Impact of moisture variation on stiffness response of pavements through small scale models
Abstract
Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) uses the Texas modified triaxial design procedure for designing flexible pavement. Experience has shown that this procedure is conservative in drier climates. In order to improve this method, a research study has been conducted at the Center for Transportation Infrastructure Systems (CTIS) in collaboration with Texas Transportation Institute (TTI). In this research some field and laboratory tests were designed and performed. After these tests were completed, their results in conjunction with finite element models provided enough information to calibrate the laboratory tests to the field results. The work presented in this thesis is geared toward designing the small-scale tests and modeling them with finite element analysis to simulate pavement moisture conditioning in the laboratory. A parametric study was performed to determine the impact of the pavement properties on the response of the small-scale tests. Finite element models of the pavement sections were also developed to simulate the behavior under field conditions. These models are illustrated and the results are discussed as well. The field tests were performed on in dry condition while the laboratory tests were conducted also on two saturated conditions. Utilizing the transfer functions, obtained from the tests under dry condition, a detailed analysis of the material behavior under saturated conditions is possible.
Subject Area
Civil engineering
Recommended Citation
Amiri, Hassan, "Impact of moisture variation on stiffness response of pavements through small scale models" (2004). ETD Collection for University of Texas, El Paso. AAIEP10776.
https://scholarworks.utep.edu/dissertations/AAIEP10776