Wide-Base Tire Load's Impact on Transverse Cracking of Jointed Plain Concrete Pavement in Michigan

This paper presents an evaluation of the impact of wide-base tire (WBT) loading on jointed plain concrete pavement (JPCP) transverse cracking in Michigan. The study utilized mechanical-empirical pavement design (MEPD) cracking-related equations to establish the relationship between stress, damage index, and transverse cracking. The finite element program Illislab was used to calculate the slab top and bottom bending stress under both dual tire (DT) and WBT load, considering Michigan's pavement slab temperature difference distribution and normal distribution of lateral load placement in the transverse direction. The findings indicate that negative temperature difference prevail in Michigan due to built-in temperature differences, promoting top-down cracking development. However, the WBT load's impact on the slabs' bottom stress was significantly more severe than the top stress, which is exacerbated under positive temperature difference. As a result, the final damage index ratios for bottom-up and top-down transverse cracking with a certain WBT load are relatively similar. To address the issue of WBT loads, a calibration factor adjustment method for JPCP transverse cracking is proposed to consider the WBT's impact on pavement design. These findings provide insights for pavement designers and engineers in managing the impact of WBT loads on JPCP transverse cracking when existing mechanistic-empirical software is unable to address it directly.