06 Mepd

Mechanistic Empirical Pavement Design
(MEPD)
[email protected]
+91 6381569793
Pavement Design
Overview
(MEPD)
Overview of MEPD
Overview of MEPD
Pavement Design: Challenges
MEPD: Goal
“to keep the development of
the key pavement distresses
under acceptable tolerance
limits until a major
rehabilitation or resurfacing is
planned”
Final MEPD: Goal
Design Structural
Response
Model
Inputs
Structural Pavement
Failure
Materials Performance
Criteria Prediction
Traffic
Environment
Design
Reliability
Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design
• Pavement design using the MEPDG is an iterative process
• Outputs: pavement distresses and smoothness, not layer thicknesses
• The designer first considers site conditions (i.e., traffic, climate, subgrade,
existing pavement condition for rehabilitation) in proposing a trial design for a
new pavement or rehabilitation strategy.
• The trial design is then evaluated for adequacy against user input, performance
criteria, and reliability values through the prediction of distresses and
smoothness.
• If the design does not meet the desired performance criteria at the
specified reliability, it is revised and the evaluation process repeated as
necessary.
• Thus, the designer is fully involved in the design process and has the
flexibility to consider different design features and materials to satisfy the
performance criterion for the site conditions.
Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design : with HMA
Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design : with PCC
Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design : Process
calculation of responses
“Stresses, Strains, Deflections”
“fundamental mechanical properties of the materials”
NO truly mechanistic design approach for pavement design
Empirical Real World

Relationships Performance
Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design : Benefits
Mechanistic refers to the application of the principles of engineering mechanics, which
leads to a rational design process that has three basic elements:
1. the theory used to predict critical pavement responses (strains, stresses, deflections,
etc.), as a function of traffic and climatic loading (the mechanistic part)
2. materials characterization procedures that support and are consistent with the
selected theory; and
3. defined relationships between the critical pavement response parameter and field-
observed distress (the empirical part).
• pavement rehabilitation & new pavement construction
• accommodates
• changing load types,
• new materials,
• environmental and ageing effects on materials

• Better utilization of available materials
• Better definition of existing layer properties and role of construction
• Better relation between material properties and actual pavement performance

• more reliable performance predictions
• Develop link to design
• More Comprehensive inspection

• Continuous Coverage
• Real-Time Feedback
• Map Lift Thicknesses
• Percent Change in Stiffness between layers and passes
• Permanent Construction Record
• Fast & Easy To Use (LWD)
• Improve pavement performance
• Discover “soft spots” Sooner
• Increased Attention to Detail
• Increased Grade Uniformity
• More Performance Data

Performance Indicators: predicted by MEPD
Bituminous Surfaces / Bituminous Overlay

• Total Rut Depth and HMA, unbound aggregate base, and subgrade rutting
• Non-Load-Related Transverse Cracking
• Load-Related Alligator Cracking, Bottom Initiated Cracks
• Load-Related Longitudinal Cracking, Surface Initiated Cracks
• Reflection Cracking in HMA Overlays of Cracks and Joints in Existing Flexible, Semi-
Rigid,Composite, and Rigid Pavements
• Smoothness (IRI)
Performance Indicators: predicted by MEPD
Portland Cement Concrete-Surfaced Pavements and PCC Overlays
• Jointed Plain Concrete Pavement ( JPCP)—Mean Joint Faulting
• JPCP—Joint Load Transfer Efficiency (LTE)
• JPCP—Load-Related Transverse Slab Cracking (includes both bottom and surface
initiated cracks)
• JPCP—Joint Spalling (embedded into the IRI prediction model)
• Continuously Reinforced Concrete Pavement (CRCP)—Crack Spacing and Crack Width
• CRCP—LTE
• CRCP—Punchouts
• JPCP and CRCP—Smoothness (IRI)
MEPD: Factors which are not included
• Friction or Skid Resistance and Noise
• Single and Super-Single Tires
• Durability and Mixture Disintegration
• Volume Change in Problem Soils
• Asphalt Treated Permeable Base (ATPB)
• Geogrids and Other Reinforcing Materials
• Semi-Rigid Pavements (CTB, DLC Base)
• Pavement Preservation Programs
• Staged Construction
• Ultra-Thin PCC overlays/JRCP
MEPD: Prediction model for Rut Depth
• surface distortion in the form of rutting is caused by the plastic or permanent vertical
deformation in the HMA, unbound layers, and foundation soil.
• rutting is estimated for each sub-season at the mid-depth of each sub-layer within the
pavement structure.
• The plastic deformation for a given season is the sum of the plastic vertical
deformations within each layer.
• The model for calculating total permanent deformation uses the plastic vertical strain
under specific pavement conditions for the total number of trucks within that condition
MEPD: Prediction model for Rut Depth
• The rate or accumulation of plastic deformation is measured in the laboratory using

repeated load permanent deformation triaxial tests for both HMA mixtures and
unbound materials.
Rut Depth
Rut Depth
Rut Depth
Rut Depth
Rut Depth
IRC 37: Prediction model for Rut Depth
• An average rut depth of 20 mm or more, measured along the wheel paths, is
considered in these guidelines as critical or failure rutting condition. The equivalent
number of standard axle load (80 kN) repetitions that can be served by the pavement,
before the critical average rut depth of 20 mm or more occurs, is given by equations
3.1 and 3.2 respectively for 80 % and 90 % reliability levels.
• The rutting performance model developed initially based on the MoRTH R-6 Research
scheme performance data was subsequently developed into two separate models for
two different reliability levels based on the additional performance data collected for
MoRTH R-56 Research scheme.
• For the calculation of vertical compressive strain on top of the subgrade, horizontal
tensile strain at the bottom of the bottom bituminous layer and the horizontal tensile
strain at the bottom of cement treated base (CTB) layer, the analysis is done for a
standard axle load of 80 kN (single axle with dual wheels).
• Only one set of dual wheels, each wheel carrying 20 kN load with the centre to centre
spacing of 310 mm between the two wheels, applied at the pavement surface shall be
considered for the analysis.
• The shape of the contact area of the tyre is assumed in the analysis to be circular.
• The uniform vertical contact stress shall be considered as 0.56 MPa. However, when
fatigue damage analysis of cement treated bases (CTB) is carried out (using Equations
3.5 to 3.7, the contact pressure used for analysis shall be 0.80 MPa.
• The layer interface condition was assumed to be fully bound for all the layers of the
pavement.
• The materials are assumed to be isotropic.

MEPD: Fatigue Cracking
IRC 37: Fatigue Cracking
• The occurrence of fatigue cracking (appearing as inter connected cracks), whose total
area in the section of the road under consideration is 20 % or more than the paved
surface area of the section, is considered to be the critical or failure condition.
• The equivalent number of standard axle (80 kN) load repetitions that can be served by
the pavement, before the critical condition of the cracked surface area of 20 % or more
occurs, is given by equations 3.3 and 3.4 respectively for 80 % and 90 % reliability levels.
The fatigue performance models given by equations 3.3 and 3.4 were developed under
MoRTH R-56 scheme utilizing primarily the R-6 scheme (Benkelman Beam Studies)
performance data supplemented by the data available from R-19 (Pavement Performance
Studies) [8] and R-56 schemes.
IRC 37: Fatigue Cracking (Cement Treated Base)
IRC 37: Reliability levels
• IRC 37 Guidelines recommend 90% reliability performance equations for subgrade

rutting (equation 3.2) and fatigue cracking of bottom bituminous layer (equation 3.4) for
all important roads such as Expressways, National Highways, State Highways and Urban
Roads.
• For other categories of roads, 90 % reliability is recommended for design traffic of 20
msa or more and 80 per cent reliability for design traffic less than 20 msa.
References

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Mechanistic Empirical Pavement Design

• Pavement design using the MEPDG is an iterative process

• Outputs: pavement distresses and smoothness, not layer thicknesses

“Stresses, Strains, Deflections”

“fundamental mechanical properties of the materials”

NO truly mechanistic design approach for pavement design

Empirical Real World

• changing load types,

• environmental and ageing effects on materials

• Better utilization of available materials

• Better definition of existing layer properties and role of construction

• Better relation between material properties and actual pavement performance

• more reliable performance predictions

• Develop link to design

• More Comprehensive inspection

• Discover “soft spots” Sooner

• Increased Attention to Detail

• Increased Grade Uniformity

• More Performance Data

Bituminous Surfaces / Bituminous Overlay

• The rate or accumulation of plastic deformation is measured in the laboratory using

• The materials are assumed to be isotropic.

• IRC 37 Guidelines recommend 90% reliability performance equations for subgrade

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