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Joint Design
Joints, which are integral to JPCP and JRCP, and also necessary in CRCP, must be designed to minimize slab cracking, joint deflection, joint
stresses and roughness as well as accommodate the intended joint sealant. Four key design components are manipulated to meet these goals:

Joint spacing

Joint orientation

Joint size

Load transfer design

Joint Spacing
Joint spacing influences internal slab stresses, which determine how and where a slab cracks, as well as how much a slab will shrink or expand
with temperature changes. Typically, joint spacing decisions must be made on JPCP transverse and longitudinal contraction joints. Of these,
transverse contraction joints involve the most options. Longitudinal joints are typically spaced at lane edges, which makes them between about 3
and 4.25 m (10 and 14 ft.) apart. Expansion joints are rarely used any more, and construction and isolation joints are determined by project
geometry, field placement and equipment capabilities.

Joint spacing is highly dependent on the local environment, materials and subgrade. First, expected temperature changes will influence slab
curling stresses. In general, the greater the temperature changes, the shorter the joint spacing should be. Second, the materials within the PCC
slab (the coarse aggregate is of overriding concern) will influence the slab’s thermal coefficient. The higher the thermal coefficient, the more a slab
will shrink and expand for a given temperature change. Generally, slabs made with limestone coarse aggregate have lower thermal coefficients,
while slabs made with quartz or sandstone have higher thermal coefficients. Third, as the slab expands and contracts, the frictional resistance
offered by the base material will also influence slab stresses. In general, the more frictional resistance, the higher the slab stresses.

Joint spacing is also related to slab thickness. In general, the thinner a slab is, the higher the curling stresses and thus, the shorter the joint
spacing should be. As a general rule-of-thumb, joint spacing should be less than about 24 x slab thickness. Thus, a 230 mm slab (9 inches)
should have joints spaced no more than about 5.5 m (18 ft.) apart. Also, as a general guide, the ratio of longer side slab length to the shorter side
slab length should be kept less than about 1.25.

The FHWA (1990[1]) recommends that the L/l ratio (slab length divided by radius of relative stiffness) not exceed 5.0 when determining the
maximum slab length. Table 1 shows some slab lengths resulting from using L/l = 5.0 for a range of normal slab thicknesses.

Table 1. Slabs Lengths Resulting from Using an L/l Ratio = 5.0

Slab Thickness k = 27 MPa/m (100 pci) k = 54 MPa/m (200 pci) k = 216 MPa/m (800 pci)
l L l L l L
225 mm 1067 mm 5.3 m 897 mm 4.5 m 635 mm 3.2 m
(9 inches) (42.0 inches) (17.5 ft.) (35.3 inches) (14.7 ft.) (25.0 inches) (10.4 ft.)
325 mm 1405 mm 7.0 m 1181 mm 5.9 m 836 mm 4.2 m
(13 inches) (55.3 inches) (23.0 ft.) (46.5 inches) (19.4 ft.) (32.9 inches) (13.7 ft.)

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