Application of System Dynamics to Integrate Pavement Preservation in Flexible Pavement Design Process
TL;DR: This study identifies the optimal intervention year for the pavement preservation strategies that depend on traffic level, design layer thicknesses, and modulus (strength) of the pavement layers.
Abstract: The performance of a pavement depends on factors like the characteristics of the materials in different pavement layers, traffic, climates, environments, construction quality, etc. Though a pavement is designed for 15 years, conventionally, the pavement reaches the threshold level of performance before the design life, warranting minor and major rehabilitation treatments because of factors beyond the control of the designer. However, the maintenance and rehabilitation treatments during the design life of a pavement are not considered in the design process. The performance of a pavement is defined in terms of the various distresses, i.e., cracking, rutting, roughness, potholes, etc. The performance of the pavement also depends on the strength properties of different pavement layers and their thicknesses, quality of construction, traffic, climate, etc. The level of influence of these parameters on each of the distresses is different. In this study, the Mechanistic Empirical Pavement Design Guideline design tool AASHTOWare is used to simulate the data for cracking (percentage of bottom up fatigue cracking), rutting (total rutting), and roughness in terms of the International Roughness Index. A sensitivity analysis is carried out to study the influence of the design parameters on the distresses. From the results of AASHTOWare simulations, a relationship is established between design input parameters and distress growth using multiple linear regression. While this model gives the estimate of distress over time with respect to the design parameters, the year at which the first preservation activity has to be carried out is to be determined. Considering the pavement as a system, the system dynamics concept could be well suited to study the influence of various factors on the performance of the pavement. A system dynamic model is formulated and implemented using system dynamic software POWERSIM. This study identifies the optimal intervention year for the pavement preservation strategies that depend on traffic level, design layer thicknesses, and modulus (strength) of the pavement layers.
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TL;DR: In this article, the traditional techniques employed in the development of road infrastructure projects consume large amounts of energy and non-renewable resources, and the consequences of these traditional techniques are evaluated.
Abstract: The traditional techniques employed in the development of road infrastructure projects consume large amounts of energy and nonrenewable resources. This paper evaluates some consequences of ...
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TL;DR: In this article, an average increment indicator was proposed to qualitatively analyze the effects of these conditions on the effectiveness of preventive maintenance treatments (PMTs) under various environmental conditions, Specific Pavement Studies-3 (SPS-3) data were extracted from Long-Term Pavement Performance (LTPP) program.
12 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the most unfavorable loading position of tensile stress for patch materials and joint filling material is C1-1 (A2-2) and the most adverse loading position for joint filling materials and leveling layer is B2-1 and C 1-5.
Abstract: Traditionally, potholes are mainly paved for maintenance, and the asphalt mixture needs to be compacted. But due to the construction quality problem, the compacting degree of asphalt mixture may not be enough and the void ratio of asphalt mixture may not meet the requirements, resulting in the premature damage of the potholes after repair. If the repair material can be prefabricated, this problem will be well solved. So, based on the structure form of the prefabricated rapid maintenance of asphalt pavement, this paper aims to determine the most unfavorable loading position in pothole repair, which was established by the ANSYS software with the finite element model. The results show that the most unfavorable loading position of tensile stress for patch materials and joint filling material is C1-1 (A2-2) and the most unfavorable loading position of shear stress for joint filling material and leveling layer is B2-1 and C1-5. Subsequently, the influences of the material modulus, size, thickness, and modulus of the old pavement material on the potholes are calculated by using the finite element model under the most unfavorable loading position.
2 citations