ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT: Rutting, due to permanent deformations of unbound materials, is one of the principal damage modes of low traffic pavements. Flexible pavement design methods remain empirical in so far as they do not take into account the inelastic behavior of these materials. A simplified method, based on the concept of the shakedown theory developed by Zarka for metallic structures under cyclic loadings, to estimate the permanent deformations of unbound granular materials (UGM) subjected to traffic loading has been developed. Based on repeated load triaxial tests, a general procedure has been developed for the determination of the material parameters of the constitutive model. Finally, the results of a finite elements modelling of the long-term behaviour of a flexible pavement with the simplified method are presented and compared to the results of a full scale pavement experiment performed at LCPC.
