The vibrations induced by surface irregularities in road pavements – a Matlab® approach

Purpose The paper tackles the theme of evaluating dynamic load increases that the vehicle transfers to the road pavement, due to the generation of vibration produced by surface irregularities. Method The study starts from the generation, according to the ISO 8608 Standard, of different road roughness profiles characterized by different damage levels. In particular, the first four classes provided by ISO 8608 were considered. Subsequently, the force exchanged between the pavement and three typologies of vehicles (car, bus and truck) has been assessed by implementing, in Matlab®, the QCM (Quarter Car Model) characterized by a quarter vehicle mass and variable speed from 20 to 100 km/h. The analysis allows determining the amount of dynamic overload that causes the vibrational stress. Results/Conclusions The paper shows how this dynamic overload may be predetermined as a function of the pavements surface degradation. This is a useful reference for the purposes of designing and maintaining road pavements.