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Federal Highway Administration
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Federal Highway Administration Research and Technology
Coordinating, Developing, and Delivering Highway Transportation Innovations
| REPORT |
| This report is an archived publication and may contain dated technical, contact, and link information |
 |
| Publication Number: FHWA-HRT-18-058 Date: March 2019 |
Publication Number: FHWA-HRT-18-058 Date: March 2019 |
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The movement of superheavy loads (SHLs) on the Nation's highways is an increasingly common, vital economic necessity for many important industries, such as chemical, oil, electrical, and defense. Many superheavy components are extremely large and heavy (gross vehicle weights in excess of a few million pounds), and they often require specialized trailers and hauling units. At times, SHL vehicles have been assembled to suit the load being transported, and therefore, the axle configurations have not been standard or consistent. Accommodating SHL movements without undue damage to highway infrastructure requires the determination of whether the pavement is structurally adequate to sustain the SHL movement and protect any underground utilities. Such determination involves analyzing the likelihood of instantaneous or rapid load-induced shear failure of the pavement structure.
The goal of this project was to develop a comprehensive analysis process for evaluating SHL movement on flexible pavements. As part of this project, a comprehensive mechanistic-based analysis approach consisting of several analysis procedures was developed for flexible pavement structures and documented in a 10-volume series of Federal Highway Administration reports—a final report and 9 appendices.(1-9) This is Analysis Procedures for Evaluating Superheavy Load Movement on Flexible Pavements, Volume X: Appendix I, Analysis Package for Superheavy Load Vehicle Movement on Flexible Pavement (SuperPACK), which describes the analysis software package, SuperPACK, developed for the evaluation of specific cases of SHL movements on flexible pavements. This report is intended for use by highway agency pavement engineers responsible for assessing the structural adequacy of pavements in proposed routes and identifying mitigation strategies, when warranted, in support of transportation agencies' responses to SHL-movement permit requests.
Cheryl Allen Richter, P.E., Ph.D.
Director, Office of Infrastructure
Research and Development
Notice
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| 1. Report No. FHWA-HRT-18-058 |
2. Government Accession No. | 3. Recipient’s Catalog No. | ||||
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| 4. Title and Subtitle Analysis Procedures for Evaluating Superheavy Load Movement on Flexible Pavements, Volume X: Appendix I, Analysis Package for Superheavy Load Vehicle Movement on Flexible Pavement (SuperPACK) |
5. Report Date March 2019 |
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| 6. Performing Organization Code | ||||||
| 7. Author(s) Seyed-Farzan Kazemi (ORCID: 0000-0003-2313-4995), Hadi Nabizadeh (ORCID: 0000-0001-8215-1299), Mohammed Nimeri (ORCID: 0000-0002-3328-4367), Dario Batioja-Alvarez (ORCID: 0000-0002-1094-553X), Elie Y. Hajj (ORCID: 0000-0001-8568-6360), Raj V. Siddharthan (ORCID: 0000-0002-3847-7934), and Adam J.T. Hand (ORCID: 0000-0002-5041-7491) |
8. Performing Organization Report No. WRSC-UNR-201710-01I |
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| 9. Performing Organization Name and Address Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering University of Nevada 1664 North Virginia Street Reno, NV 89557 |
10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS) | |||||
| 11. Contract or Grant No. DTFH61-13-C-00014 |
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| 12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address Office of Infrastructure Research and Development Federal Highway Administration 6300 Georgetown Pike McLean, VA 22101 |
13. Type of Report and Period Covered Final Report; August 2013-July 2018 |
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| 14. Sponsoring Agency Code HRDI-20 |
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| 15. Supplementary Notes Nadarajah Sivaneswaran (HRDI-20; ORCID: 0000-0003-0287-664X), Office of Infrastructure Research and Development, Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center, served as the Contracting Officer's Representative. |
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| 16. Abstract The movement of superheavy loads (SHLs) has become more common over the years, since it is a vital necessity for many important industries, such as chemical, oil, electrical, and defense. SHL hauling units are much larger in size and weight compared to standard trucks. SHL vehicles' gross vehicle weights may be in excess of a few million pounds, so they often require specialized trailers and components with nonstandard spacing between tires and axles. Accommodating SHL movements requires the determination of whether the pavement is structurally adequate and involves the analysis of the likelihood of instantaneous or rapid load-induced shear failure. As part of this Federal Highway Administration project, Analysis Procedures for Evaluating Superheavy Load Movement on Flexible Pavements, an analysis package, Superheavy Load Vehicle Movement on Flexible Pavement (SuperPACK), was developed to evaluate specific cases of SHL-vehicle movements. This report describes the major components of SuperPACK: preanalysis modules (A modules), analysis modules (B modules), and an analysis engine (3D-Move ENHANCED).(10) The A modules, which are required to proceed to the B modules, require information on vehicle axle configurations, material properties, subgrade shear strength parameters, and representative material properties for the analysis and reference vehicles. The B modules conduct bearing capacity, service limit, slope stability, buried utility, and cost allocation analyses. All the A and B modules require pavement responses, excepting the module on vehicle axle configurations. 3D-Move ENHANCED was developed to provide the modules with responses based upon the request.(10) |
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| 17. Key Words Superheavy load, 3D-Move ENHANCED, pavement response, bearing capacity, buried utility, cost allocation |
18. Distribution Statement No restrictions. This document is available to the public through the National Technical Information Service, Springfield, VA 22161. https://www.ntis.gov |
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| 19. Security Classif. (of this report) Unclassified |
20. Security Classif. (of this page) Unclassified |
21. No. of Pages 47 |
22. Price N/A |
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| Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-72) | Reproduction of completed pages authorized. | |||||
