DEFLECTION ANALYSES AND CASE ILLUSTRATIONS OF THIN ASPHALT PAVEMENTS FOR OVERLAY DESIGN (WITH DISCUSSION)

This paper describes how the United States and Canada have a great deal of thin asphalt pavements and that these pavements can deteriorate fairly rapidly and normally require rehabilitation after relatively short service lives. The paper is concerned with the use of deflection testing and analysis to design overlays for thin asphalt pavements. More specifically, the objectives are to: (1) identify the role of overlay design in pavement management; (2) define and describe the factors involved in deflection testing; (3) describe how deflection data can be analyzed and used in overlay thickness design; and (4) present specific examples of the foregoing.