j o u r n a l o f t r a f fi c a n d t r a n s p o r t a t i o n e n g i n e e r i n g ( e n g l i s h e d i t i o n ) 2 0 1 8 ; x ( x ) : 1 e1 0

Available online at www.sciencedirect.com

ScienceDirect

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jtte

Original Research Paper

Effects of existing concrete pavement condition on

performance of unbonded jointed plain
concrete overlay

Gauhar Sabih*, Rafiqul A. Tarefder

Department of Civil Engineering, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA

highlights

Existing condition of concrete pavement can be described in terms of distressed elastic modulus.

Distressed elastic modulus of existing pavement affects the performance of unbonded concrete overlay.

Transverse crack is the most affected performance parameter with a 0.27%e2.31% change with a unit change in distressed modulus.

article info abstract

Article history: Unbonded concrete overlay (UBCO) is the most used pavement rehabilitation technique
Received 8 February 2018 across United States with an overall usage of 47% amongst all the rehabilitation methods. It
Received in revised form is aimed to improve the performance of any deteriorated/cracked jointed plain concrete
29 March 2018 pavement (JPCP). Unbonded JPCP overlay involves placement of a separation layer of hot
Accepted 9 April 2018 mix asphalt (HMA), which acts as a stress relief layer between the existing concrete
Available online xxx pavement and the overlay. There are numerous factors that affect the design and perfor-
mance of UBCOs and out of these, existing pavement condition or the severity of damage of
Keywords: existing pavement is a prime factor. The severity of damage is described by the distressed
Unbonded concrete overlay elastic modulus thus, accurate determination of the distressed elastic modulus of the
Transverse cracking existing concrete pavement is essential for predicting the accurate performance of the
Joint faulting unbonded overlay. This study focuses on analyzing the impact of distressed modulus by
International roughness index conducting simulations in the AASHTOWare pavement ME design software version 2.3 and
Distressed evaluating the predicted performance of JPCP overlay for two different climatic regions.
Elastic modulus The results indicated that the distressed modulus of existing concrete pavement affects
the performance of the overlay with regards to transverse cracking, joint faulting and
pavement roughness. Transverse cracking is the most affected performance parameter
with a change of 0.27%e2.31% with a unit change in distressed modulus. The impact of
climatic conditions on the performance of unbonded overlay was also observed. The
adverse effects of distressed modulus can be minimized by reducing the joint spacing or
increasing the overlay slab thickness.

* Corresponding author. Tel.: þ1 210 544 3452.

E-mail addresses: gsabih@unm.edu (G. Sabih), tarefder@unm.edu (R.A. Tarefder).
Peer review under responsibility of Periodical Offices of Chang'an University.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtte.2018.04.001
2095-7564/© 2018 Periodical Offices of Chang'an University. Publishing services by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Owner. This is an open
access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Please cite this article in press as: Sabih, G., Tarefder, R.A., Effects of existing concrete pavement condition on performance of
unbonded jointed plain concrete overlay, Journal of Traffic and Transportation Engineering (English Edition) (2018), https://
doi.org/10.1016/j.jtte.2018.04.001
2 J. Traffic Transp. Eng. (Engl. Ed.) 2018; x (x): 1e10
© 2018 Periodical Offices of Chang'an University. Publishing services by Elsevier B.V. on
behalf of Owner. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://
1. Introduction
Concrete overlay is a layer of concrete placed over an
existing pavement (flexible, rigid or composite) to improve
the performance of the existing pavement. The main pur-
pose is to preserve and extend pavement service for years
beyond the original design life. Concrete overlays can
accommodate all combinations of design life and traffic
loading. Their thickness can vary depending on the existing
pavement condition, anticipated traffic volume and desired
design life. There are various design factors, which need to
be considered for effective designing of concrete overlays.
These include future design life, traffic volume, climate,
existing pavement condition, joint details and properties of
the pavement materials etcetera. Out of these factors, the
existing pavement condition is a major factor that regulates
the overlay performance over the design life. The existing
condition of concrete pavement can be described by the
distressed elastic modulus, which is a function of the level of
damage to the concrete pavement due to repetitive loading,
curling and warping.
Unbonded concrete overlay acts like an independent
pavement resting on a stable base, which is the existing con-
crete pavement. Various phenomena responsible for the
behavior of new concrete pavement are also valid for concrete
overlays. Rao et al. (2001) conducted study on curling and
warping in jointed plain concrete pavement (JPCP) based on
temperature and moisture conditions at the time of paving
and immediately following construction with field data
collected from fully instrumented sections in Arizona and
Minnesota, including the temperature data through slab
thickness at different times of the day. They concluded that
in addition to actual temperature gradients, the effects of
built-in curling, shrinkage and creep have to be considered in
pavement analysis. Selezneva et al. (2004) identified the
material characteristics of concrete including strength,
coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) and ultimate
shrinkage as the key design factors that affect the structural
performance of continuously reinforced concrete pavements.
The impact of concrete material properties has significant
impact on design of rigid pavements (Sabih and Tarefder,
2018). Vandenbossche et al. (2011) evaluated the effects of
concrete material properties, pavement structural
parameters and the Pavement ME Design standard fatigue
damage-cracking performance curve on slab cracking
predictions. The sensitivity analysis of impact of CTE,
modulus of rupture (MOR) and elastic modulus suggested
that small changes in input values for these properties can
lead to significant changes in predicted performance (Guclu
et al., 2009). Sabih and Tarefder (2016, 2017a) investigated the
effects of variability of mechanical and thermal properties of
concrete on mechanistic-empirical performance predictions
Please cite this article in press as: Sabih, G., Tarefder, R.A., Effects of existing concrete pavement condition on performance of
unbonded jointed plain concrete overlay, Journal of Traffic and Transportation Engineering (English Edition) (2018), https://
doi.org/10.1016/j.jtte.2018.04.001
creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
of concrete pavements. They found that concrete properties
such as elastic modulus, flexural strength and coefficient of
thermal expansion significantly affect the performance of
concrete pavement over the pavement design life. Liao and
Ballarini (2012) conducted extensive finite element work for
an improved unbonded overlay design method based on
non-linear fracture mechanics.
There is not much research found on impact of existing
pavement condition on performance of unbonded overlay and
this study focuses on the effects of distressed elastic modulus
of existing JPCP on the performance of unbonded JPCP over-
lays. The Pavement ME Design procedure considers the elastic
modulus of existing concrete pavement as an input for sub-
sequent design of JPCP overlay. The elastic modulus of exist-
ing JPCP can be determined by coring of intact samples, and
laboratory testing, but this value represents the intact/un-
damaged portion only and the challenging part is to transform
this intact elastic modulus value into distressed elastic
modulus. Different methods are currently being used for
transforming the intact elastic modulus into the distressed
modulus including U.S. Army Corps of Engineers method,
Pavement ME Design method and Glover & Stanley method.
These methods will be applied to determine the distressed
modulus for further analysis of its impact on performance of
the overlay.
2. Objective
The objective of this study is to compare the existing methods
of transforming the intact elastic modulus of existing JPCP
into the distressed elastic modulus and analyze the impact of
distressed elastic modulus on the performance of unbonded
concrete overlay.
3. Unbonded overlays
In an unbonded overlay, there is no bonding between the
overlay and the existing pavement layer. The existing pave-
ment layer is considered as a stable base and the unbonded
overlay acts as a new pavement (Torres et al., 2012). The main
purpose of an unbonded overlay is to restore the structural
capacity of a deteriorated/damaged pavement. Unbonded
JPCP overlays can be a cost-effective rehabilitation
alternative for severely deteriorated concrete pavements
(ERES, 1998). A hot mix asphalt (HMA) interlayer is needed
such that the concrete overlay behaves structurally
independent, as if built on a strong non-erodible base. The
interlayer, also called the de-bonding layer or stress relief
layer, is usually a thin HMA layer of 25e50 mm (1e2-inch)
thickness as shown in Fig. 1. Stoffels (2010) found that
 J. Traffic Transp. Eng. (Engl. Ed.) 2018; x (x): 1e10
Fig. 1 e Schematic view of unbonded concrete overlay.
25 mm thick HMA interlayer is sufficient to restrict the
discontinuities of existing pavement to propagate in the
overlay. The purpose of the interlayer is to separate the
existing and overlay concrete layers and provide full friction
with the concrete overlay for improved joint formation and
reduction in erosion (ARA, 2004). Chen et al. (2013) found
that asphalt rubber membrane interlayer can effectively
reduce the reflection cracking in HMA overlays of existing
rigid pavements. Sachs et al. (2016) conducted experimental
work and concluded that geotextile fabric interlayer can
also be used as a separation layer in unbonded concrete
overlays.
As the HMA interlayer is very thin so it contributes very
little in the prevention of distresses of existing pavement
being reflected on to the overlay therefore the amount of
deterioration of the existing JPCP pavement affects the per-
formance of the JPCP overlay (Sabih and Tarefder, 2017b).
This is caused by the loss of structural capacity of the
existing pavement on the resulting composite structure of
overlay and existing pavement. Darter et al. (2009) found
that the increased slab thickness of JPCP overlay is required
when the existing pavement changes from good to poor
condition. Another important phenomenon is reflection
cracking, which is the propagation of cracks from existing
cracked pavement to the top layers. This phenomenon is
responsible for creating distresses in the HMA interlayer
and the overlay layer.
4. Existing pavement condition
The condition of existing concrete pavement can be
described by the elastic modulus of concrete, which can be
obtained by coring and laboratory testing from an intact
slab. Since existing concrete pavements have various levels
of damage/distress, ascertaining a distressed elastic
modulus is a difficult task. For a concrete pavement without
any signs of damage, distress and cracks, the elastic
modulus value obtained from the laboratory is reasonable.
However, when the existing pavement is distressed/cracked,
the distressed elastic modulus cannot be obtained from the
laboratory tests of the intact cores as this will provide the
elastic modulus as if the slab is intact. So the intact elastic
modulus needs to be converted to distressed modulus. The
elastic modulus can also be obtained with various nonde-
structive tests like falling weight deflectometer (FWD) but
previous research has shown that the point of contact of
FWD on the concrete slab has a direct impact on the results.
Please cite this article in press as: Sabih, G., Tarefder, R.A., Effects of existing concrete pavement condition on performance of
unbonded jointed plain concrete overlay, Journal of Traffic and Transportation Engineering (English Edition) (2018), https://
doi.org/10.1016/j.jtte.2018.04.001
3
If there is an existing crack in the concrete slab so the
horizontal distance between the FWD points of impact from
the crack will affect the results. So, various researchers
found different methods for conversion of intact modulus
into distressed modulus.
5. Methods used to determine the distressed
elastic modulus
Various design procedures use different methods to adjust the
intact elastic modulus to obtain the distressed elastic
modulus. Almost all of these methods rely on an adjustment
factor (C) to convert intact elastic modulus value into the
distressed elastic modulus. This adjustment factor is a mea-
sure of existing pavement condition. Some of these methods
have been outlined as follows.
5.1. Method used by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
(USACE)
According to this method, an adjustment factor is determined
as follows (USACE, 1994).

If pavements are in good condition with little or no struc-
tural cracking, then use C ¼ 1.00

If pavements exhibit initial cracking due to load but no
progressive cracking or faulting of joints or cracks, then use
C ¼ 0.75

If pavements exhibits progressive cracking due to load
accompanied by spalling, raveling, or faulting of cracks and
joints, then use C ¼ 0.35
5.2. Pavement ME design procedure
The Pavement ME Design procedure outlines the use of
adjustment factor according to following conditions
(AASHTO, 2008).

If the existing pavement is in overall good structural con-
dition, which means less than 10% slabs cracked, then
C ¼ 0.42 to 0.75

If the existing pavement is in overall moderate structural
condition, which means 10%e50% slabs cracked, then
C ¼ 0.22 to 0.42

If the existing pavement is in overall severe structural
condition, which means more than 50% slabs cracked, then
C ¼ 0.042 to 0.22
5.3. Method recommended by Titus-Glover and Stanley
Titus-Glover and Stanley (2009) analyzed deflection test
results from several JPCP slabs in different states of distress/
damage with the objective to determine the impact of
distress/damage on the in service JPCP slab elastic modulus.
Ratios of damaged/distressed modulus to intact elastic
modulus were developed. They concluded that existing JPCP
slabs retain approximately 60% of intact slab modulus value
4 J. Traffic Transp. Eng. (Engl. Ed.) 2018; x (x): 1e10

when broken into two pieces; however, only 35% of the intact
slab modulus value is retained, when the slab is broken in four Xm
Faultm ¼ i¼1
DFaulti (1)
pieces. They characterized the existing concrete pavement's
elastic modulus and outlined following procedure. 2
DFaulti ¼ C34 ðFaultMaxi1  Faulti1 Þ DEi (2)

If the existing pavement is in intact condition, then use
  Xm  C6
C ¼ 0.84 to 1.00. FaultMaxi ¼ FaultMaxi1 þ C7 106 i¼1
DEi log 1 þ C5 ,5Erod

If the damage to existing pavement is of low severity, (3)
which means slab is broken into two pieces, then use
C ¼ 0.60.   C6
  P200 Wetdays

If the damage to existing pavement is of medium severity, FaultMax0 ¼ C12 dcurl log 1 þ C5 ,5Erod log
Ps
which means slab is broken into three pieces, then use
(4)
C ¼ 0.45.

If the damage to existing pavement is of high severity, where Faultm is mean joint faulting at the end of month m,
which means slab is broken into four pieces, then use DFaulti is incremental change (monthly) in mean joint faulting
C ¼ 0.35. during month i, FaultMaxi is maximum mean transverse joint
faulting for month i, FaultMax0 is initial maximum mean
transverse joint faulting, Erod is base/subbase erodibility
6. Analysis of unbonded concrete overlay factor, DEi is differential density of energy of subgrade defor-
(UBCO) with Pavement ME Design mation accumulated for month i, dcurl is maximum mean
monthly slab corner upward deflection in PCC due to tem-
Pavement ME Design (previously known as MEPDG) is the perature curling and moisture warping; Ps is overburden on
latest tool for design and performance analysis of all types of subgrade, P200 is percent subgrade material passing #200 sieve,
pavement systems including UBCOs. It is based on mecha- Wetdays is average annual number of wet days, C1, C2, C3, C4,
nistic-empirical design concepts meaning that the design C5, C6, C7, C12, C34 are calibration coefficients.
procedure calculates pavement responses such as stresses,
strains, and deflections under axle loads and climatic condi-
tions and then accumulates the damage over the design 6.2. Transverse cracking
analysis period. The procedure then empirically relates
calculated damage over time to pavement distresses and Transverse cracking is the result of repeated loadings of heavy
smoothness based on the performance of actual projects axles under the high temperature gradient conditions which
throughout the United States. Pavement ME Design uses a mix result in slab curling and produces fatigue damage along the
of algorithms and models to characterize new or existing top or bottom edge of the slab, which eventually results in a
pavement foundation, structure, layer materials, traffic, and transverse crack. Major factors that affect cracking are con-
climate and simulate stress/strains/deflection due to the in- crete's coefficient of thermal expansion, slab thickness, joint
teractions between applied traffic load and climate. The spacing, slab widening, and strength of concrete. Pavement
resulting damage manifested as different performance pa- ME Design predicts percent of slabs with transverse cracks by
rameters over the design life of a pavement is then calculated. combining the percentage of slabs with top-down transverse
The main distresses for unbonded JPCP overlay according to cracks and the percentage of slabs with bottom-up transverse
Pavement ME Design are joint faulting, transverse cracking cracks. Transverse slab cracking predictions are calculated
and pavement roughness (AASHTO, 2008). The threshold from a set of equations as follows (AASHTO, 2008).
limits and reliability limits for each of these indicators are  
MOR
required to be set by the designer. These parameters are logðNallowable Þ ¼ C1 C2 (5)
sPCC
discussed in the succeeding paragraphs.

100
6.1. Joint faulting Crack ¼
C5 (6)
Napplied
1 þ C4 Nallowable
Transverse joint faulting is the differential elevation across
where MOR is modulus of rupture of the concrete, s is critical
the joint. Since joint faulting varies significantly from joint to
stress in the slab, Napplied is applied number of load applica-
joint, the mean faulting of all transverse joints in a pavement
tions, Nallowable is allowable number of load applications.
section is the parameter predicted by the Pavement ME
Total transverse cracking predictions are calculated as
Design. It is the result of a combination of repeated applica-
follows (AASHTO, 2008).
tions of moving heavy axle loads, poor load transfer across the
joint, free moisture beneath the concrete slab, erosion of the 
Tcrack ¼ Crackbottomup þ Cracktopdown
supporting base/subbase, subgrade, or shoulder base mate- 
 Crackbottomup Cracktopdown  100 (7)
rial, and upward curling of the slab. Faulting is an important
deterioration mechanism because of its impact on ride quality where Tcrack is total transverse cracking (percent), Crackbottom-
(Bautista and Basheer, 2008). Transverse joint faulting up is predicted amount of bottom-up transverse cracking
prediction is calculated from the following set of equations (fraction), Cracktop-down is predicted amount of top-down
(AASHTO, 2008; ARA, 2003). transverse cracking (fraction).

Please cite this article in press as: Sabih, G., Tarefder, R.A., Effects of existing concrete pavement condition on performance of
unbonded jointed plain concrete overlay, Journal of Traffic and Transportation Engineering (English Edition) (2018), https://
doi.org/10.1016/j.jtte.2018.04.001
 J. Traffic Transp. Eng. (Engl. Ed.) 2018; x (x): 1e10 5

Table 1 e Summary of distressed elastic modulus of existing JPCP.

Method Adjustment Condition of Detailed condition Distressed
factor (C) damage modulus (GPa)
USACE method 1.00 Good Pavement in good condition with little or no structural cracking 28.90
due to load
0.75 Moderate Pavements exhibit initial cracking due to load but no progressive 21.70
cracking or faulting of joints or cracks
0.35 Severe Pavements exhibit progressive cracking due to load accompanied 10.10
by spalling, raveling, or faulting of joints
Pavement ME 0.58 Good Less than 10% slabs cracked 16.80
Design method 0.32 Moderate 10%e50% slabs cracked 9.23
0.13 Severe More than 50% slabs cracked 3.79
Glover and Stanley 0.92 Intact No cracking 26.60
method 0.60 Low Severity Slab is broken into two pieces 17.40
0.45 Medium Severity Slab is broken into three pieces 13.00
0.35 High Severity Slab is broken into four pieces 10.10

There are four calibration coefficients which can be cate-
gorized into two groups. C1 and C2 are related to the stress
ratio (MOR/s) for fatigue damage estimation and C4 and C5 are
in the transverse-cracking transfer model to convert fatigue
damage estimations into transverse-cracking predictions.
back calculated elastic modulus values from FWD test results as
conducted by Titus-Glover and Stanley (2009). The distressed
elastic modulus was determined according to the three
methods (outlined earlier). The summary of the distressed
elastic modulus of existing JPCP is tabulated in Table 1.

6.3. Pavement roughness

8. Design inputs used for simulation
Pavement roughness is generally defined as an expression of
irregularities in the pavement surface that adversely affect the Entire simulation work was conducted in Pavement ME
ride quality of a vehicle. Roughness is an important pavement Design software version 2.3, which is the latest tool for
characteristic because it affects not only ride quality but also pavement design and analysis. The design inputs required by
vehicle delay costs, fuel consumption and maintenance costs. Pavement ME Design for design of unbonded JPCP overlay
Roughness is typically quantified using international rough- were kept constant except for the distressed elastic modulus
ness index (IRI). The commonly recommended units are meter of the existing JPCP. The overlay performance threshold
per kilometer (m/km) or inch per mile (in/mile). Pavement ME values were kept according to pavement ME Default values.
Design uses a model to predict IRI which considers initial IRI, The pavement thickness values and concrete material prop-
percentage of slabs with transverse cracking and total joint erties were taken from the average of the overlay designs
faulting (Abd El-Hakim and EI-Badawy, 2013). Both an initial being used in U.S. The design inputs used in the simulation
IRI and terminal IRI must be selected. Initial pavement are as shown in Table 2.
performance is characterized using IRI and all other
distresses are assumed to be zero just after construction.
The Pavement ME Design IRI prediction model for JPCP Table 2 e Design inputs for simulation.
systems consists of the transverse cracking prediction, the Parameter Value
joint faulting prediction, the spalling prediction and a site
Design life 30 years
factor, along with calibration coefficients. IRI prediction model JPCP overlay thickness 203 mm (8 in.)
is as follows. Dowel diameter 25 mm (1 in.)
Traffic (AADTT) 4000
IRI ¼ IRIini þ C1 Crack þ C2 Spall þ ð5280C3 Fault=JSPÞ þ C4 SF (8) Initial IRI 0.99 m/km (63 in./mile)
Terminal IRI 2.71 m/km (172 in./mile)
where IRI is predicted IRI value, IRIini is initial smoothness
Transverse cracking limit (% slabs) 15
measured as IRI, Crack is percent slabs with transverse cracks
Mean joint faulting limit 3 mm (0.12 in.)
(all severities), Spall is percentage of joints with spalling Reliability 90%
(medium and high severities), Fault is total joint faulting Modulus of rupture of overlay concrete 4.75 MPa (690 psi)
cumulated, SF is site factor, JSP is transverse joint spacing. Elastic modulus of overlay concrete 28.9 GPa (4.2  106 psi)
Water to cement ratio in 0.42
overlay concrete
CTE of overlay concrete 8.8 m3/C (4.9 m3/F)
7. Determination of distressed modulus of HMA (interlayer) thickness 50.8 mm (2 in.)
existing JPCP HMA binder grade PG 64-22
Existing JPCP thickness 203 mm (8 in.)
For the purpose of this study, the intact elastic modulus of Base course Non stabilized (A-1-a)
existing JPCP was assumed as constant with a value of 28.94 GPa Base course thickness 254 mm (10 in.)
Base course resilient modulus 275 MPa (40,000 psi)
(4.2  106 psi). This value was obtained from an average of the

Please cite this article in press as: Sabih, G., Tarefder, R.A., Effects of existing concrete pavement condition on performance of
unbonded jointed plain concrete overlay, Journal of Traffic and Transportation Engineering (English Edition) (2018), https://
doi.org/10.1016/j.jtte.2018.04.001
6 J. Traffic Transp. Eng. (Engl. Ed.) 2018; x (x): 1e10

The simulations were conducted with these parameters for

Table 5 e Effects of distressed modulus on performance of
two climatic regions i.e., relatively moderate climate of
JPCP overlay for cold climate.
Albuquerque (New Mexico) and relatively cold climate of
Distressed IRI Joint Transverse Remark
Alamosa (Colorado) to observe the effects of climatic factors
modulus (m/ faulting cracking (%
on the overlay performance with a constant CTE of overlay
(GPa) km) (mm) slabs)
concrete and varying distressed modulus of existing concrete
28.90 3.09 3.23 49.51 Not satisfied
pavements. The climatic details of the two regions are as
26.60 3.19 3.31 54.80 Not satisfied
shown in Table 3. 21.70 3.40 3.52 64.00 Not satisfied
17.40 3.63 3.73 74.74 Not satisfied
16.80 3.66 3.76 76.06 Not satisfied
13.00 3.87 3.98 85.71 Not satisfied
9. Simulation results and discussion 10.10 4.01 4.17 90.84 Not satisfied
9.23 4.13 4.23 92.16 Not satisfied
3.79 4.40 4.70 100.00 Not satisfied
The performance parameters of JPCP overlay were evaluated
to contrast the effects of distressed elastic modulus on the
performance of JPCP overlay for both the climatic regions. The
9.1. Effects of distressed modulus on transverse cracking
summary of the simulation results showing terminal perfor-
of JPCP overlay
mance predictions is given in Table 4 for moderate climate
and in Table 5 for cold climate. It is evident from these
The simulation results of distressed elastic modulus and the
results that there is a huge variation in the performance of
transverse cracking of the JPCP overlay over the design life for
JPCP overlay between the two regions. The main reason is
both climatic regions are shown in Figs. 2 and 3. It is evident
the temperature differential of the two regions. The number
from the results that the distressed elastic modulus of existing
of freeze thaw cycles in cold region is much greater than the
pavement has a significant impact on the transverse cracking
moderate region so along with other factors, and the
of JPCP overlay and as the distressed modulus decreases, the
amount of curling also counts for the disparity in the
transverse cracking percentage in the overlay increases,
performance results in addition to the existing pavement
which means that the overlay performance is adversely
condition.
affected. The distressed modulus is directly related to level of
damage to the existing pavement, as the higher the level of
damage of the existing JPCP, the lower the performance of
JPCP overlay. When the distressed modulus falls below 13 GPa
Table 3 e Climatic details of simulated regions. (1.89  106 psi) in the moderate climatic region, the transverse
Albuquerque, New Alamosa, cracking percentage increases from 15%, which is the
Mexico Colorado acceptable limit fixed for this overlay design. While in the cold
Mean annual air 14.3 5.9 region, all the simulated overlays failed earlier than the
temperature ( C) designed service life according to the performance threshold.
Mean annual 229.8 150.4 The main reason of this failure is the increase in curling
precipitation (mm) stresses due to greater number of freeze/thaw cycles. These
Freezing index ( C e days) 23.7 707.8
cases should be re-designed with changes in pavement
Average annual freeze/ 75.85 187.82
thaw cycles
geometry.
Remarks Relatively moderate Relatively cold
region region 9.2. Impact of distressed modulus on terminal IRI of
JPCP overlay

The impact of distressed modulus on the IRI of JPCP overlay

Table 4 e Effects of distressed modulus on performance of across the design pavement life for both climatic regions is
JPCP overlay for moderate climate. shown in Figs. 4 and 5. A deliberate analysis of the results
makes it clear that distressed elastic modulus of existing JPCP
Distressed IRI Joint Transverse Remark
modulus (m/ faulting cracking (% has a direct effect on the terminal IRI of the designed overlay.
(GPa) km) (mm) slabs) A lower value of the distressed modulus results in a higher
value of terminal IRI, which means decreased performance of
28.90 2.07 2.29 3.79 Satisfied
26.60 2.12 2.29 8.53 Satisfied JPCP overlay. This adverse performance of overlay is a func-
21.70 2.18 2.54 10.18 Satisfied tion of decreased concrete strength due to damage to existing
17.40 2.24 2.54 12.42 Satisfied concrete pavement. According to the results of the moderate
16.80 2.24 2.54 12.58 Satisfied climatic region, the distressed modulus impacts the terminal
13.00 2.31 2.79 14.94 Satisfied IRI but all the simulated overlays are within the threshold
10.10 2.37 2.79 17.19 Not satisfied
limit of 2.71 m/km (172 in./mile). The range of this impact is
9.23 2.40 2.79 18.21 Not satisfied
0.55 m/km (35 in./mile). The results of cold region also indi-
3.79 2.57 3.05 24.98 Not satisfied
cate the adverse impact of distressed modulus on the IRI over

Please cite this article in press as: Sabih, G., Tarefder, R.A., Effects of existing concrete pavement condition on performance of
unbonded jointed plain concrete overlay, Journal of Traffic and Transportation Engineering (English Edition) (2018), https://
doi.org/10.1016/j.jtte.2018.04.001
 J. Traffic Transp. Eng. (Engl. Ed.) 2018; x (x): 1e10 7

Fig. 2 e Impact of distressed modulus on transverse cracking of JPCP overlay in moderate climate.

Fig. 3 e Effects of distressed modulus on transverse cracking of JPCP overlay in cold climate.

Fig. 4 e Impact of distressed modulus on terminal IRI for moderate climate.

Please cite this article in press as: Sabih, G., Tarefder, R.A., Effects of existing concrete pavement condition on performance of
unbonded jointed plain concrete overlay, Journal of Traffic and Transportation Engineering (English Edition) (2018), https://
doi.org/10.1016/j.jtte.2018.04.001
8 J. Traffic Transp. Eng. (Engl. Ed.) 2018; x (x): 1e10

Fig. 5 e Impact of distressed modulus on terminal IRI for cold climate.

Fig. 6 e Effect of distressed elastic modulus on mean joint faulting for moderate climate.

the design life. The range for this region is 1.32 m/km (84 in./
mile), which means that the impact in cold region is more
severe as compared to the moderate region. The failed cases
should be re-designed with revised pavement geometrical
properties.
9.3. Effects of distressed elastic modulus on terminal
joint faulting of JPCP overlay
The simulation results for effect of distressed elastic modulus
on mean joint faulting of JPCP overlay for both climatic regions

Fig. 7 e Effect of distressed elastic modulus on mean joint faulting for cold climate.

Please cite this article in press as: Sabih, G., Tarefder, R.A., Effects of existing concrete pavement condition on performance of
unbonded jointed plain concrete overlay, Journal of Traffic and Transportation Engineering (English Edition) (2018), https://
doi.org/10.1016/j.jtte.2018.04.001
 J. Traffic Transp. Eng. (Engl. Ed.) 2018; x (x): 1e10 9

have been displayed in Figs. 6 and 7. It is obvious from the
results that with decrease in distressed modulus value the
terminal joint faulting increases but the increase in faulting is
not significant. The range of the impact is 0.76 mm (0.03 in.) for
the moderate region and 1.52 mm (0.06 in.) for cold region. All
the simulated cases for moderate climatic region stay within
limit of the threshold limit, while all the cold region cases fail
according to the prescribed joint faulting limit which means
that these should be revised with different pavement prop-
erties. This phenomenon can be related to presence of dowel
bars as joint faulting is controlled by the action of dowel bars.
Hence, it is evident that effect of distressed modulus on joint
faulting is minimal.
9.4. Revised design of failure cases and results
According to the performance criteria set forth for this study,
the JPCP overlay fails if it does not comply to the limits of
performance parameters until the end of design life. As
evident from the results that there are three design simula-
tions that do not meet the transverse cracking limit of 15% in
the moderate climatic region and all the simulated cases of
cold region failed to comply with the threshold limits. These
cases were re-designed using Pavement ME Design software
with increased overlay slab thickness for the moderate region
and with decreased joint spacing for cold region. As the
transverse cracking predictions were too high (50% and above)
for the cold climatic region thus reduced joint spacing was
used for revised design of the overlays for cold region. The
summary of results is shown in Tables 6 and 7.
The revised simulations for moderate region indicate that
with increased slab thickness, the adverse effects of existing
pavement condition can be controlled. The failed overlay
cases come within range of the prescribed performance limits
with revised slab thickness.
The re-designed cases for cold region were conducted with
reduced joint spacing and it is evident from the results that
the adverse effect of existing pavement condition can be
mitigated by reducing the joint spacing. The failed overlay
cases come within the threshold performance values by
reducing the joint spacing.
10. Conclusions
Existing pavement condition has a significant impact on
unbonded concrete overlay performance where transverse
cracking is the most sensitive parameter to distressed modulus
as compared to pavement roughness and joint faulting. With a
unit change in distressed modulus of the existing pavement
the change in transverse cracking is in the range of 0.27%e
2.04% for moderate climate and 1.45%e2.31% for cold climate.
The climatic condition also affects the performance of
unbonded overlay and with all other design factors being
constant there is a significant difference between performance
predictions of moderate and cold climatic regions. The per-
formance issues of overlay due to existing pavement condition
can be mitigated by increasing the overlay thickness or by
reducing the joint spacing. The methods to determine the
distressed elastic modulus of existing concrete pavements are
mostly empirical so there is a need to develop some mecha-
nistic procedures for improved unbonded overlay design.
Conflicts of interest
The authors do not have any conflict of interest with other
entities or researchers.
references

Table 6 e Summary of re-design of failure cases with Abd El-Hakim, R., El-Badawy, S., 2013. International roughness
revised slab thickness. index prediction for rigid pavements: an artificial neural
network application. Advanced Materials Research 723,
Distressed modulus (GPa) 10.1 9.2 3.7 854e860.
Failed design thickness (mm) 203.2 203.2 203.2 American Association of State Highway and Transportation
Failed dowel diameter (mm) 25.4 25.4 25.4 Officials (AASHTO), 2008. Mechanistic Empirical Pavement
New design thickness (mm) 228.6 228.6 228.6 Design Guideda Manual of Practice. MEPDG-1. AASHTO,
New dowel diameter (mm) 25.4 25.4 25.4 Washington DC.
Terminal IRI (m/km) 1.81 1.83 1.86 Applied Research Associates (ARA), 2003. Guide for Mechanistic-
Mean joint faulting (mm) 1.52 1.52 1.78 empirical Design of New and Rehabilitated Pavement
JPCP transverse cracking (% slabs) 5.1 5.2 6.1 Structures APPENDIX QQ: structural Response Models for
Rigid Pavements. ARA, Champaign.
Applied Research Associates (ARA), 2004. Guide for Mechanistic-
empirical Design of New and Rehabilitated Pavement
Structures. NCHRP Project 1e37A. ARA, Champaign.
Bautista, F.E., Basheer, I., 2008. Jointed Plain Concrete Pavement
Table 7 e Summary of re-design of failure cases with (JPCP) Preservation and Rehabilitation Design Guide.
revised joint spacing. California Department of Transportation Division of Design,
Distressed modulus (GPa) 28.9 26.6 21.7 17.4 16.7 13.0 Sacramento.
Chen, Y., Lopp, G., Roque, R., 2013. Effects of an asphalt rubber
Failed joint spacing (m) 4.55 4.55 4.55 4.55 4.55 4.55
membrane interlayer on pavement reflective cracking
Revised joint spacing (m) 3.94 3.64 3.64 3.33 3.33 3.33
performance. Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering 25
IRI (m/km) 2.53 2.48 2.60 2.61 2.62 2.65
(12), 1936e1940.
Joint faulting (mm) 2.79 2.54 2.79 2.79 2.54 2.79
Darter, M., Mallela, J., Titus-glover, L., 2009. Impact of existing
Transverse cracking (% slabs) 13.51 10.31 14.86 13.16 13.21 10.87
pavement on jointed plain concrete overlay design and

Please cite this article in press as: Sabih, G., Tarefder, R.A., Effects of existing concrete pavement condition on performance of
unbonded jointed plain concrete overlay, Journal of Traffic and Transportation Engineering (English Edition) (2018), https://
doi.org/10.1016/j.jtte.2018.04.001
10 J. Traffic Transp. Eng. (Engl. Ed.) 2018; x (x): 1e10
performance. In: National Conference on Preservation, Repair,
and Rehabilitation of Concrete Pavements, St. Louis, 2009.
ERES Consultants, Inc, 1998. Evaluation of Unbonded Portland
Cement Concrete Overlays. NCHRP Report 415.
Transportation Research Board, Washington DC.
Guclu, A., Ceylan, H., Gopalakrishnan, K., et al., 2009. Sensitivity
analysis of rigid pavement systems using the mechanistic-
empirical design guide software. Journal of Transportation
Engineering 135 (8), 555e562.
Liao, M., Ballarini, R., 2012. Toward a fracture mechanics e based
design approach for unbonded concrete overlay pavements.
Journal of Engineering Mechanics 138 (9), 1195e1204.
Rao, C., Barenberg, E.J., Synder, M.B., et al., 2001. Effects of
temperature and moisture on the response of jointed
concrete pavements. In: 7th International Conference on
Concrete Pavements. The Use of Concrete in Developing
Long-lasting Pavement Solutions for the 21st Century,
Orlando, 2001.
Sabih, G., Tarefder, R.A., 2016. Impact of variability of mechanical
and thermal properties of concrete on predicted performance
of jointed plain concrete pavements. International Journal of
Pavement Research and Technology 9 (6), 436e444.
Sabih, G., Tarefder, R.A., 2017a. Effects of concrete stiffness on
mechanistic-empirical performance of unbonded jointed
plain concrete overlay. In: International Conference on
Highway Pavements and Airfield Technology, Philadelphia,
2017.
Sabih, G., Tarefder, R.A., 2017b. Impact of geometric and
performance grade properties of hot mix asphalt de-bonding
layer on performance of unbonded jointed plain concrete
overlay. In: The 70th Canadian Geotechnical Conference,
Ottawa, 2017.
Sabih, G., Tarefder, R.A., 2018. Characterizing strength and
thermal properties of concrete for implementation of
pavement mechanistic-empirical design in New Mexico.
Transportation Geotechnics 15, 20e28.
Sachs, S., Vandenbossche, J.M., Alland, K., et al., 2016. Effect of
interlayer systems on reflective cracking of unbonded
concrete overlays of existing concrete pavements.
Transportation Research Record 2591, 33e41.
Selezneva, O., Rao, C., Darter, M., et al., 2004. Development of a
mechanistic-empirical structural design procedure for
continuously reinforced concrete pavements. Transportation
Research Record 1896, 46e56.
Stoffels, S., 2010. Report of Practical Findings: Improved Overlay
Design Parameters for Concrete Airfield Pavements e SCI
Validation. Innovative Pavement Research Foundation,
Skokie.
Please cite this article in press as: Sabih, G., Tarefder, R.A., Effects of existing concrete pavement condition on performance of
unbonded jointed plain concrete overlay, Journal of Traffic and Transportation Engineering (English Edition) (2018), https://
doi.org/10.1016/j.jtte.2018.04.001
Titus-Glover, L., Stanley, M., 2009. Rehabilitation design of jointed
plain concrete pavement: characterizing the existing Portland
cement concrete elastic modulus. Transportation Research
Record 2084, 134e138.
Torres, H.N., Roesler, J., Rasmussen, R.O., et al., 2012. Guide to the
Design of Concrete Overlays Using Existing Methodologies.
FHWA, Washington DC.
USACE, 1994. Pavement Design for Roads, Streets, and Open
Storage Areas, Elastic Layered Method. TM 5-822-13/AFJMAN
32-1018. Joint Departments of the Army and Air Force,
Washington DC.
Vandenbossche, J.M., Mu, F., Burnham, T.R., 2011. Comparison of
measured vs. predicted performance of jointed plain concrete
pavements using the MechanisticeEmpirical Pavement
Design Guideline. International Journal of Pavement
Engineering 12 (3), 239e251.
Gauhar Sabih is a PhD candidate in civil
engineering at University of New Mexico. His
research focuses on effects of coefficient of
thermal expansion (CTE) of concrete and
temperature gradient in pavement slab on
the distresses and performance of rigid
pavements and unbonded concrete overlays.
He is also working on effects of concrete age
progression on CTE of concrete and charac-
terization of concrete paving mixes for
implementation of pavement mechanistic-
empirical (ME) design.
Dr. Rafiqul A. Tarefder is a professor in the
Department of Civil Engineering and a Regent's
lecturer at the University of New Mexico. Dr.
Tarefder has conducted research on a range of
pavement engineering problems with
emphasis on pavement design, materials, and
sustainability. This work has resulted in over
200 refereed publications. Currently, He serves
as an associate director of two federally funded
transportation centers: Southern Plain Trans-
portation Center (SPTC), and Safety and Oper-
ations of Large-Area Rural/Urban Intermodal
Systems (SOLARIS). He is the Editor-in-Chief of
Journal of Advances in Civil and Environ-
mental Engineering.