Interface Condition Influence on Prediction of Flexible Pavement Life

The effects of interface condition on the life of flexible pavements have been determined. The methodology consists of implementing a previously derived interface constitutive model into the Kenlayer programme to compute the stresses and strains in typical flexible road structures. The shell transfer functions for fatigue cracking and terminal serviceability were used to estimate the pavement life. The behaviour of in‐service pavements indicates that the condition of the bonding between pavement layers plays an important role in the road structures performance. Premature failure of road sections due to layer separation, leading to redistribution of stresses and strains in the pavement structure, is often encountered, especially in areas where the vehicles are more likely to apply horizontal forces. In computing the critical stresses and strains, most of the mechanistic design procedures of flexible pavement structures consider that pavement layers are completely bonded or completely unbounded.