Evaluation and sensitivity of pavement-subgrade systems

一个国家道路网络的健康状况对其经济具有相当重要的意义。在大多数工业化国家，网络已经相当完善，因此重点已转向监测、维持和改进现有的基础设施。由于重复的交通负荷和湿气、冻融循环等环境因素，路面会随着时间的推移而逐渐恶化。鉴于交通量和车轮载荷的增加，开发能够更好地抵抗交通和气候条件相关损害的材料变得越来越重要；新的设计和维护工具有助于监测道路基础设施，并在维护策略和修复方面制定具有成本效益的解决方案。新的路面分析和设计的力学经验方法需要更准确地估计材料在模拟交通荷载作用下的响应，同时考虑到湿度和温度条件的变化。

The health of a country's road network is of considerable importance to its economy. In most of the industrialized world, the network is fairly well established, thus emphasis has shifted toward monitoring, maintaining and improving the existing infrastructure. Pavements deteriorate gradually over time due to repetitive traffic loading and environmental factors such as moisture and freeze-thaw cycles. Given the increase in traffic volume and wheel loads, it has become increasingly important to develop: materials that can better resist damage associated with the traffic and climatic conditions; and new design and maintenance tools that aid in monitoring the road infrastructure and developing cost effect solutions with respect to maintenance strategies and rehabilitation. The new mechanistic-empirical approach for pavement analysis and design requires more accurate estimates of the material response under the action of simulated traffic loading, taking into account variations in moisture and temperature conditions.