U.S. Department of Transportation
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 |
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| Publication Number: FHWA-HRT-18-049 Date: October 2018 |
Publication Number: FHWA-HRT-18-049 Date: October 2018 |
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| Location | Incorrect Values | Corrected Values |
|---|---|---|
| TECHNICAL REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE, Box 15 | Nadarajah Sivaneswaran (HRDI-20; ORCID: 0000-0002-3525-9165), Office of Infrastructure Research and Development, Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center, served as the Contracting Officer's Representative. | 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. |
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 I: Final Report, which presents a summary of the analysis procedures developed to address the critical factors associated with SHL movement on flexible pavements. This report is intended for use by highway agency pavement engineers responsible for assessing the structural adequacy of pavements in the proposed route and identifying mitigation strategies, where warranted, in support of the agency’s response to SHL-movement permit requests.
Cheryl Allen Richter, Ph.D., P.E.
Director, Office of Infrastructure
Research and Development
Notice
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Technical Report Documentation Page
| 1. Report No.
FHWA-HRT-18-049 |
2. Government Accession No.
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3 Recipient's Catalog No.
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| 4. Title and Subtitle
Analysis Procedures for Evaluating Superheavy Load Movement on Flexible Pavements, Volume I: Final Report |
5. Report Date
October 2018 |
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| 6. Performing Organization Code
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| 7. Author(s)
Elie Y. Hajj (ORCID: 0000-0001-8568-6360), Raj V. Siddharthan (ORCID: 0000-0002-3847-7934), Hadi Nabizadeh (ORCID: 0000-0001-8215-1299), Sherif Elfass (ORCID: 0000-0003-3401-6513), Mohamed Nimeri (ORCID: 0000-0002-3328-4367), Seyed Farzan Kazemi (ORCID: 0000-0003-2313-4995), Dario Batioja-Alvarez (0000-0002-1094-553X), and Murugaiyah Piratheepan (ORCID: 0000-0002-3302-4856) |
8. Performing Organization Report No.
WRSC-UNR-201710-01 |
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| 9. Performing Organization Name and Address
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering |
10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS)
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| 11. Contract or Grant No.
DTFH61-13-C-00014 |
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| 12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address
Office of Research, Development, and Technology |
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 the standard trucks. SHL 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. In this study, a comprehensive mechanistic-based methodology consisting of the following procedures was developed: segmentation of an SHL vehicle for analysis, subgrade bearing failure analysis, sloped-shoulder failure analysis, buried utility risk analysis, localized shear failure analysis, deflection-based service limit analysis, and cost allocation analysis. In addition, a comprehensive experimental program that included five full-scale pavement/soil testing experiments performed at a large-scale box facility was designed and carried out for the verification and calibration of a number of theoretically based procedures incorporated in the analysis approach. Supplementary numerical modeling as well as measured data from Accelerated Pavement Testing facilities provided additional verification of the procedures adopted in this study. The analysis procedures developed were then implemented into a user-friendly software package, SuperPACK (Superheavy Load Pavement Analysis PACKage), to evaluate SHL movements on flexible pavements. This report presents a summary of the analysis procedures developed for evaluating SHL movement on flexible pavements. Further details of these procedures are presented in a series of stand-alone appendices (volumes Ⅱ through Ⅹ).(1–9) |
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| 17. Key Words
Superheavy load, flexible pavement, nondestructive testing, ultimate failure, buried utility, service limit, cost allocation |
18. Distribution Statement
No restrictions. This document is available through the National Technical Information Service, Springfield, VA 22161. |
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| 19. Security Classification (of this report) Unclassified |
20. Security Classification (of this page) Unclassified |
21. No. of Pages
117 |
22. Price
N/A |
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| Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-72) | Reproduction of completed page authorized |
* Revised 4/17/2019
