In order to make a scientific pavement maintenance decision, a grey-theory-based prediction methodological framework is proposed to predict pavement performance. Based on the field pavement rutting data,analysis of variance （ANOVA）was first used to study the influence of different factors on pavement rutting. Cluster analysis was then employed to investigate the rutting development trend.Based on the clustering results,the grey theory was applied to build pavement rutting models for each cluster, which can effectively reduce the complexity of the predictive model.The results show that axial load and asphalt binder type play important roles in rutting development.The prediction model is capable of capturing the uncertainty in the pavement performance prediction process and can meet the requirements of highway pavement maintenance,and,therefore,has a wide application prospects.
In order to investigate the mechanical response of reflective cracking in asphalt concrete pavement under dynamic vehicle loading, a finite element model is established in ABAQUS. The viscoelastic behavior is described by a prony series which is calculated through nonlinear fitting to the creep test data obtained in the laboratory. Based on the viscoelastic theory, the time-temperature equivalence principle, fracture mechanics and the dynamic finite element method, both the Jintegral and the mix-mode stress intensity factor are utilized as fracture evaluation parameters, and a half-sine dynamic loading is used to simulate the vehicle loading. Finally, the mechanical response of the pavement reflective cracking is analyzed under different vehicle speeds, different environmental conditions and various damping factors. The results indicate that increasing either the vehicle speed or the structure damping factor decreases the maximum values of fracture parameters, while the structure temperature has little effect on the fracture parameters. Due to the fact that the vehicle speed can be enhanced by improving the road traffic conditions, and the pavement damping factor can become greater by modifying the components of materials, the development of reflective cracking can be delayed and the asphalt pavement service life can be effectively extended through both of these ways.
