Local Characterization of Unbound Materials (Soils/Aggregates) for AASHTOWare Pavement ME Design in Nebraska

Several states have started using the AASHTOWare Pavement ME Design (Pavement ME) for road design, and recently Nebraska DOT is also taking notice. What separates the Pavement ME (ME) from other design procedures is that this empirical-mechanistic approach takes into account the material’s individual response to predict the overall pavement performance. In the ME, there are three different levels of input to meet accuracy, and they require a set of material properties. However, obtaining the input parameters is a time-consuming step that oftentimes limits the application of ME. The resilient modulus (Mr) is one of the key fundamental material properties required. To contribute to implementing ME in the design of Nebraska pavements, this study aims to (1) establish a large data set of localized Mr and characteristics of unbound materials in Nebraska, (2) develop a simple method to correlate the modulus with commonly used geotechnical properties. To meet the goal, we will conduct (1) an extensive literature review of ME and other state studies, (2) laboratory testing of selected unbound materials for physical-mechanical properties and investigation of the existing correlations between Mr and soil properties, (3) evaluation and calibration of Mr for selected unbound materials and verification of the correlation to estimate Mr using soils model, and (4) finite element modeling of flexible and rigid pavement employing stress-dependent model and evaluate the sensitivity analysis varying unbound materials. Unbound and subgrade materials will be sampled from at least five different areas including problematic soils, and various testing will be conducted to determine numerous properties and characteristics including; materials classification (AASHTO and USCS), moisture-density relations, unconfined compressive strength, and resilient modulus. The resilient modulus test will be conducted according to AASHTO T 307 procedure equipped by the UNL. The resulting outcomes with statistical analyses will show the archive data set of NE unbound materials for implementing ME more optimally.

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Funding: $159,036.00
• Sponsor Organizations:

  Nebraska Department of Transportation

  1500 Nebraska 2
  Lincoln, NE  United States  68502
• Project Managers:

  Halsey, Lieska

• Principal Investigators:

  Eun, Jongwan

  Kim, Seunghee

  Hu, Jiong

  Teixeira, Jamilla

• Start Date: 20230701
• Expected Completion Date: 20250531
• Actual Completion Date: 0

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Materials; Soil aggregates
• Identifier Terms: AASHTO Guide for Design of Pavement Structures; Nebraska Department of Transportation
• Subject Areas: Geotechnology; Materials; I22: Design of Pavements, Railways and Guideways;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01881381
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Nebraska Department of Transportation
• Files: RIP, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Apr 27 2023 2:16PM