Influence of early-age behaviour on structural design of sustainable thinner concrete slabs

The load transfer efficiency (LTE) of non-dowelled jointed plain concrete pavements (JPCPs), such as the innovative short slabs, is defined in terms of the cracks that form under the joints at an early age. The authors had previously developed and calibrated a model to predict crack widths in traditional JPCPs. The aim of this study is to validate this model using short slabs to relate crack width and LTE. After comparing the predicted crack width with actual ones observed in urban, industrial, and interurban short slab JPCPs, it is concluded that the model is useful for incorporating the early-age concrete behaviour into the structural design of these sustainable thinner slabs.