Implementation of Texas Mechanistic-Empirical Flexible Pavement Design System (TxME)

The Texas Mechanistic-Empirical flexible pavement design system (TxME) allows Texas pavement designers to take full advantage of new or premium materials, with a full consideration of the influential factors including pavement structure, traffic volume, and environmental condition. To further enhance and implement the software, extensive lab testing was conducted to develop default material properties. These properties include the default dynamic modulus, rutting and cracking properties of asphalt concrete (AC) mixtures, and moduli of other layer materials. Specifically, the relationships between reclaimed asphalt pavement/reclaimed asphalt shingles contents and the AC material properties were established and incorporated into the TxME. In addition, default load spectra and initial construction cost analysis were integrated into the TxME. All these features greatly enhanced the practicality and ease of using TxME when conducting pavement design. The Texas Flexible Pavement Database was used to calibrate the TxME performance models. The calibrated TxME was then employed to predict performance of 11 identified test sections located in six different districts. The comparison between the TxME predictions and the field performance survey results further confirmed the validation of the calibrated performance models. Overall, the current TxME is practical, user-friendly, and ready for statewide implementation.

• Record URL:
  http://tti.tamu.edu/documents/5-6622-01-R1.pdf
• Record URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/59050
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Project Title: Field Implementation of the Texas Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Process in Six TxDOT Districts.
• Corporate Authors:

  Texas A&M Transportation Institute, College Station

  Texas A&M University System
  3135 TAMU
  College Station, TX  United States  77843-3135

  Texas Department of Transportation

  Research and Technology Implementation Office
  125 E 11th Street
  Austin, TX  United States  78701-2483

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Hu, Sheng
  • Rahman, Asif
  • Zhang, Jun
  • 0000-0001-7835-9871
  • Zhou, Fujie
  • Scullion, Tom
• Publication Date: 2019-2

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Edition: Technical Report
• Features: Appendices; Figures; Photos; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 160p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Calibration; Cracking; Flexible pavements; Mechanistic-empirical pavement design; Reclaimed asphalt pavements; Rutting; Shingles; Test sections; Validation
• Uncontrolled Terms: Load spectra; Performance models; RAP content
• Geographic Terms: Texas
• Subject Areas: Design; Highways; Pavements;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01696589
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: FHWA/TX-18/5-6622-01-R1, Report 5-6622-01-R1
• Contract Numbers: Project 5-6622-01
• Files: NTL, TRIS, ATRI, USDOT, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Feb 27 2019 5:21PM