A Framework to Quantify the Reduction of Pavement Service Life in Overload Corridors using Portable Weigh-In-Motion Data

Recent traffic patterns show an alarming increase in the Over-Weight (OW) truck operations in overload corridors, resulting in substantial loss of service life of transportation facilities. Quantification of such detrimental impacts remains a challenging undertaking for the stakeholders due to the absence of a uniform framework to assess the imparted damages. This study was designed to bridge this gap by establishing an analysis platform for mechanistic characterization of remaining service life (RSL) of the pavements subjected to OW traffic loading conditions, considering the environmental impacts and unique features of transportation facilities. To accomplish this objective, initially, the authors collected site-specific axle load spectra (ALS) by deploying Portable Weight-in-Motion (P-WIM) devices to ten representative sites in overload corridors in Texas. Subsequently, the P-WIM traffic data, back-calculated layer moduli and layer configurations from field non-destructive testing, as well as climate information were incorporated in the developed framework to estimate the RSL of pavements. Additionally, a novel approach was proposed to assess the reduction of service life of pavements with considerations of the demanding loading scenarios, type of transportation facilities, and environmental impacts. The results underscored the significance of the type of transportation facilities in damage quantification protocol as the Farm-to-Market roads, with less robust pavement structural capacity, experienced substantially higher “reduction of service life” compared to State and US highways. Comparisons of the post-processed results with field distress measurements revealed that the proposed framework has the potential for realistic assessment of the incremental progression of distresses over the design life of pavements.

Language

  • English

Media Info

  • Media Type: Digital/other
  • Features: Figures; Maps; Photos; References; Tables;
  • Pagination: 25p

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 01763632
  • Record Type: Publication
  • Report/Paper Numbers: TRBAM-21-00960
  • Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
  • Created Date: Feb 4 2021 10:57AM