EFFECT OF TIRE LOAD MODEL ON LONGITUDINAL SURFACE CRACK OF PAVEMENTS ON STEEL BRIDGE DECKS

To develop a method to predict when and how longitudinal surface cracks (LSC) occur in pavements on steel bridge decks, the effect of tire load model on horizontal strains and dissipated energy on the pavement surface was investigated. Two types of tire loads were considered: the vertical pressure model and the vertical and horizontal pressure mode. The horizontal pressure is supposed to be generated by the stiffness of tire ribs and friction between the tire and pavement surface. Strain distributions computed with the tire load models in SLPE model were compared with the measured ones. It was found that computed strains with the vertical pressure model agree well with the measured ones. Also, the positive relationship between length of LSC observed in actual pavements on bridges and fatigue damage estimated based on the dissipated energy theory and vertical pressure model was obtained.