Flexible Pavement Response to Moving Loads: A Numerical Study

This paper documents the importance of the moving character of traffic loads on flexible pavement response. A review to state-of-the-art description of the flexible pavement response to moving wheel loads, according to static and dynamic formulations is first presented. Subsequently, a pavement response calculated with finite element software, considering the load as moving and non-moving, is provided. Different vehicle speeds were considered in the numerical study: 14 km/h, 35 km/h, and 70 km/h. The calculations were performed within the static formulation, considering 3-D modeling. The aim of the study is to evaluate the influence of moving loads in pavement response. The investigation reveals that the moving character of loads can influence pavement damage: 1) the total unloading of the structural pavement response is higher regarding moving load than static load; 2) the structural pavement response is aggravated when several and successive moving loads are considered; 3) the moving load influence decreases with pavement depth; and 4) the total unloading of the surface deflection is higher for reduced vehicle speed than for higher speed.