Application of a novel linear-viscous approach to predict permanent deformation in simulative inverted pavements

Abstract

This manuscript is a part of a novel investigative approach focusing on the design of inverted pavements in the United Kingdom. This paper reports the permanent deformation response of simulative (laboratory-scale) inverted pavements with various thickness combinations through the use of two laboratory devices. A new analytical methodology is implemented to predict rutting based on the linear-viscous approach, which replaces the material’s elastic modulus with viscosities in a multi-layer linear analysis that calculates strain rates in pavement layers by using KENLAYER, to ultimately estimate rutting. The application of the newly developed methodology results in predicting pavement rutting within a range of ± 22% of the measured values and represents a step forward in predicting rutting in actual/real inverted pavements.