Mechanistic-Empirical Design for Rubblized Pavements in Michigan

Pavement mechanistic-empirical design (PMED) is a modern approach to designing new and rehabilitated pavements. The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) follows the current guideline methodology for rehabilitation designs, utilizing hot-mix asphalt (HMA) overlays on rubblized plain cement concrete (PCC) pavements as new flexible pavement. PMED offers an alternative of HMA overlay on fractured jointed plain cement concrete (JPCP) for rubblized pavements. This paper investigates the optimal design approach and HMA input level for rubblized pavements in Michigan, comparing performance predictions using global and locally calibrated models across three input levels. Results indicated negligible differences between new and overlay designs at global performance predictions for input Levels 1 and 3. Local calibration at Level 1 produced better outcomes, but Level 3 results were also acceptable, barring the thermal cracking model. The study analyzed 11 pavement sections, revealing that HMA thicknesses were, on average, 1.02 cm thinner than current guideline designs. A new flexible pavement design with Level 1 data input is recommended for rubblized pavements in Michigan.