Validation of NCAT Structural Test Track Experiment Using INDOT APT Facility

The National Center for Asphalt Technology (NCAT) operates a full-scale test road for studying the response and performance of asphalt pavements. During the 2003 - 2005 testing phase, NCAT instrumented eight of their test sections with stress and strain gauges. Two of the test sections were later replicated, along with embedded instrumentation, for subsequent testing in the accelerated pavement testing (APT) facility operated by the Indiana Department of Transportation. The availability of similarly constructed and instrumented pavement systems loaded in different conditions offered a unique opportunity to develop and test the forecastability of pavement models. Exploring this aspect is the topic of the present work, in which an attempt is made to use the APT experiment in conjunction with laboratory test results, and forecast resilient responses obtained at NCAT that were generated under completely different loading and environmental conditions. The modeling and analysis methodologies are outlined in detail and the calculation results are compared with NCAT measurements. Findings are discussed and recommendations for future research are given