Seasonal Variation of the Structural Response of a Thin Instrumented Flexible Pavement under Heavy Vehicle Loading

• The seasonal variations of the climatic factors such as temperature, moisture, and freeze-thaw cycles are known to influence the material properties and structural behavior of flexible pavement structures. Mechanistic models are required to predict the behavior of the structure throughout the entire year including the winter frost and spring thaw periods. In this study, the mechanical response of an instrumented flexible pavement structure located in the north of Sweden has been investigated at four different times during a year under loading by falling weight deflectometer and three different long heavy vehicles (~64, ~68 and ~74 ton). The mechanical response values recorded by the sensors embedded in the structure have been compared to the numerical model values obtained by 2D multilayer elastic calculations. It is shown that multilayer elastic theory provides a reasonable prediction of the mechanical behavior on the condition that the stiffness of the asphalt concrete is adjusted according to the temperature variations of the layer and the stiffness of the unbound granular layers is adjusted according to moisture content levels.

Subject headings

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Samhällsbyggnadsteknik (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Civil Engineering (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Byggvetenskap

Civil and Architectural Engineering

Publication and Content Type

vet (subject category)

kon (subject category)