A numerical study of damage evaluation in jointed plain SHCC pavements using new damage evolution laws

Resumo

It is well-known in the design of jointed plain cementitious pavements (JPCP) that the damage in the
cementitious matrix due to stress near the dowel bars is a key factor that affects the service life of such
structures. This study aimed to evaluate numerically the differences in the damage distribution in the near dowel
bar region in JPCP considering alternative materials: strain-hardening cementitious composites (SHCC) in
substitution to concrete and glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) in substitution to the steel bar. The adopted
constitutive model for the cementitious materials was the concrete damage plasticity. A new damage evolution
law proposed by the authors in [13] was adopted. Such a law can be very effective in reproducing the SHCC
behavior because both damage and plastic strain variables are involved with. Interactions between the
cementitious matrix and the dowel bars were simulated by surface-to-surface contact type. The finite element
models were validated by comparing available experimental load-displacement curves with the obtained
numerical ones. The results for the damage distributions reveal that the use of such alternative materials has
induced smaller damage values within a smaller damaged zone when compared with the model with
conventional materials: standard concrete and steel bars. Consequently, smaller cracks in such zones will appear
which will increase the structural life of the pavement.