Calibration of the AASHTO pavement design guide to South Carolina conditions - phase I : final report.

Final reportPDFTech ReportFHWA-SC-16-02708Asphalt concrete pavementsCalibrationCrackingField testsLaboratory testsMechanistic-empirical pavement designPortland cement concreteRuttingSubgrade (Pavements)United StatesSouth CarolinaSouth Carolina. Dept. of TransportationGassman, Sarah L.Rahman, M. MostaqurUniversity of South Carolina. Dept. of Civil & Environmental EngineeringSouth Carolina. Dept. of TransportationUnited States. Federal Highway AdministrationUS Transportation CollectionThe primary objective of this research was to identify existing historical data (i.e., climate, traffic,pavement design information, material properties, and pavement performance) within the SCDOT for usein the local calibration of the Mechanistic Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG) for SouthCarolina. Based on all of the compiled information, 20 in-service pavement sections (i.e., 14 asphaltconcrete (AC) sections and 6 Portland cement concrete (PCC) sections) were identified as suitable for thisstudy, and information gaps were identified. A comprehensive subgrade sampling and testing plan wasdeveloped, and field and laboratory tests were performed to study the subgrade modulus at 3 sites. Thedata collected for the 20 sections was used to perform a preliminary analysis of the MEPDG AC ruttingmodels, AC fatigue cracking models, AC transverse cracking model, and the JPCP transverse crackingmodel. Level 1 (project specific), Level 2 (region specific), or Level 3 (default) inputs were used,depending on data availability. The preliminary calibration factors found from the analysis should not beused for design until further studies are performed. A plan for future phases, including the additional highpriority, high quality data needed to complete the MEPDG analysis for the local calibration and a plan forspecial pavement test sections, is proposed