Shrinkage and Shrinkage Restraints in Concrete Pavements

Analysis of shrinkage stress in concrete beam and some laboratory tests to verify this analysis were carried out. Deformation due to drying shrinkage and thermal cycles was measured in the field on model and full-sized concrete pavements (with and without expansive components) to obtain the distribution of shrinkage strain, the restraint by subgrade, the combined strain due to drying shrinkage and thermal cycles and the effects of use of expansive concrete on shrinkage stresses. Shrinkage stress in concrete pavements was evaluated by these observations and supplemental laboratory tests. The result shows that shrinkage stresses in concrete pavements due to drying shrinkage are by no means small, especially warping shrinkage stresses due to restraint of curvature of pavements should be considered in the design of concrete pavements.