Using the visual intervention influence of pavement marking for rutting mitigation--Part II: visual intervention timing based on the finite element simulation

Visual intervention has a significant influence on drivers’ behaviour, which may cause the redistribution of wheel tracks, relieving the stress from the concentration of axial loads so that the rutting can be mitigated, which has been introduced and validated in a companion paper (Part I). Reasonable determination of the visual intervention timing with a three-stage intervention method can reduce rutting. In this paper, an initial development rate method is proposed, and the rutting prediction method based on finite element model is established. The data of rutting depth is segmentally fitted to obtain the rate curve of rutting deformation, based on which the intervention timings of three kinds of typical pavement structure are determined. It is found that SUPERPAVE pavement is the latest to set intervention while AC pavement is the earliest one. The analysis also shows the higher the capability of resisting rutting deformation is, the later the rutting deformation enters the second stage (steady state), which means the intervention is delayed. For the same pavement structure, the intervention of longitudinal slope section is earlier than that of flat slope section. Moreover, the service life of asphalt pavement can be prolonged by 16–31% in an intervention cycle.