Repair of Longitudinal Joints and Cracks

Longitudinal cracking and longitudinal joint separations are commonly observed distresses in concrete pavements. The Texas Department of Transportation instituted a research project to determine the causes and to recommend repair methods. Repair methods that are generally recommended to repair cracks and joints are (1) cross stitching; (2) slot stitching; and (3) stapling. Finite element modeling was performed to determine the stress distribution in the concrete for each method when a truck tire load was placed on one side of the joint. Assuming no interlock between joint faces, the slot stitching model produced the lowest stress and cross stitching produced the highest stress, when the load was placed on the upper end of the diagonal bar. Cross stitching is recommended for repairing narrow cracks and slot stitching is recommended for wider cracks and joints.