Engineering Commons^™

Rigid Pavement Analysis System (Rpas): An Enhanced Graphical User Interface, Samina Samrose

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

In recent decades there has been a significant interest among researchers in developing pavement analysis tools that will work with high efficiency and provide accurate results within a short timeframe. The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) has developed a finite element-based pavement analysis software named â??Rigid Pavement Analysis Systemâ?? (RPAS) capable of analyzing Jointed PCC pavements of any number of PCC and soil layers. The processing core of this software was developed in MATLAB with a pre- and post-processing user interface developed in C++. The MATLAB code is compiled into an executable and together with the C++ interface …

Development Of A Framework For The Calibration Of Rpas, A 3d Finite Element Analysis Tool For Rigid Pavements, Abbasali Taghavighalesari

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The accurate analysis of rigid pavements requires a reliable modeling procedure based on integrating mechanistic analysis methods (i.e. closed-form solutions or numerical methods) and empirical observations (i.e. field measurements and laboratory test results). The use of the finite element method to model the response of rigid pavements has increased in recent decades due to its capability to incorporate the complexity of material behavior, traffic information, and environmental condition. Researchers from the University of Texas at El Paso developed the software Rigid Pavement Analysis System (RPAS) to comprehensively analyze the response of concrete pavements under different geometric configurations, foundation models, temperature …

A Performance-Based Analysis Of Balanced Mix Designs, Elias Aaron Castillo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The Superpave design procedure was established to provide a more representative design methodology and to minimize typical pavement distresses such as fatigue cracking and permanent deformation. This Superpave design methodology was developed on the premise that the voids in mineral aggregate can evaluate the quality and constructability of asphalt mixture during the design and production phases. With the increased use of recycled materials, recycling agents, modified binders and warm mix asphalt additives, several highway agencies including the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), have investigated whether the Superpave volumetric-based design method is enough to ensure appropriate performance of the final product. …

Optimization For The Allocation Of Funds For Pavement Maintenance In Pavement Management Systems, Armando Ramirez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Pavement maintenance and rehabilitation are critical and costly elements for highway agencies. A challenge for transportation agencies is to preserve roadways in an appropriate condition and extend the pavement service life while maintaining the safety and satisfaction of its users, and maximize the benefits obtained by the repair investments. Pavement maintenance programming is increasing in complexity due to limited resources and increments in traffic and population. Management decisions are usually based on personal judgment by pavement managers and sometimes those decisions are not even supported by previous experience. Research shows that optimization methods can produce significant benefits when transportation agencies …

Evaluation Of Mechanical Parameters Of Contaminated Road Base And Railway Ballast, Prajwol Tamrakar

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This Dissertation comprises two topics in the area of transportation geotechnics that focus on the evaluation of stiffness parameters of contaminated road base and railway ballast. The abstracts of these two studies are provided in the following two paragraphs.

The performance of a flexible pavement depends on the mechanical characteristics of its unbound granular base layer. The mechanical characteristics such as stiffness and deformation resistance depend on many factors such as the material gradation, fines content, moisture content, physical properties of coarse aggregate and more. The base materials are often contaminated by the excessive fines that is caused by improper …

Studying The Parameters Involved With Modulus-Based Construction Quality Control For Compaction Of Unbound Pavement Layers, Mehran Mazari

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Pavement performance is impacted by several factors such as the properties of the materials, combination of traffic and loading, structural capability, climate changes and construction process. Earthwork and unbound materials is an important part of pavement constructions since most of the distresses can be related to these geomaterials. Appropriate process control, proper processing of geomaterials, adequate amount of moisture and suitable compaction effort would ensure the required density and stiffness of the compacted pavement layer. The Nuclear Density Gauge (NDG) has been the primary means of Quality Control and Quality Acceptance (QC/QA) by State Highway Agencies (SHAs) and department of …

A Tool To Improve And Preserve Flexible Pavement At Intersections, Carlos Jesus Solis

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Rural intersections originally constructed with thin untreated flexible base and hot mix or a two-course surface treatment tend to experience severe pushing, shoving and rutting. These failures cause an extremely rough surface that can cause damage to small vehicles and potentially cause motorists to lose control of their vehicles. These distresses almost always result in complete failure of the existing pavement that must be repaired several times during the life of the roadway by maintenance forces. In most cases, pavements constructed with the same materials and cross-sections adjacent to the intersection perform adequately.

The sources of and solutions for failure …