Closed-form, six-slab, thick-plate solution for analysis of edge slab of concrete pavement

The development and application of a theoretical closed-form solution of a six-slab, thick-plate model for the structural design and analysis of an edge slab in jointed concrete pavement subjected to vertical loads are described. The jointed concrete pavement system is idealized as a six-slab system resting on a Winkler foundation. The six slabs are arranged in two rows with three slabs in each row. The loaded slab of interest is represented by a middle slab with five surrounding slabs to consider the effects of jointed pavement system. Fundamental equations of the proposed model were derived from thick-plate theory. Solutions of the fundamental equations were obtained by superposition of the solutions of appropriate elemental slabs. The validity of the proposed solutions was checked against finite element solutions. The six-slab model was applied to analyze the critical stresses and deflections of an edge slab under the following three loading conditions: interior, edge, and corner loadings. Comparisons of the computed critical stresses and deflections were made with Westergaard's solutions. Westergaard's solutions were found to overestimate the maximum bending stresses and deflections for large slabs but to tend to underestimate these pavement responses for small slabs. The likelihood of underestimation by Westergaard's solutions also increased as the load transfer efficiency of pavement joints fell.