Introducing realistic tire–pavement contact stresses into Pavement Analysis using Nonlinear Damage Approach (PANDA)

Abstract

Realistic tire–pavement interface contact areas and stresses were incorporated into the Pavement Analysis using Nonlinear Damage Approach (PANDA) user interface (PUI). PANDA is a software library developed to simulate the complex thermo-viscoelastic–viscoplastic–viscodamage responses of the pavement to mechanical and environmental loads. The PUI is an interface generating a finite element representation of the pavement within PANDA. The application of realistic tire loading is necessary to calculate accurate pavement responses. The PUI incorporates a database of tire contact areas and stresses obtained from tire finite element simulations. The database includes tire interface characteristics with pavements for various applied loads, tire inflation pressures, vehicle speeds and scenarios of different rolling simulations. A parametric study was conducted to investigate the effect of simulations of tire contact stresses that match field measurements on viscoelastic and viscoplastic pavement responses. Pavement responses are greatly affected using realistic tire loading contact stresses and contact geometry as compared to simplified contact models. The impact on rutting and damage predictions cannot be ignored if reliable projections of pavement performance are to be made. This study confirms the importance of considering realistic three-dimensional contact stresses to design and analyse pavements.

Keywords:

• PANDA user interface
• realistic tire–pavement interface
• viscoelastic–viscoplastic pavement response

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support of the U.S. Federal Highway Administration through Texas A&M University. This study also used the Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment (XSEDE) for computer simulations. The authors would like to acknowledge Dr. Sun-Myung Kim, who produced the version of PUI with uniform tire loading option. The contents of this paper reflect the view of the authors, who are responsible for the facts and the accuracy of the data presented herein. The contents do not necessarily reflect the official views or policies of the Illinois Center for Transportation, the Illinois Department of Transportation, or the Federal Highway Administration. This report does not constitute a standard, specification, or regulation.