Differential Settlement Behavior and Verification of Precast Concrete Pavement and Base Layer

Abstract

In response to the adaptability of cement concrete precast pavement slabs to the allowable differential settlement of pavement base, by testing the ultimate displacement of cement concrete slab bottom under different concrete types, slab thicknesses, and steel bar diameters, the mechanical behavior of cement concrete precast pavement slabs under differential settlement deformation of the base layer is studied. A numerical model of cement concrete pavement was established and validated using finite element software Abaqus and on-site test data, respectively. The results show that when the length of the pavement slab is 3.5m, the width is 3m, and four steel bars are used for through hole lifting and pavement slab connection (with a steel bar diameter of 28mm), as the thickness of the pavement slab decreases, the bottom displacement of the benchmark concrete slab and flexible cement concrete slab increases continuously during failure; with the diameter of the steel bars changes, the ultimate load and bottom displacement of the benchmark concrete slab and flexible cement concrete slab do not change significantly during failure. Meanwhile, when the thickness of the pavement slab is 0.18m, and the diameter of the steel bar is 28mm, compared to the reference concrete, the ultimate load of the flexible cement concrete pavement increases by 89.7%, and the corresponding mid-span displacement of the slab bottom increases by 81.3%, indicating that the prefabricated flexible cement concrete pavement slab can better adapt to the differential settlement of the base layer.