Consideration of dynamic loads in the determination of axle load spectra for pavement design

Axle load spectra constitute a crucial part of the data for pavement design and pavement distress analysis. Typically, axle load spectra represent static load from vehicles and do not include dynamic loads generated by vehicles in motion. While dynamic loads can significantly contribute to faster pavement distress, this fact is mostly omitted in pavement design methods. The paper presents a methodology for consideration of dynamic loads in axle load spectra for mechanistic-empirical pavement design. Calculations of dynamic axle load spectra for pavements of various evenness (expressed by IRI) and various vehicle speeds were performed and discussed. The effect of dynamic axle load spectra on pavement performance was analysed. M-EPDG calculations performed for three selected flexible pavements show that dynamic loads have a minor effect on pavement performance if the pavement is smooth and IRI is close to 1.0 mm/m. The detrimental effects of dynamic axle loads increase rapidly with the pavement evenness deterioration, resulting in faster (up to 25%) development of pavement distresses for IRI = 4.0 mm/m and a vehicle speed of 60 km/h. The analysis proved that thinner pavement structures are more sensitive to dynamic loads than thicker pavement structures. The investigation of vehicle speed impact on vehicle dynamic loads and pavement performance showed that at low vehicle speed (30 km/h) dynamic loads have a minor effect and pavement distress results mostly from a decrease in stiffness modulus of asphalt mixture and increase in permanent deformations, while for vehicle speeds higher than 90 km/h dynamic loads significantly contribute to pavement distress and adverse dynamic effects are not compensated by an increase in stiffness modulus of asphalt mixtures. The results also emphasise the significance of proper pavement evenness maintenance, especially on high speed motorways.