ABSTRACT
This paper investigates the mechanistic-empirical pavement design according to Egyptian conditions. Hourly weather data for major cities in Egypt was extracted from Aviation Routine Weather Report (METAR) files and processed using a computer application, developed under this research. Hourly Climatic Data (hcd) files of 93 months of weather data for 6 Egyptian cities were prepared. A comparative study was conducted between AASHTO 1993 Design Guide Procedures (A93), and the Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG). Six typical pavement sections were designed using A93 and their performance was then evaluated using MEPDG for three traffic loading conditions. Results revealed that pavement sections designed under the A93 do not perform equally at the end of their design life. Terminal Present Serviceability Index (PSI) values are inconsistent for different traffic levels and locations. A sensitivity analysis was then conducted, where fatigue cracking and rutting were found to be sensitive to variations in environmental conditions.
