Experimental and Numerical Simulation Research on Mechanical Properties of UHPC Pavement Panels

Abstract In the emergency rehabilitation or reconstruction of pavement engineering, there is an urgent need for a pavement technology characterized by light weight, high strength, convenient transportation, and excellent performance. A novel concrete pavement panel was developed using UHPC and prestressed technology. Two full-scale precast pavement panels B1 and B2 with the same dimensions of <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="5 times 2.5 times 0.12 normal m cubed" display="inline" overflow="scroll"> <mml:mn>5</mml:mn> <mml:mo>×</mml:mo> <mml:mn>2.5</mml:mn> <mml:mo>×</mml:mo> <mml:mn>0.12</mml:mn> <mml:mtext> </mml:mtext> <mml:msup> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi mathvariant="normal">m</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>3</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:msup> </mml:math> were tested to investigate their mechanical properties. The failure process, load displacement curves, and load strain curves were compared and analyzed. The results showed that B1 without prestressed wires exhibited brittle failure, with low bearing capacity and poor deformation capacity. Steel fibers in UHPC cannot replace steel bars. In contrast, the B2 with prestressed wires exhibited ductile failure, with high bearing capacity and excellent deformation capacity. Additionally, the B2 showed the elastic recovery capacity upon unloading, which can substantially enhance its durability. The finite element method was employed for further research on the pavement panels. The results indicate that the bearing capacity of B2 is 1.29 times that of UHPC-R and 1.68 times that of NC-2, respectively. This clearly demonstrates the remarkable advantages of integrating UHPC and prestressed technology in pavement engineering applications.