Response Characteristics of Inverted-base Asphalt Pavement Structure in Cold Area under Multi-axle Loads

Abstract

In cold areas, semi-rigid base asphalt pavement is prone to generate reflection cracks due to thermal contraction and dry shrinkage, and the base layer cracks can cause surface layer cracking and shorten the service life of the pavement. Aiming at understanding the response characteristics of asphalt pavement structure under multi-axle loads in cold areas, this paper took semi-rigid base asphalt pavement and inverted-base asphalt pavement as the research objects, and employed ANSYS to conduct finite element analysis on them to figure out the response characteristics of the asphalt pavement structure under the condition of different multi-axle loads and graded macadam base course. The research results showed that, the action of multi-axal loads increased the tensile stress of the base layer of the asphalt pavement and the tensile stress of the base layer of the semi-rigid base asphalt pavement, and increased the road surface deflection, which had resulted in insufficient bearing capacity of the pavement structure, and thus causing significant damages to the asphalt pavement; analysis of the response characteristics of the two types of asphalt pavement showed that, adding a graded macadam base course as the stress-absorbing layer is conductive to reducing the tensile stress of the base layer of the semi-rigid base asphalt pavement and effectively delaying or inhibiting reflection cracks generating on the pavement. The study of this paper provided a theoretical reference for the design and construction of asphalt pavement.