Effects of Tire Configurations on Pavement Damage

摘要

In response to the introduction of new generations of wide-base tires, pavement responses to different tire configurations were measured at the Virginia Smart Road. The investigated new generations of wide-base tires have wider treads and greater loadcarrying capacities than conventional wide-base tires. Results of the experimental program indicated that the steering axle was the most damaging of all the tested axles. A finite element (FE) parametric study was then conducted to evaluate different failure mechanisms that were not quantified in the field. The developed FE models were calibrated and properly validated against stress and strain measurements obtained from the experimental program. Four failure mechanisms were considered in the pavement damage evaluation: fatigue cracking, primary rutting, secondary rutting, and top-down cracking. Results indicated that the new generations of single wide-base tires, 445/50R22.5 and 455/55R22.5, would cause the same or relatively greater pavement damage than conventional dual tires. Based on the calculated combined damage ratios, equivalent loads were determined to balance the damage induced by the new generations of wide-base tires with that of the dual-tire assembly. Given that the overall truck weight is reduced by approximately 450kg when wide-base tires are used, it is reasonable to implement the load limits currently applied to the dual-tire assembly to the second new generation of wide-base tire, 455/55R22.5.