Deliverable D7. outline of a new empirical road damage experiment

Efficiency as well as sustainability regarding road infrastructure can only be achieved when construction and maintenance also work efficiently and sustainably. Therefore a deeper knowledge of the complex material-vehicle-environment interaction is needed to develop an improved relationship between pavement deterioration and material, environment and vehicle parameters. In order to create an enhanced rule for this interaction, it is necessary to combine comprehensive material testing with statistical, analytical and numerical methods that have been developed in the last 50 years. This can only be achieved if the research is done on a European level by EURODEX, a EUuropean ROad Damage EXperiment. Results from this experiment will lead to an improved pavement performance and deterioration model that can be used for various means. On the one hand it will be a strong tool for a fair and sustainable transport pricing on European roads, on the other hand it can be used to make pavement design and construction as well as maintenance more efficient and economic. This report of deliverable D7, Outline of a new empirical Road Damage Experiment, gives a preliminary design and layout for EURODEX. Therefore an inventory of European ALT facilities is provided, the most important factors for pavement deterioration, distress and performance are described and guidelines for common data acquisition, data storage and retrieval are given. Furthermore a strategic plan for EURODEX has been developed within this WP. Basic information on pavement engineering and a detailed analysis of pavement deterioration factors, pavement distress, as well as current modelling of pavement performance and methods of maintenance and reconstruction are given in Appendix A.