Comparative Study of Asphalt Pavement Responses under FWD and Moving Vehicular Loading
Publication: Journal of Transportation Engineering
Volume 142, Issue 12
Abstract
This study aimed to compare pavement responses caused by impulsive dynamic loading and moving vehicular loading using mechanistic pavement analysis. Finite-element (FE) models were developed to simulate falling weight deflectometer (FWD) loading with axisymmetric FE models and to simulate moving vehicular loading with three-dimensional (3D) FE models. Two flexible pavement structures with different asphalt layer thicknesses and temperature profiles were considered in the analysis. The FE models simulated dynamic impulse loading during FWD testing and moving tire loading patterns with 3D tire-pavement contact stresses. It was found that the pulse durations of compressive stresses in the asphalt layer were significantly affected by speed and pavement depth in what can be described as an exponential relationship. However, pulse duration was found to be pavement-dependent, and the quantitative relationship between pulse duration and speed and depth could only be developed for each individual pavement structure. The equivalent speed of FWD loading to moving loading varies depending on the type of response, asphalt layer thickness, and temperature. The usual assumption of FWD loading as representative of truck loading at typical highway speeds was only valid for pulse durations of compressive stresses. FWD loading caused greater pavement responses than moving tire loading at the highway speed under the same loading magnitude as the asphalt layer thickness decreased or the temperature increased. The study results emphasized the importance of using moving tire loading in mechanistic analysis of pavement responses.
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Acknowledgments
This research is partially supported by USDOT OST-R through the Region II University Transportation Research Center under contract 49997-48-25.
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Published In
Journal of Transportation Engineering
Volume 142 • Issue 12 • December 2016
Copyright
© 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Dec 17, 2015
Accepted: Jul 7, 2016
Published online: Aug 31, 2016
Published in print: Dec 1, 2016
Discussion open until: Jan 31, 2017
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