Development of Temperature Gradient Frequency Distribution for Kenyan Cement Concrete Pavement: Case Study of Mbagathi Way, Nairobi.

Abstract

In this paper, it is recognised that the Dutch Design method can be applied in Kenya to develop cement concrete pavements. A major design parameter required for this application is temperature gradient frequency distribution which is still lacking for Kenya, and is the major focus of this paper. The dowel jointed concrete pavement (DJCP) at rehabilitated Mbagathi Way, Nairobi is used as a case study. The limited surface temperature measurements carried out at Mbagathi Way, Nairobi in conjunction with BELLS3 model are used to develop the distribution. The distribution is compared against the default Dutch distribution from which it is seen that the Kenyan distribution has higher values for higher temperature gradient classes. This is, partly, attributed to higher quantities of solar energy in Kenya as compared to the Netherlands.

Keywords: Temperature gradient frequency distribution; BELLS3 model