pooled fund Projects
In progress
Calibration of the Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide -
Updated March 2012
| Research Area | Pavement, Road Construction |
| Responsible Council / Committee | Chief Engineers' Council Pavements Standing Committee Soils and Materials Standing Committee |
| Related TAC publications | Pavement Design and Management Guide (1997) |
| Start Date | April 2004 |
| Expected Completion Date | TBD |
| Research Agency | TBD |
| Status | The project is being undertaken in phases. The short and long term requirements and resources needed to implement the M-E PDG in Canada were identified as a first phase. The development of a Canadian climatic database is complete. Work to assess traffic data availability in Canadian jurisdictions was finalized in April 2011.
Work is in progress to update the climatic data to 2011. A Users' Group has been formed to share knowledge and assist the project steering committee in determining future project requirements. |
| Project Funding Partners | Alberta Transportation; British Columbia Ministry of Transportation; Manitoba Infrastructure and Transportation; New Brunswick Department of Transportation; Nova Scotia Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal; Ontario Ministry of Transportation; Ministère des Transports du Québec; Saskatchewan Highways and Infrastructure; City of Edmonton; City of Ottawa; City of Toronto; City of Winnipeg; Cement Association of Canada; Ontario Hot Mix Producers Association; Asphalt Institute |
| Staff Contact | Craig Stackpole |
Abstract
The 1993 AASHTO Guide for the Design of Pavement Structures is a key document used to design new and rehabilitated highway pavements in the United States and in much of Canada. The 1993 design procedure is an empirical method developed based on the findings of the 1950s AASHO Road Test. The major pavement design emphasis is now on rehabilitation, for which empirical design approaches often are inadequate. Furthermore, today's pavements experience heavier traffic, variable tire pressures, different tire widths and different axle load configurations than those experienced during the AASHO Road Test. Mechanistic approaches more realistically characterize in-service pavements and improve the reliability of design and it is therefore expected that the next generation of design approaches will rely heavily on mechanistic principles.
In the late 1990s, the US NCHRP initiated a project to develop a state-of-the-practice tool for the design of new and rehabilitated pavement structures. The major objective of the NCHRP project was to develop a document for adoption by AASHTO as its new Guide for Mechanistic-Empirical Design of New and Rehabilitated Pavement Structures. The new guide is, to the greatest extent possible, based on sound mechanistic principles. However, because of gaps that exist in the knowledge base, mechanistic design methods are supported by empirical relationships resulting in a mechanistic-empirical approach to pavement design and rehabilitation.
The development of the new AASHTO Guide in the United States promises to change pavement design procedures and it will need to be adapted and calibrated for local conditions. The project of the Pavements and Soils and Materials Standing Committees will provide guidance to Canadian agencies about data inputs needed to implement the new procedures and how they are adapted to account for Canadian conditions and technology.