Description
A 3-D finite element model (FEM) was developed to calculate the temperature of an asphalt rubber pavement located in the Northeast of Portugal. The goal of the case study presented in this paper is to show the good accuracy temperature prediction that can be obtained with this model when compared with the field pavement thermal condition obtained during a year. Input data to the model are the hourly values for solar radiation and
temperature and the mean daily values of wind speed obtained from a meteorological station. The thermal response of a multilayered pavement structure is modelled using a FEM transient thermal analysis and each analysis was initiated with the full depth constant initial temperature obtained from field measurements. For each analysed day, the pavement temperature was measured at a new pavement section, located in IP4 main road, near
Bragança, in the north of Portugal. At this location, seven thermocouples were installed in the asphalt rubber and conventional mix layers, at seven different depths. These pavement data was used to validate this simulation model, by comparing model calculated data with measured pavement temperatures. As conclusion, the 3-D finite-element analysis proved to be an interesting tool to simulate the transient behavior of asphalt pavements. The presented
simulation model can predict the pavement temperature at different levels of bituminous layers with good accuracy.
