Influence of the load position of heavy vehicles on the service life of asphalt pavements

Abstract

ABSTRACT Numerical models were designed to simulate the mechanical behaviour of pavement structures. Usually, the load is applied in the centre of the pavement structure and the resulting stresses, strains and deformations in the design space are calculated. It is assumed that the loading of the tyre on the edge of the pavement structure has significant effects on the stresses inside the structure and so on the durability of these pavements. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of the tyre position on the slopes of road construction. So a very detailed FE model of the pavement structure with the banquet area was designed and the impacts of different vehicle classes are calculated. Based on the German numerical dimensioning methodology, the service life for the different loading conditions was determined. The research results show that the contact area of the tyres as well as the lateral distance to the outer edge of the road have a significant influence on the service life of roads. The direct comparison of the resulting damage potential of trucks and agricultural or forestry vehicle shows that agricultural or forestry vehicles tend to cause slightly higher damage in a single rollover, but have a low overall risk due to the lower number of overruns during the period of usage of the road. The simulation results also show that there is a significant influence on the damage potential, which is strongly dependent on the footprint of the load and the distance to the outer edge of the road.