Response of Flexible Pavements to Multiple Loads

The instrumentation data obtained in the multiple-wheel heavy gear load tests conducted at the U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station are analyzed, and the results of this analysis are presented. The nonlinear pavement response to loads is illustrated. The patterns of measured stresses, deflections, and deflection basins under different wheel assemblies and loads are delineated, and pavement performance (in terms of coverages to failure) under traffic loads is examined. The validity of the superposition principle is manifested, i.e., the stresses and deflections of multiple-wheel loads can be determined with reasonable accuracy from the actual basin of a single-wheel load by the use of the superposition principle. The application of this principle to pavement analysis is emphasized. Conclusions based on the analysis pertaining to pavement research in the area of multiple-wheel heavy gear loads are drawn.