Factors Influencing the Design of Semirigid Pavement in Different Climatic Regions Using LTPP Data, MEPDG Software, and the Design of the Experiment Method
Publication: Journal of Transportation Engineering, Part B: Pavements
Volume 150, Issue 1
Abstract
Semirigid pavements are gaining importance in the pavement design field due to their improved performance in freezing zones. These semirigid pavements are constructed similarly to asphalt pavements, but with a cement-stabilized base layer. However, there is a limited study that quantifies the influence of design factors on the performance of semirigid pavements. Therefore, an attempt was made to investigate the role of subgrade, temperature, moisture, traffic, crack joint spacing, speed, asphalt thickness, cement-treated base (CTB) layer thickness, elastic modulus, and modulus of rupture of CTB layer on semirigid pavement design. Different combinations of factors were formulated using fractional factorial design in the design of the experiment (DoE). All factors influencing the design of semirigid pavements were considered on two levels (low and high). This analysis used data from the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA’s) Long-Term Pavement Performance Program (LTPP). These data were incorporated into the AASHTOWare Pavement ME Design 2.6.1 (MEPDG) software. Design-Expert was used to determine the significance of various factors on the performance indexes. In addition, an optimization technique was used to determine the optimal design thickness for cement-treated base under various subgrade and climatic conditions. The result suggests that the thickness of a CTB layer is greater on fine-grained soil than on coarse-grained soil.
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Data Availability Statement
All data, models, and code generated or used during the study appear in the published article.
Acknowledgments
The funding of the corresponding author is supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC).
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Transportation Engineering, Part B: Pavements
Volume 150 • Issue 1 • March 2024
Copyright
© 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Apr 14, 2022
Accepted: May 27, 2023
Published online: Oct 25, 2023
Published in print: Mar 1, 2024
Discussion open until: Mar 25, 2024
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Asphalt pavements
- Base course
- Climates
- Coarse-grained soils
- Concrete pavements
- Design (by type)
- Engineering fundamentals
- Environmental engineering
- Geomechanics
- Geotechnical engineering
- Gravels
- Highway and road design
- Infrastructure
- Material mechanics
- Material properties
- Materials engineering
- Pavement condition
- Pavement design
- Pavements
- Sight distances
- Soil mechanics
- Soils (by type)
- Thickness
- Transportation engineering
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