A historical overview of the South African mechanistic pavement design method, from its development in the early 1970s to the present, is presented. Material characterization, structural analysis, and pavement life prediction are discussed, and stiffness values are suggested for a range of materials in the absence of measured values. The modes of failure for these material types include the fatigue of asphalt material, deformation of granular material, crushing and effective fatigue of lightly cemented material, and deformation of selected and subgrade material. The critical parameters and transfer functions for these material types and modes of failure are discussed and included in the pavement life prediction process.
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