AASHTO Asset Management Task Force



NCHRP 20-7

Proposed Research Needs Statement

Committee on Materials and Pavements

Moe Jamshidi

August 7, 2017

TITLE

User Review of the ‘Guide for the Local Calibration of the Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide’

BACKGROUND / NEEDS STATEMENT

The AASHTO ‘Guide for the Local Calibration of the Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide’ was first published in 2010. Use of the guide by State DOTs and others has been minimal because of perceived difficulty in understanding the Guide. Over two-thirds of State DOTs, multiple Canadian provinces, and international transportation agencies, have already licensed the AASHTOWare Pavement ME Design software program. A key component for successfully implementing the program is locally calibrating the design models for the materials, traffic and environmental conditions of the agency’s jurisdiction. Revising the guide in a more understandable and reader-friendly format will increase the desirability to use it and facilitate comprehension, calibration and implementation of the Pavement ME Design program.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVE

The primary research objective is to critique the AASHTO ‘Guide for the Local Calibration of the Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide’ from a general pavement design practitioner viewpoint and make recommendations for areas to improve document comprehension.

WORK TASKS

Tasks anticipated in this project include the following:

• Thorough review of the AASHTO ‘Guide for the Local Calibration of the Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide’.

• Categorization of document contents by degree of understandability.

• Recommendations for sections of document to improve in ways that will facilitate comprehension by pavement designers responsible for locally calibrating the Pavement ME Design program.

URGENCY

The research is urgent for Pavement ME Design users, who have been limited in their ability to locally calibrate the Pavement ME Design, because they cannot comprehend the steps required in the AASHTO ‘Guide for the Local Calibration of the Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide’.

FUNDING REQUESTED AND TIME REQUIRED

It is estimated that this research will take 3 months to complete and will require $20,000-$25,000.

CONTACT PERSON

John Donahue, P.E.

Missouri DOT

Construction and Materials Division

1617 Missouri Blvd.

Jefferson City, MO 65109

(573) 295-4920

john.donahue@modot.

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