Effects of Random Non-uniform Load on Asphalt Pavement Dynamic Response

Abstract

Dynamic response analysis of pavement helps with structure and material optimization. The vehicle loading has a significant effect on the pavement dynamic response, which is usually assumed to be concentrated load, uniform load, or harmonic load without considering the space-time characteristics. In this study, a validated quarter vehicle model and finite element road model were developed to obtain the random non-uniform load. The random non-uniform load integrates the randomness characteristics due to the vehicle-road interaction and spatial characteristics caused by the tire pattern. The impacts of the vehicle weight, speed, and road roughness on the vehicle dynamic load were analyzed. The effect of random non-uniform load on pavement dynamic response was investigated by comparing the pavement responses under constant non-uniform load and constant uniform load. Numerical analyses show that the stress extremum along the transverse and longitudinal sections can reflect the time-space characteristics of the loads. The damage of the surface layer is underestimated when the vehicle load is simplified to be a constant uniform load without considering the random and spatial characteristics.