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Ohio DOT Dowel Bar Alignment Guidelines

The document summarizes Ohio DOT's experience with dowel bar inserters (DBI) on pavement projects. It found issues with premature cracking due to misaligned dowels inserted by faulty DBIs. New specifications in 2012-2013 established dowel tolerances and quality control testing of every 10th joint using scanning. The 2014 project data showed low rates of dowel misalignment but high joint score failures, which improved with interference adjustments. Lessons included the importance of accurate saw cuts, test sections, repeatability of DBIs, using rejection tolerances, and accounting for interference in measurements.

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Jenny Sánchez
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64 views13 pages

Ohio DOT Dowel Bar Alignment Guidelines

The document summarizes Ohio DOT's experience with dowel bar inserters (DBI) on pavement projects. It found issues with premature cracking due to misaligned dowels inserted by faulty DBIs. New specifications in 2012-2013 established dowel tolerances and quality control testing of every 10th joint using scanning. The 2014 project data showed low rates of dowel misalignment but high joint score failures, which improved with interference adjustments. Lessons included the importance of accurate saw cuts, test sections, repeatability of DBIs, using rejection tolerances, and accounting for interference in measurements.

Uploaded by

Jenny Sánchez
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Ohio DOT

MIT Scan2 Experience


October 27, 2014
What Drove Change???
• Previous concern/issues
with DBI pavers
• 2009 Project Issues
• Premature pavement cracking
Misaligned • Investigation of over 700 joints
Dowels
• Dowels inserted with a faulty
DBI.
• January 2012 Spec Change
• April 2013 Spec Change
The new dowel tolerances

Table 451.09-2
Individual Dowel Bar Alignment
Tolerances
Acceptance Rejection
Alignment
Tolerance Criteria
Parameter
(inches) (inches)
Horizontal
2.0 3.0
Translation a
Longitudinal
2.0 4.0
Translation b
Vertical
1.0 T/6
Translation c
Horizontal
0.60 1.0
Skew d
Vertical Tilt e 0.60 1.0

Cover f - 2.5 minimum


Joint Score Calculations
Single Dowel Misalignment (SDM) W, Weighting Factor

SDM ≤ 0.6 in. (15 mm) 0

0.6 in. (15 mm) < SDM ≤ 0.8 in. (20 mm) 2

0.8 in. (20 mm) < SDM ≤ 1 in. (25 mm) 4

1 in. (25 mm) < SDM ≤ 1.5 in. (38 mm) 5

1.5 in. (38 mm) < SDM 10


Test Sections
• 500 feet minimum length
• Measure every Joint
• Acceptable Test Section:
– Each JS<JST
– 90% of bars meet Acceptance Tolerances
– No Rejectable Bars
• Interference with tie bars, metal, etc.
– Evaluate during test section
– Exclude bars from calculations if
interference is seen from scan.
– Contractor should propose how to validate
the position of these bars.
Quality Control Testing for DBI

• Scanning Frequency = Every 10th Joint


• Acceptable:
– All bar deviations < Acceptance Tolerances
– All JS<JST for each joint

• Needs Improvement:
– If more than 10% exceed Acceptance Tolerances
– All JS<JST for each joint
– Contractor should make Process modifications
– Scanning frequency increases to every 5th joint
Quality Control Testing for DBI
• Unacceptable:
– Any single dowel deviation > Rejection Tolerances
– Any JS>JST for each joint scanned.

• Actions when Unacceptable:


– Scan additional joints in both directions until 5 consecutive
joints are found with:
• No single dowel deviation > Rejection Tolerances
• No JS>JST
– If found to be isolated joint, allow paving to continue and
scan at every 5th joint.
– If more issues are found, discontinue paving, evaluate
paver and require new test section prior to resuming
paving.
– Remove the paver if a successful test section cannot be
achieved.
Corrective Action Proposal

• Corrective Action Required:


– Any dowel with deviation > Rejection Tolerance
– Any joint with JS≥JST

• Corrective Action Waived:


– Random Misalignment
– Two consecutive locked joints (JS≥JST) provided there are
three adjacent joints in both directions with no issues.
2014 Project Data
Total % Adj. for W/out
Failure Interf. First Day

Joints Scanned 612 -

Total Dowels 7344 -

Horizontal Skew 54 0.7%

Vertical Tilt 233 3.2% 2.0%

Joint Score 252 41% 27% 13%

Horizontal
40 0.5%
Translation

Vertical Translation 0 -

Longitudinal
0 -
Translation
Lessons Learned
• Attention to detail is important.
• Saw cuts must be placed
accurately.
• Test sections are a must.
• DBI’s tend to be very repeatable.
• Everyone defaults to rejection
tolerances.
• Project staff need to keep up with
data on a daily basis.
Lessons Learned
• Interference from tie bars,
barrier, etc. can be a problem.
• Measurement of bars with
interference needs discussed.
• Tie bar scanning may also be
needed.
• Corrective actions need thought
out.
Questions??

Craig Landefeld, PE
Phone: (614) 644-6622
Email: craig.landefeld@dot.state.oh.us

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