Misbah U. Khan, CPEng.; Mahmoud Mesbah, Ph.D.; Luis Ferreira, Ph.D.; and David J. Williams, Ph.D.
Abstract: Although several studies observed pavement responses after flooding, no detailed quantification has been done to date. This paper has estimated different pavements’ performances with flooding to identify flood-resilient roads. This was shown through
(1) new roughness and rutting-based road deterioration (RD) models
(2) the relationship between changes in roughness [International Roughness Index (IRI)] versus time and modulus of resilience (Mr) loss at granular and subgrade layers versus time, and
(3) flood consequence results
The comparative analysis on different pavement performances shows that a rigid and strong pavement built to a high standard is the most flood-resilient, which may be adopted as a preflood strategy. Results obtained using two proposed new gradients of IRI (incremental change in IRI, ΔIRI) in Year 1 over probability of flooding (ΔIRI=Pr); and ΔIRI in Year 1 over loss in Mr (ΔIRI=MrL); as well as flood consequences provided similar results. Road authorities should consider changing their roads to flood-resilient pavements in the future. It is recommended to investigate after flood roads’ structural conditions and performances to validate the new ratio values of ΔIRI=Pr and ΔIRI=MrL. DOI: 10.1061/JPEODX.0000007.
For a PDF of the paper, please click on image to the left, or go to: ISCPJULY_ASCE_Estimating Pavement’s Flood Resilience
© 2017 American Society of Civil Engineers
