• International Journal of Highway Engineering
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• v.9 no.2 s.32
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• pp.39-49
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• 2007

The objective of this study was to investigate features of transverse crack occurrence and propagation in continuously reinforced concrete pavement(CRCP) when subjected to environmental loading. The finite element model of CRCP was developed and the element removal method was implemented to predict the crack propagation process. To investigate the effect of the type of environmental loading on the CRCP behavior and cracking aspects, the following three different cases were considered: (1) the temperature gradient between top and bottom of the slab does not vary and the constant temperature drop throughout the depth occurs; (2) the temperature at the slab bottom does not vary and the temperature gradient increases; and (3) the temperature between the mid-depth and the bottom of the slab is the same and does not vary and the temperature at the top decreases. The analysis results showed that the crack occurrence and propagation through the depth of the slab in CRCP were significantly affected by the type of environmental loading. The changes in stress distribution and displacements during the crack occurrence and propagation process could also be investigated.