0.47

5.2x106

0.68

3.34x103

0.48

2.4x106

0.69

2531

0.49

1.287x106

0.70

1970

0.50

7.62x105

0.71

1451

0.51

4.85x105

0.72

1099

0.52

3.26x105

0.73

832

0.53

2.29x105

0.74

630

0.54

1.66x105

0.75

477

0.55

1.24x105

0.76

361

0.56

9.41x104

0.77

274

0.57

7.12x104

0.78

207

0.58

5.4x104

0.79

157

0.59

4.08x104

0.80

119

0.60

3.09x104

0.81

90

0.61

2.34x104

0.82

68

0.62

1.77x104

0.83

52

0.63

1.34x104

0.84

39

0.64

1.02x104

0.85

30

0.65

7.7x103

Design of Slab thickness

Critical stress condition
The factors commonly considered for design of
pavement thickness are: flexural stresses due to
traffic loads and temperature differentials
between top and bottom of the concrete slabs, as
the two are assumed to be additive under critical
conditions. The loads applied by single as well as
tandem axles cause maximum flexural stresses
when the tyre imprint touches the longitudinal
edge of slab.
57

Calculation of stress
a) Load stress at edge

p
e 0.529 h 2 (1 0.54 ) ( 4 log 10 l/b

log b

0.4048 )

P = design wheel load, Kg

h = thickness of CC pavement slab,cm
= Poisson's ratio of the CC slab
E = modulus of elasticity of the CC, Kg/cm2
K = reaction modulus of pavement foundations
(i.e., base course, sub- base course or sub grade), Kg/cm3
l = radius of relative stiffness,cm
=
58

Eh3
12 k ( 1 2 )

1
4

b = radius of equivalent distribution of pressure, cm

a
a = a, when h 1.724 and
b=

a
1.6 a 2 h 2 0.675 b , when 1.724
h

a = radius of contact, cm (assumed circular in shape)

59

The edge stress values curves for single axle as well

as tandem axles are available for different
magnitudes of axle loads. These charts are given at
Appendix-1 of the code.
These curves are plotted considering slab thickness
vs flexural stress for different k values.
These curves cover single axle load for a range from
6t to 18 t (6, 8,10,12,14,16,18,20,22,24 t) and for
tandem axle load for a range from 12t to 44 t
(12,16,20,24,28,32,36,40,44 t).
60

Temperature stress at edge

Using Westergaards approach Bradbury
obtained the following equation for
computation of the temperature stress at
the edge region.

61

EttC
Ste
2
Ste = temperature stress in the edge region,
Kg/ cm2
E = modulus of elasticity of concrete, Kg/cm 2
t

= maximum temperature differential during day

between top and bottom of the slab, oc

= coefficient of thermal expansion of cement

concrete, per oc
62

C = Bradbury`s coefficient, which can be

ascertained directly from Bradbury`s chart

L = slab length or space between consecutive

contraction joints , cm
B= slab width, or spacing between longitudinal
joints,cm
Eh3
l = radius of relative stiffness, cm =
12 (1 2 ) k

= Poisson's ratio
h = thickness of the slab,cm
k = modulus of sub grade reaction, Kg/ cm 3
63

The values of Bradburys coefficient C are given in

the form of chart in the code.
c) Load stress at corner
The load stress in the corner region may be
obtained as per Westergaards analysis modified by
Kelly, from the following relation:

s
64

3P a 2
1

l
h

1.2

Where,
Sc = load stress at the corner region, Kg/cm2
P = design wheel load, Kg
h = thickness of CC pavement slab,cm
= Poisson's ratio of the CC slab
E = modulus of elasticity of the CC, Kg/cm 2
K = reaction modulus of pavement foundations
(i.e., base course, sub- base course or sub
grade), Kg/cm3
1
l = radius of relative stiffness,cm
65

Eh3

12 k ( 1 2 )

b = radius of equivalent distribution of pressure, cm

a
a = a, when h 1.724 and
b=

a
1.6 a 2 h 2 0.675 b , when 1.724
h

a = radius of contact, cm (assumed circular in shape)

d)
Temperature stress in the corner is negligible as the
corners are relatively free to warp and therefore may be
ignored
66

Recommended Design Procedure:

Step 1:
Stipulate design values for the various
parameters
Step 2:
Decide types and spacing of joints
Step 3:
Select trial thickness of pavement slab
Step 4:
Compute the repetitions of axle loads of different
magnitudes during the design period.
Step 5:
Calculate the stresses due to single and tandem
axle loads and determine the cumulative fatigue
damage (CDF)
Step 6:
If the CDF is more than 1.0 , select a higher
thickness and repeat the steps 1 to 5
Step 7:
Compute the temperature stress at the edge and
if the sum of the temperature stress and the
flexural stress due to the highest
wheel load
is greater than the modulus of rupture, select
higher thickness and repeat the steps 1 to 6
67

DESIGN OF JOINTS
Joints are provided in cement concrete roads
for expansion, contraction and warping of slabs due
to various temperatures in slabs.
Great care is needed in the design and
construction of joints in Cement Concrete
Pavements, as these are critical locations having
significant effect on the pavement performance. The
joints also need to be effectively sealed , and
maintained well. The recommendations of the IRC:
15, have to followed with regard to joint layout and
contraction joint spacings
68

Cement Concrete Pavements have

transverse and longitudinal joints. Various
types of joints are shown below:
JOINTS IN
CONCRETE
PAVEMENTS

LONGITUDIN
AL JOINTS

WARPING
JOINTS
69

CONSTRUC
TION
JOINTS

TRANSFERS
JOINTS

EXPANSION
JOINTS

CONTRACTI
ON JOINTS

CONSTRUC
TION
JOINTS

CONSTRUCTION
JOINT

SLAB LENGTH

LONGITUDINAL
JOINTS

TIE BAR

SLAB WIDTH

DOWEL
BARS

EXPANSION
JOINTS

LOCATION OF JOINTS
70

Longitudinal Joints.
Longitudinal joints are provided in cement
concrete roads which have width more
than 4.5 m. The longitudinal joints are
provided to prevent longitudinal cracking
in the cement concrete pavements. This
type of joints acts like a hinge and helps to
maintain the two slabs together , at the
same level. In the longitudinal joint tie bars
are provided to hold the adjacent slabs
together.
71

Tie bars are not load transfer devices,

but serve as a means to tie two slabs.
Hence tie bars must be deformed or
hooked and must be firmly anchored into
the concrete to function properly. They
are smaller than dowel bars and placed
at large intervals. They are provided
across longitudinal joints.

72

A warping joint (hinged)

A warping joint (plain but joint)

73
A warping joint (with tie bar)

Longitudinal
joints are to be
provided when
width is more
than 4.5mm
joints are to be
saw cut to 1/3rd
slab thickness +
5mm. Bars are to
be placed middle
third of slab
thickness . Tie
bars are to
coated with
bitumen painted
for 75mm on
either side.

Tie Bars.
Tie bars, either deformed steel bars or
connectors, are designed to hold the faces of
abutting slabs in firm contact. Tie bars are
designed to withstand the maximum tensile
forces required to overcome subgrade
drag.They are not designed to act as load
transfer devices.
Design of Tie bars
The area of steel required per meter length of
joint may be computed using the following
formula:
74

bfw
AS
S

where,
AS = area of steel in cm2, required for meter
length of joint
b = lane width in meters
f = coefficient of friction between pavement
and sub- base, (usually taken as 1.5)
W = weight of slab in kg/ m2
S = allowable working stress in kg/cm2

75

The length of any tie bar (L) should be at least twice that
required to develop a bond strength equal to the working
stress of steel . Expressed as a formula shown below
Where,
2 SA
L *
B P
L = length of tie bar,cm
S = allowable working stress in steel (kg/cm2)
A = cross-section area of one tie bar (cm2)
P = perimeter of bar, cm and
B* = permissible bond stress of concrete (i) for
deformed tie bars-24.6 kg/cm2,(ii) for plain tie bars
kg/cm2

17.5

To permit warping at the joint, the maximum diameter of tie

bars may be limited to 20 mm and they should not be spaced
76
more
than 75 cm apart.

Typical tie bar details for use at Central longitudinal joint in double
lane rigid pavements are given in table below:

Slab thickness
(cm)

Dia (d)
mm

Max. spacing (cm)

Minimum length
(cm)

Plan
bars

Deformed
bars

Plan
bars

Deformed
bars

15

8
10

33
52

53
83

44
51

48
56

20

10
12

39
56

62
90

51
58

56
64

12
16

45
80

72
128

58
72

64
80

30

12
16

37
66

60
106

58
72

64
80

35

12
16

32
57

51
91

58
72

64
80

25

77

Tie bar details

Different types of transverse joints are:

Expansion Joints

Contraction joints
Construction joints

Expansion Joints
Concrete expands with increase in temperature.
Unless there is a provision for expansion, the
concrete slab may buckle outwards and break.
Expansion joints are full depth joints provided at
specified intervals along transverse direction of the
slab. Generally , dowel bars bars are placed across
the expansion joints to take care of the load transfer.
78

The purpose of the expansion joint is to allow the

expansion of the pavement due to rise in temperature with
respect to construction temperature. The design
consideration are:
Provided along the longitudinal direction,
design involves finding the joint spacing for a given
expansion joint thickness (say 2.5 cm specified by IRC)
subjected to some maximum spacing (say 140 as per IRC)
Dowel bars
The purpose of the dowel bar is to effectively transfer the
load between two concrete slabs and to keep the two slabs
in same height. The dowel bars are provided in the
direction of the traffic (longitudinal). The design
considerations are:
Mild steel rounded bars,
bonded on one side and free on other side
79

Load transfer at Transverse joints

Load transfer to relieve part of the load stress at
transverse joints is provided by means of mild steel
dowel bars.
Load transfer devices for transverse joints should
possess the following attributes.
They should be simple in design, be practical
to install, and permit complete encasement by
the concrete.
They should properly distribute the load
stresses without overstressing the concrete at
its contact with the device.
80

They should offer little resistance to longitudinal

movement of the joint at any time.

They should be mechanically stable under the

wheel load weights and frequencies that will
prevail in practice.

They should be resistance to corrosion when

used in those geographic locations where
corrosive elements area problem.(Various types of
coatings are often used to minimize corrosion.)

Bearing stress in the concrete is responsible

for performance of the joints for the dowel bars.
81

Maximum bearing stress between the

and dowel bar is obtained as:

concrete

KP
1 2 z

max
4 3 EI
Where ,

kb
4EI

= relative stiffness of the bar embedded in the concrete.

K= modulus of the dowel/concrete interaction(dowel support,
kg/cm2/cm)
b =diameter of the dowel, cm
z = joint width, cm
E = modulus of the elasticity of the dowel, kg/ cm2
I = moment of inertia, cm4
Pt= load transferred by a dowel bar.
82

Use k value of 41500 kg/ cm3

Allowable bearing stress on concrete is given by:

Fb

10.16 b f ck
9.525

Where ,
Fb = allowable bearing stress, kg/cm2
b = dowel diameter, cm
fck = ultimate compressive strength,(characteristic
strength) of the concrete.

83

One side of the dowel bar is fixed in one concrete

slab while the other side is generally lubricated
and put inside and expansion cap placed within
the other concrete slab. This allows free
expansion of the concrete slabs. The approximate
gap width for this type of joints is from 20 to 25
mm. The size of the dowel bar varies with
pavement thickness and it ranges between 20 to 30
mm.
The dowel bars installed at suitable spacing
across the joints and the dowel bar system
is assumed to be transfer 40% of wheel
load.
For heavy traffic, dowel bars to be provided at the
contraction joints also .
84

It is recommended that the dowel bar system

designed for the expansion joint should be
used for contraction joints also.
Dowel bars are not required for slabs of small
thickness and they need not be provided for
slab of less than 15 cm thickness.
Recommended diameter and length of dowel
bars is given in the table below:

85

sealer

dowel

Expansion cap
T/2
T

20 To 25MM + 1.5
smooth and lubricated
Filler
A typical Expansion joint
Filler board : compressible joint filler 20 to 25mm +1.5 mm.
Filler depth255mm +3 mm lower than slab thickness.
Dowel bars (MS rounds) to be covered with plastic sheathing for length + 50

86

Recommended Dimensions of Dowel Bars for Rigid

Pavements for an Axle load of 10.2 T

Slab
Dowel bar details
thickness Dia
Length
Spacing
cm
mm
mm
mm
20
25
30
35
87

25
25
32
32

500
500
500
500

250
300
300
300

Contraction joints
Contraction joints are provided to permit the
contraction of the slab and to take care of
shrinkage of concrete slabs. They are provided
along transverse direction at regular intervals.
These joints are spaced closer than expansion
joints. Load transference at these joints is
provided through the physical interlocking by the
aggregates projecting out at the joints. Dowel
bars may be or may not be placed to assist the
load transfer mechanism between the two slabs.
Sometimes , a dummy groove ( or partial cut) is
placed as contraction joint .
88

sealent

Smooth and lubricated

Dowel bar
A typical contraction joint
Longitudinal joints are to be provided when width is more than 4.5 mm.joints are to be
saw cut to 1/3rd slab thick +5. Bars are to be placed middle third of slab thickness .Tie
bars are to be coated with bitumen paint for 75 mm on either side.
89

Contraction Joint Spacing (IRC 15-2002)

Slab thickness,
cm
(unreinforced)

Maximum joint spacing , m

15
20
25
30
35

4.5
4.5
4.5
5.0
5.0

90

Construction joints
Construction joints are the joints between
pavement sections that are constructed at
different periods of time. A construction joint
could be along the longitudinal direction or the
transverse direction, and an effort is made such
that it conincides with the locations of other joist.
Thus a construction joint may be expansion or
longitudinal joint. As per modern practice of
concrete pavement construction, construction is
carried out round the clock and therby provision
of construction joints is eliminated.
91

Typical CC Pavement Composition (thickness mm)

92

GSB

150

DLC (M 15)

100 150

PQC (M 40 )

250 - 300

Reference
IS : 10262
IS SP : 23 :
IRC- 58-2002

Recommended Guideline for Concrete Mix Design

Handbook for Concrete Mixes
Guidelines for the Design of Rigid Pavements for
Highways
This code is applicable for roads having a daily
commercial traffic (vehicles with laden weight
exceeding 3 tonne) of over 150. This code is not
applicable for low volume roads.

IRC -15: 2002

IRC SP: 17 1977
IRC SP : 49-1988
IRC:SP:62-2004
93

Standard Specifications and Code of Practice for

Construction of concrete Roads.
Recommendation about overlays on CC
Pavements.
Guidelines for the use of DLC on subbase for
Rigid Pavement.
Concrete pavement Rural Roads

94