Laboratory And Field Tests On A Prefabricated Steel-Bar Mesh-Panel System For Continuously-Reinforced-Concrete Pavement (CRCP)

Abstract

The decline in the number of persons of working age is a social problem in Japan. This is a particularly serious concern for workers in the construction field; construction systems should be considered for productivity improvements. Prefabrication systems are an effective method for shortening construction cycles and times. In fact, various precast concrete members have been employed to realize more rapid construction and improvements in quality. Using precast concrete members is difficult because jointless roads are preferable for highway pavement. Continuously reinforced concrete pavement (CRCP), which has the advantages of concrete jointless construction and high ductility, is a suitable method for highway road construction. Typical Japanese highways built with CRCP reduce the amount of horizontal cracking by arranging transverse rebars at an angle of 60° to the main rebars. Note that rebar placement and bonding in conventional CRCP are troublesome and labor intensive owing to the long construction time required. We have developed prefabricated steel bar meshes for CRCP and can report some benefits relating to their practical application. To examine the fundamental properties of mesh panels, we conducted a laboratory experiment and a simulated field test. The primary concern of welded rebars are failures induced by cyclic loading. A flexural fatigue loading test using CRCP models was conducted. In addition, a comparative survey on conventional and prefabrication systems was performed in the simulated field test to quantify the constructability of CRCP and to observe the extent of cracking in concrete. This paper reports on our experimental investigation.