A reduced-plate model transmission method for fast dynamic analysis of vehicle–pavement interaction

•A new reduced-model transmission method for vehicle-pavement dynamic analysis is developed.•Each model is simple but they are connected to handle complex dynamic problems.•The long-term continuous vehicle-pavement interaction is dispersed.•The calculation results of one model are transferred to the initial condition of next model.•A long-term vehicle-pavement interaction can be solved accurately and efficiently.•The bituminous pavement can be efficiently handled. A reduced-plate model transmission method is developed in this study to accurately and efficiently analyze the vehicle–pavement interaction dynamics over long travel distances. A wide pavement is reduced to many small areas (referred to as the reduced-plate models) along the vehicle-moving trajectory, and each reduced-plate model accounts for the vibration of the plate structure caused by the moving vehicle in a small period. All reduced-plate models are assumed as stationary in the global coordinate system, and the vehicle moves from one reduced-plate model to another. The dynamic equations of the reduced-plate model are derived using the modal superposition method (MSM) and Lagrange's equations, and the calculation results of one reduced-plate model are considered as the initial conditions of the next reduced-plate model. Because only the reduced-plate model that is located inside the vehicle needs to be calculated in different periods, the number of degrees of freedom of the model is significantly reduced, and its calculation efficiency is increased. In addition, the present model is simple and better reflects the real situation of the vehicle–pavement interaction. After validating the present model, it is used in the vehicle–pavement interaction dynamic analysis during a long-distance travel. The calculation results obtained from the reduced-plate model transmission method are in good agreement with the MSM results for an entire plate, and the calculation time of the reduced-plate model transmission method is only one-third of that using the MSM for the entire plate. The calculation results further show that road roughness has a significant influence on the vehicle–pavement interaction dynamics in different situations. The Young's modulus and thickness of the base course layer also have a leading influence on pavement dynamic responses in the vehicle-pavement interaction system, where the variation of these parameters can lead to excessive responses of the pavement structure.