Validation experiments for lower-bound shakedown theory applied to layered pavement systems

Experiments involving the application of moving-wheel loads to a series of two- and three-layered pavement systems, involving various soils and unbound granular materials, were used to determine the applied contact pressure ranges within which the structures may be assumed to have developed a ‘shakedown' condition. Shakedown implies that the pavement responds to loading in a resilient manner after some limited plastic deformation during the early load applications. The data were used to assess the validity of applying three-dimensional lower-bound shakedown theory to pavements as a basis for improving pavement design computations. The research indicated that this approach has considerable promise, and that further experimental validation work is desirable.