Computer Aided Analysis/Design of Overlays in Cracked Road Pavements

by A. Scarpas, Delft Univ of Technol, Delft, Netherlands,
J. Blaauwendraad, Delft Univ of Technol, Delft, Netherlands,



Document Type: Proceeding Paper

Part of: Computing in Civil and Building Engineering

Abstract:

In this contribution CAPA, a user-friendly, PC based, finite element system, capable of analyzing and dimensioning pavement overlays is presented. Because of the generality of the finite element method, arbitrary geometry, boundary conditions, loading and interlayer bonding can be specified. A variety of options enables the simulation of discrete cracks in the pavement and their interaction with the surrounding materials. Starting from an initial crack length in the pavement, the system can automatically propagate the crack all the way to the surface computing concurrently the relevant fracture mechanics parameters at successive crack tip positions. A user friendly graphical screen input facility, together with a fully fledged mesh generator and extensive pre- and post-processing graphic facilities allow the designer to quickly evaluate the efficiency of various overlay techniques.

Subject Headings: Pavement overlays | Cracking | Computer analysis | Pavement condition | Finite element method | Computer aided design | Pavement design

Services: Buy this book/Buy this article

 

Return to search