A new study by researchers Avinash Kumar Jha and ISCP Board Member Sushobhan Sen offers enhanced methods for estimating temperature distributions in Jointed Plain Concrete Pavements (JPCPs) across India and Nepal. Current pavement design standards in these countries rely on broad climatic zones and simplified temperature assumptions, often applying a single linear temperature gradient across diverse regions. This approach can result in inaccurate stress estimations, leading to over- or under-designed pavement sections. The researchers addressed this gap by validating the ILLI-THERM pavement temperature prediction model using the ERA5 climate dataset and applying it across 24 different locations.
The study found that temperature gradients in JPCPs are far from uniform and that eigenstresses—internal stresses caused by non-linear temperature distributions—are significant in all examined cases. By decomposing the predicted temperature profiles into linear and non-linear components, the researchers demonstrated that standard design codes, such as IRC:58 in India and NCRDG in Nepal, tend to be overly conservative in many climatic zones. This overestimation affects both bottom-up and top-down cracking potential and can lead to unnecessarily thick and costly pavement designs.
By comparing actual temperature distributions with those prescribed in national standards, the study suggests that refining temperature modeling practices could significantly reduce construction costs and the environmental footprint of road infrastructure. The integration of localized climate data and more accurate thermal models represents a step toward optimized, region-specific pavement design in South Asia, balancing performance, cost-efficiency, and sustainability.
Read the article here: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10298436.2025.2503392