Impact Quantification of Wide-Base Tire Loading on Secondary Road Flexible Pavements
Publication: Journal of Transportation Engineering
Volume 137, Issue 9
Abstract
There is a need to evaluate the damage caused by the new generation of wide-base tires on low-volume secondary roads because of their increased use on trucks. In this study, a three-dimensional (3D) finite-element (FE) model was built to simulate the realistic tire loading on secondary road pavements. The model allows for predicting pavement responses to loading applied by various tire configurations. In addition, the model incorporates the measured 3D tire-pavement contact stresses, models hot-mix asphalt (HMA) as linear viscoelastic material, simulates continuous moving load, and utilizes implicit dynamic analysis. The analyzed pavement structures comprised a 76-mm HMA layer and an aggregate base layer with various thicknesses (203, 305, and 457 mm). The impact of a wide-base tire on secondary road pavement damage was analyzed using available damage models and was compared to that resulting from conventional dual-tire assemblies. It was found that the new wide-base tire (455/55R22.5) caused greater fatigue damage, subgrade rutting, and HMA rutting (densification) but less HMA rutting (shear) and base shear failure compared to the conventional dual-tire assembly when carrying the same load. The findings indicate that wide-base tires’ impact on secondary road pavements depends on the roads’ predominant failure mechanisms. Hence, calculated combined damage ratios can be used for road usage pricing and pavement design practice when wide-base tires are used.
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Acknowledgments
The results presented in this paper are based on the NEXTRANS Center Project UNSPECIFIEDNo. 008IY01, conducted in cooperation with the Illinois Center for Transportation (ICT). The earlier work by J. Yoo and M. A. Elseifi is acknowledged. The computing support provided by the National Center for Super Computing Applications (NCSA) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is greatly appreciated. The contents of this paper reflect the view of the writers, who are responsible for the facts and the accuracy of the data presented here. The contents do not necessarily reflect the official views or policies of the NEXTRANS, FHWA, ICT, or IDOT. This paper does not constitute a standard, specification, or regulation.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Transportation Engineering
Volume 137 • Issue 9 • September 2011
Pages: 630 - 639
Copyright
© 2011 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jan 7, 2010
Accepted: Oct 29, 2010
Published online: Nov 24, 2010
Published in print: Sep 1, 2011
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