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In China, the research on asphalt pavement deterioration was hindered by a lack of comprehensive investigations on field data collection of pavement performance within its service life. The problem of traditional methods that yield inadequate data can be addressed using a combination of the Pavement Mechanistic-Empirical (PME) system and matter-element analysis (MEA). Measured data for the rutting of a road section in the Shaanxi province was employed as the validation data in this study. The input parameter for PME was localized, and a decay model based on the predicted results of PME was established by the MEA method. The results from PME indicate that the predicted results of rutting show a ''lagging" characteristic when compared with the measured data. Some optimization measures are employed to process the predicted results of PME so as to better fit the measured data. The predicted data for rutting resistance can be considered essential data for the MEA method to investigate the decay tendency of the rutting of asphalt pavement in its design life. A case study indicates that the rutting resistance of asphalt pavement will deteriorate from excellent to good, good to medium, medium to inferior, and inferior to bad in 13.8 months, 32.5 months, 43.8 months, and 55.2 months, respectively. The combination of PME and MEA proves to be appropriate to evaluate rutting potential in project level pavements. Follow-up research can be carried out on the developing trend of pavement damage, so as to better determine the maintenance time for a chosen road section. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The traffic input parameters in the Mechanistic Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG) are: (a) general traffic inputs, (b) traffic volume adjustment factors, and (c) axle load spectra (ALS). Of these three traffic inputs, the traffic volume adjustment factors specifically monthly adjustment factor (MAF) and the ALS are widely considered to be important and sensitive factors, which can significantly affect design of and prediction of distress in flexible pavements. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to assess the sensitivity of ALS and MAF traffic inputs on rutting distress of a flexible pavement. The traffic data of four years (from 2008 to 2012) were collected from an instrumented test section on I-35 in Oklahoma. Site specific traffic input parameters were developed. It was observed that significant differences exist between the MEPDG default and developed site-specific traffic input values. However, the differences in the yearly ALS and MAF data, developed for these four years, were not found to be as significant when compared to one another. In addition, quarterly field rut data were measured on the test section and compared with the MEPDG predicted rut values using the default and developed traffic input values for different years. It was found that significant differences exist between the measured rut and the MEPDG (AASHTOWare-ME) predicted rut when default values were used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]