SIMULATED FRACTURE IN CONCRETE COMPOSITE PAVEMENTS USING A COUPLED LATTICE AND FINITE ELEMENT MODEL

摘要

This research describes a computational model developed to investigate failure at the interface of two layers of a newly-constructed concrete composite pavement under wheel and thermal loads. This failure is often referred to as "debonding." The likelihood of debonding is considered in light of construction practices and heterogeneity in the concrete layers. Simulations determined that for debonding to occur, significant degradation of interfacial properties in combination with extreme, unrealistic thermal strains would be required. These simulations support observations of composite concrete pavements in Europe, where no debonding has been noted in over fifty years of application.