• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.13 no.1 s.53
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• pp.106-114
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• 2009

The steel design based on the width of transverse crack which is the major factor to affect a long-term performance of continuously reinforced concrete pavement was developed. For this study, twenty-one cities of Texas were selected and the temperature data was collected at those locations during the past ten years. From the data, zero-stress temperatures were calculated by the PavePro program and the widths of transverse crack were analyzed by the CRCP program. The variables used to this numerical analysis were slab thickness, coefficient of thermal expansion of concrete, steel ratio, and design temperature. The total of 448 factorial runs were made and the regression analysis was performed using the results. Steel ratios from the regression equations were backcalculated and a steel design table was proposed.

• International Journal of Highway Engineering
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• v.8 no.2 s.28
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• pp.55-62
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• 2006

Transverse cracks in continuously reinforced concrete pavement (CRCP) occur at early ages due to temperature and moisture variations. The width and spacing of transverse cracks have a significant effect on pavement performance such as load transfer efficiency and punchout development. Also, crack widths in CRCP depend on 'zero-stress temperature,' which is defined as a temperature where initial concrete stresses become zero, as well as drying shrinkage of concrete. For good long-term performance of CRCP, transverse cracks need to be kept tight. To keep the crack widths tight throughout the pavement life, zero-stress temperature must be as low as practically possible. Thus, temperature control at early ages is a key component In ensuring good CRCP performance. In this study, concrete temperatures were predicted using PavePro, a concrete temperature prediction program, for a CRCP construction project, and those values were compared with actual measured temperatures obtained from field testing. The cracks were also surveyed for 12 days after concrete placement. Findings from this study can be summarized as follows. First, the actual maximum temperatures are greater than the predicted maximum temperature in the ranges of 0.2 to 4.5$^{\circ}C$. For accurate temperature predictions, hydration properties of cementitious materials such as activation energy and adiabatic constants, should be evaluated and accurate values be obtained for use as input values. Second, within 24 hours of concrete placement, temperatures of concrete placed in the morning are higher than those placed in the afternoon, and the maximum concrete temperature occurred in the concrete placed at noon. Finally, from the 12 days of condition survey, it was noted that the rate of crack occurrence in the morning placed section was 25 percent greater than that in the afternoon placed section. Based on these findings, it is concluded that maximum concrete temperature has a significant effect on crack development, and boner concrete temperature control is needed to ensure adequate CRCP performance.