Analytical evaluation models with relevant criteria concerning service life are useful when evaluating new bituminous products and pavement structures. This will lead to greater opportunities to use functional contracts. In 1996 a test road was built on the E6 motorway with several observation road sections. After 10 years of traffic, two pavement structures with different bituminous layers were evaluated as regards pavement performance prediction for fatigue cracking. One of the structures is based on the idea of using the stone mastic asphalt (SMA) principle for all bituminous boundlayers, while the other structure is a reference section with a conventional roadbase mix. A procedure for pavement performance prediction was developed based on the stiffness and fatigue properties of cored samples, falling weight deflectometer deflections, field temperature data and traffic monitoring at the site. It was concluded that pavement performance can be significantly prolonged by choosing bituminous layers with adequate mechanical properties. The procedure can also be used to predict the remaining life of flexible pavement as regards fatigue cracking.
Samenvatting