THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN EQUATION FOR THE STRENGTH-BALANCE OF ROAD PAVEMENT STRUCTURES

An urgent need for a function that would describe the strength/depth relationship of a road pavement and thus enable the classification of the various structural compositions encountered was recognized and investigated in the early seventies. Subsequently a nest of curves called the pavement strength-balance curves was developed, which greatly enhanced the understanding of pavement behaviour and largely reduced the possibility of injudicious pavement composition. In order to facilitate the general application of the curves a practical equation describing the progression of these curves was sought. This paper discusses the development of such an equation and gives examples of its application.(A)