Material properties for implementation of mechanistic-empirical rigid pavement design procedure (Design Guide 2002) in Alberta

Due to increasing cost of pavement rehabilitation and maintenance, highway agencies put more efforts in finding the best alternatives for paving their roads. Portland Cement Concrete Pavements (PCCP) have higher initial cost, however with longer service lives and lower needed repairs could be an attractive choice for paving high traffic roads. This thesis presents reviews and conducts sensitivity analyses on the existing and new rigid pavement design methods (AASHTO, PCA, and Design Guide 2002) and compares the influences of different design inputs in performance of rigid pavements during its service life. A typical pavement concrete from a local project in Edmonton was tested based on Design Guide 2002 (DG 2002) requirements to facilitate the implementation of DG 2002 for the future projects in Alberta and results were used for redesign of the PCCP using existing rigid pavement design methods.