Author: Jeff Roesler

Publisher:

Published: 2013

Total Pages: 34

ISBN-13:

With the completion of the Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG) and the recent designation of the MEPDG software as "AASHTOWare® Pavement ME Design," the standard for CRCP design has undergone significant changes from the 1993 AASHTO Pavement Design Guide. CRCP performance problems observed in the past, such as material durability, base erosion, steel placement and content, and construction methods have been addressed, and the improved pavement design procedure reflects modern construction practices, pavement layer materials, specifications, and best concrete pavement engineering practices. The primary purpose of this technical summary is to provide engineers with the basic mechanistic-empirical design background and criteria utilized in the AASHTO Pavement ME Design software for CRCP. Secondly, this technical summary describes the key CRCP design inputs to assist the pavement engineer through the CRCP design process with the AASHTO Pavement ME Design software, including identifying the most sensitive design inputs and features. Finally, example problems are included in this document to demonstrate the robustness of the new design software for both new CRCP and CRCP overlays in different climatic zones. It is expected that as the mechanistic-empirical design procedure for CRCP continues to evolve, refinements in the failure mechanisms and data inputs likely will be made, providing even greater reliability in the design process.