Determination of Mechanical Properties for Unstabilized Drainage Layer and Implementation in Mechanistic–Empirical Pavement Design Guide
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 29, Issue 2
Abstract
The resilient modulus of unstabilized granular base or subbase material is the fundamental and primary mechanical property adopted by empirical-mechanistic pavement design, and has been the focus of much research. However, the mechanical properties of unstabilized open-graded drainage layers, which also work structurally as a base or subbase, are not always considered in pavement design. Moreover, the specific gradations and high porosities even increase the difficulties in characterizing the unstabilized drainage layer materials. In this study, the typically used open-graded aggregates for Wisconsin’s drainage layer were tested in a laboratory for mechanical properties including resilient modulus and shear strength at 15 and 20% air void content. The resilient modulus parameters are modified from the literature and the mechanistic-empirical pavement design guide (MEPDG) model and were also obtained through nonlinear regression for level 1 inputs in MEPDG. The resilient modulus laboratory data, together with the resilient modulus simulated by the discrete element method, using higher air voids that cannot be achieved in laboratory tests, were analyzed to investigate the effects of air void content. The MEPDG analysis conducted estimates the 20-year performance of pavement models with the Wisconsin's open graded drainage base material (OGDB-WI) drainage layer at different air void contents.
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Acknowledgments
The research present here was conducted as part of the Transportation Pooled Fund study TPF-5(229) program, funded by the state agencies of Virginia, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, and Idaho. The authors appreciate all the assistance provided by staff at the Virginia DOT, Oklahoma DOT, Wisconsin DOT, and Idaho Transportation Department.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 29 • Issue 2 • February 2017
Copyright
© 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Dec 8, 2015
Accepted: Jun 16, 2016
Published online: Sep 2, 2016
Published in print: Feb 1, 2017
Discussion open until: Feb 2, 2017
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