A GENERAL ANALYTICALLY BASED APROACH TO THE DESIGN OF ASPHALT CONCRETE PAVEMENTS. SIXTH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE, STRUCTURAL DESIGN OF ASPHALT PAVEMENTS, VOLUME I, PROCEEDINGS, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN, JULY 13-17, 1987, ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN

This paper describes a general approach to the structural design of asphalt concrete pavement systems, making use of research which has been developed in the past 25 years. The approach is based on the assumption that pavement systems respond to loads elastically; however, the actual nonlinear responses of the materials comprising the pavement section are incorporated in an ad hoc but representative manner. Analyses of representative pavement systems are made using an updated version of the ELSYM5 program developed originally in 1972. This updated version, termed ELSA, permits consideration of up to 100 loads applied to the pavement including 10 different load types (defined by tire pressure, radius of loaded area, or magnitude of load). The pavement structure can be represented by up to 10 different layers. Examples of the use of the approach are presented and include: (1) design of a new airport pavement system in the Middle East; (2) analysis of the rutting potential in an airport pavement in the Middle East and modifications in asphalt mix design; (3) assessment of increased tire pressure on the rutting potential of pavements in the southwwestern United States; and (4) assessment of the potential of mixtures containing a modified asphalt (containing carbon black) to solve specific distress problems.