Extended finite element analysis of ultimate load-bearing capacity for dowel bar system in cement concrete pavement

In order to analyze the premature damage of dowel bar system in jointed concrete pavement induced by overload, the extended finite element method (short for XFEM) coupled with submodeling method were employed to simulate the fracture process of concrete around the dowel bar under loading. This coupling method is based on 3-D finite element analysis which simulates the whole concrete pavement structure. The initialization and evolution of the cracks around the dowel bar in the inner concrete could be monitored in model simulation and full-scale experiment. Results show that the loading-displacement curves in the loading position and fracture mode of crack between the numerical simulations coincide well with full-scale experiment. And the coupling XFEM with submodeling method is an efficient and accurate method to calculate the ultimate bearing capacity of dowel bar. Furthermore, the critical axle load could be back-calculated based on the former analyzing results. This research provides a valuable numerical analysis method to simulate the fracture process in stress concentration region of the concrete structure.