Influence of temperature on fatigue life or reinforced pavement by whitetopping

The article presents the influence of temperature on the fatigue strength of concrete slabs used for reinforcing susceptible flexible pavement. In Poland, so far, there is no research on thermal interactions on concrete pavement. The article presents an analysis of various climatic conditions occurring in Poland and temperature distribution in concrete pavement. The dependence of daily temperature fluctuations on the temperatures appearing in the concrete slab was demonstrated. An analysis of thermal stresses in concrete slabs depending on their parameters was shown, and then fatigue life was determined. The applied 3DFEM model includes elements of contact, friction, and gravity in order to better approximate the behaviour of the board from temperature change. On this basis, the significant influence of cyclical daily temperature changes on the durability of the concrete pavement was indicated. The presented analyses can be applied to reinforcements of existing flexible pavements.