Fatigue performance of continuously reinforced concrete pavement under cyclic wheel loading: Effect of binder composition

Continuously reinforced concrete pavements (CRCPs) are known for their excellent long-term durability; however, the absence of joints can lead to critical cracking depending on the mixture design, potentially degrading their performance. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the fatigue performance of a CRCP with various binder compositions, such as ordinary Portland cement, fly ash, and expansive additives (EA), under harsh environmental conditions. A multi-scale chemo-hygral computational system (DuCOM-COM3) was employed to simulate the damage caused by shrinkage under actual temperature and humidity variations as well as the long-term fatigue performance under cyclic wheel loading. The computational system integrates models for cement hydration, pore structure development, moisture transport, expansive pressure owing to EA, and time-dependent constitutive laws for structural analysis, enabling a comprehensive analysis of the drying shrinkage and stress-strain behavior of concrete under cyclic fatigue loading. Using this approach, the effects of binder composition and the advantages of EAs on the long-term fatigue performance were quantitatively evaluated, and the suitability of mixture designs for enhancing the durability of CRCPs was investigated in detail.