Temperature Influence in a Dynamic Viscoelastic Modeling of a Pavement Structure

This article concerns the modeling of the dynamic behavior of flexible pavement under dynamic solicitation. It uses the finite element method and integrates the complex modulus of the bituminous materials in a frequency dynamic calculation. A loss-coefficient is defined and adjusted thanks to a specific rheological model and for a reference temperature. A comparison is done on instrumented experimental structures with measurements from a falling weight deflectometer (FWD) test at different times of day and with different loads. Numerical results are in good agreement with in situ measurements and show the importance of a temperature field contribution in bituminous pavement against layer thickness. (C) 2017 American Society of Civil Engineers.