ASPHALT AND ASPHALT PAVEMENT MODELLING RESEARCH

This paper reviews pavement structures in the USA, the US Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP), and the Superpave system. Pavement structures are among the simplest civil engineering structures to construct, but among the most complicated to design and analyse. The US highway infrastructure is worth about $1 trillion, and has total route length 6.24M km and lane length 12.9M km, and 600,000 bridges. The five-year SHRP began in 1987, and was the USA's first attempt to apply large economic research resources and contracts to solve national transport research problems. It spent about $50M on each of asphalt mixes, a pavement performance database, and miscellaneous projects: maintenance operations, Portland cement, and control of snow and ice on roads. Its major deliverables were: (1) the world's largest pavement performance database; (2) over 2500 pavement sections, continually monitored for distress, environmental factors, structural capacity, and traffic; (3) a 20-year national study; and (4) design experiments. The Superpave Models Study first evaluated models, then developed software and practical procedures for mix design. The paper also describes the AASHTO 2002 Pavement Design Guide for new and rehabilitated systems, and outlines a vision of pavement analysis for the 21st century. For the covering abstract see IRRD E104549.

  • Corporate Authors:

    INSTITUTE OF ASPHALT TECHNOLOGY

    PAPER MEWS PLACE, 290 HIGH STREET
    DORKING, SURREY  United Kingdom  RH4 1QT
  • Authors:
    • Witczak, M W
  • Publication Date: 2000

Language

  • English

Media Info

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 00790377
  • Record Type: Publication
  • Source Agency: Transport Research Laboratory
  • Files: ITRD
  • Created Date: Apr 11 2000 12:00AM