Research Projects

Pavement performance is a measure of a road's deterioration over time, influenced by factors such as traffic loading, material properties, climate, drainage, initial road condition, and maintenance activities. Roughness, a key indicator, is directly related to vehicle operating costs, accidents, and driver comfort. AAsHTO uses roughness for pavement design. Flooding can cause abrupt changes in road condition, such as roughness and rutting. However, no detailed quantification has been done to identify flood-resilient roads. Flood-affected pavements have higher deflection and roughness values, lower subgrade resilient modulus, and structural number. The degree of damage depends on the infiltration property of layers, the period of inundation, and the drainage properties of pavement layers. It is crucial to collect information about the pavement's condition post-flooding to determine the realistic condition and the required measures, including load restrictions. A normal road deterioration curve fails to capture the actual condition of the pavement after flooding. Therefore, developing road deterioration models incorporating flooding events is necessary to predict a more realistic performance and make informed decisions about post-flood treatment measures. This model will help road authorities select the optimum pavement treatment for each road section, based on the pavement's real condition.