6th ICPT, Sapporo, Japan, July 2008

ANALYSIS OF SHEAR STRESS IN ASPHALT PAVEMENTS UNDER

ACTUAL MEASURED TIRE-PAVEMENT CONTACT PRESSURE
Kai SU
Special Researcher, Airport Research Center, Port and Airport Research Institute
1-1, Nagase 3, Yokosuka 239-0826, Japan
Kai-su@pari.go.jp
Lijun SUN
Professor, Department of Transportation Engineering,
Tongji University
1239, Siping road, Shanghai, 200092, China
Lijusun@mail.tongji.edu.cn
Yoshitaka HACHIYA
Service Center of Port Engineering (SCOPE), 3-3-1, Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo,
100-0013, Japan
hachiya@scopenet.or.jp
Ryota MAEKAWA
Senior Researcher, Airport Research Center, Port and Airport Research Institute
1-1, Nagase 3, Yokosuka 239-0826, Japan
maekawa-r28a@pari.go.jp

ABSTRACT
Rutting is one of the most important load-induced distresses found in asphalt pavements. The
primary mechanism of rutting is associated with shear deformation rather than densification.
Recently, top-down cracking probably attributed to shear failure has also been a frequent
occurrence in asphalt pavements. Clearly, shear stress is one of the critical factors affecting
pavements performance, and there is a great need to fully comprehend shear stress in asphalt
pavements. However, most conventional pavement design methodologies assume tirepavement contact stress is equivalent to tire inflation pressure and uniformly distributed over
a circular contact area. In fact, tire-pavement contact is not circular and contact pressure is
neither uniform nor the same as tire inflation pressure. To obtain an accurate account of the
influence of actual tire-pavement contact pressure on pavement response, this study evaluates
the shear stress in asphalt mixture layers produced by non-uniform stresses applied to the
pavement surface, in a simulation of field conditions. Then a solid analysis is carried out for a
semi-rigid asphalt pavement. The calculated results indicate the maximum shear stress occurs
at a point approximately 60 mm under the tire edge, and that both tire inflation pressure and
load distinctly affect shear stress. Bonding at the interface between the asphalt mixture layer
and the base course obviously affects shear stress as well.
KEY WORDS
shear stress, rutting, top-down cracking, measured tire-pavement contact pressure, 3D finite
element method

11

Analysis of Shear Stress in Asphalt Pavements under Actual Measured Tire-Pavement Contact Pressure

INTRODUCTION
Rutting in asphalt pavement includes densification and shear flow of hot-mix asphalt, but the
majority of severe instable rutting results from shear flow within the asphalt mixtures1,2). In
recent years, another type of surface distress called Top-Down Cracking (TDC), which is
usually found in longitudinal path, has become more common in asphalt pavements 2,3,4); this
is also considered as a shear-related failure5). As a result, shear stress is believed to be one of
the critical factors affecting pavements performance, and it is necessary to well understand
shear stress in asphalt pavements.
However, traditional methods of pavement analysis assumed that contact pressure is the same
to tire inflation pressure and that it is uniformly distributed over a circular contact area and
acts in the vertical direction6). In fact, it has been recognized that the tire-pavement contact
area is not circular and that contact stress is neither uniform nor equal to tire inflation
pressure1,2,3,4,7,8). To gain an accurate understanding of the effect of shear stress on pavement
performance, a laboratory method of applying tire-pavement contact pressure is employed in
this paper. The results are compared for differing loading conditions. The effects of tire
pressure and stress components in terms of vertical and horizontal stress on shear stress are
comprehensively investigated by three-dimensional finite element method (3-D FEM). In
addition, the effects of asphalt layer thickness and interface conditions are also discussed.
MEASUREMENT OF TIRE-PAVEMENT CONTACT PRESSURE
In order to measure the tire-pavement contact pressure distribution under realistic condition, a
static laboratory test device was developed, as shown in Figure 19,10). In this device, a series
of instrumented pins are embedded in the asphalt concrete specimen to measure the stress
induced by the tire. The tire load is applied using servo-hydraulic actuators. All measurements
are automatically recorded using a data logger. Though this method may seem simple and
may result in slight inaccuracy as compared with an actual pavement, the results are
undoubtedly much more reliable than when uniform contact pressure is assumed.
Pressure sensor
Fixed frame
Testing tire
Hydraulic system
Specimen
Sensor wire
Test controller

Figure 1

Static test system for tire-pavement contact pressure

The tire used for testing was new longitudinally pattern truck tire (11.00-20) as illustrated in
Figure 2 a). In the subsequent analysis, the tire loading area had to be simplified to build a
more efficient three-dimensional finite element model. This simplified pattern is presented in
Figure 2 b). In the tests, tire inflation pressure ranged from 0.46 MPa to 1.05 MPa, while tire
loading varied from 19 kN to 50 kN. In all, six combinations of tire pressure and tire loading
are studied in this paper, that is, 0.46/25, 0.60/25, 0.81/19, 0.81/25, 0.81/50, 1.05/25, in which
the first item meant tire pressure (MPa) and the later item symbolized the tire load (kN). For
example, 0.60MPa/25kN meant the combination of tire inflation pressure of 0.60 MPa and
12

Su, Sun, Hachiya and Maekawa

tire load of 25 kN. It should be noted that the case of 0.60MPa/25kN, with an average vertical
contact pressure of 0.70 MPa (load/average area), is generally considered as the standard
loading condition11).

a) 11.00-20 Tire

Figure 2

Layer
Wear course
Binder course
Base course
Subgrade

b) Simplified contact area

Test tire tread and contact area simplified for 3-D FEM

Table 1
Thickness
(mm)
50
100
300
/

Pavement structures in FEM model

Material

Modulus
(MPa)

Poissons
ratio

Asphalt concrete

3,000

0.35

Cement-stabilized aggregate
soil

6,000
85

0.25
0.40

PAVEMENT STRUCTURE AND 3-D FEM MODEL

In some countries, asphalt pavements consisting of a cement stabilized base and asphalt layer
are widely used to take advantage of the superior strength of semi-rigid materials10,11). A
fairly typical semi-rigid asphalt pavement structure was selected for modeling in this finite
element analysis11,12), as tabulated in Table 1. It consists of two asphalt mixture layers, a base
course and a semi-infinite subgrade. Each material is assumed to be homogenous, isotropic
and linearly elastic. The modulus of the cement-stabilized base course with a cement content
of 5% was determined by back-calculation based on the measured deflection10).
Figure 3 shows the entire 3-D FEM model by ANSYS, in which the load is a single axle
fitted with dual tires at each side. This configuration is considered based on the assumption
that the effect of interactions between front and rear axles on shear stress is negligible 10). The
dimensions of the model are 6m long, 4m wide and 6m deep; this size gives a good
convergence of results. The y axis represents the tire travel direction and the x axis the
transverse direction. The origin of the coordinate system is located in the mid-point between
the two left tires. The loading area varies with loading conditions. However, the dual tire
spacing (center to center) is kept constant with 300mm in every case 10). The boundary
conditions are that the side faces (front, back, left and right) are fixed in the normal direction,
and the other two directions are free; the bottom is completely fixed in all directions. The
interfaces between different layers are all assumed to be perfectly bonded except the section
of effect of bonding condition.

13

Analysis of Shear Stress in Asphalt Pavements under Actual Measured Tire-Pavement Contact Pressure

Figure 3

3-D FEM model

EFFECT OF TIRE INFLATION PRESSURE AND TIRE LOAD

In this section, vertical load is only considered. The maximum shear stress occurs directly
under the tire edge irrespective of loading conditions. Figure 4 shows that, in all cases, shear
stress under the tire edge increases initially with depth, reaching the maximum value at a
depth approximately 60 mm after which it decreases from the peak value.
It seems that loading conditions have little effect on the location of the shear stress maximum.
However, both tire load and tire pressure make a significant contributions to the magnitude of
shear stress. Relatively, overloading is more dangerous than overpressure. This is clear from
the shear stress in the case of loading at 0.81MPa/50kN, which is far greater than that at
0.81MPa/25kN, whereas the shear stress at 1.05MPa/25kN is only slightly larger than that at
0.81MPa/25kN.
0.00
0.02
0.04

0.46MPa/25kN
0.60MPa/25kN
0.81MPa/19kN
0.81MPa/25kN
0.81MPa/50kN
1.05MPa/25kN

Depth (m)

0.06
0.08
0.10
0.12
0.14
0.16
0.18
0.05

0.10

0.15

0.20

0.25

0.30

0.35

0.40

Shear stress (MPa)

Figure 4

Shear stress distribution as a function of depth

The shear stress distributions over the horizontal plane through the point with the maximum
shear stress are illustrated in Figure 5. Only three load conditions are compared here. The
distribution of shear stress over the horizontal plane differs under different load conditions.
The larger shear stresses are focused at the tire edge in the case of overloading and standard
load conditions, while in the case of overpressure, shear stress is similar at the edge and at the
center of the tire.

14

Su, Sun, Hachiya and Maekawa

0.40

Figure 5

e dir

e ll

0.25

ectio

n (m

0.30

(m

on

0.15

c ti

g(

a) 0.60MPa/25.0kN

0.20

av

(m
on

in

sv e rs

Tran

in

0.15

0.10
0.05
0.00
-0.05

0.20

svers

e dir

-0.10

0.25

ectio

n (m

0.30

Tr

0.10

Tr

n (m

e ll

ectio

0.25

T ra n

av

e dir

-0.10

Tr

svers

0.20

gd

0.15

Tran

0.10

ire

0.10

0.10

0.20
0.15
0.10
0.05
0.00
-0.05
-0.10
-0.15

0.10

c ti

0.10
0.05
0.00
-0.05

0.10

0.15

0.15

ire

0.20

0.20

gd

0.25

0.25

in

0.15

0.30

e ll

0.20

av

Shear stress (MPa)

0.30

0.35

Shear stress (MPa)

Shear stress (MPa)

0.25

b) 0.81MPa/50.0kN

c) 1.05MPa/25.0kN

Shear stress distribution over the transverse plane (one tire)

From these calculated results, it can be concluded that high shear stress action occurs at the
edge of the loading area. This implies that a shear plane may develop near the tire edge if the
shear stress is great enough, forcing the asphalt concrete away from the tire. This might be
the mechanism responsible for shear deformation. On the other hand, shear stress may also
play a role in the formation of TDC, which occurs along the driving path; it is believed that
when the maximum shear stress is great enough, it can easily cause TDC at the tire edge
under repeated application of loading. Even if shear stress is not primarily responsible, it is at
least one of the major factors which develop TDC.
EFFECT OF HORIZONTAL STRESS
The load combination of 0.60MPa/25kN was used to study the effect of horizontal pressure
on shear stress. The horizontal stress coefficient, defined as the ratio of horizontal stress to
vertical stress, varied from 0.0 to 0.711). Figure 6 depicts the relationship between shear stress
and horizontal stress. As can be seen from this figure, shear stress gradually increases when
the horizontal stress is very low, and then rapidly increases once the horizontal stress
coefficient exceeds 0.2. This means that higher shear stress generally occurs in areas where
braking or turning wheels cause significant horizontal stress. This agrees with the observed
severe rutting on highway gradients and at bus stops. Asphalt mixtures in such areas should
be carefully designed to give greater shear strength, enabling them to resist shear
deformation.
0.8

Maximum shear stress (MPa)

0.35

Maximum shear stress (MPa)

0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2

-0.1

0.0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.30
0.25
0.20
0.15
0.10
10

Horizontal stress coefficient

Figure 6

Figure 7

Maximum shear stress versus

horizontal stress coefficient

15
20
25
Asphalt mixture layer thickness (cm)

30

Shear stress at different asphalt

mixture layer thickness

EFFECT OF ASPHALT MIXTURE LAYER THICKNESS

For asphalt mixture layers of 100 mm to 300 mm in thickness, the maximum shear stress
remains almost constant. This is illustrated in Figure 7, which shows that a thinner asphalt
15

Analysis of Shear Stress in Asphalt Pavements under Actual Measured Tire-Pavement Contact Pressure

mixture layer does not lead to significantly greater shear stress than a thicker one. In other
words, for a particular asphalt mixture, a thinner layer leads to barely greater risk of rutting
and TDC compared with a thicker one.
EFFECT OF INTERFACE CONDITION
In a multi-layered pavement system, the condition of the interfaces between layers makes an
important contribution to pavement performance. Here, the effect of interface condition on
shear stress is evaluated, focusing on the cases of no bonding and full bonding between the
asphalt mixture layer and the base course. For these two cases, the shear stress contour on the
vertical plane at the edge of the tire is illustrated in Figure 8. Both the range and magnitude of
shear stress where there is no bonding are greater than where there is full bonding.
Correspondingly, poor bonding at the interface, which means a situation somewhere between
no bonding and full bonding, would result in higher shear stress than the full bonding case.
That is, inadequate bonding between the asphalt mixture layer and the base course is
detrimental not only in the sense that slippage failure may be induced, but also because it can
lead to rutting and TDC.
0 .0 0

-0 .0 5

3 .0 0 0 E 4

-0 .1 0
6 .0 0 0 E 4

D e p th (m )

-0 .1 5

9 .0 0 0 E 4

-0 .2 0
-0 .2 5

1 .2 0 0 E 5

-0 .3 0

1 .5 0 0 E 5

-0 .3 5

1 .8 0 0 E 5

-0 .4 0

2 .1 0 0 E 5

-0 .4 5

2 .4 5 0 E 5

-0 .5 0
-0 .8

-0 .6

-0 .4

-0 .2

0 .0

0 .2

0 .4

0 .6

0 .8

T ra n v e rs e d is ta n c e (m )

a) Full bonding

0 .0 0

-0 .0 5

3 .0 0 0 E 4

-0 .1 0
6 .0 0 0 E 4

D e p th (m )

-0 .1 5

9 .0 0 0 E 4

-0 .2 0
-0 .2 5

1 .2 0 0 E 5

-0 .3 0

1 .5 0 0 E 5

-0 .3 5

1 .8 0 0 E 5

-0 .4 0

2 .1 0 0 E 5

-0 .4 5

2 .4 5 0 E 5

-0 .5 0
-0 .8

-0 .6

-0 .4

-0 .2

0 .0

0 .2

0 .4

0 .6

0 .8

T ra n v e rs e d is ta n c e (m )

Figure 8

b) No bonding
Shear stress distribution through depth with different interface conditions

16

Su, Sun, Hachiya and Maekawa

CONCLUSIONS
This study has led to following conclusions:
1) In all cases, the maximum shear stress occurs at the tire edge, and this point of peak shear
stress is one of the major factors responsible for rutting and top-down cracking (TDC)
development.
2) Both tire pressure and vertical load have a significant effect on shear stress, with vertical
load having more pronounced influence.
3) Horizontal stress significantly affects shear stress, and particularly at higher magnitude of
horizontal stress.
4) The thickness of the asphalt mixture layer has little influence on shear stress.
5) Poor bonding between asphalt mixture layer and base course can lead to an increase in
shear stress, and this in turn increases the risk of rutting and TDC.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors express their hearty thanks to the National Science Found for Distinguished
Young Scholars of China for its assistance with this study.
REFERENCE
1) Eisenmann J. and A. Hilmer: Influence of wheel load and inflation pressure on the rutting
effect at asphalt pavement - experiments and theoretical investigations. Proceedings of the
sixth international conference on the structural design of asphalt pavements, pp.392-403,
Ann Arbor, 1987.
2) Myers, L. A., C. Drakos and R. Roque: The combined effects of tire contact stresses and
environment on surface rutting and cracking performance. Proceedings of the ninth
international conference on asphalt pavements, Copenhagen, Denmark, 2002.
3) Myers, L. A., R. Roque and B. E. Ruth: Mechanisms of surface-initiated longitudinal
wheel path cracks in high-type bituminous pavements. Journal of the Association of
Asphalt Paving Technologists, Vol. 67, pp. 401-428, 1998.
4) Myers, L., R. Roque, B. Ruth and C. Drakos: Measurement of contact stresses for
different truck tire types to evaluate their influence on near-surface cracking and rutting.
Transportation Research Record, No. 1655, Transportation Research Board, pp.175-184,
1999.
5) Wang, L. B., L. A. Myers, L. N. Mohammad and Y. R. Fu: A micromechanics study on
top-down cracking. Transportation Research Board 82nd Annual Meeting, Washington,
D.C., 2003.
6) Huang, Y. H.: Pavement analysis and design. Prentice-Hall, Inc. Englewood Cliffs, New
Jersey, 1993.
7) De Beer, M., C. Fisher and F. Jooste: Determination of pneumatic tire/pavement interface
contact stresses under moving loads and some effects on pavements with thin asphalt
surfacing layers. Proceedings. Eighth International Conference on Asphalt Pavements,
Seattle, Washington, pp. 179-226, 1997.
8) Himeno, K., T. Kamijima, T. Ikeda and T. Abe: Distribution of tire contact pressure of
vehicles and its influence on pavement distress, Proc. 8th International Conference on
Asphalt Pavements, pp.129-139, Vol.1, 1997.
9) Sun, L.J. and X. D. Hu.: Top-down cracking analysis and control for asphalt pavements.
Proceedings of the tenth international conference on the structural design of asphalt
pavements, Quebec, Canada, 2006.
10) K. Su. Mechanism and prediction of rutting in asphalt pavements. Ph.D. Dissertation,
School of Transportation Engineering, Tongji University, China. Pp.20-27, 2007.
11) Ministry of communication. Specification of asphalt pavement design. The peoples

17

Analysis of Shear Stress in Asphalt Pavements under Actual Measured Tire-Pavement Contact Pressure

communication press. pp.10-15, Beijing, P.R.China, 1997 (in Chinese).

12) S. A. Romanoschi. Characterization of pavement layer interface. Ph.D. Dissertation,
Louisiana state university, Baton Rouge, USA, pp.112, 1999.

18