Evaluation of the Coordination of Structural Layers in the Design of Asphalt Pavement

Abstract

The purpose of asphalt pavement structural design is to get a materially-coordinated and structurally-durable product, and a pavement structure with good road performance by combining the structural layer materials reasonably. However, due to lack of a rational evaluation index on the parameter combinations of structural layer materials, the structural layer materials are poor in terms of coordination, have low efficiency, and the actual use period is much lower than the designed working life. Therefore, it is very important to conduct research evaluating the coordination of the structural layer materials. In this study, the sensitivity of mechanical parameters and equivalent envelope area are proposed as new indexes to evaluate the coordination of material design of asphalt pavement structure layers. Software is developed to calculate the equivalent envelope area that can quantitatively evaluate the coordination among different layers and visualize the mechanical transfer behavior of each structural layer. Based on the equivalent envelope area index, this study incorporates two new steps in the design of pavements, namely the structural form comparison and optimization, and proposes a new structural design process. Finally, the rationality and reliability of the equivalent envelope area index are verified by presenting fatigue life calculation and field verification in a test road. The results propose a clear evaluation index of the coordination of material design of each structural layer, which makes the structural design of the asphalt pavement more scientific and reasonable.

Performance Zoning of Asphalt Pavement and Performance Grade (PG) of Asphalt Binder in Karamay: A Case Study of Xinjiang, China

“…Under the coupled action of traffic and environmental effects, asphalt binders undergo significant physical changes such as aging, healing, and premature failure due to their sensitivity to temperature and loading rate, resulting in the early deterioration of asphalt pavement performance [5][6][7]. The climatic factors that affect the performance of asphalt pavements include high temperature, low temperature, water, fatigue, and aging [8,9]. Asphalt pavements are prone to rutting lesions under high-temperature driving loads [10], fatigue cracks under intermediate temperatures [11], experiencing prolonged repetitive driving loads, and transverse cracks under low-temperature cold environments [12,13], all of which seriously affect driving safety.…”

Temperature Field Variation Law of Low Exothermic Polymer Grouting Material in Repairing Void Damage of Frozen Soil Subgrade

“…Permafrost accounts for 23% of the total land area in the world. At present, numerous highway projects have been built in permafrost regions [1][2][3]. As a road bearing foundation, frozen soil subgrade contains a large number of ice crystals with different structures.…”