Resilient characterization of pavement materials

TLDR

The study proposes a modified linear elastic approach to characterize pavement materials. The authors derive a secant modulus and Poisson’s ratio from stress invariants, incorporate the constitutive law into a finite element model, and analyze triaxial test data of granular base–subbase materials. The analysis shows secant Poisson’s ratios of 0.6–0.7 for granular bases, implying volume increase under high stress, and the finite element predictions agree with non‑destructive test results.

Abstract

Abstract The paper presents an approach for characterizing pavement materials using the modified linear elastic behaviour. The secant modulus of elasticity is expressed in terms of the stress invariants and an expression for the secant Poisson's ratio is derived using path independence of the total work along a closed loading cycle. Triaxial test results of granular base–subbase materials which exhibit strong non‐linear behaviour and dilatancy are analysed and presented. The constitutive law is included in a finite element program and results of pavement analyses are discussed. It is found that the secant Poisson's ratio of granular base materials reaches values between 0·6 and 0·7, indicating a volume increase under high stress ratios. The pavement response predicted using the above material characterization is compatible with non‐destructive test results.