Analytical method for evaluating top-down cracking in pavements

Top-down cracking is a type of cracking that significantly impacts traffic safety and comfort and reduces a pavement's service life. Here, a cement concrete pavement containing a top-down crack is investigated under traffic load using a theoretical analysis method. In order to simplify the problem, the cement concrete pavement is modelled as an elastic plate on a Winkler foundation. Fourier transform methods and a dislocation density function are used to determine the stress intensity factors of a crack tip. A parametric study is conducted to isolate the effects of crack length, pavement stiffness and distance between the crack and the edge of a vehicle wheel. The results of the study show that crack length and load position significantly affect the stress intensity factors. However, stress intensity factors are less affected by the elastic modulus of the pavement material.