ANALYSIS OF THE ELASTIC BEHAVIOR OF FLEXIBLE PAVEMENT

ANALYSIS OF THE ELASTIC BEHAVIOR OF FLEXIBLE PAVEMENT AS MEASURED BY THE RIGID PLATE LOAD TEST AND THE BENKELMAN BEAM DEFLECTION TEST RESULTS IS REPORTED. THE EXPERIMENTAL DATA FOR THESE TESTS WERE OBTAINED FROM THE AASHO ROAD TEST, OTTAWA, ILLINOIS. THE FUNDAMENTAL RELATIONS BETWEEN PAVEMENT DEFLECTIONS AND ENVIRONMENTAL VARIABLES ARE DISCUSSED. THE RELATIONSHIPS REPORTED INCLUDE BEARING PLATE DIAMETER AND PAVEMENT SECTION, UNIT LOAD AND PERIMETER-AREA RATIO, UNIT LOAD AND ELASTIC MODULUS, AND ELASTIC MODULUS COMPARED TO THE GROSS MODULUS FOR PAVEMENT SURFACE, BASE, SUBBASE AND EMBANKMENT SOIL. THE CORRELATIONS BETWEEN PAVEMENT DEFLECTION AND THE STRENGTH OF PAVEMENT COMPONENTS AND SUBSURFACE CONDITIONS ARE PRESENTED. A SIMPLE EQUATION BASED ON THE ELASTIC THEORY IS DEVELOPED. THE MODULUS OF SUBGRADE REACTION, CAN BE ESTIMATED BY USE OF THE EQUATION IF THE THICKNESS OF THE PAVEMENT COMPONENTS AND THE PAVEMENT SURFACE DEFLECTION AS MEASURED WITH THE BENKELMAN BEAM ARE KNOWN. THIS EQUATION CAN BE SOLVED READILY BY USE OF AN INCLUDED CHART OF VALUES FOR VARIOUS PAVEMENT COMPONENT THICKNESSES AND VARIOUS WHEEL LOADS. AN EQUATION USING NONDIMENSIONAL TECHNIQUES BASED ON METHODS OF DIMENSIONAL ANALYSIS IS DEVELOPED FOR ANALYZING THE RESULTS OF BENKELMAN BEAM DEFLECTION TESTS ON FLEXIBLE PAVEMENT. ONE STUDY MADE BY THE USE OF THE DEVELOPED EQUATION INDICATES THE VARIATION IN PAVEMENT SURFACE DEFLECTION WITH VARIOUS BASE THICKNESSES AT A GIVEN WHEEL LOAD FOR TWO DIFFERENT SEASONAL CONDITIONS. A SECOND STUDY EVALUATES PAVEMENT DEFLECTION UNDER VARIOUS WHEEL LOADS FOR TWO SEASONAL CONDITIONS. IT IS CONCLUDED THAT THERE IS A CLOSE AGREEMENT, THEORETICALLY AND EXPERIMENTALLY, BETWEEN THE BENKELMAN BEAM AND CONVENTIONAL TEST METHODS. IT IS SUGGESTED THAT THE BENKELMAN BEAM COULD BE ADOPTED FOR GENERAL USE FOR THE EVALUATION OF PAVEMENT PERFORMANCE AND STRUCTURAL DESIGN OF FLEXIBLE PAVEMENTS AT A SAVINGS OF CONSIDERABLE TIME AND MONEY. /AUTHOR/

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Preprint VoL, PP 592-602, 10 FIG, 2 TAB, 30 REF
• Authors:
  • Fang, H Y
  • Schaub, J H
• Conference:
  • Intl Conf Struct Design Asphalt Pvmts
• Publication Date: 1967-1

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Analysis; Benkelman beam; Deflection; Elasticity (Mechanics); Flexible pavements; Modulus of elasticity; Pavements; Performance; Plate bearing test; Strength of materials; Structural design; Thickness; Wheel loads
• Uncontrolled Terms: Pavement thickness
• Old TRIS Terms: Elastic theory; Pavement deflection
• Subject Areas: Highways; Pavements;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00205493
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Aug 1 1994 12:00AM