Predicting the Evenness of Road Surfaces

Abstract

The design of road surfaces involves application of a sophisticated algorithm system based on mathematical calculations and engineering solutions, with the calculation of evaluation criteria. It is precisely the observance of the standardized requirements in terms of design criteria that makes it possible to consider the design of the pavement as reliable, and the road as safe and convenient for traffic during the specified service life. When calculating the strength, based on the predicted traffic intensity and the composition of the traffic flow, calculations are carried out according to the main criteria: admissible elastic deflection, shear in layers of non-reinforced materials and in asphalt concrete, as well as the ultimate tensile stresses in cast-in-situ materials with the specified reliability level. However, in the accepted concepts for calculating the strength and reliability of road pavements, only the force effect is directly taken into account. To take into account environmental factors, it is necessary to develop a comprehensive indicator of the resulting impact of all factors. The paper presents a complex of factors influencing on traffic safety, road deformations and irregularities the height of unevenness, in particular, an increase in the dynamic impact on the road and the amplitude of vibration of a car wheel on a road with an uneven surface (when detached from the road surface), the coincidence of the vibration frequency of the car with the natural frequencies of vibration of the road surface, and as a consequence, on the behavioral features of driving. The arguments have been substantiated that the predictive models do not take into account a number of factors that have a significant impact on the formation of irreversible deformation in the layers of materials of road structures.