This dissertation is concerned with the principles of pavement management systems and their applications in western and developing countries. The first part of the dissertation deals with the principles of pavement engineering and the role of the different layers in order to gain the required knowledge in highway pavement components, which will allow a cost-effective repair related to each specific defect. The second part deals with the existing systems for monitoring pavement condition and evaluatest heir benefit in assessingh ighway condition. The study shows the main problems usually militate against using the sophisticated technology in monitoring highway condition and implementing maintenance management systems in some cities in developing countries. In addition to the problems inherent in cities in developing countries, the city of Benghazi in Libya has special factors which have developed as a result of UN sanctions which were imposed in 1992. Therefore, the city of Benghazi has been selected as a case study for this particular research since it is a typical example of most cities in developing countries in terms of size, population and in ten-ns of lack of maintenance resources and skilled labour (Benghazi might have been so well resourcedth at it would no longer fall into the categoryo f developingc ity but for the sanction). The objectives of the study are attained through conclusions which indicate that establishing a pavement maintenance strategy in the city of Benghazi based on any or some of the sophisticated technology in road condition monitoring is not appropriate. This conclusion is tested by manufacturing a unique prototype measuring machine and using it in pilot monitoring exercises in the cities of Newcastle and Sunderland. The results of these pilot exercises are analysed to evaluate the benefit which such appropriate technology equipment can bring to the issue of monitoring of pavement condition in cities in developing countries having problems similar to those that prevail in Benghazi. The prototype equipment developed in this study is unique in that it is purely mechanical and uses no electronics in monitoring road condition. Moreover, all parts of the machine are fabricated from materials available in most cities in developing countries and therefore such machines could be easily maintained locally. The prototype described in this study is not only relevant to road monitoring but points the way towards the development of similar equipment in many engineering situations in developing countries. This research study points engineers in similar conditions in the direction that the Author thinks they should follow in applying their engineering abilities in developing countries.

This study aimed at investigating the current practices and methods adopted by roads agencies around the world with regard to collection, analysis and utilization of the data elements pertaining to the main pavement condition indicators in pavement management systems (PMS). It also aimed at identifying the main predictors associated with each condition indicator and the factors that govern pavement structural and functional performance. Development of a new performance index that incorporates parameters or measures related to the main condition indicators (surface defects, roughness, deflection and skid resistance) and establishing the weight to be assigned to each indicator based on the relative impact on pavement condition was also one of the main objectives of this study. Thousands of pavement sections were subjected to thorough testing and inspection over the last few years to collect data pertaining to the main condition indicators. The collected data encompass visual distress survey, deflection measurements, roughness and skid resistance measurements. Collection of various condition indicators was accomplished according to well known international standards. The collected data were processed, tabulated and analyzed for the purpose of development of performance models and to prove certain theories or good practices. / Advanced tools and machines were utilized to collect these data with a high degree of accuracy. The Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD) was used to collect deflection data for structural analysis. Two Non-contact laser roughness measuring devices mounted on vehicles were heavily used for collecting roughness, texture, and rutting data. Distress data were collected using a manual procedure adopted and standardized at the Pavement Management System Unit of Dubai Emirate. Powerful engineering and statistical softwares were used in the analysis for the purpose of processing the data, back calculating the main parameters pertaining to pavement response, establishing the correlation matrices between various dependent variables and their predictors, and finally, applying linear and non linear regression analysis to develop reliable and predictable deterioration models for the uses of pavement management system. The analysis procedure was supplemented by a vast literature review for the up to date information along within deep investigations and verifications for some of the current practices, theories and models used in pavement design and pavement evaluation with more emphasis on the inherent drawbacks associated to these models and procedures. The study confirmed that pavement condition deterioration and performance can be best predicted and evaluated based on four main condition indicators; First, surface distress to assess the physical condition of the pavements and detect the inherent problems and defects caused by various factors affecting pavement performance. Second; roughness measurements to evaluate the riding quality of the pavement. / Third; deflection to calculate pavement response (stress and strains) and to assess pavement structural capacity and calculating the remaining life, and finally, skid resistance measurement to assess the level of safety and surface texture properties. Thorough study and investigation of the physical condition indicators and the associated parameters, confirmed that pavement distress data are vital elements in each pavement management system. Distress data can be used effectively to identify the main problems associated with pavement performance, causes of deterioration, maintenance measures needed to prevent the acceleration of the distress, the rehabilitation schemes needed to improve the pavement condition and finally to prepare maintenance work programs and to estimate the annual maintenance needs under an open or limited budget. Alligator cracking was found to have the heaviest impact on pavement condition. Distress density, probable causes of deterioration and distress propagation rate are the required parameters in PMS. Roughness was found to have a basic influence on pavement condition and the type of selected treatment. The use of Roughness data in terms of International Roughness Index (IRI) can be optimized in PMS by using this indicator in the following forms: / Roughness, as an objective measure, can be used as a good performance predictor of the current riding quality of pavements in service and reflects the inherent imperfections and built-in irregularities embodied in the road pavement surface. Roughness measurement can be used as a reference to establish construction specifications and provides through the PMS system an organized feedback approach to correct the persistent design deficiencies detected after road construction. Roughness can be used effectively in the planning process for maintenance works and to select the candidate sections through calculating the functional remaining life based on the estimated terminal value using Roughness-Age, Roughness-ESAL, and Roughness-PSI models. Lane–IRI along with the Difference between the left and right wheel IRI values, termed as “ Yaw” are the most suitable forms to be used in PMS to report about roughness characteristics. Yaw term can be used effectively to report or feed back about geometric imperfections that exist on the road surface such as improper cross slope, shoving and the probable drainage problems. The roughness cumulative distribution curves can be used as a planning tool in PMS to report at the network level. These curves indicate the network health and the required funding at different level of risks, so proactive measures can be taken and the required budgets can be made available. / Deflection data were found to form a basic component of the PMS. It was found that these data can be used at both network and project levels. Direct deflection measurements were found Not to be the ideal form to report about structural capacity at the network level. It is rather can be used at project level to detect weak spots and critical pavements layers. At the network level, the back calculated parameters from deflection basin such as Pavement Modulus (Ep), Asphalt and Pavement Curvature (CUR), Cross Sectional Area and the other deflection basin characteristics are much more appropriate for reporting about pavement structural conditions and calculating the structural remaining life in PMS. The design deflection and curvature that characterize the pavement have been found to be calculated based on the mean along with the two times the standard deviation of the measured data. The Effective Structural Number (SNeff) was found to have good correlations with the Total Pavement Thickness (Ht), the value of the deflection measured at the center of the loading plate ( D0 ) and the difference between D0 and the deflection measured at 450mm from the center of the loading plate ( D0 - D450 ). The first two variables were found to account for more than 92% of the structural capacity prediction model. / Traffic variable in terms of the accumulated standard repetitions (ESAL) was found to account for more than 60% of the deflection model predictability. Other variables such as E value, asphalt and base layer thicknesses can improve the predictability of the model if included. The concept of the relative value of effective pavement modulus to the original pavement modulus (Eeff/E0) was found to gives a reliable representation about the exhausted and the remaining life of the in-service pavement structure. The study showed that the pavement is reported to be structurally failed, when the effective asphalt or pavement modulus is about 20 - 35 % of its original design value which is equal to the modulus of the unbound material. It was also found that when the area of the fatigue cracking and the patching distresses exceeds 17% of the total pavement section area, or the depth of rutting is more than 15mm, the pavement is reported to be structurally failed and major rehabilitation or reconstruction should be applied. Skid resistance can be reported in the form of International Friction Index (IFI), as a well defined universal index, along with other two numbers; F60 Friction (Microtexture) related number measured at 60 km/h velocity and Macrotexture related number and Vp, which constitute the IFI index can be used in Pavement management system applications to report about skid resistance characteristics and the network level of safety. These three figures can be used to report about pavement condition, accidents, airports operations, and maintenance management surveys. / In this study, new methods and models were developed and suggested to be used in PMS as an alternative to the current available methods which were found to be impractical in certain cases. Finally, further research efforts are recommended to explore the uses of other parameters in particular those related to deflection basin analysis, cross sectional area, curvature, and pavement moduli. Skid resistance testing and reporting method should be subjected to further research works for the purpose of standardizing reporting methods, identifying the relative impact of main predictors i.e. megatexture, macrotexture and microtexture components and to develop performance models.

Preventive maintenance has the potential to improve network condition by retarding future pavement deterioration. The Virginia Department of Transportation uses its pavement management system to determine maintenance targets for each district. The districts then use these recommendations to select pavements that will receive maintenance and the types of treatments that will be applied. Each district has a different approach to preventive maintenance. There was a need for more consistent preventive maintenance practices across the state. This thesis outlines guidelines for the implementation of a preventive maintenance policy. Preventive maintenance treatments currently being used within Virginia include chip seal, slurry seal, microsurfacing, and thin hot mix asphalt overlays. Historical pavement condition data was obtained from the VDOT PMS for these treatments and treatment performance models were developed. A district level treatment selection tool was developed to assist the district level decision making process. A prioritized list of pavement sections was generated, maximizing the cost-effectiveness of the selected treatments subject to budgetary constraints set by the central office. The treatment selection tool was then run for each pavement classification in each district. The results of this analysis were presented. Although the recommended budget for each district was very close to the targets set by the central office, the recommended lane miles for each district were about half the targets set by the central office.  It is believed that the unit costs used in this analysis were higher than those used in the VDOT PMS analysis. This selection tool has the potential to be a very powerful decision support tool if the unit costs are representative of what the expected treatment costs are for each district. / Master of Science

Pavement Management Systems (PMS) are widely used by transportation agencies to maintain safe, durable and economic road networks. PMS prioritize the maintenance and rehabilitation of pavement sections by evaluating pavement performance at the network level. There are many PMS software packages that have been developed over the past decades for provincial/state road agencies. However, sometimes due to lack of budget and experience, adopting the existing PMS for a road agency is not cost effective. Thus, it is important to introduce a simple, effective, and affordable PMS for a local agency and municipality. This research is carried out in partnership between the City of Markham and the Centre for Pavement and Transportation Technology (CPATT) located at the University of Waterloo. For the purpose of developing a PMS for local agencies, an extensive literature review on PMS components was carried out, with emphasizing data inventory, data collection, and performance evaluation. In addition, the literature review also concentrated on the overall pavement condition assessment. In July 2011, a study on “Evaluation of Pavement Distress Measurement Survey” was conducted as a part of this research and was distributed to cities and municipalities across Canada. The study focused on the current state-of-the-practice in pavement distress and condition evaluation methods used by local agencies to compare the results from the literature review. The components of the proposed PMS framework are also developed based on the literature review with some modifications and technical requirements. The City of Markham is selected as a case study, since it represents a local agency and provides all the data, to illustrate the validation of the proposed PMS framework.

Planning road maintenance and development activities, prioritizing road construction, reconstruction and rehabilitation works, performing project economic evaluations, forecasting road operation expenditures and road user effect always requires prediction of pavement behaviour. For this purpose models of pavement deterioration are used. Commonly they are integrated in more sophisticated computational systems, known as Pavement Management systems (PMS) and Highway Development and Management systems (HDM). The implementation of these systems started in Lithuania shortly after the Re-establishment of the Independence. This was triggered by the violent drop in financing of the road sector, forcing to change obsolete road management strategy and planning approach. The need for project economic evaluations, transport modelling and long term pavement performance forecasts grew up after Lithuania joined the European Union and this brought the opportunity for financing road infrastructure projects from the EU funds. At present only on the Lithuanian state road network the total value of implemented projects, justified by evaluations and modelling with PMS, amounts to about 500 million Litas annually. Any Pavement Management System is just as good as the models within it, used for pavement deterioration prediction. The performed test calculations show that prediction models, currently used for this purpose in PMS we have in Lithuania, are of doubtful accuracy and have to be improved.

Pavement Management Systems (PMS) are widely used by transportation agencies to maintain safe, durable and economic road networks. PMS prioritize the maintenance and rehabilitation of pavement sections by evaluating pavement performance at the network level. There are many PMS software packages that have been developed over the past decades for provincial/state road agencies. However, sometimes due to lack of budget and experience, adopting the existing PMS for a road agency is not cost effective. Thus, it is important to introduce a simple, effective, and affordable PMS for a local agency and municipality. This research is carried out in partnership between the City of Markham and the Centre for Pavement and Transportation Technology (CPATT) located at the University of Waterloo. For the purpose of developing a PMS for local agencies, an extensive literature review on PMS components was carried out, with emphasizing data inventory, data collection, and performance evaluation. In addition, the literature review also concentrated on the overall pavement condition assessment. In July 2011, a study on “Evaluation of Pavement Distress Measurement Survey” was conducted as a part of this research and was distributed to cities and municipalities across Canada. The study focused on the current state-of-the-practice in pavement distress and condition evaluation methods used by local agencies to compare the results from the literature review. The components of the proposed PMS framework are also developed based on the literature review with some modifications and technical requirements. The City of Markham is selected as a case study, since it represents a local agency and provides all the data, to illustrate the validation of the proposed PMS framework.

Os modelos de previsão de desempenho são ferramentas fundamentais em um Sistema de Gerência de Pavimentos. Embora de grande importância, especificamente no Brasil, tem-se dado pouca atenção para a calibração e validação desses modelos. Acaba-se adotando modelos genéricos, obtidos em condições totalmente diferentes das existentes na malha administrada. Para uma gerência correta dos pavimentos de uma rodovia, torna-se fundamental a definição de modelos representativos das condições estruturais e funcionais dos pavimentos administrados. Esta pesquisa tem como objetivo avaliar o desempenho de uma estrutura de pavimento flexível da rodovia BR-290/RS, desenvolvendo, a partir dessa avaliação, modelos que representem a tendência do comportamento do pavimento. A rodovia BR-290/RS está, no trecho entre as cidades de Osório e Porto Alegre, sob concessão da Concessionária da Rodovia Osório - Porto Alegre S/A - Concepa, desde o ano de 1997. Uma das principais ações a serem realizadas pela concessionária no período em que este trecho da rodovia está sob sua administração é a execução do alargamento das pistas da mesma, com a construção de uma nova estrutura de pavimento junto à plataforma existente, sendo essa a estrutura de pavimento analisada nesta pesquisa. A estrutura contempla 8cm de revestimento asfáltico, 15cm de base, 30cm de sub-base e 60cm de camada de reforço. Os pavimentos inseridos na análise foram construídos entre os anos 2000 e 2007. Para atingir o objetivo da pesquisa, foram reunidas informações obtidas em levantamentos de deflexões, irregularidade longitudinal e afundamento de trilha de roda realizados nos últimos anos. As deflexões foram determinadas em levantamento com o equipamento FWD ocorrido em 2007. A irregularidade longitudinal e o afundamento de trilha de roda foram obtidos simultaneamente em levantamentos com o perfilômetro a laser nos anos 2005, 2006 e 2007. De posse dessas informações, analisou-se o comportamento de tais parâmetros com a ação do tráfego, desenvolvendo tendências de desempenho para a estrutura. Na análise considerou-se a influência das intervenções ocorridas nos pavimentos após a sua construção, bem como diferentes procedimentos adotados nos levantamentos realizados. Em relação às intervenções, verificou-se que, para a estrutura e dados do estudo, elas foram influentes apenas na evolução da irregularidade longitudinal. Análises estatísticas foram efetuadas, de modo a definir o melhor ajuste para cada parâmetro. Após o desenvolvimento de tais tendências de comportamento do pavimento, as mesmas foram comparadas aos modelos de previsão de desempenho desenvolvidos em outras pesquisas. Para a irregularidade e o afundamento de trilha de roda, as tendências apresentadas neste estudo comportaram-se significativamente semelhantes as de outros modelos encontrados na bibliografia técnica. Por outro lado, para a tendência referente às deflexões, nenhum dos modelos desenvolvidos em estudos anteriores apresentou comportamento similar ao encontrado na pesquisa, evidenciando a importância do desenvolvimento de modelos particulares para cada rodovia e estrutura. / Pavement performance prediction models are important tools for pavement management systems. Despite its high importance, specifically in Brazil, little attention has been given to calibration and validation of such models. Generic models are eventually used, even international ones, obtained for rather different conditions of those valid for the managed network. Hence, it is vital for an appropriate road pavement management that representative models of the structural and functional conditions of the associated pavements are defined. This research aims to evaluate the behaviour of the performance of a flexible pavement section of the road BR-290/RS, developing from this assessment, models that are representative of the pavement behaviour tendency. The road BR-290/RS is located between the cities of Osório and Porto Alegre, under concession of Concessionária da Rodovia Osório - Porto Alegre S/A - Concepa, since the year of 1997. One of the main actions to be accomplished by the road concessionary within the period under its administration is the carriageway widening of this road with the construction of a new pavement structure alongside, being this structure the objective of study in this research. The structure consists of an asphaltic layer of 8cm, 15cm of base course, 30cm of sub-base and 60cm of a capping layer. The pavement segments included in the analysis were built between 2000 and 2007. To deliver the objectives of this research, data obtained in deflectometric test campaigns, longitudinal roughness and rutting testing campaigns were gathered. Deflections were assessed in the FWD test campaign of 2007. Longitudinal roughness and rutting were simultaneously obtained with a laser profilometer in tests carried out in the years of 2005, 2006 and 2007. With this data, the behaviour of these parameters were evaluated with the traffic evolution, allowing the development of behaviour tendencies of this structure performance to be derived. In the analysis, the influence of the interventions carried out in the pavement sections after its construction were taken into account, as well as different procedures adopted in the testing campaigns carried out. In regard to the interventions, it was observed that, for the data and structure object of this study, they only had effect in the longitudinal roughness evolution. Statistical analyses were carried out in order to define the best adjustment to each parameter. After the development of such tendencies on the pavement behaviour, they were compared to pavement performance prediction models developed in other researches. For both roughness and rutting, the tendencies presented in the study behaved significantly as the other models found in the technical literature. As to the tendencies regarding deflections, none of the models developed in previous studies evidenced similar behaviour to the one observed in this research, testifying the importance for the development of particular models for each road and structure.

Os modelos de previsão de desempenho são ferramentas fundamentais em um Sistema de Gerência de Pavimentos. Embora de grande importância, especificamente no Brasil, tem-se dado pouca atenção para a calibração e validação desses modelos. Acaba-se adotando modelos genéricos, obtidos em condições totalmente diferentes das existentes na malha administrada. Para uma gerência correta dos pavimentos de uma rodovia, torna-se fundamental a definição de modelos representativos das condições estruturais e funcionais dos pavimentos administrados. Esta pesquisa tem como objetivo avaliar o desempenho de uma estrutura de pavimento flexível da rodovia BR-290/RS, desenvolvendo, a partir dessa avaliação, modelos que representem a tendência do comportamento do pavimento. A rodovia BR-290/RS está, no trecho entre as cidades de Osório e Porto Alegre, sob concessão da Concessionária da Rodovia Osório - Porto Alegre S/A - Concepa, desde o ano de 1997. Uma das principais ações a serem realizadas pela concessionária no período em que este trecho da rodovia está sob sua administração é a execução do alargamento das pistas da mesma, com a construção de uma nova estrutura de pavimento junto à plataforma existente, sendo essa a estrutura de pavimento analisada nesta pesquisa. A estrutura contempla 8cm de revestimento asfáltico, 15cm de base, 30cm de sub-base e 60cm de camada de reforço. Os pavimentos inseridos na análise foram construídos entre os anos 2000 e 2007. Para atingir o objetivo da pesquisa, foram reunidas informações obtidas em levantamentos de deflexões, irregularidade longitudinal e afundamento de trilha de roda realizados nos últimos anos. As deflexões foram determinadas em levantamento com o equipamento FWD ocorrido em 2007. A irregularidade longitudinal e o afundamento de trilha de roda foram obtidos simultaneamente em levantamentos com o perfilômetro a laser nos anos 2005, 2006 e 2007. De posse dessas informações, analisou-se o comportamento de tais parâmetros com a ação do tráfego, desenvolvendo tendências de desempenho para a estrutura. Na análise considerou-se a influência das intervenções ocorridas nos pavimentos após a sua construção, bem como diferentes procedimentos adotados nos levantamentos realizados. Em relação às intervenções, verificou-se que, para a estrutura e dados do estudo, elas foram influentes apenas na evolução da irregularidade longitudinal. Análises estatísticas foram efetuadas, de modo a definir o melhor ajuste para cada parâmetro. Após o desenvolvimento de tais tendências de comportamento do pavimento, as mesmas foram comparadas aos modelos de previsão de desempenho desenvolvidos em outras pesquisas. Para a irregularidade e o afundamento de trilha de roda, as tendências apresentadas neste estudo comportaram-se significativamente semelhantes as de outros modelos encontrados na bibliografia técnica. Por outro lado, para a tendência referente às deflexões, nenhum dos modelos desenvolvidos em estudos anteriores apresentou comportamento similar ao encontrado na pesquisa, evidenciando a importância do desenvolvimento de modelos particulares para cada rodovia e estrutura. / Pavement performance prediction models are important tools for pavement management systems. Despite its high importance, specifically in Brazil, little attention has been given to calibration and validation of such models. Generic models are eventually used, even international ones, obtained for rather different conditions of those valid for the managed network. Hence, it is vital for an appropriate road pavement management that representative models of the structural and functional conditions of the associated pavements are defined. This research aims to evaluate the behaviour of the performance of a flexible pavement section of the road BR-290/RS, developing from this assessment, models that are representative of the pavement behaviour tendency. The road BR-290/RS is located between the cities of Osório and Porto Alegre, under concession of Concessionária da Rodovia Osório - Porto Alegre S/A - Concepa, since the year of 1997. One of the main actions to be accomplished by the road concessionary within the period under its administration is the carriageway widening of this road with the construction of a new pavement structure alongside, being this structure the objective of study in this research. The structure consists of an asphaltic layer of 8cm, 15cm of base course, 30cm of sub-base and 60cm of a capping layer. The pavement segments included in the analysis were built between 2000 and 2007. To deliver the objectives of this research, data obtained in deflectometric test campaigns, longitudinal roughness and rutting testing campaigns were gathered. Deflections were assessed in the FWD test campaign of 2007. Longitudinal roughness and rutting were simultaneously obtained with a laser profilometer in tests carried out in the years of 2005, 2006 and 2007. With this data, the behaviour of these parameters were evaluated with the traffic evolution, allowing the development of behaviour tendencies of this structure performance to be derived. In the analysis, the influence of the interventions carried out in the pavement sections after its construction were taken into account, as well as different procedures adopted in the testing campaigns carried out. In regard to the interventions, it was observed that, for the data and structure object of this study, they only had effect in the longitudinal roughness evolution. Statistical analyses were carried out in order to define the best adjustment to each parameter. After the development of such tendencies on the pavement behaviour, they were compared to pavement performance prediction models developed in other researches. For both roughness and rutting, the tendencies presented in the study behaved significantly as the other models found in the technical literature. As to the tendencies regarding deflections, none of the models developed in previous studies evidenced similar behaviour to the one observed in this research, testifying the importance for the development of particular models for each road and structure.

Os modelos de previsão de desempenho são ferramentas fundamentais em um Sistema de Gerência de Pavimentos. Embora de grande importância, especificamente no Brasil, tem-se dado pouca atenção para a calibração e validação desses modelos. Acaba-se adotando modelos genéricos, obtidos em condições totalmente diferentes das existentes na malha administrada. Para uma gerência correta dos pavimentos de uma rodovia, torna-se fundamental a definição de modelos representativos das condições estruturais e funcionais dos pavimentos administrados. Esta pesquisa tem como objetivo avaliar o desempenho de uma estrutura de pavimento flexível da rodovia BR-290/RS, desenvolvendo, a partir dessa avaliação, modelos que representem a tendência do comportamento do pavimento. A rodovia BR-290/RS está, no trecho entre as cidades de Osório e Porto Alegre, sob concessão da Concessionária da Rodovia Osório - Porto Alegre S/A - Concepa, desde o ano de 1997. Uma das principais ações a serem realizadas pela concessionária no período em que este trecho da rodovia está sob sua administração é a execução do alargamento das pistas da mesma, com a construção de uma nova estrutura de pavimento junto à plataforma existente, sendo essa a estrutura de pavimento analisada nesta pesquisa. A estrutura contempla 8cm de revestimento asfáltico, 15cm de base, 30cm de sub-base e 60cm de camada de reforço. Os pavimentos inseridos na análise foram construídos entre os anos 2000 e 2007. Para atingir o objetivo da pesquisa, foram reunidas informações obtidas em levantamentos de deflexões, irregularidade longitudinal e afundamento de trilha de roda realizados nos últimos anos. As deflexões foram determinadas em levantamento com o equipamento FWD ocorrido em 2007. A irregularidade longitudinal e o afundamento de trilha de roda foram obtidos simultaneamente em levantamentos com o perfilômetro a laser nos anos 2005, 2006 e 2007. De posse dessas informações, analisou-se o comportamento de tais parâmetros com a ação do tráfego, desenvolvendo tendências de desempenho para a estrutura. Na análise considerou-se a influência das intervenções ocorridas nos pavimentos após a sua construção, bem como diferentes procedimentos adotados nos levantamentos realizados. Em relação às intervenções, verificou-se que, para a estrutura e dados do estudo, elas foram influentes apenas na evolução da irregularidade longitudinal. Análises estatísticas foram efetuadas, de modo a definir o melhor ajuste para cada parâmetro. Após o desenvolvimento de tais tendências de comportamento do pavimento, as mesmas foram comparadas aos modelos de previsão de desempenho desenvolvidos em outras pesquisas. Para a irregularidade e o afundamento de trilha de roda, as tendências apresentadas neste estudo comportaram-se significativamente semelhantes as de outros modelos encontrados na bibliografia técnica. Por outro lado, para a tendência referente às deflexões, nenhum dos modelos desenvolvidos em estudos anteriores apresentou comportamento similar ao encontrado na pesquisa, evidenciando a importância do desenvolvimento de modelos particulares para cada rodovia e estrutura. / Pavement performance prediction models are important tools for pavement management systems. Despite its high importance, specifically in Brazil, little attention has been given to calibration and validation of such models. Generic models are eventually used, even international ones, obtained for rather different conditions of those valid for the managed network. Hence, it is vital for an appropriate road pavement management that representative models of the structural and functional conditions of the associated pavements are defined. This research aims to evaluate the behaviour of the performance of a flexible pavement section of the road BR-290/RS, developing from this assessment, models that are representative of the pavement behaviour tendency. The road BR-290/RS is located between the cities of Osório and Porto Alegre, under concession of Concessionária da Rodovia Osório - Porto Alegre S/A - Concepa, since the year of 1997. One of the main actions to be accomplished by the road concessionary within the period under its administration is the carriageway widening of this road with the construction of a new pavement structure alongside, being this structure the objective of study in this research. The structure consists of an asphaltic layer of 8cm, 15cm of base course, 30cm of sub-base and 60cm of a capping layer. The pavement segments included in the analysis were built between 2000 and 2007. To deliver the objectives of this research, data obtained in deflectometric test campaigns, longitudinal roughness and rutting testing campaigns were gathered. Deflections were assessed in the FWD test campaign of 2007. Longitudinal roughness and rutting were simultaneously obtained with a laser profilometer in tests carried out in the years of 2005, 2006 and 2007. With this data, the behaviour of these parameters were evaluated with the traffic evolution, allowing the development of behaviour tendencies of this structure performance to be derived. In the analysis, the influence of the interventions carried out in the pavement sections after its construction were taken into account, as well as different procedures adopted in the testing campaigns carried out. In regard to the interventions, it was observed that, for the data and structure object of this study, they only had effect in the longitudinal roughness evolution. Statistical analyses were carried out in order to define the best adjustment to each parameter. After the development of such tendencies on the pavement behaviour, they were compared to pavement performance prediction models developed in other researches. For both roughness and rutting, the tendencies presented in the study behaved significantly as the other models found in the technical literature. As to the tendencies regarding deflections, none of the models developed in previous studies evidenced similar behaviour to the one observed in this research, testifying the importance for the development of particular models for each road and structure.

The growing interest in pavement management systems (PMSs), both in South Mrica and internationally, has been in response to a shift in importance from the construction of new roads to the maintenance of the existing paved network coupled with increasingly restrictive road funding. In order to develop a balanced expenditure programme for the national roads of South Africa there is a need to predict the rate of deterioration of a pavement and the nature of the changes in its condition so that the timing, type and cost of maintenance needs could be estimated. Internationally these expected changes in pavement condition are predicted by pavement deterioration models, which normally are algorithms developed mathematically or from a study of pavement deterioration. Since no usable pavement deterioration models existed locally, it was necessary to evaluate overseas literature on pavement deterioration prediction models with the aim of identifying models possibly applicable to the national roads of South Africa. Only deterioration models developed from the deterioration results of inservice pavements under a normal traffic spectrum were evaluated. Models developed from accelerated testing were avoided since these models virtually eliminated long·term effects (these are primarily environmental but also include effects of the rest periods between loads), and that the unrepresentative traffic loading regimes can distort the behaviour of the pavement materials, which is often stress dependent. Models developed from the following studies were evaluated: • AASHO Road Test • The Kenya study • Brazil-UNDP study (HDM-ill models) • Texas study Of all the above models studied that were developed from major studies it was concluded that the incremental models developed during the Brazil study, were the most appropriate for further evaluation under South African conditions. A sensitivity analysis was conducted on the HDM-III models to evaluate their sensitivity to changes in the different parameters comprising each model. The results obtained from the sensitivity analysis indicate that the incremental roughness prediction model incorporated into the HDM-III model tends to be insensitive to changes in most parameters. Accuracy ranges for input data were, however, also identified for parameters which indicated an increase in sensitivity in certain ranges. The local applicability of the HDM-III deterioration models were finally evaluated by comparing HDM-III model predictions with the actually observed deterioration values of a selected number of national road pavement sections. To enable the above comparison, a validation procedure had to be developed according to which the format of existing data could be transformed to that required by the HDM-ill model, as well as additional information be calculated. From the comparison it was concluded that the HDM-III models are capable of accurately predicting the observed deterioration on South African national roads, but that for most models calibration is needed for local conditions. Guidelines regarding recommended calibration factor ranges for the different HDM-ill models are given. Finally it is recommended that the HDM-III models should be considered for incorporation into a balanced expenditure programme for the national roads of South Africa. / Dissertation (MEng)--University of Pretoria, 1993. / gm2014 / Civil Engineering / MEng / Unrestricted