Performance of Concrete Pavements with Optimized Geometry Panels Tendered By the Ministry of Public Works in Chile

AUTHORS: Covarrubias, J.P.; Del Rio, P.; and Fernández, M.

ABSTRACT: In 2005, a new concrete pavement design concept was introduced, based on designing the dimensions of panels in such a way that only one truck wheel or set of wheels can load the panel at a time. This reduction in panel size reduces the stresses caused by curling and interaction with loads, which ultimately allows to reduce the necessary thickness of the pavement without affecting its design life or, to increase its durability without increasing the thickness.

This article presents an analysis of the current state of this paving technology in public projects of the Ministry of Public Works of Chile after more than a decade of its implementation, based on the monitoring of various projects built with this methodology. The results obtained are compared with the background of design, construction, and acceptance to evaluate the performance over time according to the different conditions of each project.