On the Effects of Subgrade Erosion on the Contact Pressure Distribution under Rigid Surface Structures

Abstract

The performance of rigid surface structures such as concrete pavements and slabs-on-grade supported by a deteriorated subgrade and experiencing local contact loss is investigated experimentally and numerically in this study. A laboratory setup has been designed to facilitate the simulation of subsurface erosion and measure the changes in contact pressure at selected locations under a slab-on-grade supported on granular material. The presence of erosion voids under a slab-on-grade can lead to rapid increase in the contact pressure in the immediate vicinity of the void in addition to an increase in tensile stresses at the outermost fibers of the slab. This preliminary study suggests that efforts to detect and arrest the growth of erosion voids under slabs-on-grade should be made before the voids reach the size where significant loss of support develops and the tensile strength of the slab material is exceeded.