Implications of Road Structure Design Using Different Approaches

  • Rodica Dorina CADAR Faculty of Civil Engineering, Technical University of Cluj Napoca
  • Mihai ILIESCU Faculty of Civil Engineering, Technical University of Cluj Napoca
  • Nicolae CIONT Faculty of Civil Engineering, Technical University of Cluj Napoca
Keywords: environmental impact, road design, road structure, weigh-in-motion

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to comparatively study the design of a road structure, using parameters provided by standards and their practically measured counterparts. This aspect has multiple consequences, and we emphasised mainly the economical costs and the environmental impact. The location of our study is the Western edge of the city of Cluj Napoca, Romania. Using the traffic data provided by a weigh-in-motion (WIM) system installed on site, we evaluated a series of parameters used for the design of road structures. These parameters are also provided by Romanian standards, and we used their values in our comparative approach. The aim was to establish which procedure provides the best solution, considering different theoretical and practical approaches. After setting up five work hypotheses, we applied the standardised road design procedure. We applied the geotechnical, climatic and hydrological data to establish the bearing capacity of the soil. We chose a semi-rigid road pavement and we verified the 3 (three) eligibility criteria. We obtained different results for the hypotheses we considered. The study emphasises the technical and economical aspects, providing at the same time an environmental point of view. The results we obtained support the idea that WIM traffic data is a useful tool for road pavement design, as long as traffic conditions are similar for the studied sectors. Using the effective traffic values as the basis for pavement design leads to economical advantages and less harmful effects on the environment.
Published
2014-12-02