Investigating the effect of cornering maneuver on the performance of bituminous racetrack pavement.

A Formula One (F1) circuit typically consists of 14 to 18 turns. The speed of the F1 car changes during the accelerating, decelerating, cornering, and braking according to the layout and condition of the circuit. The changes of pace and horizontal forces involved, especially in the cornering area, would impact the performance of racetrack pavement. Therefore, this research aimed to investigate the effect of the cornering maneuver on stress and strain distributions at the surfacing and the bonding between the surfacing and the layer underneath at different speeds and cornering radius. The Mechanistic-Empirical Design approach was implemented in this study, and BISAR 3.0 software was used to calculate the distribution of stresses and strains within the racetrack pavement structure. Then, the Nottingham Design Method was used in the thickness design by considering the effect of the cornering maneuver. The results indicate that the compressive strain at the surfacing decreases as the speed increases. When the bond between the surfacing and layer underneath increases, the shear stress increases too. The lowest speed with a tighter cornering radius shows higher horizontal forces, thus indicating the racetrackpressureent's most elevated stress and strain distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]