COMPUTER AIDED DESIGN OF CONCRETE PAVEMENTS

Abstract

Concrete pavements are most commonly practiced in the more heavily industrialised parts of the world, particularly Europe and North America. It would also appear to be the case that concrete pavements are most popular for roads subjected to heavy traffic and higher loads. Concrete pavements offer an alternative to flexible pavements especially where the soil strength is poor, the aggregates are costly and drainage conditions are bad as in portions of the roads passing through villages and water logged areas. The concrete pavement is a better alternative due to its strength, durability, better serviceability and higher life expectancy. Manual design of concrete pavements taken more time and prone to errors, since calculation involves trail and error. Computer aided design reduces time and increases efficiency. In this dissertation, software for design of concrete pavements has been developed in the visual Basic 6.0 environments. It is part of the Microsoft Visual Studio 6.0. This package was developed based on IRC: 58-2002, which provides guidelines for the design of plain jointed rigid pavements for highways. The developed package can be used for the design of concrete slab thickness, dowel bars and tie bars. The package has the functionality to same the complete design of concrete pavements.