Investigation on the freeze-thaw damage to the jointed plain concrete pavement under different climate conditions

Freeze-thaw damage is one of the main threats to the long time performance of the concrete pavement in the cold regions. This project aims to evaluate the influence of the freeze-thaw damages on pavement distresses under different climate conditions. Based on the Long-Term Pavement Performance (LTPP) data base, the freeze-thaw damage generated by four different kinds of climate conditions are considered in this project: wet-freeze, wet-non freeze, dryfreeze and dry-non freeze. The amount of the transverse crack and the joint spalling, along with the International Roughness Index (IRI) are compared among the test sections located in these four different climate conditions. The back calculation with the Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD) test results based on the ERES and the Estimation of Concrete Pavement Parameters (ECOPP) methods are conducted to obtain concrete slab elastic modulus and the subgrade k-value. These two parameters both decrease with service time under freeze condition. Finally, MEPDG simulation is conducted to simulate the IRI development with service year. These results showed the reasonable freeze-thaw damage development with pavement service life and under different climate conditions.