Calibration of Flexible Pavement Performance Equations for Minnesota Road Research Project

Abstract

As mechanistic-empirical (M-E) pavement design gains wider acceptance as a viable design methodology, there is a critical need for a well-calibrated design system. Calibration of the pavement performance equations is essential to link pavement responses under load to observed field performance. A field calibration procedure for asphalt pavements that incorporates live traffic, environmental effects, observed performance, and in situ material characterization was developed. The procedure follows the M-E design process, iterating the transfer function coefficients until the performance equation accurately predicts pavement distress. Test sections from the Minnesota Road Research Project were used to demonstrate the calibration process, and fatigue and rutting performance equations were developed. It is recommended that further calibration studies be undertaken with this methodology, possibly by using sections from the Long-Term Pavement Performance project.