Degradation reliability modeling of stabilized base course materials based on a modulus decrement process

Abstract

The dynamic elastic modulus of stabilized base course materials is crucial to the design and evaluation of pavement, which has a great effect on the life-cycle performance of pavement. In this study, the fatigue performance of commonly used stabilized base course materials was investigated. A general framework of degradation-based reliability was developed. To accurately characterize the degradation process of dynamic elastic modulus, a degradation index was proposed and its failure threshold values were defined. A degradation model to describe the evolution of degradation index was established and validated. A new approach to calculate reliability was established using Monte Carlo simulation. The corresponding degradation-based reliability was conducted on the fatigue test data. Results show that the value of critical degradation index is significantly influenced by the properties. The proposed degradation model is capable of predicting the degradation index with high degree of accuracy. The developed degradation-based reliability approach is able to capture the more real-degradation behavior of stabilized base course materials. The degradation-based reliability includes three phases, which correspond to different degree of cracking. The mean value of fatigue life corresponds to reliability decreasing phase.