Evaluation of dowel bars installed in airfield concrete pavement construction joints by using plastic sleeves

This paper presents the results of an evaluation of the effectiveness of an innovative process for installing dowel bars in construction joints without drilling. The procedure involves inserting plastic sleeves with the same outside dimensions as the drilled holes into plastic concrete to create the holes for installation of the dowel bar, rather than drilling. The plastic sleeves are later removed, and the dowel bars are inserted in the holes left behind. To avoid any deleterious effects, the technique must produce dowel bar alignments that are comparable with those of the bars installed under the conventional method and must not cause any other problems. A field test was conducted to evaluate the viability of the new technique. The evaluation is based on the key factors that determine the engineering feasibility of the new procedure, which include dowel bar alignment, consolidation of concrete around the plastic sleeves, and the impact of the insertion techniques on pavement surface profile. The test results showed that the plastic sleeves can produce dowel bar alignments that are comparable with or better than those produced by the conventional drilling method, without any deleterious effects.