Stress and damage assessment in concrete pavement surrounding dowels: a CDP model approach

The wheel loads will lead to intense stress concentration in the concrete surrounding the dowels within jointed concrete pavements and consequently result in the loss of load transfer capacity at joints. The paper implemented the Concrete Damaged Plasticity (CDP) model in ABAQUS to investigate the mechanical response and damage status in the concrete surrounding the dowels. The accuracy of the CDP model in the simulation of simple specimens was validated by comparing with the experimental results. The findings reveal similar damage patterns across slab thicknesses, with edge loading resulting in higher load-carrying capacities compared to corner loading. Thicker pavements demonstrated superior joint performance under heavy loads. Importantly, increasing slab thickness alone, without enhancing subgrade stiffness or adding foundation layers, effectively reduces damage around the dowel and improves joint performance.