Mechanics Analysis Model of Dowel Bar in Concrete Pavement

Abstract:

3D finite element model was used to analyze the contact state between dowel bar and cement concrete pavement. Based on the equivalent principle of bending stiffness, the dowel bar and concrete surface layer system were simplified to double-layer beam structure. The calculation results show that the double-layer beam structure on elastic foundation can describe the deflection effect of concrete pavement well. In addition the relative displacement, rotation angle and the stress of the double-layer beam are different from the 3D finite element solution, which can be eliminated by modifying the vertical reaction modulus between the double-layer beams. Furthermore, the regression formulas of the relative displacement, rotation angle and the resultant force of extrusion stress were summarized. The formulas of the shear stiffness and bending stiffness of the dowel bar joint were given, and it was pointed out that the ability of the dowel bar to transfer bending moment was negligible. Finally, the load transfer problem of double-layer beam joints under the concentrated loads at the beam end was calculated and analyzed, which shows that the existence of base can increase the joint deflection ratio and reduce the shear force transmitted by the joint, when the joint shear stiffness is constant.