The evolution and application of mechanistic design procedures for concrete block pavements

This paper describes the evolution of computer based mechanistic procedures for the design of concrete block pavements for both roads and industrial hardstands. The procedures include sophisticated modelling both of the design traffic and of the properties of the pavement materials. The significance of these models is discussed and their relevance is critically assessed by reference to a series of tests of block pavements conducted by the author from 1978 onwards. These tests included both accelerated trafficking trials of a wide range of prototype pavements and fwd studies of pavements currently in service in Australia. The paper concludes with a description of the application of the design procedures to a range of segmental pavements around the world (a).