Adaptation of Mechanistic-Empirical 2002 Guide for Design of Minnesota Low-Volume PCC Pavements
Principal Investigator:
Lev Khazanovich, Associate Professor, Civil Engineering
Project Summary:
A mechanistic-based design procedure is being developed under the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) 1-37A study, under sponsorship by AASHTO, and is expected to be available in 2003. The mechanistic-empirical performance-prediction models in the 2002 design procedure are being calibrated using nationwide pavement performance data. This study adopts the mechanistic-based procedure for design of low-volume portland cement concrete (PCC) roads for Minnesota conditions. Activities include development of guidelines for major input parameters (traffic, material properties, subgrade characterization), comprehensive sensitivity analysis, comparison of predicted pavement performance with observed performance of low-volume PCC pavements in Minnesota, and recalibration of performance prediction models for local conditions. It is possible that the neural networks (NNs) developed under the NCHRP 1-37A study may not produce accurate stress and deflection predictions for certain conditions in Minnesota (like a thin PCC slab resting on a frozen subgrade). Those cases will be evaluated and, if necessary, the NNs will be retrained using the results of ISLAB2000 runs. A catalog of recommended design features for typical site conditions (location and traffic) will be developed using the design software with recalibrated models.
Sponsors:
Project Details:
- Start date: 09/2003
- Project Status: Completed
- Research Area: Infrastructure
- Topics: Pavements