01622445

Component

Local calibration studies in Florida using the Pavement ME design software have shown the performance of jointed plain concrete pavements (JPCP) to be sensitive to climatic inputs. These studies indicated significant performance differences among regions of the state. Weather station data were used for the study, but were limited by the non-uniform spacing of the stations, gaps in coverage, and questionable data from many of the stations. Satellite based weather data have recently become available through the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). The FHWA data were developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and are called Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA). These data were uniformly spaced and of high quality with over 35 years of history. Florida is using these data to reanalyze the design regions used in the state. Design regions and thickness tables per region will aid pavement designers in rapidly checking the reasonableness of their Pavement ME designs. Due to the multitude of input variables required by the Pavement ME software, it is often difficult to get consistent designs due to minor input errors which are often tedious to find and correct. To develop the design regions, the 47 MERRA cells in Florida were processed through Pavement ME with standard design inputs, with only location, traffic and concrete thickness varied. Cells were then identified where thickness changes of 0.5 inch or more would occur. An interpolation process was then performed to further refine the climatic region borders and develop maps of the results for use by pavement designers.

This paper was sponsored by TRB committee AFD50 Standing Committee on Design and Rehabilitation of Concrete Pavements.

01618707

17-00836

English

10p

2017

Transportation Research Board 96th Annual Meeting

Digital/other

Figures; References

Climatic regions; Concrete pavements; Mechanistic-empirical pavement design; Software; Thickness

Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide; Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA)

Jointed plain concrete pavements

Florida

Design; Highways; Pavements

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2017 Paper #17-00836

PRP, TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Dec 8 2016 10:12AM