| During the wintertime in Saskatchewan and many other jurisdictions, the subgrade is frozen and pavement strength is higher. Therefore, a given amount of traffic loading will cause little damage. In contrast, pavement strength during the spring is the lowest because of the thawing of the subbase and subgrade. The same amount of traffic loading in spring will cause much more damages to pavements. This thesis studies seasonal patterns of traffic loading as a first step to study seasonal patterns of traffic loading and pavement strength. The objectives are to review current flexible pavement design practice regarding to traffic loading considerations and subgrade conditions, to check the suitability of the WIM data, to study the seasonal variations of traffic loading and find the traffic loading patterns throughout the year, and to develop mathematical models for simulating seasonal traffic loading patterns. This model will be useful in improving pavement performance prediction and traffic loading prediction. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)... |
