New mechanistic design approach for subgrade rutting of Low Volume Roads

Abstract

Until recently very few mechanistic design approaches for Low Volume Road (LVR) structures have been available, which is why they have been mostly built based on local experience and traditions. This paper describes a new mechanistic design approach intended for assessing the risk of subgrade rutting of LVRs. It is based essentially on 3D Finite Element Modelling of LVR structures, but the final results of these fairly sophisticated analyses have also been compiled into simple analytical design equations so as to make implementation of the design approach easy enough for everyday practical applications. The description of the theoretical approach is illustrated by a few application examples.