RIGID (CONCRETE) PAVEMENTS DESIGN

Introduction
Rigid pavements are pavements which the top layer is of Portland cement concrete slab. When
properly designed and constructed, concrete roads are capable of carrying almost unlimited
amounts of any type of traffic with ease, comfort and safety.

Surfaces of this type of pavements are skid-resistant and have a high degree of visibility for both
day and night driving. They have generally low maintenance costs. Usually, rigid pavements
consist of two layers i.e. the subgrade and the concrete slab which also acts as the wearing
course. Sub-base as in flexible pavements, is optional and is only required when the subgrade is
very weak.
The concrete slab usually consists of a single layer of uniform cross-section of 150mm to
200mm thick, constructed directly on the proposed subgrade (when sub-base is not required)

Design Consideration
The following steps are to be used for the rigid pavement design. And in the design of concrete
roads, three qualities of subgrades are considered depending on the sub-grade CBR value. These
are:
1. CBR values less than 2%
This is termed as a weak subgrade and a sub-base of at least 150mm would be required.

2. CBR values 3% - 15%

This is considered as a normal subgrade and a subbase of 80mm may be required, depending on
the traffic load and the slab thickness.

3. CBR values of over 15%

This is considered as a very stable sub-grade and the concrete slab may be placed directly on the
subgrade.

The design considerations of this pavement are:

i) Determination of the slab thickness depending on the traffic load and the sub-grade
strength
ii) Use of the reinforcements on the concrete slab. The reinforcement will depend on the
strength of the subgrade and the layer’s thicknesses, but normally 3.9kg/m2 to
4.3kg/m2
iii) Joints and their spacing
In order to control the stresses resulting from the combined effects of temperature and
moisture changes and the wheel loadings, four types of joints are commonly used for
concrete pavements or slabs. These joints are briefly explained here below:

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1. TRANSVERSE CONTRACTION JOINTS
Contraction joints are constructed for the following purposes:
 To control cracking of the slab resulting from contraction (due to changes of temperature
and moisture)
 To receive warping stresses which are also caused by temperature, moisture and wheel
loadings

As the contraction occurs within the slab, the lower portion cracks at the weakened plane i.e. saw
cut or inserted strip and the structural integrity of the joint is maintained by the dowel bars and
aggregate interlock.

2. TRANSVERSE EXPANSION JOINTS

Expansion joints are constructed to minimize expansion stresses. They are 19mm – 25mm wide
and extent the full depth of the slab. The joint space is filled with compressible, elastic and non-
extruding material e.g. bituminous, rubber, cork or soft wood.

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Expansion joints are mostly required at adjacent to permanent structures and intersections.
Dowels help provide load transfer at joints and are typically 32mm in diameter.

3. CONSTRUCTION AND LONGITUDINAL JOINTS

Construction joints are required to mark the end/beginning of the day’s operation (if the day’s
work cannot and at either contraction or expansion joint. Also when the work has to stop due to
some other unavoidable interruption e.g. bad weather, accident or machine break-down.

Longitudinal joints are only required where the road width cannot be laid in one operation i.e.
cannot cover the total lanes width (more than 4.5m).

Note:
For the joints to function properly, they should have the following factors:
i) A joint must be waterproof at all times
ii) Free movement of the slab must be permitted at all times
iii) Joints should not detract from the riding quality of a roadway
iv) Joints should interfere as little as possible with the placing of the concrete slab i.e.
minimum joints.

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