Relating Axle Load Spectra to Truck Gross Vehicle

Weights and Volumes

Syed Waqar Haider1 and Ronald S. Harichandran2

Abstract: Axle load spectra have been used to develop the mechanistic-empirical pavement design guide 共M-E PDG兲. Use of these load
spectra provides a more direct and rational approach for the analysis and design of pavement structures to estimate the effects of actual
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traffic on pavement response and distress. However, the demand for specific truck- and axle load-related data makes the collection of axle
load spectra a very complicated, costly, and labor-intensive operation. Due to limited resources available in state and local highway
agencies for traffic data collection, the M-E PDG allows for various levels of traffic data collection and analysis. These levels vary from
site-specific 共Level 1兲 to regional average 共Level 3兲 traffic load and volume data. This paper explores the possibility of extracting axle
loads from truck weight and volume data and presents a practical method of modeling axle load spectra. Axle load-related data used in the
analyses cover diversified geographical locations in the United States. The results show that truck weights and proportions on a highway
can be used to estimate individual axle load spectra for various axle configurations. The practical implication of these results is that truck
weights, which can be measured easily or estimated from existing data, can be related to the axle loads if accurate and rational models are
developed for a region based on the local truck traffic characteristics and weights. Such estimates will be superior to assuming a Level 3
input for axle load spectra in the new M-E PDG.
DOI: 10.1061/共ASCE兲0733-947X共2007兲133:12共696兲
CE Database subject headings: Traffic management; Load distribution; Trucks; Weight.

Introduction Project 1-37A. In this approach, the anticipated truck traffic is

Truck traffic data is one of the key data elements required for
design and analysis of pavement structures. In the 1993 AASHTO
Guide for Design of Pavement Structures, a mixed traffic stream
of different axle loads and axle configurations is converted into a
design traffic number by converting each expected axle load into
an equivalent number of 18-kip single-axle loads, known as
equivalent single-axle loads 共ESALs兲. Load equivalency factors
are used to determine the number of ESALs for each axle load
and axle configuration. These factors are based on the present
serviceability index concept and depend on the pavement type
and structure. Studies have shown that these factors also are in-
fluenced by pavement condition, distress type, failure mode, and
other parameters. A more direct and rational approach to the
analysis and design of pavement structures involves procedures
that use mechanistic-empirical principles to estimate the effects of
actual traffic on pavement response and distress. This approach
played an important role in the development of the mechanistic-
empirical pavement design guide 共M-E PDG兲 as part of NCHRP
1
Research Associate, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering,
Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, MI 48824. E-mail: syedwaqa@
egr.msu.edu
2
Professor and Chairperson, Dept. of Civil and Environmental
Engineering, Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, MI 48824. E-mail:
harichan@egr.msu.edu
Note. Discussion open until May 1, 2008. Separate discussions must
be submitted for individual papers. To extend the closing date by one
month, a written request must be filed with the ASCE Managing Editor.
The manuscript for this paper was submitted for review and possible
publication on February 20, 2007; approved on June 18, 2007. This paper
is part of the Journal of Transportation Engineering, Vol. 133, No. 12,
December 1, 2007. ©ASCE, ISSN 0733-947X/2007/12-696–705/$25.00.
classified by axle type 共single, tandem, tridem, and quad兲, and
within each type, the distribution of axle weights is calculated.
This is a more precise characterization of truck loads, and it al-
lows for more detailed and advanced damage investigations.
Using axle load spectra one can compute the pavement structural
responses due to each axle load, translate them into damage using
a power law transformation, and then calculate the accumulated
damage from all axle groups. The mechanistic-based distress pre-
diction models used in the M-E PDG require specific data for
each axle type and axle-load group. This method of calculating
pavement damage is logical and more compatible with the mecha-
nistic approach.
As mentioned earlier, axle load spectra consist of axle load and
axle repetition information for various axle configurations 共single,
tandem, tridem and quad兲, and is used to create an axle load
distribution that can represent axle loads and associated varia-
tions. The axle loads and frequencies for a particular axle con-
figuration depend on the truck types traveling on a particular
highway section. The Federal Highway Administrations 共FHwA兲
共FHWA 2001; VTRIS 2005兲 defines Class 5 through Class 13 for
various truck configurations as shown in Table 1. These truck
classes contain different axle configurations, i.e., different truck
types may have single, tandem, and tridem, combinations. Also,
within the same truck class the axle configurations may vary. It is
important to note that axle load spectra 共single, tandem, and tri-
dem兲 emerge from various truck classes as shown in Table 1.
Therefore, it is essential to collect load as well as the frequency of
each axle group within each truck class to calculate these axle
load spectra. Also, gross vehicle weights 共GVWs兲 collected in
order to enforce legal weight limits can be used to distribute loads
on various axle groups within a truck class. This load distribution
will vary for different truck classes based on truck dimensions

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 Table 1. FHwA Vehicle Classes in the United States
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Note: In reported information on trucks the following criteria should be
used: • Truck tractor units traveling without a trailer will be considered
single-unit trucks. • A truck tractor unit pulling other units in a “saddle
mount” configuration will be considered one single-unit truck and will be
defined only by the axles on the pulling unit. • Vehicles are defined by the
number of axles in contact with the road. Therefore, “floating” axles are
counted only when the down position. • The term “trailer” includes both
semi- and full trailers.
and axle configurations. The demand for specific truck- and axle
load-related data makes axle load spectra collection a very com-
plicated, costly, and labor-intensive operation. Due to constraints
on resources available in state and local highway agencies for
traffic data collection, the M-E PDG allows for various levels of
traffic data collection and analysis.
Because the new traffic data inputs differ from those currently
used in pavement design and analysis, and because of resource
constraints within highway agencies, simplified methods to ac-
quire axle load spectra can be very valuable. There exists a pos-
sibility to extract axle loads from truck weights and volume if
reasonable axle load and GVW data exist. The objectives of this
paper are: 共1兲 to explore the viability of characterizing axle load
spectra from GVW and truck volume data; and 共2兲 to develop
models to predict axle load distribution parameters by using
GVW distribution attributes and truck volumes.
From a practical point of view the proposed method has the
advantages of: 共1兲 being based on GVW and truck volume data
that can be collected conveniently and accurately; 共2兲 allowing
truck weight data collection to be less expensive; and 共3兲 enabling
a region to be grouped into various clusters based on truck load-
ing characteristics.
Background
There is evidence based on truck weight data that loading char-
acteristics on a particular route remain more or less uniform
whereas truck volumes fluctuate with season and time 共M-EPDG
2004; Tam and Quintus 2003兲. However, this observation is only
true if the legal weight restrictions also are uniform within sea-
sons and over time. In order to capture loading characteristics,
according to NCHRP Project 1-39 共NCHRP-Project-1-39 2005兲,
three levels of axle-load distribution 共or load spectra兲 data are
required: 共1兲 site specific; 共2兲 truck weight road group 共TWRG兲;
and 共3兲 statewide averages.
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J. Transp. Eng. 2007.133:696-705.
For site-specific data collection, the state should accurately
weigh trucks on the road which is to be designed. The axle-weight
data-collection site must be located so that the traffic measured by
the weigh-in-motion 共WIM兲 scale is the same as the traffic that
operates in the design lane of the roadway segment being de-
signed. In addition, Level 1 data collection assumes that the high-
way agency will obtain reliable WIM data and use it to calculate
the axle-load distribution tables directly.
TWRG axle-load distributions represent axle loads found on
roads with similar truck weight characteristics. As TWRGs have
similar axle-load distributions rather than similar volume patterns,
TWRGs will generally differ from the seasonal and day-of-week
factor groups. FHwA’s Traffic Monitoring Guide 共TMG兲 共FHwA
2001兲 recommends TWRGs as a way for highway agencies to
collect, summarize, and report summary statistics for groups of
roads. Further, the TMG anticipates TWRGs to be state specific,
although multiple states can work together to create regional load
distribution tables if the states involved in the regional effort have
similar truck weight laws. The objective is to group roads by their
trucking characteristics so that the load spectra on all the roads in
a group are similar.
The statewide axle-load distribution can be used only to pro-
vide load estimates when the state highway agency has little
knowledge of the loads trucks will carry on the roadway being
designed. This means that the agency has little confidence in its
ability to predict the TWRG for the pavement section. Statewide
load distributions are obtained 共for each vehicle class兲 by com-
bining the data collected from all WIM sites in a state. These
distributions then serve to represent average conditions that can
be used when something better is not available. However, because
these distributions represent average load conditions, they will be
poor representations for pavements that experience very heavy or
very light loading conditions.
Hajek et al. 共2000, 2005兲 developed the LTPP Pavement Load-
ing Guide 共PLG兲 to improve the reliability of traffic load esti-
mates for the Long-Term Pavement Performance 共LTPP兲 sections
that do not have measured axle load data. The PLG contains
extensive traffic data obtained from the LTPP database that is the
best available source of traffic data at the national level, has a
user-friendly graphical interface, and guidelines intended to help
the user with the development of axle load spectra. Because of
these features, the PLG also facilitates traffic projections for gen-
eral pavement design and management purposes. The PLG esti-
mates are based on replacement axle load spectra obtained at
similar sites in the same jurisdiction. Whereas reasonable traffic
load estimates can be obtained by judiciously selecting replace-
ment traffic data, surrogate data can never replace site-specific
data.
A significant effort is required to characterize axle load spectra
using the above-described methods. This paper explores the po-
tential to develop axle load spectra models based on truck load-
and volume-related data at various sites.
Traffic Data
Traffic data sets for two specific pavement experimental studies,
designed to investigate effects of structural and site factors on
pavement performance, were used in this paper. These data sets
include both flexible 共SPS-1兲 and rigid 共SPS-2兲 pavements which
are part of the LTPP program. Traffic data collection for these
sites corresponds to Level 1 input in the M-E PDG. The traffic
data from both data sets meet all the tolerances set forth in the
 Table 2. Details of Sites and Traffic Data Year Used in the Analyses
SPS-1 experiment SPS-2 experiment
Site Site
number State 共code兲 Year number State 共code兲
1 Arizona, AZ-4 1998 1 Arizona, AZ-4
2 Arkansas, AR-5 2000 2 Arkansas, AR-5
3 Florida, FL-12 2001 3 Colorado, CO-8
4 Iowa, IA-19 2003 4 Iowa, IA-19
5 Kansas, KS-20 2001 5 Kansas, KS-20
6 Michigan, MI-26 2003 6 Michigan, MI-26
7 Montana, MT-30 2001 7 Nevada, NV-32
8 Nebraska, NE-31 1997 8 North Carolina,
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axles, only these two configurations are considered in this study.
Also, traffic volumes by VC were analyzed for all sites and it was
found that a combination of Classes 5 and 9 dominate the truck
volume for both datasets, contributing between 64 and 91% for all
Year sites with an average contribution of about 77% 关see Figs. 2共a and
1994 b兲兴 whereas Class 9 contributes more than Class 5. These traffic
2001 data also include an estimate of axle types by VC, which can be
2000 used to determine the share of axle types by various truck types.
2003 Figs. 2共c and d兲 show single axle contributions by each VC and
1993 show that a combination of Classes 5, 8, 9, and 11 are the main
1998 contributors to single axle repetitions at all sites, contributing be-
2000
tween 71 and 96% with an average contribution of about 86%.
These data also revealed that Classes 6, 8, 9 and 10 are the con-
2003
tributors to tandem axle repetitions with Class 9 having the most

NC-37
dominant contribution 关see Figs. 2共e and f兲兴. Classes 6 and 9 have
9 Nevada, NV-32 1998 9 Ohio, OH-39 2003
a combined contribution to tandem axle counts of between 70 and
10 New Mexico, 1998 10 Washington, WA-53 2002
97% with an average share of about 90%. It should be noted that
NM-35
Class 13 contributes a noticeable share to both single and tandem
11 Ohio, OH-39 2000 11 Wisconsin, WI-55 2001
axle types, but this occurs only at sites in Michigan 共26兲, Montana
12 Texas, TX-48 2001
共30兲, and Nevada 共32兲 within the SPS-1 experiment and at sites in
13 Virginia, VA-51 1997
Nevada 共32兲 and Washington 共53兲 within the SPS-2 experiment.
14 Wisconsin, WI-55 2001 Similar results were reported by Hajek et al. 共Al-Yagout et al.
2005; Hajek et al. 2005兲.
LTPP guidelines 共FHwA 2002; TechBrief 1998兲. Table 2 shows
the site details and year for the data used in this study. Traffic data Axle Load Data
were available for 14 SPS-1 and 11 SPS-2 experiments sites. In
total, there are 25 sites that are well distributed across the entire Axle load data were extracted from LTPP DataPave for all the
United States. Two types of traffic data were extracted from Re- sites in both data sets for the same year as the traffic volume data
lease 19.0 of the LTPP DataPave: 共1兲 load-related data containing 共see Table 2兲. Fig. 3 shows the single and tandem axle load spec-
axle load spectra for various axle configurations 共single, tandem, tra for all the sites considered in this analysis. As mentioned ear-
tridem, and quad兲 by each vehicle class 共VC兲; and 共2兲 traffic lier, the sites in both data sets are located across the United States
volume-related data containing the average annual daily traffic for and therefore have diverse loading conditions. It is important to
each VC in the design lane. In addition, these data include an note the different shapes of the axle spectra for both single and
estimate of the average annual axle configurations by each VC. tandem axle types, with most of them having a bimodal shape
typically due to loaded and unloaded axles.

Truck Volumes and Axle Count Data

Truck count data were extracted for all sites for a particular year
based on randomness and quality of the axle load data. Fig. 1
summarizes the proportions of each axle type for all sites in both
experiments. It shows that single and tandem axle types combined
together represent more than 95% of the total axle counts for all
sites in both data sets. Similar results were reported by Kim et al.
共1998兲. Based on the dominant presence of single and tandem
Modeling Mixture Distributions
Many researchers have modeled axle load spectra 共Fekpe and
Clayton 1995; Fwa et al. 1993; Hong and Prozzi 2005; Huang
et al. 2002; Kim et al. 1998; Mohammadi and Shah 1992; Timm
et al. 2005; Wu 1996兲. To capture bimodal distributions observed
for axle load spectra, Timm et al. 共2005兲 combined normal and

Fig. 1. Axle type proportions for all sites

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Fig. 2. Proportions of vehicle class and axle types for all sites

lognormal distributions, whereas early work by Mohammadi and
Shah 共1992兲 concluded that the beta and lognormal distributions
were most appropriate Kim et al. 共1998兲 and Huang et al. 共2002兲
used piece-wise regression to divide the cumulative distribution
function 共CDF兲 into several segments to accurately characterize
the entire axle load distribution. Fwa et al. 共1993兲 used Weibull
distributions to model vehicle weights by vehicle class. Several
issues related to the CDF approach were identified by Timm et al.
共2005兲, who concluded that it would be more useful to develop a
model having sound statistical interpretations from both practical
and theoretical standpoints.
A mixture of theoretical distributions, to characterize the pre-
dominantly bimodal axle load spectra, was considered in this
study. Two or more probability density functions 共PDFs兲 from
theoretical distributions can be added with appropriate weights to
obtain the PDF of a mixture distribution
n
f* = 兺i pi f i 共1兲
where f *= PDF of mixture distribution; pi= proportions 共weights兲
for each theoretical PDF; and f i= PDFs for each theoretical
distribution.
In case of a bimodal mixture distribution containing two
PDFs, the two weights are complimentary 共i.e., p2 = 1 − p1兲.
As the combination of truck payload and truck weight contrib-
ute to gross vehicle and axles loads and also these weights are the
sum of weights of several smaller components, the central limit

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Fig. 3. Axle load spectra by axle type

theorem will apply, and the load distributions for loaded and un-
loaded truck weights should each be nearly normal. In this study
it was determined that the bimodal shape of axle spectra could
be effectively captured by using a mixture of two normal
distributions
Gross Vehicle Weight Distributions
In the LTPP DataPave, only axle load distributions are provided
for four different configurations 共single, tandem, tridem, and
quad兲. However, the GVW distributions for different truck classes
were required in this study. One way to estimate GVW distribu-

冉
f *共x;␮1,␴1,␮2,␴2,p1兲 = p1
1
␴1冑2␲
e−共x − ␮1兲
2/2␴2
1
tions is to use Monte Carlo simulations by using the information
for axle load distributions. For example, for Class 9, the axle
distribution was simulated using the discrete CDF for single and

+ 共1 − p1兲
1
␴2冑2␲
e−共x − ␮2兲
2/2␴2
2
冊 共2兲
tandem axles for the same truck class, and one single and two
tandem axle loads were combined to simulate the GVW. The
simulation procedure was preferred over an analytical solution
This model has five parameters which need to be estimated from because: 共1兲 it is easy and efficient; and 共2兲 it will capture the
the data.
variability in the GVW for each class as it is impossible to obtain
In the statistical literature 关e.g., 共Haldar and Mahadevan
the same combinations of axle groups from the distributions of
2002兲兴 the two methods generally employed to estimate “unbi-
ased” parameters from a sample include the 共1兲 maximum likeli- individual axles.
hood; and 共2兲 least-squares, parameter estimation methods. The For simulating GVWs in this study, the inverse CDF transfor-
latter method was used in this study due to its computational mation technique 共Ayyub and Richard 2003; Haldar and Mahade-
efficiency. In this method the distribution parameters are esti- van 2002兲 was used. The CDF, FX共x兲, was calculated for each
mated by minimizing the sum of squared errors between theoret- axle type by taking the summation of the individual probability
ical and observed axle load spectra. mass functions 共PMFs兲
It should be noted that numerical least-squares algorithms are
very sensitive to the constraints imposed on the parameters which
can significantly affect the uniqueness and stability of the solu-
tion. An adequate number of constraints were utilized in this
FX共x兲 = P共X 艋 x兲 = 兺 px共xi兲
xiⱕx
共3兲

study to obtain unique parameter estimates. The mixture-

distribution modeling technique was used for two purposes: 共1兲 to
model GVW distributions for various truck types; and 共2兲 to A random number, ui, between 0 and 1 was generated from a
model axle load distributions of single and tandem configurations. uniform distribution and FX共x兲 was used to transform ui to obtain
It should be noted that in this study a mixture model with two
a discrete random axle load, x j, by satisfying the condition
distributions is used to effectively capture the primary loading
characteristics. If the upper tails of the axle load spectra are of
interest for assessing the effects of heavy loads on fatigue, then a FX共x j−1兲 ⬍ ui 艋 FX共x j兲 共4兲
third distribution may need to be added to the mixture model.

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Fig. 4. Example of GVW distributions for Class 9 at Washington

共53兲 site 共Note: observed GVW distributions were obtained from
simulations.兲

The GVW distributions were simulated for all truck classes

shown in Table 1. In order to ascertain the range of GVW, the
simulated GVW distributions were compared with GVW distribu-
tions from other published sources 共Al-Yagout et al. 2005; Larsen
and McDonnell 1999兲 and good agreement was found between
bimodal peaks average and associated variability of the two for
various truck classes. The GVW distributions simulated for all
truck classes within all sites were characterized by bimodal mix-
ture distributions and the parameters of these were estimated
using the above-presented methodology. The resulting mixture-
distribution parameters are given in Haider and Harichandran
Haider and Harichandran 共2006兲. Fig. 4 shows a comparison of
observed and predicted distributions for Class 9 trucks at a site.
The results show a good fit between the fitted models and simu-
lated “observed” GVW distributions.
Axle Load Spectra Distributions
The axle load spectra for single and tandem axles for each site
were analyzed to estimate parameters of the bimodal mixture dis-
tributions as with the GVW modeling. The bimodal mixture-
distribution parameters for both single and tandem axles are
described elsewhere 共Haider and Harichandran 2006兲. Fig. 5
shows an example of fitted and observed single axle load spectra
at a site. Note that a mixture of two distributions can be combined
to model a distribution with only one peak or one with two peaks
关see Figs. 5共a and b兲兴. These figures also show the effect of the
weighting or proportion factors on the individual distributions.
The fitted distributions provide a good match with the observed
distributions.
Relating Gross Vehicle Weights and Truck Traffic
to Axle Load Spectra
A database was prepared containing estimated parameters for
GVWs and axle load mixture-distribution parameters for all sites
and truck classes. Also, for each site, the proportions of truck
volume by truck class were stored in this database. This entire
database was used to relate estimated parameters for axle load
and GVW distributions. In addition, truck volume proportions
were also considered as explanatory variables. The objective of
this analysis was to seek correlations between parameters of dis-
tribution 共axle-load and GVW兲 and truck volumes.
Fig. 5. Fitted and observed axle load spectra—single axle
Axle and vehicle-weight distribution parameters were related
using multiple regression analyses. The form of the regression
model was
n
ALP = ␤0 兿i 共VWP兲␤i ␧model
i 共5兲
This is a multiplicative form of regression model, which can cap-
ture the nonlinear effects of the variables to some extent. It can be
converted to the log-linear 共additive兲 regression form
n
ln 共ALP兲 = ln ␤0 + 兺i ␤i ln 共VWP兲i + ␧model 共6兲
where ALP⫽axle load parameter; VWPi= vehicle weight param-
eter for class i; ␤i= regression coefficients for variable i; and
␧model= model error.
The reason for choosing this regression model were: 共1兲 com-
putational accuracy and ease because it can be transformed to
linear form by taking natural logs of variables; 共2兲 ability to in-
clude nonlinear effects; and 共3兲 ease of interpretation of results
共the exponents of each independent variable represent the change
in response relative to that variable 兲. In addition, multiple regres-
sion analysis with variable selection offers the advantages of: 共1兲
providing relationships with explicit terms; and 共2兲 allowing the
effects of variables to be assessed.
Several data reduction strategies were used to remedy overfit-
ting 共Harrell 2001兲. These included: 共1兲 use of the literature to
eliminate unimportant variables; 共2兲 elimination or combination
of highly correlated independent variables; 共3兲 elimination of

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 Table 3. Models Relating Axle Load Parameters to GVW Parameters and Truck Proportions
Model Eq. No.
Single axle
m1,s = 0.00326共m1,5兲2.047共s1,5兲0.074共s1,9兲0.217共s2,8兲0.37共s2,10兲−0.39共p1,13兲0.101共ln Pr13兲0.031 共7兲
ln m1,s = −5.727+ 2.047共ln m1,5兲 + 0.074共ln s1,5兲 + 0.217共ln s1,9兲 + 0.37共ln s2,8兲 − 0.39共ln s2,10兲 + 0.101共ln p1,13兲 + 0.031共Pr13兲
2
R2 = 0.985, Radj = 0.97, SE= 0.077
m2,s = 0.492共m2,9兲0.578共m2,11兲0.223共ln Pr5兲−0.003 共8兲
ln m2,s = −0.71+ 0.578共ln m2,9兲 + 0.223共ln m2,11兲 − 0.003共Pr5兲
2
R2 = 0.84, Radj = 0.80, SE= 0.028
s1,s = e−9.333共m1,s兲0.959共m2,s兲2.22共m1,6兲−0.404共s1,9兲−0.633共s2,5兲0.905共s2,8兲0.446共p1,9兲0.226共ln Pr6兲−0.042 共9兲
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ln s1,s = −9.33+ 0.959共ln m1,s兲 + 2.22共ln m2,s兲 − 0.404共ln m1,6兲 − 0.633共ln s1,9兲 + 0.905共ln s2,5兲 + 0.446共ln s2,8兲 + 0.226共ln p1,9兲 − 0.042共Pr6兲
2
R2 = 0.98, Radj = 0.96, SE= 0.12
s2,s = e10.957共m1,9兲−1.454共ln Pr6兲0.051共ln Pr9兲−0.022共ln Pr13兲−0.039 共10兲
ln s2,s = 10.957− 1.454共ln m1,9兲 + 0.051共Pr6兲 − 0.022共Pr9兲 − 0.039共Pr13兲
2
R2 = 0.86, Radj = 0.82, SE= 0.22
p1,s = e−11.077共m1,s兲0.68共m2,11兲1.443共ln Pr10兲−0.068 共11兲
ln p1,s = −11.077+ 0.68共ln m1,s兲 + 1.443共ln m2,11兲 − 0.068共Pr10兲
2
R2 = 0.75, Radj = 0.70, SE= 0.29

Tandem axle
m1,t = 0.00541共m1,9兲1.476共s1,9兲0.205共s2,6兲0.212共p1,9兲−0.335共p1,8兲0.055 共12兲
ln m1,t = −5.22+ 1.476共ln m1,9兲 + 0.205共ln s1,9兲 + 0.212共ln s2,6兲 − 0.335共ln p1,9兲 + 0.055共ln p1,8兲
2
R2 = 0.85, Radj = 0.80, SE= 0.091
m2,t = 0.2066共m1,t兲0.392共m2,9兲0.819共m1,6兲−0.093共s2,9兲0.13 共13兲
ln m2,t = −1.577+ 0.392共ln m1,t兲 + 0.819共ln m2,9兲 − 0.093共ln m1,6兲 + 0.13共ln s2,9兲
2
R2 = 0.89, Radj = 0.87, SE= 0.031
s1,t = 10.591共m1,t兲0.792共s2,9兲−0.728共p1,9兲−0.228 共14兲
ln s1,t = 2.36+ 0.792共ln m1,t兲 − 0.728共ln s2,9兲 − 0.228共ln p1,9兲
2
R2 = 0.77, Radj = 0.73, SE= 0.17
s2,t = 341.04共s1,t兲−1.039共s2,9兲0.252共p1,13兲−0.052共ln Pr6兲0.024共ln Pr9兲−0.011共ln Pr13兲−0.027 共15兲
ln s2,t = 5.832− 1.039共ln s1,t兲 + 0.252共ln s2,9兲 − 0.052共ln p1,13兲 + 0.024共Pr6兲 − 0.011共Pr9兲 − 0.027共Pr13兲
2
R2 = 0.97, Radj = 0.96, SE= 0.102
p1,t = e−13.192共m1,9兲1.998共m2,8兲0.388共p1,6兲−0.331共p1,8兲0.038 共16兲
ln p1,t = −13.192+ 1.998共ln m1,9兲 + 0.388共ln m2,8兲 − 0.331共ln p1,6兲 + 0.038共ln p1,8兲
2
R2 = 0.903, Radj = 0.87, SE= 0.09
Note: Units of mean and standard deviations are kN and proportions in percent 共70% = 70兲.

variables having very narrow distributions; 共4兲 elimination of can-
didate predictors having a large number of missing values; and 共5兲
use of statistical data reduction methods such as principal com-
ponent or cluster analyses.
Several regression models were analyzed to characterize single
and tandem axle distributions by using GVW distribution param-
eters and truck volume percentages. Table 3 shows the final mod-
els that were obtained. Both forms, multiplicative and additive
关Eqs. 共5兲 and 共6兲兴, are given. The parameters m, s, and p represent
the means, standard deviations, and weights of the distributions.
The first subscript on these parameters is a 1 or 2 and indicates
the first or second distribution in the mixture model. The second
subscript represents the axle or class type 共s for single axle, t for
tandem, and number n for class n兲. The variable Pri denotes the
proportion of truck volume for the ith truck class expressed in
percentage.
For the bimodal distribution considered in this study, it is hy-
pothesized that the first peak corresponds to the average axle
weight of empty or partially loaded trucks, whereas the second
peak corresponds to the average axle weight of fully loaded
trucks. The standard deviations associated with both peaks ex-
plain the variations of weights for empty or partially and fully
loaded trucks. Further, the weight factors for each distribution
type control the frequency of these trucks in each category.
The model parameters predicted by using Eq. 共5兲 are com-
pared to the “observed” parameters estimated by fitting Eq. 共2兲 to
actual data are shown in Figs. 6共a and b兲 for single axle type and
in Figs. 6共c and d兲 for tandem axle configuration. Due to space

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J. Transp. Eng. 2007.133:696-705.

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Fig. 6. Model fit—observed versus predicted values of various response variables
restrictions these plots are presented only for two out of the five
parameters. Similar trends were observed for the other
parameters.
The results show several encouraging relationships between
axle load and GVW distributions. As expected, axle load weight
distributions are significantly affected by parameters related to
truck gross weights. For example, the average GVW of partially
loaded Class 5 truck 共m1,5兲 has the most significant effect on the
average load of partially loaded single axle trucks 共m1,s兲, and
the average GVW of partially loaded Class 9 truck 共m1,9兲 has the
most important effect on the average load of partially loaded
tandem axle trucks 共m1,t兲.
For single axle trucks the exponent of 2.047 关see Eq. 7 in
Table 3兴 means that a 1% increase in m1,5 will have about a 2%
increase in m1,s, if all other variables are held the same.
Also, the variable s1,9 has a similar effect on m1,s. The mean of
loaded single axles 共m2,s兲 is mainly affected by loaded Class 9
trucks 关see Eq. 8 in Table 3兴, an effect that can be attributed
mainly to the high presence of this truck class on most of the
interstate highways. Eqs. 9 and 10 in Table 3 indicate that the
variability of partially loaded single axles 共s1,s兲 is related to both
peaks in axle spectra whereas the variability of fully loaded single
axles 共s2,s兲 is mainly explained by the average weight of partially
loaded Class 9 trucks 共m1,9兲. The weight factor for partially loaded
single axles 共p1,s兲 depends on the variables m1,s and m2,11; these
two variables represent average loads for partially loaded single
axle and Class 11 trucks, respectively 关see Eq. 11 in Table 3兴.
For tandem axle trucks the exponent of 1.476 关see Eq. 12 in
Table 3兴 indicates that a 1% increase in m1,9 will have about a
JOURNAL OF TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING © ASCE / DECEMBER 2007 / 703
J. Transp. Eng. 2007.133:696-705.
1.5% increase in m1,t, if all other variables are held constant. Also,
the variables s1,9 and s2,6 have a similar effect on m1,t, but their
relative effect is lower than m1,9. Again, the average of loaded
tandem axles 共m2,t兲 is mainly affected by loaded Class 9 trucks
mainly due to the high presence of this truck class 关see Eq. 13 in
Table 3兴. The uncertainty of partially loaded 共s1,t兲 and fully loaded
共s2,t兲 tandem axles is related to the variability of fully loaded Class
9 trucks 共s2,9兲, but its effect varies in magnitude and trend 关see
Eqs. 14 and 15 in Table 3兴. The weight factor for partially loaded
tandem axles 共p1,t兲 depends on the variables m1,9 and m2,8, which
represent average partial and full loads for Classes 9 and 8,
respectively 关see Eq. 16 in Table 3兴.
Fig. 7 shows examples of axle load distributions predicted
from the models developed in this study. The distribution
predictions for both single 关Fig. 7共a兲兴 and tandem 关Fig. 7共b兲兴 axle
configurations show a reasonable match between the observed and
predicted axle distributions.
It should be noted that the models developed in this study are
based on limited data and may not be robust enough for general
use. However, the results of the study indicate that axle load
distributions can be effectively related to GVWs and truck
proportions.
Conclusions and Recommendations
This paper outlines a methodology for using truck weights and
proportions on a highway to estimate individual axle load spectra

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Fig. 7. Predicted versus observed axle load spectra using GVW and
truck volume data
for various axle configurations. Several conclusions emerge from
this study. A mixture distribution with two normal distributions
can reasonably characterize bimodal axle load and GVW spectra
for several axle configurations and truck classes. It is possible to
develop reasonable relationships between truck weights and axle
loads. By adopting similar analyses, the effects of truck loads on
axle load spectra can be quantified for any region. A larger sample
size 共sites兲 would produce more robust results.
The specific results of this study show that only truck weights
of Classes 5, 10, and 11 play a significant role in characterizing
axle load spectra for single axles. On the other hand, truck
weights of Classes 9, 6, and 8 contribute substantially to axle load
spectra involving tandem axles. However, due to the large pres-
ence of Class 9 trucks in the traffic stream, this truck type has the
most critical role, not only in truck volumes but also in shaping
axle load spectra for both single and tandem axle configurations.
The practical implications of this research for flexible and
rigid pavement design are as follows:
• At some sites both GVW and axle loads are measured using
WIM equipment whereas at other sites only the GVW is mea-
sured or known. The proposed method which predicts axle
load spectra from GVW is effective at all sites.
• A sample of GVW for a few dominant type trucks 共e.g.,
Classes 5, 6, 8, and 9兲 on a particular highway is adequate to
obtain a preliminary estimate of axle load spectra for various
axle types.
This study only considered two axle configurations 共single and
tandem兲. A similar approach is recommended for tridem and quad
axle configurations. Also, further research is required to deter-
mine the adequate sample size for measuring GVW of different
truck types at a particular site to estimate axle load spectra.
704 / JOURNAL OF TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING © ASCE / DECEMBER 2007
J. Transp. Eng. 2007.133:696-705.
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