Abstract:
In this study the thickness of rigid pavement was determined using manual
computations by applying two design approaches namely American Association of
State Highway and Transportation Officials Method (AASHTO) and Portland
cement Association Method (PCA). There are four types of rigid pavements; but
this study focuses on Jointed Plan Concrete Pavement (JPCP) and Jointed
Reinforced Concrete Pavement (JRCP).A computer program with Visual Basic
software was developed, entitled GalalM-RP program, to determine the rigid
pavement design thickness in accordance with PCA method. Al-Ilaifoun urbanrural
highway was selected as a case study, the thickness of the rigid pavement was
computed using manual method to verify the results obtained from GalalM-RP
program. Comparison of the results showed that the difference between manual
design and GalalM-RP software did not exceed 5%.The computer program
GalalM-RP can be used reliably as design thickness program for rigid pavements
with doweled joints and without concrete shoulders.
