Experimental Laboratory Testing on Behavior of Dowels in Concrete Pavements

Abstract

This paper describes the testing of effectiveness and behavior of dowels placed in transversal joints of concrete pavements, while focusing on dimensions and quality of commonly used materials. The analysis uses experimental tests in laboratory conditions which were performed independently in the Czech Republic and Slovak Republic. The comparison of quality as well as potential use of alternative materials of dowels is made with the use of developed tests focusing on main requirements, such as longitudinal displacement in cement concrete, resistance of coating to damage, and reduced potential to concrete damage. Furthermore, the paper describes and compares loading results of the relative concrete deformations around dowels by strain gauges that were analyzed. Results of deformations on beams with an inserted dowel and the findings that were observed during the measurement are presented.

Experimental and numerical study on the structural performance of the stainless steel ring strengthened removable dowel bar connection system

“…Concrete crushing failure had been pointed out by researchers in previous experimental works (Guo et al 1993, Eddie et al 2001, Murison et al 2005, Porter and Pierson 2007, Li et al 2012, Al-Humeidawi and Mandal 2014, Benmokrane et al 2014, Bronuela et al 2015, Hu et al 2017, Zuzulova et al 2020. For each specimen, the localised concrete crushing initially occurred on the top of the pavement connection and then expanded as the load increased.…”

“…The strain distribution and development were assessed under service load. For an individual dowel bar, as reported by other researchers, the maximum transferred shear forces ranged from 5.85 kN to 20 kN considering different types of subbase layers (Murison et al 2005, Maitra et al 2009, Tayabji et al 2013, Al-Humeidawi and Mandal 2014, Hu et al 2017, Mackiewicz and Szydło 2020, Yin et al 2020, Zuzulova et al 2020. Similarly, assuming that half of the load was transferred by the dowel bar under the wheel, 20 kN load should be transferred by each dowel bar after considering the 80 kN equivalent single axle load (ESAL) (AASHTO 1993, Tayabji et al 2013.…”

Stainless steel ring strengthened removable dowel bar connection system: Effect of key parameters and design recommendations

“…21, the initial stiffness and yield load increased with the thickness of the stainless steel ring. As reported by other researchers, the maximum shear force transferred by the individual dowel bar ranging from 5.85 kN to 20 kN with different subbase layers [2,8,14,20,22,40,46,75]. Therefore, considering the most critical case, 20 kN was regarded as the service load to evaluate the compressive stress.…”

Characteristics of compressive stress around dowel joint in concrete pavement system

“…Jointed plain concrete pavement (JPCP) systems are normally designed with contraction joints with a certain interval to control cracks induced by concrete shrinkage (Ioannides 2005, Tayabji et al 2013a, Tayabji et al 2013b, Sii et al 2014, Novak et al 2017, Vaitkus et al 2019). Among these joints, epoxy-coated dowel bars are normally installed and regarded as effective loading transfer devices to transfer load between pavement slabs (Tayabji et al 2012, Tayabji et al 2013a, Tayabji et al 2013b, Al-Humeidawi and Mandal 2014a, Al-Humeidawi and Mandal 2018, Yin et al 2020, Zuzulova et al 2020. In JPCP systems, an effective loading transfer is achieved through the bearing stress provided by stiff concrete support.…”