Predicting permanent deformation behaviour of unbound granular materials

Abstract

To reliably predict the permanent deformation behaviour of unbound granular materials (UGM) in a pavement structure, the material parameters of the constitutive models used in design should be evaluated using a multi-stage (MS) loading approach. This paper investigated the prediction of the accumulation of permanent strain in UGM using some current models, extended applying the time-hardening approach, based on MS repeated load triaxial tests (RLTTs). The material parameters of these models were optimised for five different UGM used in pavement construction using the MS RLTT data with a specific set of stress levels. With these models, the accumulations of permanent strain in the same materials for MS RLTTs with a different set of stress levels were predicted. Using this approach, three out of the four models performed very well, which may be further developed for field conditions for better prediction of rutting.