A three-stage rutting model utilising rutting performance data from the Hamburg Wheel-Tracking Device (WTD)

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A three-stage rutting model utilising rutting performance data from the Hamburg Wheel-Tracking Device (WTD)
Ghazi Al-Khateeb and Imad Basheer

Abstract
Rutting, or permanent deformation, is known to occur in hot-mix asphalt (HMA) pavements. Higher rut rate typically occurs at pavement temperatures higher than 40C. Heavy traffic loadings are the leading cause for permanent deformation in HMA pavements in hot climates. Rutting performance of HMA pavements is simulated in laboratory using different procedures, techniques and devices. One of the devices used to measure rutting performance in laboratory is the Hamburg Wheel-Tracking Device (WTD). Rutting test using the Hamburg WTD can be conducted under dry or wet conditions. In dry conditions, the rut depth is measured to evaluate HMA rutting, whereas, in wet conditions, where the specimen is submerged into water, the combined effect of rutting and moisture damage is evaluated. Permanent deformation ( p) or rut depth (RD) is typically plotted against the number of wheel passes or cycles (N) of a pre-specified wheel load during the test. In this paper, a new rutting model to fit laboratory rutting performance data obtained from the Hamburg WTD test is presented. The new rutting model developed in this paper is a three-stage model that describes the three different phases of HMA rutting normally occurring during the rutting test: consolidation (or primary stage), permanent deformation (or secondary stage), and flow (or tertiary) stage. A polynomial of the third order was the basis of such model. The constants of the polynomial model were then related to the asphalt binder properties. The asphalt binder properties where found to exhibit high correlation with the Superpave rutting parameter (G*/sin ). The model was expressed in terms of the asphalt binder property and load cycles. Given the asphalt binder (G*/sin ), the model may be used to evaluate the rutting performance of HMA pavements and identify the three different stages of rutting.

Refereed Paper
This paper has been critically reviewed by at least two recognised experts in the field. Originally submitted: August 2008.

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BACKGROUND
Permanent deformation of hot mix asphalt (HMA), commonly known as rutting, has a major impact on flexible pavement performance. Rutting contributes primarily to poor ride quality and driving hazard manifested by increased potential of hydroplaning and steering difficulty. Rut-resistant HMA is desirable for extending pavement service life. In order to achieve such a desirable characteristic, proper understanding of the mechanism is vital, along with identifying the factors that have pronounced effects on the initiation and progression of rutting. Rutting in HMA pavements develops gradually in the wheel path with increasing number of traffic load repetitions. It occurs as a result of densification of the HMA material (by decreasing its volume), which primarily occurs at the initial stages of trafficking, and by shear deformation without volume change (displacement with volume constancy), which predominantly takes place at a later stage. Shear deformation usually results in upheaval zones near the sides of wheel paths after compaction of material under tyres has been completed. Many research studies have shown that shear deformation is the primary rutting mechanism (Eisenmann and Hilmer 1987) and can last for the greater part of the lifetime of the pavement (Sousa, Craus and Monismith 1991). The propensity of a hot mix asphalt material to permanent deformation is influenced by myriad parameters that can be classified into four categories (Sousa et al. 1991): aggregate characteristics, binder properties, mixture volumetric properties, and environmental or operating conditions. Table 1 is adapted from Sousa et al. (1991) and provides a summary of the various parameters that have an impact on HMA rutting. The effects of increasing or decreasing these parameters on rutting propensity of a typical HMA pavement are also summarised in Table 1. In the last three decades, many efforts were made to develop models for predicting HMA rutting in asphalt pavements. Two general types of models were developed: one type determines the number of repetitions of a given load to achieve a certain level of rut depth, and the other enables prediction of rut depth from the number of loading cycles. A number of models used the elastic-layer theory to compute the elastic strain in the HMA layer that is used in determining the number of repetitions to reach a pre-assigned level of rutting. The earliest of these studies was conducted by Claessen et al. (1977). Other models use a quasi-elastic approach in which the elastic-layer theory is used to predict a nonelastic response (e.g. plastic strain) that is responsible for rutting. In other words, the plastic strain is assumed to be functionally proportional to the elastic strain (which can be easily determined using elastic-layer theory) and number of load repetitions (e.g. McLean 1973; Monismith 1976). More recent efforts utilising this approach are the VESYS model (Kenis 1978), MEPDG (NCHRP 2004) and the WesTrack model (Epps et al. 2002, p. ). Nonlinear viscoelastic methods have also been used to model HMA rutting; however, they proved to be computationally prohibitive and require a large amount of laboratory work to establish appropriate nonlinear, time-dependent constitutive relationships (Thrower 1977; Nunn 1986; Sousa et al. 1991). Recent efforts at Delft University to model asphalt rutting used a plasticity constitutive model borrowed from geotechnical applications (Desai, Somasundaram and Frantziskonis 1986) to model rutting of HMA by describing the behaviour of both the total asphalt mixture and the aggregate skeleton (Medani 2006; Muraya 2007). Empirical models that predict the progression of rutting depth with load repetitions have also been developed. These include the three-stage model by Zhou, Scullion and Sun (2004), which is explained in more detail in the modelling section of this paper. A newer empirical model has also been developed at the University of Auckland by Henning et al. (2006, 2009) in which rutting of HMA is assumed to follow a three-step approach, starting with initial densification, followed by rutting progression during the stable rut stage, and then initiation of accelerated rut progression. For strong pavements, Henning et al. (2006, 2009) found that rutting occurs in only two stages: initial densification and progression. Both the New Zealand Long Term Pavement Performance (LTPP) and the Canterbury Accelerated Pavement Testing Indoor Facility (CAPTIF) data were used to derive simplified models for the various stages that can be used at network level. The initial densification rutting was mathematically related to the structural number of the pavement determined using a falling weight deflectometer, and the accelerated rutting was related to structural number and loading cycles. The primary objective of this paper is to examine the accuracy of a simple mathematical model to simulate the rutting behaviour of various HMA mixtures tested with the use of the Hamburg Wheel-Tracking Device (WTD). Additionally, the paper examines the relationship between mixture properties and model parameters.

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Table 1 The effect of material and other variables on rutting susceptibility (Adapted from Sousa et al. 1991) Category Aggregate properties Parameter Surface texture Gradation Shape Size Direction of change Smooth to rough Gap to continuous Round to angular Increase maximum aggregate size Increase Increase Increase Increase Varies Increase Increase in tyre pressure Increase Dry to wet Expected effect on rutting potential Decrease Decrease Decrease Decrease

Binder properties Mixture volumetric properties

Stiffness Binder content Air void content VMA Compaction method Temperature State of stress or strain Number of load repetitions Water

Decrease Decrease Increase Increase Varies Increase Increase Increase Increase (with moisture sensitive mix) Decrease

Environmental or operating conditions

Thickness

Increase

LABORATORY EVALUATION
In the laboratory, the rutting performance of HMA mixtures can be evaluated using different devices and procedures including the Hamburg WTD method, the French rutting test, the repeated shear at constant height (RSCH) test in the Superpave Shear Tester (SST), the frequency sweep at constant height (FSCH) test in the SST, and the flow number test in the Simple Performance Tester (SPT). In this paper, the Hamburg WTD was used to test HMA mixtures against rutting. The Hamburg WTD is one of the performance test devices used to evaluate asphalt paving mixtures for combined rutting and moisture damage. The Hamburg WTD applies a vertical load of 650 N on two compacted slabs submerged under water at high temperatures as shown in Figure 1. The device uses two steel wheels of 203.5 mm in diameter and 47 mm in width to apply the vertical load. Each slab is 320 260 80 mm in dimensions. Typically rut depths at 10 000 and 20 000 wheel passes are recorded. The number of wheel passes at 10 mm rut depth is also recorded. Visual stripping evaluation of the tested slabs is normally done to check for any moisture damage in the asphalt mixture.

Performance results from the Hamburg WTD were shown to have some correlation with field pavement performance as shown from the literature. For example, Aschenbrener (1995) and Buchanan and Smith (2005) found that the Hamburg WTD provided excellent correlation with field performance of inservice HMA pavements. On the other hand, a weak correlation was found between the Hamburg WTD performance results and the Federal Highway Administrations accelerated loading facility (ALF) performance rutting data, as reported in Qi et al. (2006a,b). In a Hamburg WTD rut test, the asphalt mixture typically undergoes three stages of rutting during the test, as schematically illustrated in Figure 2. The first (initial, or primary) stage is called the consolidation (compaction) stage in which the compacted asphalt mixture experiences further compaction due to the vertical loading applied by the steel wheel. The second stage that follows the compaction of the mixture is what is called the permanent deformation (rutting) (or secondary) stage during which the asphalt mixture experiences permanent rut due to both the induced vertical loading and the resulting shear forces. The final

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Figure 1 The Hamburg Wheel-Tracking Device (WTD)

Figure 2 Typical Hamburg WTD rutting data

stage is called the tertiary (or flow) stage in which the asphalt mixture starts to exhibit noticeable damage due to the combined effects of moisture susceptibility and rutting.

MODELLING Preview
The literature is abundant with models for predicting rut depth (or plastic strain) of hot mix asphalt material from knowledge of volumetric properties of the mixture and number of loading cycles. Some of those models are summarised in Sousa et al. (1991). Most of those models were developed to characterise the primary rutting. A few models, however, were developed for the

characterisation of the three stages of rutting, namely primary, secondary and tertiary rutting. As shown in Figure 2, the primary stage is characterised by an initially high rate of rutting, predominantly associated with volumetric change, which decreases with N. The secondary stage is characterised by a low rate of rutting, exhibiting a nearly constant rate of volumetric change, which tends to increase near the onset of the tertiary stage. The tertiary stage is characterised by a high rate of rutting largely associated with plastic (shear) deformation without volume change. Figure 3 shows the rutting depth curve obtained for one of the asphaltic mixtures studied in this paper and displays the three rutting stages.

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Figure 3 Rut depth versus number of wheel passes for air-blown asphalt mixture

The rut depth of an HMA layer can be computed directly as the product of an average plastic strain in the layer (or sublayer) and its thickness. Many empirical and mechanistic-empirical based models utilising both the elastic and viscoelastic layer theories and with various degrees of complexity have been suggested for the calculation of the plastic strain as a function of number of load repetitions, material temperature, stresses, resilient (elastic) strains, mixture properties etc. More advanced techniques based on nonlinear finite element procedures have also been used. Many of those models are summarised in Sousa et al. (1991). The mechanistic-empirical design guide developed under the NCHRP 1-37A project (NCHRP 2004) uses the model that relates the plastic strain at any number of load repetitions to the elastic (resilient) strain, which can be determined from the multilayer elastic theory. Of particular interest to this present study, Zhou et al. (2004) suggested the use of a three-stage model for describing the relationship between the permanent strain ( p) and the number of loading cycles (N) in which each phase was assigned a different mathematical expression. As such, the primary stage is modelled using a power law, the secondary phase is assumed to be linear, while the tertiary model was exponential:

where a, b, c, d and f are model parameters, and pS and ST are permanent strains corresponding to initiation of the secondary and tertiary stages respectively, and NPS and NST are the corresponding number of load repetitions. Zhou et al. (2004) suggested a method that utilises the experimental p-N data to determine the location (p, N) of the onset of the secondary and tertiary stages. That is, another set of four model parameters ( pS, ST , N PS and NST ) will be needed to characterise the threestage plastic strainrut depth curve.

Proposed model
The formulation complexity associated with the three-equation model presented by Zhou et al. (2004) could be avoided, along with the advantage of ensuring that the continuity at the transition points is satisfied. This can be done by adopting a thirdorder (cubic) model to describe the relationship between the rut depth (RD) and number of loading cycles (N) anywhere within the three stages of rutting. The cubic model, which can be used to model the rutting behaviour of the mixtures tested with the Hamburg WTD, takes the form: (2) where RD = rut depth, N = number of wheel passes, and a, b, and c = model coefficients. It is believed that the model coefficients a, b, and c can be formulated as functions of the material properties in the threephase system of the asphalt mixture (air voids, asphalt binder, aggregates) and environmental or testing conditions such as stress state, loading rate

(1)
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and mixture temperature. If these coefficients are established in terms of the material properties and operating conditions, then the Hamburg WTD rut depth can be modelled and predicted for any type of mixture for which the properties of the ingredients of the mixture and/or the volumetric properties of the compacted HMA and the operating conditions are known. This kind of modelling requires careful use of the Hamburg WTD-measured rut data, and intensive calibration and verification of the model on a variety of asphalt mixtures. The advantages of the third-order model are (1) its ability to characterise the three stages in one simple expression, (2) its flexibility to fit data regardless of the number of rutting stages observed (for some mixtures the tertiary stage could not be reached with a reasonable number of passes), (3) it does not require a pre-knowledge of the location of the onset of both the secondary and tertiary stages, (4) it contains only three empirical parameters, and (5) the continuity condition at transition points (wherever they might be) is always satisfied. A few limitations of this approach, however, are presented herein: (1) the graphical approach presented to locate the transition points between stages of rutting is somehow subjective, and (2) the analytical solution presented in this paper requires solving a quadratic equation that is the result of the first derivative of the curvature function for the relationship between rut depth and number of cycles. Sometimes the solution of this equation is not simple. According to the cubic model (Equation 2), when N = 0, RD = 0, and the rate of increase in rut depth with N is constant and equal to c. That is, for new asphalt pavements, rutting is assumed to commence at the same rate irrespective of the mixture properties. A similar model, although in logarithmic scales, was used by McLean and Monismith (1974) to relate log p to logN, where N is the number of stress applications. The third-order model (Equation 2) is probably the simplest form of a mathematical model that can exhibit the three different stages of rutting in one expression. It is to be noted that the secondary phase can be close to linear, depending on the relative values of a, b and c. When the model is calibrated against actual performance data, the influence of the various variables will be reflected in these coefficients. Typically, for a typical rutting curve representing the progression of the three stages, coefficients a and c take on positive values, whereas coefficient b takes on a negative value.

MODEL APPLICATION
A total of eight sets of pN data representing, rutting induced in the Hamburg WTD in asphalt mixtures prepared from the same aggregate mix, were used to examine the third-order model. Only the asphalt binder used in the asphalt mixtures differed. Eight asphalt binders were used in the model application. They included two unmodified binders (PG64-22 and PG70-22), air-blown, and five polymer-modified binders: Terpolymer (Elvaloy), styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS) lineargrafted, SBS linear, SBS radial-grafted, and chemically modified crumb rubber asphalt (CMCRA). The PG numbers shown are based on the Superpave system criteria. All the binders were from the same source, a Venezuelan crude (blend of Boscan and Bachaquero). The air-blown PG70-28 was obtained by noncatalytic air blowing of a PG5228. The polymer-modified grades were obtained by addition of various amounts of different polymers to the PG64-22, the PG52-28, or a mixture of both in appropriate proportions. Table 2 shows the performance grade and the polymer content of each asphalt binder.

Table 2 Properties of asphalt binders Asphalt binder PG64 SBS linear SBS radial grafted SBS linear grafted PG70 CMCRA Air-blown Elvaloy Polymer content % 0.0 3.75 3.25 3.75 0.0 5.0 0.0 2.2 Performance grade PG 64-28 PG 70-28 PG 70-28 PG 70-28 PG 70-22 PG 76-28 PG 70-28 PG 76-28

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The mixture gradation parameters as well as other related properties are summarised in Table 3. Figure 4 shows the p-N data obtained for the eight asphalt mixtures. The third-order model was fitted to the data in order to determine the three empirical constants, a, b and c. Figure 4 shows the experimental p-N curves and the fitted models. Table 4 summarises the obtained values, as well as the corresponding coefficient of determination R2 for the fitted models. Because the model parameters a, b and c are affected by binder type for the same mixture aggregate and gradation, and binder content, an attempt was made to determine whether these empirical constants are directly and solely affected by binder stiffness. For each of the binders used in the eight mixtures, the rutting parameter (G*/sin ) was calculated and plotted against each of the three empirical constants. Here G* is the asphalt binder complex shear modulus and d is the asphalt binder phase angle. Table 5 summarises the G*/sin values at 70C for each of the eight asphalt binders used in the analysis. Figures 57 illustrate the relationship between each of the constants (a, b, c) respectively and the rutting parameter (G * /sin ) for the studied asphalt mixtures. It is seen from Figures 57 that the rutting parameter (G*/sin ) at 10 rad/s was reasonably adequate to describe the variation in the empirical constants with the use of a simple power model of the form:

(3) where k and m are constants. Table 6 summarises the values of k and m obtained for each of the eight binders used in the mixes, along with their R2. The models can be used to predict the rutting curve first by determining a, b and c with the use of Equation 3 and Table 6. Next, the third-order rutting model given in Equation 2 can be used to plot a full rutting curve for the desired range of loading cycles. Figure 8 shows the simulation for a range of (G*/sin ) values, using the third-order model with coefficients determined from Equation 3 and Table 6 for a sample of four asphalt mixtures. The three stages of rutting are obvious from these simulated curves. As also shown in Figure 8, the simulated rutting curves are very close to the measured rutting curves for these asphalt mixtures, the fact that indicated the suitability and accuracy

Table 3 Aggregate gradation and other related properties Per cent passing (%) Sieve size (mm) 25.0 19.0 12.5 9.5 4.75 2.36 1.18 0.600 0.300 0.150 0.075 92% Diabase 100.0 98.6 73.9 58.7 39.5 27.2 19.4 14.4 11.1 8.2 5.7 8% Natural sand 100.0 95.8 88.2 74.8 46.0 14.1 4.8 2.9 Blend 100.0 98.7 76.0 62.0 44.0 32.1 23.8 16.9 11.3 7.9 5.5

Specific gravity and per cent absorption Bulk dry SG1 Bulk SSD2 Apparent SG1 % Absorption 2.933 2.956 3.002 0.8 2.565 2.601 2.659 1.4 2.892 2.916 2.961 0.8

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Figure 4 Laboratorymeasured rutting data and fitted model for all mixtures

Table 4 Regression coefficients for polynomial functions fitting the Hamburg rutting data for all asphalt mixtures in the study Asphalt mixture PG64 SBS linear SBS radial grafted SBS linear grafted PG70 CMCRA Air-blown Elvaloy a 8.75722E-11 1.65032E-11 1.05081E-11 1.74173E-11 8.76328E-12 2.67466E-12 4.52899E-12 7.72961E-13 b 9.15434E-07 2.18202E-07 1.59328E-07 2.77697E-07 2.01286E-07 8.41414E-08 1.28638E-07 3.69050E-08 c 4.79160E-03 2.40854E-03 1.81638E-03 1.94150E-03 2.13312E-03 1.21264E-03 1.33335E-03 7.26060E-04 R2 0.989 0.989 0.993 0.995 0.985 0.971 0.984 0.962

Table 5 G*/sin values for asphalt mixtures at 70C Asphalt mixture PG64 SBS linear SBS radial grafted SBS linear grafted PG70 CMCRA Air-blown Elvaloy (G*/sin ) at 10 rad/s (Pa) 1570 2710 2680 2880 2640 4510 3870 4110

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Figure 5 The a constant versus G*/sin value at 10 r/s

Figure 6 The b constant versus G*/sin value at 10 r/s

Figure 7 The c constant versus G*/sin value at 10 r/s

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Table 6 k and m regression coefficients for the relationship between (G*/sin d) and a, b and c Constant a b c k 161.47 94.14 384.81 m 3.826 2.516 1.535 R2 0.831 0.824 0.867

Figure 8 Simulated rut depths based on the developed polynomial models for four asphalt mixtures

of the third-order models developed in this study to characterise rutting performance as obtained from the Hamburg WTD.

Comparison with field performance

Laboratory rutting performance was compared with the performance obtained from field testing. Fullscale Accelerated Loading Facility (ALF) pavement testing was conducted at the FHWAs Pavement Testing Facility (PTF) at Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center (TFHRC) in McLean, Virginia, USA. Twelve PTF asphalt pavements were tested for rutting mode at two temperatures, 64C and 74C. All rutting tests were conducted using a wheel load of 44 kN (10 000 lb) without transverse wander. An infrared heating system and thermocouples in the pavements provided the required pavement temperature. During the ALF loading, pavement-layer rutting data were collected through differential surveys on eight sets of reference plates installed at the time of construction along the centreline of the test section, and located at the surface of the pavement and on top of the aggregate base, in order to measure

permanent displacement at these two locations at predetermined ALF loading passes. The difference between these two measurements yielded the permanent vertical deformation (rutting) in the asphalt layer. It was found that laboratory rutting performance correlated reasonably well with the ALF field rutting performance. For example, Figure 9 shows a comparison between the Hamburg WTD rut depth and the ALF rut depth at 64C. Note that the Hamburg rutting tests were conducted for specimens submerged in water, whereas the ALF testing was conducted with no water submersion. This may explain some of the scatter in Figure 9, which could be attributed to moisture damage to HMA in terms of stripping. While such comparison may not be considered fair enough, the WTD test seems to be a reasonable test to characterise field rutting.

LOCATING TRANSITION POINTS

Transition point refers to the point at which one stage ends and one stage begins. In the rutting model presented here, there are two points: one separating the primary stage from the secondary

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Figure 9 Hamburg rut depth versus pavement rut depth at 64C for fullscale pavements

stage, and the other separating the secondary stage from the tertiary stage. These two points are shown in Figure 10, which describes the third-order rutting model in terms of rut depth (RD) as function of loading cycles (N). In Figure 10, NPS refers to the transition point between primary and secondary stages, and NST between secondary and tertiary stages. It is not known exactly where one stage would end or begin; however, both the analytical and graphical procedures could be used to determine an approximate location of these two transition points. The two procedures are briefly described below.

Analytical procedure
The point where transition occurs seems to have the strongest (maximum) curvature compared to the adjacent areas of the function, as shown in Figure 10. The maximum curvature is associated with smallest radius of a circle. Mathematically, the curvature (K) for any function f(x) is determined from:

(4)

Figure 10 Analytical procedure to determine location of transition points

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where f (x) and f (x) are the first and second derivates of f(x). For the third-order rutting function proposed in this study, f(x) is replaced by Equation 2. The locations of the maximum curvature can be obtained by taking the first derivative of function K and equating it with zero (ie dK/dN = 0). The (dK/dN) is a quadratic function for which there are two roots in the N > 0 range, representing the NSP and NST, and two additional roots in the N < 0 range, which should be discarded.

CONCLUSIONS
The following conclusions were drawn on the basis of the results and findings of the analyses in this study: 1. Rutting performance data obtained from laboratory testing can be modelled using a simple three-stage cubic function (polynomial function of the third degree) for which the location of the transitional points between the three stages can be identified either analytically or graphically. The effect of the asphalt binder properties on the rutting performance of the asphalt mixtures is investigated and the asphalt binder rutting parameter (G*/sin ) is found to have a good correlation with the rut depth obtained from the Hamburg WTD through the relationship between (G*/sin ) and the model coefficients a, b and c. The simulated rutting performance curves based on the developed cubic models are obtained and plotted against the measured rutting performance curves. There is a reasonable correlation between the two sets of curves, indicating the suitability and accuracy of the proposed model to represent the rutting data. The model developed in this study indicates that the asphalt binder rutting parameter

Graphical procedure
The onset of the secondary and tertiary stages may be obtained graphically by extending the tangents of the nearly linear segments around the transition point and determining the corresponding N where the two tangents intersect. This is illustrated schematically in Figure 11. 2.

Comparison
The graphical procedure is simple; however, drawing the tangents involves some subjectivity in locating the nearly linear portions of the functions. However, determining the location of transition points analytically is rather more involved and requires finding the first derivative of an elaborate curvature function, followed by solving a quadratic equation. The advantage of using the analytical procedure is that it offers a consistent and nonsubjective approach to locating transition points. 3.

4.

Figure 11 Graphical procedure to determine location of transition points

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G * /sin has an impact on the values of the m o d e l c o e f f i c i e n t s a , b a n d c, a n d consequently on the rate of rutting of asphalt mixtures. Also, the asphalt mixture properties (and aggregate properties) seem to have an effect on the amount of rutting developed in asphalt mixtures, and that effect is already incorporated in the degree of the polynomial function that fitted the rutting data. 5. Because of the small number of binders used in this study (8 binders), further work is needed to expand the study to cover a wider variety of binders and asphalt mixtures.
KENIS, WJ (1978). Predictive Design Procedure, VESYS Users Manual: An Interim Design Method for Flexible Pavement Using the VESYS Structural Subsystem. Final Report No. FHWA-RD-77-154, FHWA, Washington, DC. MCLEAN, DB (1973). Permanent Deformation Characteristics of Asphalt Concrete, PhD dissertation, University of California, Berkeley, CA. MCLEAN, DB and MONISMITH, CL (1974). Estimation of permanent deformation in asphalt concrete layers due to repeated traffic loading, Journal of the Transportation Research Board, Transportation Research Record No. 510, pp.1530. MEDANI, TO (2006). Design Principles of Surfacings on Orthotropic Steel Bridge Deckso:, PhD thesis, Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands. MONISMITH, CL (1976). Rutting prediction in asphalt concrete pavements, Journal of the Transportation Research Board, Transportation Research Record No. 616, pp.28. MURAYA, PM (2007). Permanent Deformation of Asphalt Mixtures, PhD thesis, Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands. NCHRP 1-37A (2004). Guide for Mechanistic-Empirical Design of New and Reconstructed Flexible Pavements, Part 3: Design Analysis, Final Report, <http://www.trb.org/ mepdg/Part3_Chapter3_Flexible%20Design.pdf>. NUNN, ME (1986). Prediction of Permanent Deformation in Bituminous Pavement Layers, Research Report 26, Transport and Road Research Laboratory, Great Britain. QI, X, SHENOY, A, AL-KHATEEB, GG, ARNOLD, T, GIBSON, N, YOUTCHEFF, J and HARMAN, T (2006a). Accelerated performance testing of crumb rubber asphalts and other modified asphalt systems, Proceedings of the Asphalt Rubber Conference, October, San Diego, California. QI, X, AL-KHATEEB, GG, SHENOY, A, MITCHELL, T, GIBSON, N, YOUTCHEFF, J and HARMAN, T (2006b). Performance of the FHWAs ALF modified binder pavements, Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Asphalt Pavements, Quebec, Canada. SOUSA, JB, CRAUS, J and MONISMITH, CL (1991). Permanent Deformation in Asphalt Concrete, Summary Report, Strategic Highway Research Program, SHRP, SHRP-A-318. THROWER, EN (1977). Methods of predicting deformation in road pavements, Proceedings 4th International Conference on the Structural Design of Asphalt Pavements, Vol. I, Ann Arbor, pp.54054. ZHOU, F, SCULLION, T and SUN, L (2004). Verification and modeling of three-stage permanent deformation behavior of asphalt mixes, Journal of Transportation Engineering, American Society of Civil Engineering, 130(4), pp.48694.

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ASCHENBRENER, T (1995). Evaluation of Hamburg Wheel-Tracking Device to predict moisture damage in hot-mix asphalt, Journal of the Transportation Research Board, Transportation Research Record No. 1492, National Research Council, Washington DC, pp.193201. BUCHANAN, MS and SMITH, BJ (2005). Performance evaluation of hot-mix (HMA) asphalt using rotary loaded wheel testing, Presented at the Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting, National Research Council, Washington, DC. CLAESSEN, AIM, EDWARDS, JM, SOMMER, P and UGE, P (1977). Asphalt pavement design, the Shell Method, Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on the Structural Design of Asphalt Pavements, Vol. I, Ann Arbor, MI, pp.3974. DESAI, CS, SOMASUNDARAM, S and FRANTZISKONIS, G (1986). A hierarchical approach for constitutive modelling of geologic materials, International Journal of Numerical and Analytical Methods in Geomechanics, 10(3), 22557. EISENMANN, J and HILMER, A (1987). Influence of wheel load and inflation pressure on the rutting effect at asphalt pavements Experiments and theoretical investigations, Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on the Structural Design of Asphalt Pavements, Vol. I, Ann Arbor, MI, pp.392403. EPPS, JA, HAND, A, SEEDS, S, SCHOLZ, T, ALAVI, S, ASHMORE, C, MONISMITH, CL, DEACON, JA, HARVEY, JT and LEAHY, RB (2002). Recommended performance-related specifications for hot-mix asphalt construction, NCHRP Report 455, National Cooperative Highway Research Program, Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, Washington, DC. HENNING, TFP, COSTELLO, SB, and WATSON, TG (2006). A Review of the HDM/dTIMS Pavement Models Based on Calibration Site Data, Research Report Number 907, Land Transport New Zealand, Wellington. HENNING, T, DUNN, R, COSTELLO, S and PARKMAN, C (2009). A new approach for modeling rutting on the New Zealand state highways, Road & Transport Research Journal, 18(1), 318.

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Road & Transport Research

A three-stage rutting model utilising rutting performance data from the Hamburg Wheel-Tracking Device (WTD)

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Ghazi Al-Khateeb Dr. Ghazi Al-Khateeb is an assistant professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at Jordan University of Science and Technology. He is the vice-director of the Consultative Center for Science and Technology (CCST) at the university. Dr. AlKhateeb also worked in the Pavement Materials and Construction Team at the TurnerFairbank Highway Research Center (TFHRC) of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) in McLean, Virginia of the United States of America (USA) as a senior research engineer and on-site technical manager during the time period of 11/200009/2006. Dr. Al-Khateebs research areas include pavement design and performance, characterization of bituminous materials, dynamic testing and modeling of asphalt binders and mixtures, mechanistic performance analysis of asphalt pavements, constitutive model development, pavement damage and mechanics, Superpave mix design and performance, aging of asphalt pavements, and instrumentation. Imad Basheer Dr. Imad Basheer is a senior supervising pavement engineer with the California Department of Transportation, Sacramento, California, USA. He is the chairman of the Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Team and the chief of the Structure Design Branch in the Division of Pavement Management. He was also a senior highway research engineer in the FHWA Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center, McLean, Virginia, USA. His research areas include pavement design and performance modeling, forensic pavement failure investigation, geotechnical design and ground stabilization, geomaterials characterization, and statistical and probabilistic analysis and modeling of civil engineering systems.

CONTACT
Dr Ghazi Al-Khateeb Assistant Professor Department of Civil Engineering Jordan University of Science and Technology Irbid, 22110, Jordan Email: ggalkhateeb@just.edu.jo

DISCLAIMER AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The experimental part of this study was completed in 2006 while both authors were employed at the Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center of the Federal Highway Administration in McLean, Virginia, USA. The accuracy of the data is the sole responsibility of the authors of this paper. The findings and opinions expressed in this paper reflect those of the authors and not those of the Federal Highway Administration, or California Department of Transportation, or Jordan University of Science and Technology. The authors would like to thank the technicians Scott Parobeck, Frank Davis, and Susan Needham who assisted in conducting the experiments.

Vol 18 No 3

September 2009

Road & Transport Research