Structural behaviour of interlocking concrete block pavement

Abstract

In interlocking concrete block pavement, the blocks make up the wearing surface and are a major load-spreading component of the pavement. It differs from other conventional form of pavement that the wearing surface is made from small paving units embedded and joined in sand rather than continuous paving. Beneath the bedding sand the substructure is similar to that of a flexible pavement. The interlocking concrete block pavement (ICBP) has gained rapid popularity in many foreign countries as an alternative to concrete and asphalt pavements. However the manifest advantages of ICBP has not fully extended in India because of lack of proven indigenous design and construction information. There are not any IRC codes or IS codes available for specification and design of it. This paper presents the results of a series of tests conducted to assess the influence of block shape, thickness, size, compressive strength, and laying pattern on the overall pavement performance. The test setup discussed here was used to study these factors based on static plate loading. The effect of load repletion on the pavement behavior is discussed. The mechanism of load transfer, the effect bedding sand, jointing sand and edge restraints are discussed. The behavior of test pavement is characterized in terms of deflection. The applied load was increased in 10 KN increments from zero to one half the single axle legal limits. It is found that shape, size, thickness of block have a significant influence on the behavior of concrete block pavement.