Design of Concrete Pavements: A Comparison between Swedish and U.S. Methods

Abstract

The Swedish regulations for roads have now been converted into a computerised design guide that will provide engineers with the necessary, up to date, tool for the design of roads, no matter the surfacing material. The design of concrete roads is, however, based on old tables that offer little change in the concrete thickness when altering parameters like climate, traffic, and material properties. In an ongoing project a new computer-based design method for concrete roads is being developed. The aim of the project is to facilitate the design method and establish a method that treats the concrete pavement with the same ease, accuracy and safety level as current asphalt pavement design methods. In the Ph. D. project an inventory of various design methods is conducted. The project has a focus on investigating and comparing the mechanistic-based design procedure available in the United States to the current Swedish aspects of design.