Effects of overlay thickness on surface cracking and debonding in bonded concrete overlays

Alex Hak Chul Shin, David A. Lange

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The performance of bonded concrete overlays can be diminished by early age surface cracking and (or) debonding at the interface between old and new concrete. This early age failure can be attributed to the volume changes of the overlay concrete caused by shrinkage and temperature change. An experimental program was conducted to understand the effects of overlay thickness on the early age failure of bonded concrete overlays. A finite element model was developed to assess stress development and debonding behavior due to volume changes for various overlay thicknesses. The experimental measurements and numerical analysis demonstrated that overlay surface cracking and debonding at the interface are interdependent in thin overlays. To prevent premature surface cracking, a minimum overlay thickness should be determined based on the shrinkage and thermal changes of overlay concrete, and construction practices should be selected to mitigate the shrinkage and thermal gradient through the overlay thickness.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)304-312
Number of pages9
JournalCanadian journal of civil engineering
Volume39
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 2012

Keywords

  • Bonded concrete overlay
  • Debonding
  • Early age behavior
  • Overlay thickness
  • Surface cracking

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Civil and Structural Engineering
  • General Environmental Science

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