An Assessment of the Adaptability of Empirical and Mechanistic Design Procedures for Plain Concrete Pavements in Kenya

摘要

In this paper the fundamentals of both the German empirical and the Netherlands mechanistic rigid pavement design procedures are presented for jointed plain concrete pavements. This study aims to assist Kenya in deciding on which design procedure(s) to adopt/adapt in her development of cement concrete roads design procedure. The study is based on literature survey and analysis of the Dutch and German design procedures with reference to significant design parameters. Assessments of the adaptability of both the design procedures to the Kenyan conditions are carried out. The analysis from the literature survey showed that the Dutch procedure was preferable to the German procedure in most instances as it allows the use of nationally determined parameters in Kenya.