The analysis of stress concentration around dowel bars in concrete pavement Available to Purchase

Exceeding permissive stresses concentrated around dowels in concrete is the main factor that limits the efficiency of load transfer in pavement. To study the contact stresses, laboratory analyses and numerical calculations using the finite-element method were carried out for various load levels and different dowel diameters. The results indicate that the simulation using the linear-elastic model is efficient in the calculation of stresses and agrees with the study of selected load intervals. The authors focused attention not only on the compressive stresses under the dowel but also on tensile stresses, whose concentration and large values can cause the development of cracks in concrete. It was found that damage resulting from large load levels occurs in dowels with small diameters where the permissive displacement of the dowel has been exceeded, whereas in dowels with large diameters the damage is caused where the permissive tensile stresses in the concrete have been exceeded. The analyses of various load levels can be useful in the selection of the spacing and diameters of dowels applied in the pavement.