Avaliação de desempenho pelo MEPDG: o efeito da variação de espessuras de pavimentos flexíveis

The pavement design has been performed on empirical basis, which present limitations, because their results are only valid for the same, or very similar, intervening factors that prevailed at the time of its development. In this way, the AASHTO proposed a new method of pavements design, whose base is mechanistic-empirical. This method, which was initially known as AASHTO 2002, uses the axle load spectra of commercial vehicles for design and performance prediction, as well as detailed information about climate and layers materials. This work performed a sensitivity analysis to investigate the effect that thickness variation of bituminous and base layers can produce to the structural responses of flexible pavements and their effects on pavement performance. Thus, simulations were made with the computer program MEPDG using load spectra developed by Fontenele (2011). The results quantified the effects magnitude caused by the selected factors and their interaction on the final performance of pavements. Therefore, it can contribute to the improvement of pavement design.

MEPDG; flexible pavements; design; performance