USING OF FINITE ELEMENT IN DEVELOPING A NEW METHOD FOR RIGID PAVEMENT ANALYSIS

The aim of this paper is to present an alternative method for design and analysis of rigid pavements using Finite Element Method FEM. The commercial finite element package known as "LUSAS" was used in this study. 2-D plane strain an d axisymmetric conditions are considered in this work. The computed values of flexural stresses have been compared with the results of Portland Cement Association (PCA) method. Results show that the computed flexural stresses under axisymmetric condition are in close agreement with PCA results rather than under plane strain condition. An illustrative example is presented to indicate as how the FEM can be a versatile alternate in the field of rigid pavement analysis a nd design.