Abstract
The permanent deformations in the asphalt concrete layer in flexible pavement structures are analyzed using a fully mechanistic three-dimensional finite element (FE) model based on Perzyna’s viscoplasticity theory. The importance of modeling traffic as a moving wheel load as opposed to the more usual and less computationally demanding “bouncing” repeated wheel load is investigated. The effect of the induced stress reversals in the moving wheel simulation is clearly observed: The total rutting observed at the surface is about 1.6 times greater for the moving than the bouncing wheel loading after 500 cycles. Field data from MnRoad trench studies confirm the good qualitative agreement between permanent strain distributions measured in the field and those predicted by the moving wheel simulations. The moving wheel simulation is used to investigate the empirical rutting model in the mechanisticempirical pavement design guide (MEPDG). New pavement-specific depth correction functions are derived from the permanent strain distributions calculated in the moving wheel FE simulations. This approach could provide a basis for future enhancements of the MEPDG.
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