Methodology for relating accelerated trafficking to field trafficking for pavement evaluation

Abstract

Over the years, numerous Accelerated Pavement Testing (APT) devices have been developed to facilitate quick evaluation of the performance and service life of pavements, materials, and related products under various loading and environmental climatic conditions. However, it is often challenging to translate or extrapolate the onset of distress, severity, and evolution caused by accelerated trafficking to that experienced in the field under different loading and environmental conditions. This is especially true if testing is conducted on specimens or reduced-scale slabs. The objective of this study is to present a methodology for establishing a relationship between accelerated and actual trafficking applied in the field. For this purpose, a Finite Element Method (FEM) analysis was conducted for specimens trafficked by the Model Mobile Load Simulator at 1/3rd scale (MMLS3) at conditions that favor rutting. As expected, it was observed that the rutting models developed and calibrated for field traffic do not accurately predict the rutting progression that was measured in these specimens. A methodology to more accurately predict rutting under accelerated trafficking is suggested, by which the loading effect of the MMLS3 is related to an equivalent 18-kip single axle load. New coefficients for the rutting model are devised to be used in conjunction with the MMLS3 testing. © 2014 Korean Society of Civil Engineers and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.