Mechanical properties of asphalt pavement structure in highway tunnel

A linear full 3D finite element method (FEM) was performed in order to present the key design parameters of highway tunnel asphalt pavement under double-wheel load on rectangular loaded area considering horizontal contact stress induced by the acceleration/deceleration of vehicles. The key design parameters are the maximum horizontal tensile stresses at the surface of the asphalt layer, the maximum horizontal tensile stresses at the bottom of the asphalt layer and the maximum vertical shear stresses at the surface of the as- phalt layer were calculated. The influencing factors such as double-wheel weight; asphalt layer thickness; base course stiffness modulus and thickness; and the contact conditions among the structure layers on these key design parameters were also examined separately to propose construction procedures of highway tunnel asphalt pavement.