CE 755 Highway Pavement Design

Mechanistic-empirical analysis and design of highway pavements with critical evaluation of current design practices. Pavement materials characterization; stresses and strains in pavements; traffic consideration; pavement performance models; and actual thickness design of pavements using the AASHTO 2002 Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG). 3 credit hours.

 
   
   
Prerequisite
  

Undergraduate class in behavior of soils and foundations or consent of instructor.


Course Objectives

 

  

By the end of the course, the student should be able to:

  • understand the basic principles in mechanistic-empirical pavement design;
  • determine stresses and strains in pavement structures;
  • identify various types of distresses in different pavement types;
  • describe inputs required in the AASHTO 2002 MEPDG;
  • characterize the traffic input;
  • understand the test and analysis methods for material properties used in the MEPDG; and
  • design pavement structures using the AASHTO 2002 MEPDG software.

 
Course Topics  
  • types of pavement structures;
  • stresses and strains in pavement structures (i.e., pavement response models);
  • pavement material characterization;
  • traffic characterization;
  • effects of environmental conditions on pavement response and performance;
  • pavement performance models;
  • transfer functions; and
  • mechanistic-empirical pavement design

 

Course Requirements  

Homework: 3-4 assignments in the course of the semester

Examinations: One midterm exam

Software requirement: The AASHTO 2002 MEPDG software can be downloaded from the NCHRP website for installation on a local drive in executable form, but its copy-protection feature requires access to the Internet to check for a specific file on the Transportation Research Board web server at each use.

Project: Final design project using the AASHTO 2002 MEPDG software

 
Textbook  

Huang, Yang H., Pavement Analysis and Design, Prentice Hall. ISBN: 0-13-142473-4.

PowerPoint slides to be downloaded from the course website.
Computer and Internet Requirements  

NCSU has recommended minimum specifications for computers used for classes. Depending on your computer needs, we recommend your computer meet or exceed the following minimum specifications below.

PCs must have an Intel-compatible 1 GHz processor, 512 MB RAM, 60 GB hard drive with 1 GB free space available, 256 Color Display, CD-ROM drive, 1024x768 (min.) video adapter, sound card, and speakers. The operating system should be Windows XP Pro. Real One Player Basic (available free online) and high speed Internet connection such as cable, DSL, T1 or LAN will be required for EOL courses.

MAC users must have a G4 processor with firewire and USB factory built-in, 512 MB RAM, 60 GB with 1GB free space available, 256 Color Display, CD-ROM drive, 1024x768 (min) video adapter, sound card, and speakers. The operating system must be MacOS 10.4 (minimum) along with the above RealOne and Internet specifications above.

For more detailed information on computer specifications and recommendations, please refer to our website at: http://engineeringonline.ncsu.edu/currentstudents/computeraccess.htm

 

Instructor  

Dr. Y. Richard Kim, Professor
Dept. of Civil, Construction, & Environmental Engineering
North Carolina State University
210 Mann Hall
Campus Box 7908
Raleigh, NC 27695-7908

Phone: (919) 515-7758
Fax: (919) 515-7908
E-mail: kim@ncsu.edu
Instructor Website: http://www.ce.ncsu.edu/faculty/kim/