Combined model framework for asphalt pavement condition determination after flooding

Flooding of pavements often causes damage that is invisible on the surface. A way to predict the condition of a pavement after flooding will be useful for agencies to make rational decisions about the need for closing a road to traffic or opening it up for cleaning and recovery work. In this study, the problem of flooded pavement assessment was formulated as a combination of hydraulic and structural analyses. A model was developed; it consisted of results from unsaturated hydraulic and layered elastic structural analyses. An interactive simulation was developed from the model and was made available on the web to users in the public domain. Simulations with the model showed significant impacts when subgrade layer moduli were below 50 MPa and layer thickness was less than 200 mm for the hot-mix asphalt (HMA) and less than 600 mm for the base. Axle loads exceeding 80 kN exacerbated damages and hazardous conditions. The time to reach conditions that will not lead to damage or failure within a short period of time depends on both the pavement conditions and the load magnitude. On the basis of thickness of surface HMA layer and soil subgrade moduli, restrictions of traffic could be placed on flooded pavements.