Application of shakedown analysis in pavement engineering

Shakedown analysis is concerned with a direct calculation of maximum admissible load within which an elastic-plastic structure will be stable under repeated or cyclic loads. Wang & Yu (2011) performed shakedown analysis of a cohesive-frictional half-space under three-dimensional moving surface loads, based on assumptions of isotropic and homogenous materials and surface loads limited to a circle of radius. However, in terms of its application in pavements under traffic, more realistic cases should be considered. This paper develops shakedown solutions in three important aspects. First, this paper considers a more general case of elliptical contact area between tyre and pavement surface. Secondly, shakedown analysis is performed to allow for variation of elastic and plastic material properties with direction. Finally, a numerical method is developed to take into account pavements with layers of materials