Simplified approach for structural capacity evaluation of flexible pavements at the network level

Pavement surface deflection has been used by several highway agencies to assess the structural condition of the pavement structure. Falling weight deflectometer, deflectograph and other devices are commonly used to measure the deflected shape of the pavement surface under loading. Several parameters have been derived from the measured deflection bowl to evaluate pavement structural condition; however, there is no universally agreed parameter that can reliably rank the structural condition of the highway network. In addition, each pavement type deflects differently under traffic loads. Therefore, it is not possible to have one single scale to evaluate and rank pavement structural capacity for all different types. In this research paper, four different scales were developed to evaluate structural capacity of different flexible pavement structures. The area ratio, deflection ratio and their normalised values were derived from the deflection bowls of both field measured deflections and computer simulated data.