Pavement Reinforcement

[PEREADY]

I am designing a 15" thick rigid pavement. The govering crane outrigger load is about 200 kips on 1.5' x 1.5' area. How do I decide whether I need both top & bottom reinforcement or only top reinf. is good enough? I would really appreciate your response. Thanks

 

[MA_PE]

I am designing a 15" thick rigid pavement. The govering crane outrigger load is about 200 kips on 1.5' x 1.5' area. How do I decide whether I need both top & bottom reinforcement or only top reinf. is good enough? I would really appreciate your response. Thanks

if anything you would only need bottom reinforcement under the outrigger pad because bending would cause tension on the bottom and not the top.

 

[Archimedes]

You'll have to make an educated guess as to how that load will be supported by the soil at the bottom of the slab, i.e. the reaction, and treat it like an "effective" spread footing, in which case bottom reinforcing is what you'll need. However, If this is a permanent installation, I would start with the minimum temperature reinforcing and see what capacity that gives you alone, at 15" that's As=15*12*.0018= .324/ft or #5's at 12 (as a minimum).