Failure of Concrete Pavements in Test Tracks

Abstract

Results of full‐scale accelerated traffic tests conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers were studied. It was found for similar pavements that relationships between observed failure coverages for different loads and gear assemblies provided a better correlation for flexible pavements than for rigid pavements. The analyses suggest that there may be variables in the tests that could adversely affect either the performance in rigid pavements more than in flexible pavements, or only the performance of rigid pavements. It was inferred that inconsistent test track results can be expected in similar rigid pavements due to: (1) The presence of joint system itself and difference in the material and construction variabilities in the joint system; (2) the possible difference in the geometrical layout of the joint system relative to the applied traffic pattern in each test traffic lane; and (3) temperature and moisture differentials in the concrete slabs, which may not be repeatable from one test to another. The analyses may suggest that the reliability of the failure criteria established from field‐test data may be inherently lower for rigid pavements than for flexible pavements.