A developed method of analyzing temperature and moisture profiles in rigid pavement slabs

This study proposes a developed method to compute the temperature and moisture distribution along the depth of the rigid pavement slab via a one-dimensional heat and moisture transfer model using Crank-Nicolson finite difference method. The components of thermal conductivity (K) and moisture diffusivity (D) are added to the existing numerical model, and their effects are evaluated by comparing numerical results with field measurements via an ATEK Concrete Maturity Meter (ACMM) system. The results section presents from the following aspects: (1) the impacts of coupling effect of temperature and moisture on pavement temperature and moisture distribution along the slabs at early age, (2) the feasibility of using thermal conductivity (K) and moisture diffusivity (D) in the developed numerical model, and (3) the goodness of fitting between the predicted and measured temperature and moisture values. The subsequent discussion concentrates on whether the predicted results of the numerical model can be used to develop similar conclusions both in the laboratory and field. The discussion also focuses on the boundary-formulation differences between the proposed model and the field test model for concrete slabs, which is highlighted in terms of how these models characterize the impact of temperature and moisture profile inside of pavement slab.