Advanced Analytical Tool for Flexible Pavement Design and Evaluation

Abstract

For long-term planning and operation of pavements, an efficient and effective mechanistic analysis engine serves as the key component of a modern pavement evaluation and design platform. Layered elastic analysis based on closed-form and integral solutions with many assumptions and idealizations is not sufficient to properly consider advanced material characterization and damage model input requirements of flexible pavements. A new two-dimensional (2D) axisymmetric finite element method (FEM) based analytical tool is being developed for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers by incorporating state-of-the-art analysis techniques and material characterization into pavement designs and evaluations. This advanced analytical tool, which is described in this paper, includes modules or components, such as advanced layer material response characterization models that can be selected to allow the required details warranted for different levels of input properties. The tool is designed to feature the capability of considering the cross-anisotropic and nonlinear elastic behavior of unbound aggregate layers and subgrade soils as well as the viscoelastic behavior of hot mix asphalt.