Analysis of rigid pavements under traffic loads using influence surfaces

Abstract

This study demonstrates that influence surfaces for rigid pavements can successfully be developed via a numerical procedure based on a series of finite element analyses and a multi-dimensional interpolation process. While only a limited number of finite element results are required for the combinations of anchor levels of each non-discrete variable in the interpolation process, the influence surfaces can be applied to unlimited combinations of structural features and loading scenarios through the application of multi-dimensional interpolation schemes. The extensive validation process used herein suggests that influence surfaces can precisely and accurately quantify pavement stresses as compared to results directly obtained from the finite element method. To demonstrate the versatility of the proposed technique, four distinct traffic load-related tasks were successfully performed using influence surfaces.