A finite element investigation was made of the behavior of jointed or cracked pavement systems equipped with a pure-shear load transfer mechanism, such as aggregate interlock. Dimensional analysis wasused in the interpretation of the data, leading to a general definition of the relative joint stiffness of the pavement system in termsof its structural characteristics. Results obtained in this study were verified by coparisons with earlier published field, laboratory, and analytical information. The investigation demonstrated that deflection load transfer efficiency is related to stress load transferefficiency and that this relationship is sensitive to the size of the applied loading (or to the gear configuration). A simple back calculation procedure is outlined to evaluate the in situ joint stiffness of such pavements. Pure-shear load transfer devices are shown to be particularly desirable under a combined externally applied and thermal loading condition, since they offer no additional restraint tolongitudinal curling. This paper appears in transportation researchrecord no. 1286, Design and evaluation of rigid and flexible pavements 1990.
Abstract