RAINFALL INFILTRATION, DRAINAGE, AND LOAD-CARRYING CAPACITY OF PAVEMENTS

A systematic analysis is presented that simulates rainfall infiltration into the base course, and subsequently the rate of drainage out the base course into the subgrade and into lateral drainage. The method incorporates the distribution of the amount of rainfall, probabilities of wet and dry days, infiltration of water into the pavement through cracks and joints, and the drainage of a base course. The effects of saturation on the resilient moduli of the base course and the subgrade are calculated. A Gamma distribution is used for describing the probability density function for the quantity of rain that falls, and a Markov chain model is applied for estimating the probabilities of wet and dry days. A new model that uses a parabolic phreatic surface and allows drainage through a permeable subgrade has been developed for computing the drainage of the pavement base and subgrade. Example results indicate that pavement performance is better in a high rainfall area that has a permeable subgrade when compared with the pavement performance in a low rainfall area that has an impermeable subgrade.

• Record URL:
  http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/trr/1984/993/993-004.pdf
• Summary URL:
  https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=RAINFALL+INFILTRATION%2C+DRAINAGE%2C+AND+LOAD-CARRYING+CAPACITY+OF+PAVEMENTS&author=S.+Liu&author=R.+Lytton&publication_year=1984
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/0309038022
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Publication of this paper sponsored by Committee on Subsurface Drainage. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
• Authors:
  • Liu, Shang J
  • Lytton, Robert L
• Publication Date: 1984

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 28-35
• Monograph Title: Factors affecting pavement performance
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record
  • Issue Number: 993
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0361-1981

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Base course (Pavements); Bearing capacity; Density; Drainage; Infiltration; Modulus of resilience; Pavement performance; Percent saturation; Probability theory; Rainfall; Simulation
• Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Geotechnology; Highways; Hydraulics and Hydrology; Pavements; I23: Properties of Road Surfaces;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00450675
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 0309038022
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Feb 28 1986 12:00AM