Effect of Bond Strength on Performance of Pavement
Keywords:
Adhesion, Bonding, Critical stress, Elastic Modulus, Shear Modulus, Flexible pavement ,Finite Element analysis, Static wheel load, Multiple regression analysisAbstract
A mechanistic model of flexible pavement was considered and constructed to study the effects of shear modulus on performance of
various pavement layers. The objective of this study was to quantify the effects of interlayer bonding by varying of the shear modulus
of the contact layer. Flexible pavements are complex structures consisting of several layers of asphalt and granular materials .
Bonding is assessed due to increase or decrease of critical stress values when static loading condition is maintained with constant
elastic properties such as Modulus of elasticity, shear modulus etc. The flexible pavement works as a single structure due to good
bonding between the different layers. Lack of bonding destroy continuity, decrease structural strength, and allow water to enter sub
layers. Bituminous tack coat is laid to ensure contact of the aggregates of the various layers of the flexible pavement. The viscous
nature of the flexible pavement, allows its different layers to sustain significant plastic deformation, although distresses due to
repeated heavy loading over time which is the most common failure mechanism. It is generally believed that, the pavement stress
distribution is extremely influenced by the adhesion conditions at the layer interface .This characteristic is used to access pavement
performance.
