Coupling a multi-linear fatigue model and a pavement model to estimate truck aggressiveness

Abstract

The fatigue performance of asphalt materials is a key parameter for asphalt pavement structural design. It is determined in the laboratory as a function of the loading strain magnitude under standard continuous sinusoidal signals. However, real loading signals measured in asphalt pavements differ in shape from sinusoidal signals and many studies showed that the shape of the loading signal has an important effect on the fatigue life of asphalt mixtures. Moreover, to improve road transport efficiency and reduce its environmental impact, new regulations allow longer trucks to circulate on highways and allow current trucks to transport heavier loads which implies a need of evaluating the impact of these changes on pavement fatigue performance. In this paper, a multi-linear fatigue model taking into account the shape of the loading signal is coupled with a viscoelastic model to evaluate the fatigue life of asphalt pavements and determine the effect of loading conditions and trucks configurations.