Determination of coefficient of thermal expansion for Portland Cement Concrete pavements for MEPDG Implementation

Final report.PDFTech ReportGDOT Research Project No. 10-04Portland cement concretePortland cementPavementsThermal expansionPavement designMechanistic designGeorgiaGeorgia Pavement Research CenterKim, Sung-HeeGeorgia Pavement Research CenterGeorgia. Dept. of TransportationUnited States. Federal Highway AdministrationNTL-HIGHWAY/ROAD TRANSPORTATION-MaterialsNTL-HIGHWAY/ROAD TRANSPORTATION-Pavement Management and PerformanceNTL-HIGHWAY/ROAD TRANSPORTATION-Construction and MaintenanceUS Transportation CollectionThe Coefficient of Thermal Expansion (CTE) is an important parameter in Portland Cement Concrete (PCC) pavement analysis and design as it is directly proportional to the magnitude of temperature-related pavement deformations throughout the pavement service life. Several studies in the past few years have classified the CTE as an extremely sensitive input in the Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG) for structural design of rigid pavements, because the CTE affects slab stresses due to initial temperature-induced movements, corner deflections, joint faulting, pavement smoothness, and sawcut timing (ARA 2004)