Title:
Novel Small-Scale Accelerated Load Test for Assessing Dowel Performance (Prepublished)
Author(s):
Charles A. Donnelly and Julie M. Vandenbossche
Publication:
Structural Journal
Volume:
Issue:
Appears on pages(s):
Keywords:
dowel bars; faulting; accelerated testing; performance prediction
DOI:
10.14359/51749552
Date:
2/13/2026
Abstract:
Repeated vehicle loading causes a decrease in transverse joint stiffness in concrete pavements due to damage accumulation around dowel bars. The relationship between key design parameters and damage accumulation is not well established due to limited faulting performance data and a lack of experimental data from expensive full-slab testing. A novel laboratory test setup was developed to characterize damage development caused by repeated vehicle loads. This setup was used to characterize damage for a range of key parameters at a lower cost and level of effort compared to full-scale slab testing. The concept of beam deflection energy, DEBeam, is also introduced. Experimental results were used to develop a DEBeam prediction model. The novel test setup developed in this study enables the rapid evaluation of a variety of dowel materials and geometries, and experimental results can be used to improve current faulting prediction performance.