ABSTRACT

Assessment of pavement responses to loading is important for pavement engineers, in order to ensure an accurate evaluation of the pavement structure. The present study investigates the nonlinear elastic behavior of unbound materials utilized in the base course of a typical flexible pavement. The study utilizes the Finite Element Method (FEM) and incorporates a User defined MATerial subroutine (UMAT) within the ABAQUS software. Three widely known constitutive models are modeled within the subroutine for the estimation of the predicted pavement responses. The three investigated models are the MEPDG model, Uzan model and the K-θ model. Results from the nonlinear elastic analysis are comparatively evaluated with reference to a linear elastic analysis, to highlight variations in predicted responses from the various models and the impact this could have on pavement responses.