Improving the Foundation Layers for Pavements: Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG) Sensitivity Analysis - TPF-5(183)

(2014) Improving the Foundation Layers for Pavements: Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG) Sensitivity Analysis - TPF-5(183). Transportation, Department of

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Abstract

The purpose of this Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG) analysis was to determine the sensitivity of soil type and stiffness on required slab thickness. This study confirmed previous published work that the MEPDG is not sensitive to subgrade soil type or resilient moduli changes. The slab thickness varied less than 0.25 in. for a range of soil types and resilient modulus values. Therefore, it does not appear that nonuniformity of support could be directly accounted for in the current MEPDG design method (e.g., implementing a Monte Carlo simulation scheme to assess soil variability). The most sensitive variables encountered were the traffic level and joint spacing, with a maximum change of 3.75 and 3.0 in., respectively. The effect of climate was also not as critical, requiring only a 0.5 in. change in slab thickness between Des Moines, Iowa and Atlanta, Georgia.