Dynamics of vehicle–pavement system based on a viscoelastic Euler–Bernoulli beam model

This paper focusses on the effects produced by the viscoelastic modelling of pavement on the dynamics of vehicle–pavement coupled system. The pavement is modelled as a two-layer finite length Euler–Bernoulli beam with uniform cross-section resting on a nonlinear Pasternak foundation. A harmonic roughness profile is considered for the pavement. The top layer of the pavement is modelled as a viscoelastic material representing the asphalt topping and the bottom layer is modelled as elastic material representing the base course. Burgers model is used to model the viscoelastic response of the top layer. Galerkin method and Runge–Kutta method are employed to discretise the differential equations arising from the dynamic equations of motion of the system. The vehicle is modelled as a spring-mass-damper system. The physical parameters of the system are compared for determining their influences on the coupled vibratory response. The effect of pavement roughness on the dynamic responses is also studied. The effects of acceleration of the vehicle and temperature on the response of the system are investigated. Additionally, the effect of coupling action on pavement displacements and vehicle body vertical displacement is examined. Numerical results suggest that the viscoelastic effects of asphalt pavement cannot be neglected in the dynamic analysis of vehicle–pavement coupled systems.