Date of Award:

5-2023

Document Type:

Thesis

Degree Name:

Master of Science (MS)

Department:

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Committee Chair(s)

Marv Halling

Committee

Marv Halling

Committee

Austin Ball

Committee

Nicholas Roberts

Abstract

Electric Vehicles (EVs) are continually becoming a larger portion of the vehicular fleet on a national and global level. Despite their growth in popularity, several challenges still exist that hinder the practicality and general public’s acceptance of EVs. The limited travel range of EVs, lack of consistent charging stations, and required time to charge EVs are at the forefront of these challenges. The use of Inductive Power Transfer Systems (IPTS) may be part of the solution to the afore mentioned issues.

IPTS embedded in concrete pavement panels allow EVs to charge their batteries while in motion. In order to justify the implementation of IPTS in concrete pavement panels, it must be shown that the concrete pavement panels will be durable enough to protect the electronic equipment within them. The purpose of this research is to investigate alternative reinforcement options for the top mate of the concrete pavement panels to ensure their durability and longevity.

Four prototype concrete slabs were constructed and monitored during high-cycle fatigue loading. The fatigue cycling used a sinusoidal 2 Hz wave to simulate traffic for a total of 500,000 cycles. After the fatigue tests, each slab was subjected to a static load until failure. The four alternative slabs were as follows: a control slab with no reinforcement in the top of the slab, a slab constructed with fiber-reinforced concrete containing synthetic macrofibers, a slab with a top mat of Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) deformed rebar, and a slab with a Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic (FRP) grate used as the top mat of reinforcement. Traditional metallic reinforcement was not an option due to the magnetic field produced by the IPTS.

During the fatigue testing, all alternative slabs experienced differing degrees cracking. External strain gauges were used to monitor the slabs before and after the initial cracking caused by the fatigue testing. The data from the strain gauges were used to compare the deformation due to fatigue damage that occurred in each slab. In addition to the physical testing of the concrete slabs, each alternative slab was modeled in a 3D Finite Element Analysis (FEA) program. The results of the FEA models provided the theoretical ultimate strength of each test slab before they were subjected to fatigue damage; these results were compared to the ultimate residual strengths of the test slabs obtained during physical testing. The data obtained during this research suggests there are several viable top mat reinforcement alternatives, and the FRP grid used as top mat reinforcement provided the greatest durability for the concrete slabs.

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