A mechanistic-empirical approach to determine the remaining pavement life of low volume roads (LVR) is presented in this paper. The method was developed using accelerated pavement test results and is based on central deflections from the falling weight deflectometer (FWD). One method currently used within New Zealand to predict the remaining pavement life is the Austroads approach, where the life of the pavement is related to the vertical compressive strain at the top of subgrade. The vertical compressive strain on top of subgrade is usually determined by linear multi-layer elastic back-calculation of FWD tests. The results of analysis of Canterbury Accelerated Pavement Testing Indoor Facility (CAPTIF) data shows clearly that the use of subgrade strain is a poor predictor of pavement life. A new pavement performance criterion that predicts rutting of a LVR was developed. The remaining-life prediction procedure uses the change in FWD test results between the start and end of the post-compaction period(approximately 10 per cent of the pavements life). CAPTIF results were used to verify the proposed procedure. (a).
Samenvatting