PREDICTION OF REMAINING SERVICE LIFE OF ASPHALT PAVEMENTS

Subject: methods for predicting the remaining service life of asphalt pavements based on development of pavement’s functional state model and established threshold values of benchmark parameters for each level of pavement degradation. Research objectives: substantiate the method for predicting the remaining service life of asphalt pavements based on the uniformity of their specific heat values. Materials and methods: the application of the uniformity of the specific heat values of pavement and the index of thermophysical uniformity as criterion parameters, was demonstrated. Results: the use of approximating function describing the evolution of the index of thermophysical uniformity to assess the current condition of pavement and to predict its further deterioration is justified; calculation formulas were obtained to determine the remaining service life of pavements. Conclusions: methods for determining the remaining service life of asphalt pavements are proposed. Knowledge of the remaining service life should facilitate strategic decision-making with regard to required road repair and maintenance, and thereby lead to a more efficient use of existing resources.