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Experimental Evaluation of Interface Friction and Study of Its Influence on

Concrete Pavement Response

Article in Journal of Transportation Engineering · August 2009

DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)0733-947X(2009)135:8(563)

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 Experimental Evaluation of Interface Friction and Study of
Its Influence on Concrete Pavement Response
S. R. Maitra1; K. S. Reddy2; and L. S. Ramachandra3

Abstract: In cement concrete pavements, a separation membrane is usually placed between the base and the concrete slab to make the
interface condition smooth. A smoother interface condition offers less resistance to the movement of the slab caused by variation in
temperature and moisture. However, a rough interface is useful in reducing load associated stresses. As the degree of bonding between the
slab and the foundation influences the friction mobilized at the interface, a realistic assessment of interface friction is necessary for
rational design of concrete pavements. In the present study, the interface friction of typical concrete pavements was evaluated by
performing a number of push-off tests. For this purpose, concrete slabs were laid over different types of bases with smooth as well as
rough interface condition. A parametric analytical study was conducted using finite-element method to evaluate the effect of different
interface conditions on the critical responses of pavement subjected to the combined action of axle load and temperature variation.
DOI: 10.1061/共ASCE兲0733-947X共2009兲135:8共563兲
CE Database subject headings: Concrete pavements; Friction; Interfaces; Finite element method.

Introduction types of granular foundations. Sparkes used subbase made of clin-

Concrete pavements on Indian national highways are usually con-
structed over dry lean concrete 共DLC兲 base laid over a granular
subbase. However, concrete slabs are also constructed directly
over the granular subbase when the traffic volume is relatively
low. A separation membrane is generally placed between the base
共DLC or granular layer兲 and the concrete slab to make the inter-
face between the two layers smooth. Smoother interface offers
less restraint to the movement of slab thereby reducing stresses
associated with temperature and moisture changes. The separation
membrane commonly used in India is an impermeable plastic
sheet of 125 ␮m thickness 关IRC: 58 共The Indian Roads Congress
2002兲兴. Sometimes, a layer of hot-mix asphalt is also provided as
a separation layer between the base and the slab. Without the
separation membrane, the two surfaces can be considered as fully
bonded 共rough interface兲. The degree of bonding between the two
layers influences the friction mobilized at the interface.
It is noted from the available literature that only limited stud-
ies were carried out for the evaluation of the interface condition
between the concrete slab and the foundation. Croney 共1977兲 re-
ported the results of tests on concrete slabs 共150 mm thickness兲
performed by Sparkes 共1939兲 and Stott 共1961a,b,c兲 using different
1
Research Student, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of
Technology, Kharagpur, Pin 721 302, West Bengal, India. E-mail:
swati@civil.iitkgp.ernet.in
2
Professor, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology,
Kharagpur, Pin 721 302, West Bengal, India. E-mail: ksreddy@civil.
iitkgp.ernet.in
3
Professor, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology,
Kharagpur, Pin 721 302, West Bengal, India. E-mail: lsr@civil.iitkgp.
ernet.in
Note. This manuscript was submitted on July 18, 2007; approved on
April 10, 2009; published online on July 15, 2009. Discussion period
open until January 1, 2010; separate discussions must be submitted for
individual papers. This paper is part of the Journal of Transportation
Engineering, Vol. 135, No. 8, August 1, 2009. ©ASCE, ISSN 0733-
947X/2009/8-563–571/$25.00.
ker with and without a waterproof paper. Stott used various bases
like sand, gravel, smooth mortar, and crushed limestone. Both
studied the force necessary to move concrete slabs horizontally
over the subbase and obtained relationships between horizontal
force and displacement. Friberg 共1954兲 performed experiments on
short and long concrete slabs and obtained parabolic relationships
between slab movement and average coefficient of friction. The
coefficients of friction for long slabs were found to be smaller
than those obtained for the short slabs. Venkatasubramanian
共1964兲 experimentally studied the bonding behavior of thin con-
crete slabs 共100 and 150 mm thick兲 over different types of granu-
lar subbases like dry river sand base, damp sand base, and water
bound macadam 共WBM兲 base with and without a tar paper at the
interface. The values of coefficient of friction were found to be
different for dry, damp, or saturated conditions of the bases.
Tarr et al. 共1999兲 conducted full-scale falling weight deflecto-
meter tests to measure the effect of degree of bonding between
concrete slab and lean concrete base for five different interface
conditions. Double application of wax-based white pigmented
curing compound, emulsified asphalt, two layers of polyethylene,
and a 25- mm-thick asphalt concrete 共AC兲 bond-breaking layer
were considered along with a “no-treatment” interface condition.
Least-bonding effect was observed with a double layer of poly-
ethylene followed by wax-based curing compound, asphalt emul-
sion, and AC layer. However, no coefficient of friction values
were measured or recommended for different types of bond-
breakers used in this experiment. Lee and Stoffels 共2001兲 per-
formed field evaluation to observe the horizontal joint movement
in concrete pavements. A procedure was suggested to analyze
joint movement data and a probabilistic model was developed for
the prediction of joint movement with change in temperature.
However, the effect of interface condition between the concrete
slab and base was not investigated and coefficient of friction val-
ues were not evaluated. Suh et al. 共2002兲 evaluated the interface
friction condition for a typical Korean concrete pavement by per-
forming a series of push-off tests. The lean concrete subbase was
used. Different interface conditions with and without a single

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Table 1. Coefficient of Friction Values Obtained by Different Research-
ers
Researcher Base course
Sparkes 共1939兲 Clinker
Clinker with waterproof paper
Stott 共1961a,b,c兲 Sand
Gravel
Crushed limestone
Smooth mortar
Friberg 共1954兲 Sand-loam with paper
Venkatasubramanian 共1964兲 Damp sand with tar paper
WBM with tar paper
Damp sand
Saturated WBM
Dry WBM
Suh et al. 共2002兲 DLC
DLC with polythene sheet
Note: ␮⫽coefficient of friction value.
a that for the 150 mm diameter and 300 mm high concrete cylinder
Friction values interpreted from graphs given by Croney 共1977兲.
layer of polythene sheet and a layer of asphalt bond-breaker
placed between concrete slab and lean concrete base were consid-
ered for the tests. For each series, tests were performed under
various conditions like rate of movement, slab thickness, and
number of movement cycles. The effect of slab-base interaction
on airport pavement response was reported by Rufino and Roesler
共2006兲. In their study, an “Interface Parameter” was proposed for
assessing the interface condition on the basis of the strains mea-
sured at top and bottom of the slab. Analysis of the pavements
using two–dimensional 共2D兲 finite-element 共FE兲 model indicated
that the interface condition may be different from being fully
bonded or completely smooth due to the temperature curling ef-
fect.
The interface coefficient of friction values obtained from the
experiments conducted by different researchers using different
types of bases are presented in Table 1. However, significant dif-
ferences are observed in the friction values obtained by the re-
searchers. Therefore, there is a need to evaluate the coefficient of
friction between the concrete slab and different types of bases
commonly used in India with varying interface conditions for the
analysis and design of concrete pavement. In the present study,
the interface friction of concrete slabs laid over different types of
bases with and without a separation membrane was evaluated by
conducting push-off tests. The coefficient of friction values ob-
tained from the experiment were utilized to numerically evaluate
the response of typical concrete pavements under different com-
binations of axle loading and temperature variation.
Push-Off Tests
Model pavements were constructed in a test pit of size 8.2 m in
length and 1.8 m in width. The soil in the pit was loosened and
compacted to form the subgrade. 150- mm-thick Wet Mix Mac-
adam 共WMM兲 layer 关Ministry of Road Transport and Highways
共MORTH 2003兲兴 was laid over the entire area of the pit. A layer
of 100- mm-thick dry lean concrete 共MORTH 2003兲 was laid over
the WMM layer in one-half portion of the pit. Both WMM and
DLC bases were prepared as per MORTH 共2003兲 specifications.
The average 7-day compressive strength 共150 mm cube兲 of DLC
was found to be 7.9 MPa. Concrete slabs of 900 mm length,
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Table 2. Details of Experimental Combinations
Interface Slab
␮ Base type condition nomenclature
3.2a 150 mm WMM Smooth S1a1, S1a2,S1a3
1.9a Rough S1b1, S1b2,S1b3
0.6a 100 mm DLC+ Smooth S2a1, S2a2,S2a3
0.5a 150 mm WMM Rough S2b1, S2b2,S2b3
0.4a Note: “S1” represents slab over WMM base and “S2” represents slab
0.3a over WMM+ DLC combination base. “a” represents smooth interface and
1.5 “b” represents rough interface. The suffix 1, 2, and 3 represents the three
individual slabs constructed for each combination.
1.3
2.4
1.3 600 mm width, and 200 mm thickness were laid over the base
7.8 共WMM or DLC兲. The mix proportions 共cement:sand:aggregate兲
10.4 adopted for concrete slabs were 1:0.76:1.95, with a water/cement
20.0 ratio of 0.35. The cement concrete mix was designed as per IS
1.2 10262 共Bureau of Indian Standards 1982兲. The average 28-day
compressive strength of the 150 mm cube was 44.4 MPa while
was 33.6 MPa. The compressive strength of concrete used in the
experiment corresponds to M35 grade of concrete used in India
for concrete pavements 关IS 456 共Bureau of Indian Standards
2000兲兴.
The experiments were conducted with rough 共without a sepa-
ration membrane兲 as well as with smooth interface 共with a sepa-
ration membrane兲 condition between the slab and the foundation.
The combinations of different parameters considered in the ex-
perimental program are detailed in Table 2. A total of twelve slabs
were constructed. For each of the four combinations 共two types of
bases and two interface conditions兲, three slabs were laid. For
pavements with smooth interface, an impermeable polythene
sheet of 125 ␮m thickness was laid flat without creases over the
WMM/DLC layer before the concrete slab was laid. A screw-jack
supported against the rigid wall of the test-pit was used to push
the slabs laid over smooth interface. The applied horizontal force
was measured using a proving ring of 100 kN capacity. The slabs
roughly bonded to the base were pushed by a hydraulic jack of
100 kN capacity. Horizontal displacement of the slab was moni-
tored with the help of a set of four dial gauges with a least count
of 0.01 mm. Fig. 1 shows the experimental setup of the test slab
with screw jack, proving ring, and dial gauges. Fig. 2 shows a
schematic layout of the test-pit and the loading arrangement.
The push-off test was conducted by applying horizontal force
on the slab. The load was applied incrementally keeping the rate
of application of load nearly constant. Previous studies 共Suh et al.
2002兲 suggest that the rate of application of load does not have
significant influence on the measured friction values. The average
of the displacements recorded by the four dial gauges was taken
as the displacement of the slab. The load was applied until the
Fig. 1. Test slab with screw jack, proving ring, and dial gauges
 DLC over WMM Dial Gauges WMM C-1-1
2 C-1-2
R
1.8 C-2-1
C-2-2

1800 mm
900 mm
1.6

Co-efficient of Friction
PCC PCC C-3-1
Slab Slab 1.4 C-3-2
600 mm 1.2 C-4-1
Screw Jack C-4-2
Proving Ring 1
C-5-1
Steel Plates 0.8 C-5-2
Brick wall all round the test pit 0.6 C-6-1
8200 mm C-6-2
0.4 C-7-1
0.2 C-7-2
0
Fig. 2. Schematic layout of test setup 共plan view兲 0 100 200 300 400 500 600
Horizontal Displacement (X 0.01mm)

rate of displacement of slab started increasing rapidly. This con-
dition indicates that the bond between the concrete slab and base
is broken completely allowing the slab to move freely. The slab
was then pushed from the other direction with similar loading
arrangement. Pushing the slab from both the directions, one after
the other, completes one cycle. For each slab, the load was ap-
plied for a number of cycles until the applied horizontal load
stabilized. It was observed that the maximum force decreased
with each successive cycle of load application. The coefficient of
friction 共␮兲 mobilized at the interface of the slab and foundation
in each cycle was calculated as the ratio of the horizontal force
共F兲 required for pushing the slab and the weight 共N兲 of the slab.
That is, ␮ = F / N.
For slabs laid over dry lean concrete base, after three cycles of
loading, additional weights were placed on slabs and the remain-
ing cycles were completed. This was done to observe the effect of
higher thicknesses of slab 共simulated by surcharge weight兲 on the
friction values. Experiments with surcharge weight were con-
Fig. 3. Variation of coefficient of friction with horizontal displace-
ment for different load cycles for slab laid over the DLC base with
smooth interface 共S2a1兲 共note: surcharge weights were added for
Load Cycle 4 onwards兲
gradually reducing and finally reaching a near-constant value. The
slab laid directly over DLC did not move, when pushed by a
horizontal force equal to nearly 50 times the weight of the slab.
Hence the bonding between the slab and the base was considered
as “rough.”
1.2
1
Co-efficient of Friction

ducted for smooth interface condition between the slab and DLC
0.8
base. The estimated weight of the slab pushed during the initial
three cycles is 2,600 N. For the next two cycles, an additional 0.6
C-1-1
C-1-2
load of 1,000 N was placed on the slab. For the remaining cycles, C-2-1
the weight was increased by another 1,000 N 共total load being 0.4 C-2-2
C-3-1
4,600 N兲. C-3-2
0.2 C-4-1
C-4-2
0
Discussion of Push-Off Test Results 0 100 200 300 400 500 600
Horizontal Displacement (X 0.01mm)

Friction Coefficient versus Sliding Displacement Fig. 4. Variation of coefficient of friction with horizontal displace-
Curves ment for different load cycles for slab laid over WMM base with
For each push-off test, the coefficient of friction 共␮兲 was calcu- smooth interface 共S1a2兲
lated and plotted against the sliding displacement. Figs. 3–5 rep-
resent the variation of coefficient of friction with sliding
displacement for three combinations of foundations and interface 3.5
C- 1- 1
conditions obtained for different load cycles. It may be noted that 3 C- 1- 2
results are available for a total of four combinations of interface C- 2- 1
Co-efficient of Friction

2.5 C- 2- 2
and base conditions. Salient features of the results are presented
C- 3- 1
in subsequent sections. In the legends shown in Figs. 3–5 , “C” 2 C- 3- 2
⫽cycle of loading, the first numeral after “C”⫽cycle number 1.5
whereas the second numeral⫽load application side—关“1” for
push from left 共L兲 and “2” for push from right 共R兲兴. For example, 1

C-3-2 shown in Fig. 3 indicates that the slab was pushed from the 0.5
right to the left side in the third cycle. The friction value increases 0
sharply with the applied horizontal force until it stabilizes. For the 0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200
initial cycle, the slope of the curve is the maximum and the cor- Horizontal Displacement ( X 0.01 mm)

responding coefficient of friction is also the highest, as there is a

greater degree of bonding between the concrete slab and the base Fig. 5. Variation of coefficient of friction with horizontal displace-
initially. Once the initial bond is broken, it becomes easier to push ment for different load cycles for slab placed directly over WMM
the slab in subsequent cycles, with the coefficient of friction 共S1b3兲

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 2 5
S2a1 S2a1
1.8 4.5

Max. Co-efficient of Friction

S2a2 S2a2

Max. Co-efficient of Friction

1.6 4
1.4 S2a3 S2a3
3.5 S1a1
1.2
3 S1a2
1
0.8 2.5 S1a3
0.6 2 S1b1
0.4 1.5 S1b2
0.2 1 S1b3
0
0.5
0 2 4 6 8
0
Number of Cycles
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Fig. 6. Variation of maximum coefficient of friction for slabs over Number of Cycles
DLC base with smooth interface
Fig. 7. Variation of maximum coefficient of friction for different
combinations of slabs with both smooth and rough interface condi-
tions
Effective Horizontal Displacement
The maximum coefficient of friction during the initial push-off
coefficient of friction of about 1.2 at the initial cycle for slabs laid
cycles for slabs laid over DLC and WMM base with smooth
over DLC base for smooth interface condition and a value of
interface was found to correspond to a horizontal displacement of
about 20 for rough interface condition for a typical Korean con-
about 0.5 mm. However, for subsequent push-off cycles, the
crete pavement. AASHTO 共2002兲 recommends coefficient of fric-
maximum friction value was obtained for a horizontal displace-
tion values of 3–20 with a mean value of 8.5 for bonded slab over
ment of about 3.0 to 4.5 mm 共Figs. 3 and 4兲.
lean concrete base.

Effect of Slab Thickness on Coefficient of Friction

Sliding Plane and Bond Characteristics
For slabs laid over DLC with smooth interface, additional weights
After all the tests were performed, the slabs were removed from
were placed over the slabs after the third cycle. However, as seen
the test pit and the bottom surfaces were examined. It was ob-
from Fig. 3, the coefficient of friction decreased gradually with
served that the bottom surfaces of the slabs laid over the WMM
each cycle and the shape of the curve for the slab with additional
and DLC bases with a polythene sheet in between were quite
weight also followed the same trend as obtained in the earlier
smooth. The polythene sheet remained glued to the underside of
cycles for the slab without additional weights. This indicates that
the slab and thus provided a smooth plane for the slab to slide
the increase in normal weight does not significantly affect the
over the base 共Fig. 8兲. Also, the DLC and the WMM bases did not
coefficient of friction for slab over DLC base.
display any significant sign of distress after the removal of the
slabs. The characteristics of the bottom surfaces of the slabs laid
Variation of Coefficient of Friction with Type of directly over the WMM base were much different from those of
Foundation and Interface Condition the slabs placed over the polythene sheet. It was found that, a thin
layer of the base material was adhered to the bottom surface of
Fig. 6 shows the typical variation of maximum coefficient of fric-
the slab 共Fig. 9兲. Cracks were also observed in the WMM layer
tion obtained for three different slabs placed over the DLC base.
along the length of the slab as the thrusting force of the slab
The maximum value of coefficient of friction decreases gradually
became larger than the shear strength of the base layer. This in-
with increasing number of cycles and reaches a near-constant
dicated that the failure took place within the WMM layer.
value. Similar trends were observed for slabs laid over the WMM
base 共Fig. 7兲. It is observed that, the DLC base yielded slightly
higher values of coefficient of friction both in the initial cycle as
well as in subsequent cycles. For slabs with rough interface, the Analytical Evaluation of the Effect of Interface
horizontal force required to move the slab was much higher than Condition
that required for the slabs with smooth interface condition result-
Having experimentally evaluated the coefficient of friction values
ing in higher coefficient of friction.
for the concrete slabs laid over typical bases 共WMM or DLC兲
with smooth and rough interface conditions, an analytical inves-
Coefficient of Friction Values
Table 3 gives the coefficient of friction obtained from the present Table 3. Values of Coefficient of Friction from Push-Off Tests
experiments for different foundation types and interface condi-
tions. The maximum coefficient of friction obtained at the initial Coefficient of friction
cycle for the slab S1b2 laid over the WMM base seems to be Base Interface Initial cycle Subsequent cycle
erroneous and hence is not reported in the table. In the present WMM Smooth 0.79–1.26 0.35–0.77
experiment, for slabs laid directly over the DLC base, the bond
Rough 3.16–3.56 0.82–0.87
between the two could not be broken even after applying a hori-
DLC Smooth 1.05–1.87 0.46–0.77
zontal force equal to 50 times its weight and hence the two layers
Rough ⬎20.0 —
are assumed to be monolithic. Suh et al. 共2002兲 obtained similar

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Fig. 8. Bottom surface of slab over DLC base with smooth interface
共after-test condition兲
tigation was undertaken to evaluate the influence of different in-
terface friction values on concrete pavement responses.
Description of Analytical Model
FE analysis was carried out to study the effect of the degree of
bonding between a concrete slab and the base on pavement re-
sponses. A three-slab concrete pavement system constructed over
Fig. 9. Bottom surface of slab over WMM base with rough interface
共after-test condition兲
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32 mm diameter Dowels
4600 mm
@ 300 mm c/c
250 mm Slab
100 mm DLC
150 mm WMM
Subgrade
Fig. 10. Schematic representation of the three-panel concrete pave-
ment on DLC and WMM base, supported on Winkler type foundation
100- mm-thick dry lean concrete base on 150- mm-thick WMM
layer laid over subgrade was analyzed. Fig. 10 presents a sche-
matic arrangement of the pavement system analyzed. The dimen-
sions of concrete panels considered are 4,600 mm⫻ 3,600 mm
⫻ 250 mm. The properties of concrete, the DLC, and the WMM
base considered for the analysis are given in Table 4. The foun-
dation was assumed to have a modulus of subgrade reaction 共k兲 of
0.04 MPa/ mm. Each transverse joint was assumed to have 11
dowel bars of 32 mm diameter and 600 mm length spaced at
300 mm center to center. The properties of steel considered are
E = 200,000 MPa and ␷ = 0.3 and the modulus of dowel support
between dowel bars and concrete 共K兲 was taken as 450 MPa/ mm.
The configuration and properties of the three-panel concrete pave-
ment system considered for the analysis confirm to those gener-
ally followed in the construction of pavements on the national
highways in India 关IRC: 58 共The Indian Roads Congress 2002兲.兴
The analysis was carried out for two different interface condi-
tions: rough and smooth. The coefficient of friction values of 20
and 0.5 were selected for rough and smooth interface conditions
respectively between the concrete slab and DLC base on the basis
of the push-off tests conducted in the present study. The results
obtained for the rough interface case were compared with those of
the smooth interface case for different load combinations.
Axle Load Configuration
An axle load of 120 kN and a tire pressure of 0.8 MPa were
selected as representative of the typical axle load spectrum ob-
served on Indian highways. Rectangular tire imprints of size
234.4 mm⫻ 160 mm corresponding to a single wheel load of
30 kN were considered. For the purpose of the present sensitivity
analysis, this 120 kN axle load was applied only on the middle
panel. Three different critical positions, A, B, and C, of the axle
load were considered as shown in Fig. 11. Various dimensions of
the axle load configuration shown in the figure are as per the
average dimensions obtained for typical commercial vehicles in
an earlier study 共Reddy 1993兲. Load transfer was assumed from
the middle panel to the two neighboring panels through the dowel
Table 4. Properties of Concrete, DLC, and WMM Bases Used in the
Parametric Study
Materials
Property Concrete DLC WMM
Elastic modulus 共E in MPa兲 30,000 14,000 500
Poisson’s ratio 共␷兲 0.15 0.15 0.35
Coefficient of thermal 1.0⫻ 10−5 0.7⫻ 10−5 —
expansion 共␣ in /°C兲
Density 共␥ in kN/ m3兲 24 20 18
 Table 5. Maximum Tensile Stresses on Slab for Different Load Combi-
Corner nations
Tensile stresses 共MPa兲
2 Load Rough Smooth
4 Interior ‘B’ Case No. Load case details interface interface
1 Self weight 0.005 共B兲 0.012 共B兲

310

1800
3 ‘A’
‘C’ 2 Axle load 共A兲 1.393 共B兲1 1.712 共B兲1
3 Axle load 共B兲 0.440 共T兲3 0.457 共T兲3
Corner 1 160 X 234.4 4 Axle load 共C兲 0.581 共T兲3 0.664 共T兲3
Edge 5 PTG 0.775 共B兲2 0.718 共B兲2
6 NTG 2.434 共T兲2 1.573 共T兲2
Fig. 11. Single-axle load configuration, different axle load positions, 7 Axle load 共A兲 + PTG 2.015 共B兲 1
2.970 共B兲1
and critical regions considered for reporting the results in the middle
8 Axle load 共A兲 + NTG 2.009 共T兲 3
1.178 共T兲3
panel 共all dimensions in mm兲
9 Axle load 共B兲 + PTG 0.641 共B兲 3
0.618 共B兲3
10 Axle load 共B兲 + NTG 2.788 共T兲 3
2.317 共T兲3
bar system placed across the transverse joints. The slabs were 11 Axle load 共C兲 + PTG 0.716 共B兲 3
0.785 共B兲3
considered to be discontinuous beyond the width of the slab. 12 Axle load 共C兲 + NTG 2.855 共T兲 3
2.434 共T兲3
13 UTD 1.132 共B兲 2
0.118 共B兲2
14 UTI 0.516 共T兲 4
0.073 共T兲2
Temperature Consideration
15 Axle load 共A兲 + UTD 1.780 共B兲 1
1.958 共B兲1
Besides the axle loading, temperature gradient within the depth of 16 Axle load 共B兲 + UTI 0.858 共T兲 3
0.607 共T兲3
slab due to daily variation was considered. Nonlinear temperature 17 Axle load 共C兲 + UTI 0.865 共T兲 3
0.787 共T兲3
gradients 共positive as well as negative兲 as shown in Fig. 12 were Note: PTG= positive temperature gradient; NTG= negative temperature
adopted through the depth of the concrete slab. The gradients gradient; UTD= uniform temperature decrease; UTI= uniform tempera-
shown in the figure were obtained from temperature measure- ture increase; T = top of slab; and B = bottom of slab. Superscripts denote
ments made on two concrete specimens in the laboratory. Similar the stress locations 共refer Fig. 9兲. In Load Cases 2 to 17, self-weight of
variations of temperature through the depth of the slab were also the slab was also considered.
observed by Venkatasubramanian 共1964兲 on model concrete pave-
ments. As seen from Fig. 12, the variation of temperature near the
bottom of the slab is approximately uniform and hence a constant three-panel concrete pavement system. In the present FE model,
temperature equal to that considered for the bottom fiber of the 8-noded 3D brick element 共SOLID45兲, with three translational
slab, was considered across the depth of DLC. The seasonal varia- degrees of freedom per node, in the nodal x-, y-, and z-directions,
tion in temperature was modeled in the analysis as uniform in- were used to model the concrete slab as well as the base layers.
crease or decrease in temperature of 20° C of the concrete slab The subgrade was modeled as Winkler foundation 共Westergaard
and DLC layer. 1926兲 consisting of a bed of closely spaced, independent, linear
springs using spring elements 共COMBIN14兲. The top nodes of the
subgrade spring elements were connected with the bottom nodes
Critical Load Combinations of the solid elements of the base layer. The effective normal stiff-
The seventeen load combinations of axle loading, temperature ness of the spring element was calculated by multiplying the
differential, and uniform variation of temperature, considered in modulus of subgrade reaction with the influencing area of that
the parametric study, are given in Table 5. For all the cases from element. Dowel bars were modeled as 3D beam elements
2 to 17, self weights of the layers were also considered. 共BEAM4兲 having six degrees of freedom per node, translations in
the nodal x-, y-, and z-directions and rotations about the nodal x-,
y-, and z-axes. The dowel-concrete interaction, represented by the
Finite-Element Modeling parameter modulus of dowel support, was modeled using a series
The structural analysis package “ANSYS” 共ANSYS Inc., of contact elements 共CONTAC52兲. These elements are capable of
Cannonsburg, Pa., 2002兲 was used to analyze the slab-base sys- supporting only compression in the contact normal direction and
tem of concrete pavement subjected to vehicle and thermal load- friction in the tangential direction. The dowel-concrete friction
ing. A three-dimensional 共3D兲 FE model was developed for the value considered was 0.05 共William and Shoukry 2001兲. The 3D
FE model of the dowel-jointed concrete pavement with its load
transfer efficiency has been validated with an experimental work
50°C 10°C conducted by the U.S. Naval Civil Engineering Research and
0
0 Evaluation Laboratory 共Keeton and Bishop 1957兲 on airfield
Depth of Slab (mm)

Depth of Slab (mm)

pavement expansion joints. This has been discussed in detail else-

38°C where 共Maitra et al., “Load transfer characteristics of dowel bar
125 125 22°C
system in jointed concrete pavement,” 2009兲.
In the earlier works of modeling concrete pavement using 2D
FE method 共Huang and Wang 1973, Tabatabaie and Barenberg
250 250 28°C 1980兲, the interface was treated as either fully bonded or fully
32°C
Positive Gradient Negative Gradient unbonded. The two-layer system was treated as a composite plate
by transforming the slab-base section depending on interface con-
Fig. 12. Nonlinear temperature differentials considered for analysis dition. However, the use of fully-bonded or fully unbonded inter-

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 Zero Length Contact slab-base interface with a series of zero length contact elements
Brick elements elements connecting connecting the nodes of concrete slab at top to the nodes of the
for Slab Concrete Slab and Base DLC base at the bottom.

Results and Discussions

Brick elements for Base
Fig. 13. FE representation of interface and contact behavior
face assumption does not correctly represent the actual interface
behavior. The degree of bonding varies over time and with sea-
sonal variation of temperature. In 3D FE modeling, Davids et al.
共2003兲 used a nodal contact approach for modeling the slab-base
interface by introducing an interface element. Nishiyama et al.
共2005兲 used spring elements at the interface and developed a re-
lationship between strains at the interface and bond level to quan-
tify the bonding characteristics based on the 3D FE analysis.
In the present work, the interface between the concrete slab
and the base was modeled by using contact elements
共CONTAC178兲. The nature and degree of bonding between the
two layers can be captured by this element considering the fric-
tion between them. The element is capable of supporting only
compression in the contact normal direction and friction in the
tangential direction. Because of this feature, it was possible to
model the loss of contact between concrete slab and base when-
ever tension was generated. To model the slab-base interface be-
havior, two stiffnesses are required; normal stiffness and
tangential stiffness. The normal stiffness was selected based on
the stiffness of the surfaces in contact. The tangential or sticking
stiffness was estimated by multiplying the normal stiffness with
the coefficient of friction between the two surfaces in contact. The
degree of bonding between the layers was varied from “smooth”
to “rough” by varying the “coefficient of friction” values as 0.5
and 20, respectively. Fig. 13 shows the FE representation of the
The three-panel pavement system was analyzed for different load
combinations mentioned earlier. Table 5 presents the maximum
tensile stresses developed at various locations of the central panel
for all load combinations. The deflection values at three critical
locations: corner, edge and interior of the central panel for Load
Cases 1–12 are given in Table 6. For the uniform temperature
cases 共Load Cases 13–17兲, the movements of slabs are mainly
horizontal and therefore, the vertical deflection values are not
reported for these cases. The different regions considered for the
computation of deflections as well as maximum tensile stresses
are shown in Fig. 11.
As seen from Table 5, for axle loading cases 共Load Positions
A, B, and C, i.e., Load Cases 2, 3, and 4兲, the maximum tensile
stresses obtained for rough interface condition are lower com-
pared to those obtained for smooth interface condition. This is
due to the increased stiffness of the DLC that contributes in re-
ducing the load associated stresses in the middle panel. Among
the three load positions, maximum tensile stress was obtained for
Load Position A 共edge loading兲.
When the pavement is subjected to positive or negative tem-
perature gradients 共Load Cases 5 and 6, respectively兲, the restraint
due to bonding results in larger tensile stresses in the concrete
slab for rough interface condition compared to those obtained for
smooth interface condition. Positive temperature gradient along
with the axle load, the load position A 共Load Case 7兲 resulted in
maximum tensile stress at the bottom of concrete slab as the two
effects are additive in nature. The maximum tensile stresses are
much lower for the other two load positions 共B and C兲 along with
positive temperature gradient 共Load Cases 9 and 11, respectively兲
as the two effects are subtractive in nature. The effect of negative
temperature gradient on slab stresses is found to be more pro-
nounced when it is combined with the axle loads 共Load Cases 8,
10, and 12, respectively兲 at different locations. For all the three
load positions 共A, B, and C兲, higher tensile stresses are developed
at the slab top as the movement of slab is restrained when the

Table 6. Slab Deflections at Critical Locations for Different Load Combinations

Deflection 共mm兲
Load Rough interface Smooth interface
Case
No. Load case details Interior Edge Corner Interior Edge Corner
1 Self-weight −0.272 −0.272 −0.272 −0.273 −0.273 −0.273
2 Axle load 共A兲 −0.555 −0.823 −0.382 −0.569 −0.864 −0.361
3 Axle load 共B兲 −0.325 −0.304 −0.732 −0.312 −0.291 −0.742
4 Axle load 共C兲 −0.312 −0.391 −1.054 −0.302 −0.356 −1.122
5 PTG +0.445 −0.520 −1.642 +0.888 −0.216 −1.401
6 NTG −0.766 −0.060 +0.771 −0.716 +0.298 +1.808
7 Axle load 共A兲 + PTG +0.161 −1.063 −1.760 +0.105 −1.151 −1.564
8 Axle load 共A兲 + NTG −1.044 −0.588 +0.841 −1.063 −0.584 +1.897
9 Axle load 共B兲 + PTG +0.390 −0.552 −2.107 +0.711 −0.345 −2.015
10 Axle load 共B兲 + NTG −0.815 −0.104 +0.817 −0.794 +0.249 +2.146
11 Axle load 共C兲 + PTG +0.394 −0.638 −2.423 +0.736 −0.459 −2.407
12 Axle load 共C兲 + NTG −0.806 −0.151 +0.853 −0.731 +0.091 +2.195
Note: +ve= upward deflection; and −ve= downward deflection of slab.
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interface becomes fully bonded with the base. For smooth inter-
face, the warping of the pavement slab is not restrained due to the
presence of a bond breaker and thus smaller stresses are devel-
oped.
The pavement slab expands or contracts due to seasonal varia-
tion in temperature wherein the friction between the slab and base
plays an important role. Less friction between the slab and the
base provides easy movement of the slab in the horizontal direc-
tion results in smaller tensile stresses at the slab interior 共bottom
and top兲 in case of smooth interface condition for both uniform
decrease and uniform increase in temperature 共Load Cases 13 and
14, respectively兲. The reduction in stress due to smooth interface
condition is beneficial during seasonal variation in temperature to
prevent premature cracking of the concrete just after construction.
When axle load at position A is considered in combination with
uniform temperature decrease 共Load Case 15兲, smaller tensile
stresses are developed at the bottom of the slab near the middle of
the longitudinal edge, as the stiffness of the supporting base con-
tributes in case of rough interface condition. When axle loads
共Load Positions B and C兲 are taken in combination with uniform
temperature increase 共Load Cases 16 and 17, respectively兲, the
two effects become additive and larger tensile stresses are devel-
oped at the slab top due to increased restraint for rough interface
condition. From Table 5, it is found that, when only axle loads
共Load Positions A, B, and C兲 are considered 共Load Cases 2, 3,
and 4兲, rough interface performs better as it gives smaller stresses
compared to those obtained for the smooth interface case. How-
ever, temperature plays an important role in the development of
high tensile stresses at the slab top or bottom both with smooth
and rough interface conditions. Due to negative temperature gra-
dient alone, higher tensile stresses are developed at the slab top
共Load Case 6兲 when the interface becomes rough. When axle
loads 共Load Positions B and C兲 are added along with negative
temperature gradient 共Load Cases 10 and 12兲, the stresses become
even higher. The worst combination that gives the highest tensile
stress is when axle load at Position A is combined with positive
temperature gradient 共Load Case 7兲 with smooth interface condi-
tion. However, stresses due to uniform temperature variation with
or without the axle loads are found to be much less compared to
those obtained for the other load cases.
From Table 6, it is observed that, for axle loading cases 共Load
Positions A, B, and C, i.e., Load Cases 2, 3, and 4兲, the maximum
deflections obtained for rough and smooth interfaces are not sig-
nificantly different, with the values for rough case being slightly
lower. For rough interface condition, the stiffness of DLC con-
tributes in carrying the load resulting in lesser deflections in the
middle panel. From the table, it is also observed that for rough
interface condition, the deflection values under or near the load is
less, while they are larger at locations away from the load as
compared to those for the smooth interface condition. When a
bond-breaker is present 共smooth interface兲, the slab edges, due to
its flexure deflect upwards away from the load. The slab delami-
nates from the base and results in the edges getting lifted up more.
When no temperature gradient was considered, Load Position A
expectedly produced larger deflection in the edge and interior
regions, whereas Load Position C gave maximum deflection in
the corner region.
When the pavement is subjected to positive or negative tem-
perature gradient corresponding to day-time or night-time without
any axle load 共Load Cases 5 and 6, respectively兲, the slab warps
up 共convex upward兲 or down 共concave upward兲, respectively.
There will be loss of contact at the center for upward curling and
at the corners for downward curling. The upward deflection at the
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1
0.8 Smooth
0.6 Rough
Deflection, mm
0.4
0.2
0
-0.2 0 1000 2000 3000 4000
-0.4
-0.6
Slab width, mm
Fig. 14. Deflection in the middle of the slab in the transverse direc-
tion for positive temperature gradient 共Load Case 5兲
center for positive temperature gradient 共Load Case 5兲 for smooth
interface condition is nearly twice of that obtained for rough in-
terface case. Fig. 14 shows the comparison of the deflections in
the middle of the slab along the transverse direction for smooth
and rough interface conditions when the pavement is subjected to
positive temperature gradient 共Load Case 5兲. At the corner, for
night time curling 共Load Case 6兲, the ratio of smooth and rough
case deflection values is about 2.3. For smooth interface, for up-
ward curling, as the slab center lifts up significantly, the edges
and the corners are also lifted up, and thus, the total downward
deflections at those locations are found to be less when compared
with rough interface condition. For downward curling under
negative temperature gradient, the lifting up of the corners 共for
smooth interface兲 causes the total downward deflections to be less
at the center and edges of the slab.
Maximum downward corner deflections were observed for the
combination of load position C and positive temperature gradient.
For this load combination, deflection at the interior is the mini-
mum and it is more in the edge and corner regions for both
smooth and rough interface conditions. However, in the case of
negative temperature gradient with axle loads at position A, the
total downward deflection at the interior is the maximum, while
the value is smaller in the edge and the corner regions.
Conclusions
Based on the experimental and the parametric studies, the follow-
ing conclusions are drawn on the effect of the interface condition
on concrete pavement slab-base system.
1. Polythene sheet is an effective bond breaker in the concrete
pavement both for granular base 共WMM兲 and cement-treated
共DLC兲 base. The bond between the concrete slab and DLC
with no polythene sheet in between was very strong and
could not be broken.
2. The coefficient of friction value is the maximum at the initial
cycle and it corresponds to a small horizontal displacement
of about 0.5 mm. The friction value decreases gradually in
subsequent cycles and reaches a near-constant value for a
movement of about 3.0 to 4.5 mm for both rough as well as
smooth interface conditions.
3. In the case of slabs over DLC, the thickness of the slab does
not significantly influence the friction characteristics of the
interface layers.
4. For smooth interface, the polythene sheet glued itself to the
underside of the slab thus providing a smooth plane for the
slab to slide over the base resulting in lower friction values.
Failure occurred at the slab-base interface. For rough inter-
 face with slabs over WMM base, failure occurred within the
WMM 共granular兲 layer.
5. The results of the parametric study show that for the concrete
slab with rough interface and subjected to axle loading only,
the stiffness of the base contributes significantly to the total
stiffness of the slab-foundation system resulting in smaller
deflections and tensile stresses. Rough interface is also ben-
eficial when there is a positive temperature gradient along
with the axle load at Load Position A 共edge loading兲, which
is the most critical load combination.
6. Corner deflections are found to be critical compared to the
deflections at the edges or interior region, particularly when
the axle load is placed at the corner of the slab panel for both
rough and smooth interface conditions.
7. When pavement is subjected to positive or negative tempera-
ture gradient, the warping of the slab is not restricted in the
case of smooth interface condition resulting in smaller tensile
stresses compared to rough interface condition. However, the
deflections in the center 共for positive temperature gradient兲
or in the corner 共for negative temperature gradient兲 regions
of the slab are significantly high for the smooth interface
case resulting in loss of foundation support.
8. Negative temperature gradient caused significantly higher
tensile stresses at the slab top when the interface between
slab and base is rough. When axle load is also combined, the
stresses are even higher.
9. During seasonal increase or decrease in temperature, con-
crete slab with smooth interface is beneficial as horizontal
movements are not restrained resulting in less tensile
stresses.
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