Generally, joint performance in concrete pavements is evaluated in laboratory by applying dynamic loads that require large scale experimental setups. In order to propose a simplified laboratory test, a comprehensive literary review of the fundamentals of load transfer at joints is made, and the load transfer efficiency obtained via a reduced scale test is compared under static and dynamic conditions. The results confirm feasibility of static analysis via a reduced scale test for evaluating load transfer efficiency of non-dowelled concrete pavements.@en

Pavements are one of the largest assets of a city and their functional condition (ride quality) is priority for their clients. In jointed plain concrete pavements (JPCPs), the presence of joint faulting (JF) reduces the ride quality. Today, short slabs are available as a cost-effective JPCP innovation. The objective of this paper is to analyse the JF behaviour of JPCPs with short slabs. For this, a deterioration model to predict it and trends of JF observed in short slabs of Chile and the United States are considered. The HDM-4 model always yields lower JF per joint in short slabs than in traditional ones. However, real-world short slabs show not only lower JF per joint (that the modelled JF), but also that more joints do not necessarily mean more JF per length of pavement that affect the ride quality. One of the relevant explanatory factors for it is the radical reduction of crack width at joints, which produces a fundamental increase of the load transfer efficiency. To maintain favourable behaviour observed in the field it is recommended to assure joint activation and to provide adequate stiffness of the layers below the short slabs.@en

Curling and warping of jointed plain-concrete road pavements are not only unfavourable from the structural point of view but also from a functional perspective because road users can perceive different ride qualities during the day due to changes in slab curvature. The use of short slabs, an innovation of traditional jointed plain-concrete pavements, allows a reduction in concrete thickness due to traffic load configurations and also a reduction in curling and warping. The objective of this study was to compare the stability of ride quality in traditional and short-slab pavements. Using a walking profiler, precise international roughness index (IRI) measurements were taken every 10 m on both types of pavements in Chile at different times of the day and over two slab tracks. Roughness measurements using a high-speed laser profilometer over 12 km of additional short slabs in Chile were also considered. Changes in IRI of up to 0.6 m/km were obtained on traditional pavements. In contrast, the results clearly demonstrated the stability of the ride quality offered by short slabs, with users experiencing the same roughness at different times of the day.@en