Finite element-based framework to study the response of bituminous concrete pavements under different conditions

In most of developing countries across the world, pavement design is still based on an empirical approach that may result in premature failure or overdesigned pavements. A shift from an empirical to a semi-mechanistic or mechanistic approach is the need of modern time. In this regard, computational tools such as finite element (FE) are being successfully utilized to gain deeper insights because such tools have allowed researchers to study the complex behaviour of bituminous concrete (BC) materials. It is well recognized that BC material typically exhibits viscoelastic/visco-elasto-plastic behaviour depending on applied loading (including temperature) conditions. However, due to the complexity of the whole procedure yet many pavement design tools consider them as pure elastic material. The aim of this research is to develop FEM based simple and practical framework to evaluate the structural response of BC material with viscoelastic material characterization which can be an effective tool to predict field behaviour with commonly available pavement material tests. Such a framework will be helpful in analysing variations in the critical response of BC pavement with varied traffic loads and ambient temperatures. The framework provides a relatively simple procedure to obtain the viscoelastic parameters of BC mix with a creep compliance test conducted at different temperatures. It was concluded that Creep compliance data if pre-smoothened by the Power law model reduces mathematical optimization issues to some extent. Furthermore, with the obtained parameters, a 3-dimensional FE model was developed to obtain sensitivity to critical stresses, strains, and vertical deformations at desired conditions. Material characterization of unbound granular layers was evaluated through resilient modulus based on empirical relations. Analysis was carried out taking into consideration the traffic load, contact pressure, mix type, air-void, and temperature variation.