Title: Portland cement concrete pavement roughness and dynamic wheel loads

Authors: Zahidul Q. Siddique, Mustaque Hossain

Addresses: Department of Civil Engineering, Kansas State University, 2118 Fiedler Hall, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA. ' Department of Civil Engineering, Kansas State University, 2118 Fiedler Hall, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA

Abstract: This paper deals with the dynamic wheel loads (DWL) generated by different trucks with varying vehicle characteristics in response to different levels of roughness for Portland Cement Concrete Pavement (PCCP) surfaces. Six newly built PCCP sections in Kansas were selected for this study. A truck simulation software package, TruckSim, was used for calculating DWL. The road roughness was represented by the statistics, International Roughness Index (IRI) and Profile Index (PI). The calculated maximum DWL was significantly affected by the roughness level, simulation speed, and pavement age. Although maximum DWL increased with higher PCCP roughness, the increase was not linear. The study shows that a PCCP with an IRI greater than 1.5 m/km will generate 4-7% higher DWL than for a PCCP with IRI less than 1.0 m/km.

Keywords: dynamic wheel loads; international roughness index; road profiles; profile index; road roughness; truck simulation; concrete pavement roughness.

DOI: 10.1504/IJVD.2004.005358

International Journal of Vehicle Design, 2004 Vol.36 No.2/3, pp.233 - 247

Published online: 28 Sep 2004 *

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