New Laboratory-Based Mechanistic–Empirical Model for Faulting in Jointed Concrete Pavement

Abstract

Faulting is associated with many design- and performance-related factors of concrete pavement, such as traffic load, joint spacing, load transfer, drainage, subbase friction, and subbase erodibility. Subbase erosion is especially key to an understanding of the process of faulting distresses in jointed concrete pavement. However, subbase erosion has not been included explicitly in design-related analysis. As a consequence, design procedures have lacked a prerequisite sensitivity because of a lack of laboratory test procedures and material parameters to relate model prediction to subbase erosion performance. This paper presents a mechanistic–empirical faulting model. It is calibrated from the results of a new erosion test that involves the Hamburg wheel-tracking device and Long-Term Pavement Performance (LTPP) data. The calculated faulting depths from the proposed model match well with the trends of observed LTPP field faulting data.