Analysis of High Temperature Fluctuations on Asphalt Pavement of Cement Concrete Bridge

Abstract In this study a 2-D finite element model of a multilayered pavement structure of a cement concrete bridge was developed to calculate the temperature fluctuations in summer due to thermal environmental conditions for 1 week. The different specific heat capacity and absorptivity factors of the asphalt layers were considered. The results indicate that the surface temperature’s fluctuation of the pavement is similar to the outside atmosphere temperature; the maximum temperature and temperature gradient of asphalt pavement decreased gradually from the top down; the larger the specific heat capacity is, the less the maximum surface temperature becomes; the larger the absorptivity factor of asphalt pavement is, the higher the maximum surface temperature becomes. It is concluded that 2-D finite element analysis proved to be an interesting tool to simulate the transient behavior of asphalt concrete pavements. The suggested simulation model can predict the pavement temperature at different levels of bituminous layers with good accuracy, which can provide engineers some guidance on the rutting resistance.