Summary of a Computer Modeling Study to Understand the Performance Properties of Fully Permeable Pavements

This technical memorandum summarizes the computer modeling of the expected pavement performance of fully permeable pavements using laboratory test results described in an earlier report, and development of pavement designs for critical distresses. Full-factorial experimental designs were followed, taking pavement type, material type, pavement geometry (thicknesses, and slab dimensions for concrete pavement only), climate, truck axle type, traffic load, and traffic speed (hot mix asphalt [HMA] only) into consideration. This resulted in almost 20,000 analysis cases using layer elastic theory for HMA and finite element analysis for concrete. The results indicate that sufficient structural strength can be obtained with appropriate and reasonable pavement designs for fully permeable concrete and hot mix asphalt pavements.