Dynamic analysis of rigid pavement with vehicle–pavement interaction

Study of the dynamic response of pavements due to moving loads such as vehicles and aircraft has received significant attention in recent years because of its relevance to the design of pavements and airport runways. This paper presents an improved solution algorithm based on the finite-element method to analyse rigid pavements under moving vehicular or aircraft loads. The concrete pavement is discretised by thick plate elements that account for the transverse shear deformation and bending. The underlying soil medium is modelled by elastic spring and dashpot systems. The dynamic interaction between the moving load and the pavement is considered by modelling the vehicle by spring–dashpot unit. Graphical results are presented to demonstrate the significance of the dynamic interaction between the pavement and the vehicle on pavement response. Results indicated that slab thickness, soil modulus and velocity of aircraft had a significant effect on the response of the pavement.