Bar Dowel

Summary

Bar Dowel - Bar dowels are steel bars used to provide load transfer at a joints.

Technical Information

A de-bonded dowel bar consists of a steel bar where one half is bonded to one panel and the other is enclosed in a dowel sleeve which is bonded to the other panel.

Because the bar is inside a sleeve it allows the two panels to move away from each other with little restraint; reducing the risk of panel cracking from shrinkage.

Nowadays in new slabs plate dowels are more common than bar dowels as they tend to be easier to install. However they are still commonly used when a new dowel needs to be installed into an existing slab.

This is because it is much easier to drill a hole for a bar dowel than it is to grind a slot for a plate dowel.

A common type of bar dowel used today is the square dowel.

It is installed in a sleeve which has compressible foam on both sides allowing some lateral movement parallel to the joint.