Correlations between Strains in a Thin Asphalt Pavement Structure and Deflection Basins

In rural areas, thin asphalt surface pavement structures have been constructed for low-volume road networks. For this type of road, a light weight deflectometer (LWD) may be useful for evaluating the responses of a pavement structure. Of the responses, the mobilized horizontal tensile strain at the bottom of asphalt pavement indicates the fatigue cracking potential, while the mobilized vertical compressive strain at the top of the base layer indicates the rutting potential. A series of linear elastic analyses was performed on a thin asphalt surface pavement structure. Correlations between the two mobilized strains and deflection basin parameters were found. A model thin asphalt surface pavement structure was constructed in the field. Many sensors were installed for measuring the mobilized stresses and strains during an LWD test. The test results generally were in agreement with the linear elastic analyses. The mobilized strains in the thin asphalt surface pavement structure could be predicted with the correlations with deflection basin parameters obtained from the LWD test.