Comparison of isotropic and cross-anisotropic analysis of pavement structures

Abstract

In most existing pavement design methods, pavements are analyzed using linear elastic multilayer theory, with the assumption that isotropic conditions are present in the structural layers of the pavement section. There are however numerous researchers that disagree with this assumption and their research have proven that there are inherent and induced cross-anisotropic material behaviors in the structural layers of a pavement section. The problem facing the South African Mechanistic Design Method (SAMDM) is that this cross-anisotropic behavior of material may reduce the predicted life of pavement sections as described in the Technical Recommendations for Highway (TRH4). The objective of this study was to quantify the effect of cross-anisotropic conditions induced in the pavement layer on the predicted life based on the SAMDM approach