Modeling of energy dissipation processes in a pavement – vehicle system

The law of conservation of energy for a ‘pavement – vehicle’ system manifests itself primarily in the fact that for any temperature and operating conditions of a road asphalt concrete pavement the potential energy of gravity and the kinetic energy of a vehicle are partially transformed upon contact with the road pavement into elastic deformation energy or thermal energy, while a part of the energy dissipates. These types of energy are to some extent transformed into the internal energy of the road pavement, altering its energy balance and causing destructive processes. The initial level of the internal pavement energy changes while the road is used, on the one hand, through regular contributions from vehicles and from solar raditation, and, on the other hand, from compensating for viscoelastic deformation. Understanding these changes will allow to develop new and more efficient methods for monitoring the pavement condition, as well as a scientifically valid system of scheduling the repairs. In this article, we have assessed the level and the significance of the contribution of the work done by the moving vehicles over the pavement, and of the thermal radiation to the internal pavement energy gain. We have constructed a physical and mathematical model of energy dissipation and storage in the ‘pavement – vehicle’ system accounting for viscoelastic deformation and thermal radiation. We have designed an algorithm allowing to determine a scientifically based repair interval for asphalt concrete pavement. It is shown that the maximum plasticity for some ranges of speeds and transport weights may serve as a criterion of the recommended operating conditions of the road.