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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-18-054 Date: October 2019 |
Publication Number: FHWA-HRT-18-054 Date: October 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 VI: Appendix E, Ultimate and Service Limit Analyses, which details the analysis procedures for investigating the risk of ultimate and localized shear failure under SHL-vehicle movements. A deflection-based service limit analysis for limiting the amount of pavement surface deflection under an SHL-vehicle is also presented. 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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The U.S. Government does not endorse products or manufacturers. Trademarks or manufacturers’ names appear in this report only because they are considered essential to the objective of the document.
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Technical Report Documentation Page
| 1. Report No.
FHWA-HRT-18-054 |
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 FlexiblePavements, Volume VI: Appendix E, Ultimate and Service Limit Analyses |
5. Report Date
July 2019 |
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| 6. Performing Organization Code
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| 7. Author(s)
Hadi Nabizadeh (ORCID: 0000-0001-8215-1299), |
8. Performing Organization Report No.
WRSC-UNR-201710-01E |
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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 Infrastructure Research and Development |
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) on the Nation’s highways is an increasingly common, vital economicnecessity for many important industries, such as chemical, oil, electrical, and defense. SHL hauling units aremuch larger in size and weight than standard trucks. SHL gross vehicle weights may be in excess of a few millionpounds, so they often require specialized trailers and components with nonstandard spacing between tires andaxles. Accommodating SHL-vehicle movements requires determining whether pavement is structurally adequateand analyzing the likelihood of instantaneous or rapid load-induced shear failure. In this study, as part of the Federal Highway Administration project, Analysis Procedures for Evaluating Superheavy Load Movement on Flexible Pavements, methods for conducting shear failure and service limit analyses in a flexible pavement under an SHL-vehicle movement were developed. Shear failure analysis involves an ultimate and localized analysis conducted to check the adequacy of a pavement structure to withstand shear failure. Meyerhof’s general bearing capacity equation was adopted to investigate the possibility of ultimate shear failure, and the Drucker-Prager yield criterion was used to examine the likelihood of localized shear failure (yield). The service limit analysis was conducted using a deflection-based approach because excessive surface deflections resulting from SHL-vehicle movements may give rise to the rapid deterioration of a pavement structure and development of premature surface distresses (e.g., permanent deformation). To avoid rapid pavement deterioration, SHL vehicle-induced surface deflections were limited to a determined allowable surface deflection. |
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| 17. Key Words
Superheavy load, flexible pavement, ultimate shearfailure, localized shear failure, service limit, fallingweight deflectometer |
18. Distribution Statement
No restrictions. This document is available to the public 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
42 |
22. Price
N/A |
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| Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-72) | Reproduction of completed page authorized |
