Effect of temperature profile on dynamic behaviour of asphalt pavements under moving loads

The durability of pavement structures is influenced by their dynamic responses, which are governed by factors such as traffic loads, temperature variations and material properties. In this study, the dynamic behaviour of asphalt pavement subjected to harmonic rectangular moving loads and varying boundary conditions and temperature profiles is investigated. The dynamic response of multi-layered asphalt pavements is analysed using the third-order shear deformation plate theory. The governing equations of motion in the time domain are derived using Hamilton's principle, and solutions are obtained in the Laplace domain through the Fourier series. Durbin's transform is then applied to revert the equations back to the time domain. The accuracy of the proposed approach is validated through comparisons with literature data and finite-element simulations. The results demonstrate that these factors significantly influence the response of the considered system to excitations. The study's key findings include that a higher dynamic response is observed in asphalt pavement under uniform temperature fields compared to linear and harmonic distributions. Harmonic temperature patterns result in larger deflections than linear profiles. Therefore, the non-uniformity of temperature fields, particularly those with harmonic patterns, should be considered in pavement design and construction.