AASHTO Pavement Design

Summary

 AASHTO nomograph

 AASHTO 1993 design examples

 Shortcomings in AASHTO 1993

 Advanced Flexible Pavement Analysis and Design

Objectives

 Introduction to Mechanistic Pavement design

 Basic characterization of material for

pavement design

Screen No:
 AASHTO Pavement Design
AASHO 1993 Equation for Flexible Pavement
Shortcoming

 Modulus values are not justifiably used in design

 Single modulus-value/layer-coefficient used in
design. Variation in asphalt mix characteristic
properties with variation in temperature is not
considered in design.
 Does not account for fatigue or rutting performance
of individual layers
 Interprets that higher modulus means higher
structural capacity to carry traffic
 Mechanistic Pavement Design
Introduction
Asphalt layer

 Elastic material
Current stress is a single-valued continuous function
of current strain. Stress
Strain

Car that is stop/slow moving creates more deformation

compare to car that is running/fast moving
 Mechanistic Pavement Design
Introduction
Asphalt layer
 Mechanistic Pavement Design
Introduction
Asphalt layer

Typical response
 Mechanistic Pavement Design
Introduction
Asphalt layer
 Longitudinal strains at the bottom of the asphalt base
course
 Tension zone
 Mechanistic Pavement Design
Introduction
Asphalt layer

 Longitudinal strains at the bottom of the asphalt base

course
 Tension zone

𝐿𝑒𝑓𝑓
𝑡=
27.78𝑉

where t is the duration in

time domain in second,
Leff is the effective length
based on fitted haversine
waveform, V is speed in
km/hr
 Mechanistic Pavement Design
Introduction
Asphalt layer

 Longitudinal strains at the bottom of the asphalt base

course
 Tension zone

𝐿𝑒𝑓𝑓
𝑡=
27.78𝑉
Haversine function is a good
representation of strain pulses
in the longitudinal and
transverse directions

1
𝑓= 1
𝑡 Assuming sinusoidal curve, 𝑓=
2𝜋𝑡
 Mechanistic Pavement Design
Introduction
Asphalt layer

 Time and temperature dependency based on

thickness of asphalt layer
 Mechanistic Pavement Design
Introduction
Asphalt layer

 Newtonian Viscous material

Current stress is a single-valued continuous function
of current strain rate
Coefficient of viscosity

Stress Strain rate

 Mechanistic Pavement Design
Introduction
Asphalt layer

 Viscoelastic material
Current stress is a function of the current strain and
strain rate and past value of strain and strain rate.

𝜎 𝑡 = 𝐸 𝑡, 𝑇 ∗ 𝜀 𝑡 Response is a function of input history

𝐸 = 𝜑 𝑡, 𝑇 Material behavior is a function of time and temperature

 Mechanistic Pavement Design
Introduction
Unbound layer

 Stress dependent response

 No single modulus value
 Mechanistic Pavement Design
Introduction
Unbound layer

 Stress dependent response

 No single modulus value

𝜎 = 𝑀𝑅 𝜀

𝑀𝑅 = 𝜑 𝜎
 Mechanistic Pavement Design
Introduction
Pavement Analysis
r=a

Asphalt Concrete (Linear Viscoelastic)

Granular Base
(Non-linear Elastic)
Non-linear Viscoelastic
structure
Subgrade
(Linear Elastic)
∞
Simplification based on
material assumptions

Linear elastic Linear elastic Linear viscoelastic Linear viscoelastic

asphalt layer asphalt layer asphalt layer asphalt layer
Linear elastic Non-Linear elastic Linear elastic Non-Linear elastic
unbound layers unbound layers unbound layers unbound layers
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 Mechanistic Pavement Design
Introduction
Pavement Analysis

Objectives

 For the assumed structure

obtain stress-strain response

 Use the stress-strain response

to estimate damage

 Use the damage to estimate

design life
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 Mechanistic Pavement Design
Introduction
Pavement Analysis

Objective-1: stress-strain response of pavements

 Depends on the constitutive material properties

 Response model adopted

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