Suitable Laboratory Ranges of Confinement Stresses for Performance Testing of Asphalt Concrete

Abstract

Flexible pavement distress prediction is largely based on laboratory and numerical simulation. The traditional triaxial laboratory performance testing of asphalt concrete has been carried out at various confining (radial) stress states, however they vary significantly in literature and some did not appear to relate to an appropriate in-situ field condition. The behavior of a flexible pavement structure is modelled in ABAQUS using axisymmetric finite element analysis. The interface between wheel and pavement does not significantly affect vertical stress states with depth, however the horizontal stress states decreases. The proposed confining stress value for performance testing of asphalt concrete should be between ranges of 30% to 40% of the (vertical stress) applied axial loading.