CALCULATION OF THE THERMAL STRESSES IN CONCRETE PAVEMENTS AT EARLY AGES

An analytical solution of thermal stress in concrete pavement subjected to a nonlinear temperature distribution is presented. In the analytical model, the temperature distribution along the slab depth is divided into three components, an average temperature component, a linear temperature component and a nonlinear temperature component. The thermal stresses resulted by each temperature component are calculated separately. The total thermal stress is obtained by superimposing the three stress components together. In addition, the effect of concrete creep on the thermal stresses is taking into account in the calculation. The computing results of the model show that as a result of the nonlinear characteristic of the temperature distribution, the thermal stress is nonlinearly distributed along the slab depth. The maximum stress may occur at any location along the slab depth, which is governed by the sum of three stress components. Concrete creep significantly reduces the thermal stress.