Title:
Experimental Fatigue Analysis of Stresses Caused by Superloads on Concrete Pavements
Author(s):
Nathanial Buettner and Julie Vandenbossche
Publication:
Structural Journal
Volume:
120
Issue:
6
Appears on pages(s):
63-72
Keywords:
damage; fatigue; nonlinear; overload; pavement; superload
DOI:
10.14359/51739086
Date:
11/1/2023
Abstract:
Superloads, defined as vehicles with a gross vehicle weight of over
890 kN, are believed to overload jointed plain concrete pavements
(JPCPs) and have the potential to cause significantly more fatigue
damage than typical truck traffic. It is anticipated that the fatigue
damage is greater when the superload is applied later in the life of
the JPCP. In this study, the stress pulses generated by superloads
on JPCPs were characterized using finite element modeling and
related to fatigue damage through the fatigue testing of concrete
beams. Concrete beams subjected to loading profiles that simulate
those of a superload were observed to accumulate fatigue damage
at an accelerated rate when applied after 70% of the fatigue life
of the concrete was consumed. Moreover, through the collection
of fatigue life and beam response data, the effects of stress ratio,
stress range, flexural strength, and damage state at the time of
loading on the fatigue damage imposed by a superload movement
were elucidated.