Truck fleet model for design and assessment of flexible pavements

The mechanistic empirical method of flexible pavement design/assessment uses a large number of numerical truck model runs to predict a history of dynamic load. The pattern of dynamic load distribution along the pavement is a key factor in the design/assessment of flexible pavement. While this can be measured in particular cases, there are no reliable methods of predicting the mean pattern for typical traffic conditions. A simple linear quarter car model which aims to reproduce the mean and variance of dynamic loading of the truck fleet at a given site is developed here. This probabilistic model reflects the range and frequency of the different heavy trucks on the road and their dynamic properties. Multiple Sensor Weigh-in-Motion data can be used to calibrate the model. Truck properties such as suspension stiffness, suspension damping, sprung mass, unsprung mass and tyre stiffness are represented as randomly varying parameters in the fleet model. It is used to predict the statistical distribution of dynamic load at each measurement point. The concept is demonstrated by using a pre-defined truck fleet to calculate a pattern of statistical spatial repeatability and is tested by using that pattern to find the truck statistical properties that generated it. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.