Research on the Damage Mechanics Model of Asphalt Pavement Based on Asphalt Pavement Potential Damage Index

Abstract

In recent years, due to the increasing traffic volume and the serious deterioration of overloading, the heavy vehicle load has emerged, leading to the more and more common early damage of asphalt pavement, and overloading has become one of the important factors endangering the pavement. The traditional method is to strengthen the road, but as the base course and asphalt pavement thickness are both improved, TOP-DOWN fissures and ruts on the asphalt pavement surface have emerged as the most prevalent form of asphalt pavement damage. However, a final verdict on a single mechanical explanation for the many occurrences of asphalt pavement deterioration has not yet been reached. Material yielding and failure under varying stress conditions are the focus of strength theory, which seeks to provide norms and standards for their computation. Mohr Coulomb and Drucker Prager strength theories are two of the most well-established, thoroughly investigated, and widely used strength theories in geological and geotechnical engineering. In this research, the damage form and stress condition of asphalt pavement are analyzed and predicted using M-C and D-P criteria, and a new pavement structure damage control index, the Asphalt pavement potential damage index with fatigue loading (APPDI), is established. Preliminary calculations reveal that APPDI may become a unified mechanical assessment index of asphalt pavement structural damage, since it can explain both flexural tensile damage at the base of the layer and rutting and cracking at the surface.