DECLARATION

I hereby declare that the minor design project report entitled Design of PQC Slab is an
authentic record of the work carried out as per the requirement for the award of degree of
Masters of Engineering in Infrastructure (Civil) Engineering at Thapar University, Patiala. The
matter embodied in this report has not been submitted in part or full to any other university or
institute for the award of any degree.

Date: Avishreshth
(801423003)

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that above statement is correct to best of my knowledge and belief.

Date: Mr. Tanuj Chopra

(Assistant Professor)
Deptt. of Civil Engg.
Thapar University, Patiala

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I wish to express my sincere appreciation and profound gratitude to Mr. Tanuj Chopra, Assistant
Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, for his intuitive and careful guidance, perpetual
inspiration and continued encouragement in completion of this design project.

My sincere thanks go to Thapar University, Patiala who gave me an opportunity to work and
successfully complete this project..

I would like to thank all the people who have encouraged and inspired me to achieve higher
goals.

I thank my parents for giving unconditional support and encouragement to pursue my current
study.

AVISHRESHTH

(801423003)

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

S. No. DESCRIPTION Page No.

List of Tables iv
List of Figures v
Abstract vi
1 Introduction 1
1.1 General 1
1.2 Background 2
1.3 Types of Concrete Pavements 2
2 Pavement Design Parameters 4
2.1 Axle Loads and Tyre Pressures 4
2.2 Design Traffic 4
2.3 Temperature Differential 5
2.4 Modulus of Subgrade Reaction 6
2.5 Dry Lean Concrete (DLC) Sub-Base 7
2.6 Concrete Strength 8
2.7 Typical Values 9
2.8 Fatigue Behaviour of Cement Concrete 9
3 Design of Slab Thickness 10
3.1 Flexural Stress and Fatigue Damage 10
3.2 Design Criterion of Rigid Pavements 13
3.3 Erosion Consideration 13
3.4 Drainage Layer 13
3.5 Tied Concrete Shoulder and Widened Outer Lane 14
3.6 Bonded Rigid Pavement 15
3.7 Recommended Procedure for Slab Design 16
4 Design of Joints 17
4.1 Spacing and Layout 17
4.2 Load Transfer at Transverse Joints 18
5 Tie Bars for Longitudinal Joints 20
6 Reinforcement in Concrete Slabs 22
7 Widening of Concrete Pavements 23
8 Illustrative Example for Design of PQC Slab 24
Appendix I Stress Charts for Bottom-up Cracking Analysis 43
Appendix II Regression Equations for Flexural Stress in Concrete Slab 48

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 LIST OF TABLES

Table No. Description Page No.

Recommended Maximum Temperature Differentials for Concrete
2.3.1 5
Slab
Relationship between k-value and CBR-value for Homogeneous
2.4.1 6
Soil Subgrade
2.5.1 k-values for Granular and Cement treated Sub-base 8
2.5.2 k-values for Dry Lean Concrete Sub-base 8
4.2.1 Recommended Dimensions of Dowel Bar 19
5.1 Details of Tie Bars for Longitudinal Joint of Rigid Pavement 21
8.1 Axle Load Spectrum 24
Design Axle Load repetitions for Bottom-up & Top-Down Cracking
8.2 27
Fatigue Analysis
8.3 Cumulative Fatigue Damage Analysis for Bottom-up Cracking 29
8.4 Cumulative Fatigue Damage Analysis for Top-Down Cracking 30
8.5 Cumulative Fatigue Damage Analysis for Bottom-up Cracking 32
8.6 Cumulative Fatigue Damage Analysis for Top-Down Cracking 33
8.7 Cumulative Fatigue Damage Analysis for Bottom-up Cracking 35
8.8 Cumulative Fatigue Damage Analysis for Top-Down Cracking 36
Cumulative Fatigue Damage values for Different Trial Thicknesses
8.9 37
Considered in the Problem

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 LIST OF FIGURES

Figure No. Description Page No.

1.1.1 Typical Rigid Pavement Layers 1
1.1.2 Concrete acts like a bridge over the subgrade 1
1.3.1 Different Concrete Pavement Systems 3
1.3.2 Typical Cross-section of Concrete Pavement 3
2.4.1 Chart for estimation of effective CBR of Subgrades 7
3.1.1 Axle Load Placed in the Middle of the Slab during Mid-day 10
Placement of Axles for Maximum Edge Flexural Stress at
3.1.2 11
Bottom of the Slab without Concrete Shoulders
Placement of 2 Axles of a Commercial Vehicle on a Slab Curled
3.1.3 11
During Night Hours
Different Axle Load Positions Causing Tensile stress at the Top
3.1.4 12
Fibre of the Slab with Tied Concrete Shoulder
3.5.1 Concrete Pavement with Widened outer Lane 14
3.6.1 Concept used for obtaining Combined Flexural Stiffness 15
4.1.1 Layout of Joints in PQC Slab 17
7.1 Illustration of Addition of a Lane to an Existing Pavement 23
8.1 Typical cross-section of Concrete Pavement 25
8.2 Rigid Pavement Configuration 42
Appendix - I Stress Charts for Bottom-up Cracking Analysis 43

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 ABSTRACT

There is an increasing trend for using concrete pavement all over the world because of its ability
to handle complex loading and environmental conditions that occur in highways. Finite element
method is the best tool for analysis of the pavement slab. The pavement slab may be subjected to
combined action of axle load and temperature differential across the depth of slab. The present
study describes an example of thickness design of a concrete pavement with tied concrete
shoulder. The possibility of bottom-up and top-down cracking has been considered. The less
thickness of slab is required if there is a tied concrete shoulder or when the slab has a widened
outer lane. Higher modulus of subgrade reaction causes higher flexural stress due to combined
action of axle load and warping during the daytime as compared to those subgrades with lower
modulus of subgrade reaction.

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