ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the applications of finite element method (FEM) for analysis of pavement structures. FEM is used for computationally solving various boundary value problems which can typically be expressed in the form of differential equations. For structural analysis problem, the objective is to find out the displacement field, in terms of translation or rotation along the three axes within the structure. The FEM approach becomes very useful to take care of various forms of complexities in geometry, material property and loading, once the governing differential equation is framed. A large pool of research studies is available dealing with FEM application to solve stress–strain due to static and dynamic loading, thermal stress and heat flow analysis, pavement-tyre interaction, flow of water through porous pavements, stresses due to moisture gradient etc. With the rapid progress of computational power and development of advanced modelling, researchers are able to simulate results with improved accuracy and closer to the realistic scenario.
