Dynamic pavement loads and road wear: scientific questions the OECD DIVINE Project is intended to answer

Earlier research has shown that dynamic pavement loads can increase road wear, but the scale of the effect is uncertain. -The OECD DIVINE Project has been designed to include measurements, under laboratory conditions,of the possible reduction in pavement life caused by dynamic loads. Other experiments in the project are designed to determine the distribution of dynamic pavement loads along the road under mixed traffic; these will allow the laboratory test results to be applied to roads in service. Other tests will establish methods for rating the road-friendliness of heavy vehicles, and whether vehicles that are road-friendly are also bridge-friendly. The paper describes the underlying scientific questions the project is designed to address, and the consequential structure of the project.