International Journal of Pavement Engineering

ISSN: 1029-8436 (Print) 1477-268X (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/gpav20

Analytical layer-element approach for wave

propagation of transversely isotropic pavement

Kezhen Yan, Hongbin Xu & Lingyun You

To cite this article: Kezhen Yan, Hongbin Xu & Lingyun You (2016) Analytical layer-element
approach for wave propagation of transversely isotropic pavement, International Journal of
Pavement Engineering, 17:3, 275-282, DOI: 10.1080/10298436.2014.993187

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International Journal of Pavement Engineering, 2016
Vol. 17, No. 3, 275–282, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10298436.2014.993187

Analytical layer-element approach for wave propagation of transversely isotropic pavement

Kezhen Yan*, Hongbin Xu1 and Lingyun You2
College of Civil Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha, Hunan 410082, P.R. China
(Received 4 November 2013; accepted 5 October 2014)

Asphalt pavements have been recognised as transversely isotropic multi-layered structures. In this paper, an analytical layer-
element approach is utlised to solve the wave propagation of transversely isotropic multi-layered pavement structures under
the falling weight deflectometer impact load. After the application of Fourier –Hankel transform, the Navier’s equation for
transversely isotropic layer by impulsive force are solved analytically. The global stiffness matrix equation of multilayered
structures is further obtained by assembling the interrelated layer-elements, and the actual solution is achieved by numerical
inversion of the Fourier – Hankel transform after the solution in the transformed domain is obtained. The layer-element of a
single layer and the global stiffness matrix only contain negative exponential functions, which leads to a considerable
improvement in computation efficiency and stability. Numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the accuracy of this
method and to inversitgate the influence of the properties of transversely isotropic elastic materials on the load-displacement
responses.
Keywords: analytical layer-element; transversly isotropic; pavement; impact loads

1. Introduction tests were greater than the corresponding static displace-

Flexible pavements are layered structures, conventionally ments at some locations because of local amplification in
with the stiffer layer placed at the top and weaker layers at the the layered pavement structure. Al-Khoury et al. (2001,
bottom. Their responses to external loadings are well 2002) have proposed an efficient technique using the
represented in an analysis based on a multilayer elastic spectral element method (Doyle 1997) that is based on
approach. Recently, the falling weight deflectometer (FWD) Fourier –Bessel series and discrete Fourier series. Liang
has become the most widely used technique for measuring and Zeng (2002) used the Laplace and Hankel transforms
pavement deflections because of its ability to apply high- to efficiently solve this problem in the time domain.
amplitude dynamic loads similar to those imposed by truck Numerical methods have also been used in dynamic
wheels. The FWD load applied on the pavement surface is a pavement analysis (Uddin et al. 1994, Zaghloul et al.
dynamic impact load. However, flexible pavement responses 1998, Shoukry and William 1999).
to static loads are different from responses to dynamic loads. The response to load of asphalt pavement systems is
The ability to accurately describe the dynamic response of often assumed to be a homogeneous, isotropic material
pavements, runways, railways and other layered systems is when stress and strain are calculated in design. However,
essential in many situations. Asphalt pavements have been recognised as transversely
Over the years, many analytical or numerical methods isotropic multi-layered structures (Adu-Osei et al. 2001,
are used for solving dynamic problems in layered media. Kim et al. 2005, Masad et al. 2006). Compared to a
Important works have been done by Thomson (1950) and uniform elastic material model, the use of a multi-layered
Haskell (1953), who developed the layer transfer matrix transversely isotropic model to describe the deformation of
method. A semi-discrete solution to such problems was a layered pavement is more reasonable. Therefore, it is
first introduced by Lysmer, who developed the lumped more reliable and important to consider these anisotropic
mass method for the analysis of Rayleigh waves in multi- properties when stress and displacement solutions for
layered elastic media. Later, this method was generalised these pavement materials are derived. However, few
by Kausel and Roesset (1981). Tassoulas and Kausel studies have focused on the characterisation and modelling
(1983) have further extended these techniques to account of aggregate base, asphalt concrete and pavement analysis
for wave motions in finite regions with inhomogeneous (Wang et al. 2004). The use of anisotropic material
boundary conditions caused by spatially finite loading. properties under impulsive loading to investigate the
Mamlouk and Davis (1984) concluded from elasto- dynamic responses of flexible pavement is of great
dynamic analysis that dynamic deflections under FWD importance but has not received extensive study. It is

*Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]

q 2014 Taylor & Francis
276 K. Yan et al.

therefore the subject of the research presented in this ively. The relationship of strain and displacement are
paper.
In this article, the analytical layer-element method is ›ur ur ›uz › ur ›uz
utilised for the analysis for the dynamic behaviour of 1r ¼ ; 1u ¼ ; 1z ¼ ; grz ¼ þ : ð3Þ
›r r ›z ›z ›r
multi-layered transversely isotropic elastic multi-layered
pavement structures under the impact of the FWD load.
The influences of the properties of transversely isotropic In view of Equations (1a) – (3), the equations of motion
elastic materials on the load-displacement response are are written as
also discussed.
 2 
› ur 1 ›u r ur ›2 ur ›2 uz
c11 þ 2 þ c44 2 þ ðc13 þ c44 Þ
›r 2 r ›r r 2 ›z ›r ›z
2. Governing differential equations › ur
2
Consider a pavement structure subjected to a symmetrical ¼r 2
›t
FWD load pulse P(r,t) at z ¼ 0. The origin of the ð4aÞ
cylindrical coordinate system (r, u, z) is set on the surface
with the z-axis pointing into the half-space and it is
 
assumed to be the axis of symmetry of the medium. The cij ›2 uz 1 › uz ›2 uz
and r are the components of the elastic moduli and the c44 þ þ c33 2
›r 2 r ›r ›z
density, respectively. The governing equations of motion  2  ð4bÞ
› ur 1 ›ur ›2 uz
in the absence of body forces become þ ðc13 þ c44 Þ þ ¼r 2 :
›r ›z r ›z ›t
›sr ›trz sr 2 su ›2 u r
þ þ ¼r 2 ð1aÞ
›r ›z r ›t

3. Analytical layer-element for a single layer

›sz ›trz trz ›2 u z
þ þ ¼r 2 ; ð1bÞ In order to reduce partial differential equations of ordinary
›z ›r r ›t
differential equations, we take the Fourier and Hankel
where sr , su andsz are the components of stress, uz and ur transform of the variables of Equations (4a) and (4b). The
are the components of the displacement, and t is the time. following expressions can be obtained:
The corresponding constitutive relation for transversely
 
isotropic materials is as follows: ›2   ›u~^ z
c44 2 c 11 j 2
2 rv 2
u~^ r 2 ðc13 þ c44 Þj ¼0
8 9 2 3 ›z 2 ›z
>
> sr ðr; z; tÞ >
> c11 c12 c13 0
>
> >
> 6 7 ð5aÞ
< su ðr; z; tÞ >
> = 6 c21 c11 c13 0 7
6 7
¼6 7
>
> sz ðr; z; tÞ >> 6 c13 c31 c33 0 7  
>
>
>
>
> 4 5 ›2   ›u~^ r
: trz ðr; z; tÞ >
; 0 0 0 c44 c33 2 c 44 j 2
2 rv 2
u~^ z þ ðc13 þ c44 Þj ¼ 0;
›z 2 ›z
8 9 ð5bÞ
>
> 1r ðr; z; tÞ >
>
>
> >
>
< 1u ðr; z; tÞ >
> =
 ; ð2Þ in which u~ r andÐu~ z are Hankel transforms with Ð 1respect to ur
1
>
> 1z ðr; z; tÞ >> and uz , u~ r ¼ 0 rur ðr; z; tÞJ 1 ðjrÞdr, u~ z ¼ 0 ruz ðr; z; tÞ
>
> >
>
: grz ðr; z; tÞ >
> ; J 0 ðjrÞdr. u~^ r and u~^ z are Fourier transforms with respect to
u~ r and u~ z , and in the Fourier transformation process, a
linear hysteretic material damping is used with a damping
where 1r , 1u , 1z and grz are the components of strain. cij are constant value of 0.001; to be brief, the details were not
elastic coefficients, and c11 ¼ knð1 2 nm2v Þ; c12 ¼ knðmh þ included in this article.j is the parameter of the Hankel
nm2v Þ; c13 ¼ knmv ðmh þ 1Þ; c33 ¼ kð1 2 m2h Þ; c44 ¼ Gv , transform corresponding to r. Taking the partial differen-
n ¼ Eh =Ev ; k ¼ Ev =½ð1 þ mh Þð1 2 mh 2 2nm2v ; in which tial of Equation (5a), and substituting Equation (5a) into
Ev , Eh and Gv are Young’s modulus in the vertical direction, Equation (5b) yields:
Young’s modulus in the horizontal direction, shear modulus
in planes normal to the plane of transverse isotropy,  
›4 ›2
respectively, and mh and mv are Poisson’s ratios in the þ a 2 þ b u~^ z ðj; z; vÞ ¼ 0; ð6Þ
horizontal direction and in the vertical direction, respect- ›z 4 ›z
 International Journal of Pavement Engineering 2773

where t^~r ðj; z; vÞ, respectively when z ¼ 0. Note that U 1 and T 1

    are the state vectors composed of A, B, C and D; therefore,
c33 c11 j 2 2 rv 2 þ c44 c44 j 2 2 rv 2 2 ðc13 þ c44 Þ2 j 2
a¼ ; they can be expressed as follows:
c33 c44
   U 1 ¼ M½A; B; C; DT ; T 1 ¼ N½A; B; C; DT ð12Þ
c44 j 2 2 rv 2 c11 j 2 2 rv 2
b¼ : 2 3
c33 c44 k11 k12 k13 k14
6 7
6 k21 k22 k23 k24 7
Solving Equation (6) yields: 6 7
M¼6 7 ð13aÞ
6 k11 e2l1 z k12 e2l2 z k13 el1 z k14 el2 z 7
u~^ z ðj; z; vÞ ¼ Ae2l1 z þ Be2l2 z þ Cel1 z þ Del2 z : ð7Þ 4 5
k21 e2l1 z k22 e2l2 z k23 el2 z k24 el2 z
Similarly, substituting Equation (7) into Equation (5b)
2 3
yields: 2k31 2k32 2k33 2k34
6 7
6 2k41 2k42 2k43 2k44 7
u~^ r ðj; z; vÞ ¼ k21 Ae2l1 z þ k22 Be2l2 z þ k23 Cel1 z 6
N¼6
7
7; ð13bÞ
6 k31 e2l1 z k32 e2l2 z k33 el1 z k34 el2 z 7
þ k24 De l2 z
; ð8Þ 4 5
k41 e2l1 z k42 e2l2 z k43 el2 z k44 el2 z
where A, B, C and D are arbitrary constants.
qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi pffiffiffi where k11 ¼ k12 ¼ k13 ¼ k14 ¼ 1. From Equation (12), the
l1;2 ¼ 2a 7 a 2 2 4b= 2, d1 ¼ c33 =ðc13 þ c44 Þj, following expression can be obtained:
d2 ¼ ðc44 j 2 rv 2 Þ=ðc13 þ c44 Þj, k21 ¼ 2k23 ¼ ð2d2 þ T 1 ¼ NM 21 U 1 ¼ KU 1 ; ð14Þ
d1 l21 Þ=l1 , k22 ¼ 2k24 ¼ ð2d 2 þ d1 l22 Þ=l2 .
Taking the Hankel transform and Fourier transform to where K is an exact and symmetric matrix of order 4 £ 4,
Equations (2) and (3) yields the following equation: which indicates the relationship between the displace-
ments and the stresses of a single layer in the transformed
›u~^ z domain. The matrix K has the characteristics of the
s^~z ðj; z; vÞ ¼ c13 ju~^ r þ c33 ð9aÞ analytical solution, so it can be called the analytical layer-
›z
! element. Each layer-element of the matrix have only
› u^r
~ negative exponential functions, which improve the
t^~rz ðj; z; vÞ ¼ c44 2 ju~^ z : ð9bÞ numerical efficiency and stability (Ai et al. 2011).
›z
For the transversely isotropic half space, the layer-
Substituting Equations (7) and (8) into Equations (9a) element only has a single boundary at the top of the layer
and (9b) yields: and extends infinitely in all other directions. As a
consequence, the waves in this element are only allowed
s^~z ðj; z; vÞ ¼ k31 Ae2l1 z þ k32 Be2l2 z þ k33 Cel1 z to propagate away from the upper boundary without any
waves reflecting back. Therefore, the solutions for half
þ k34 Del2 z ð10aÞ space can be obtained by assuming C and D are equal zero.
So for the transversely isotropic half space element, the
t^~rz ðj; z; vÞ ¼ k41 Ae2l1 z þ k42 Be2l2 z þ k43 Cel1 z displacement and stress matrix can be expressed as follows:
8 9
þ k44 Del2 z ; ð10bÞ < u~^ z =
¼ M½A; BT
where k31 ¼ 2k33 ¼ 2ðjd2 c13 þ l21 ðc33
2 jd 1 c13 ÞÞ=d 1 , : u~^ r ;
k32 ¼ 2k34 ¼ 2ðjd2 c13 þ l22 ðc33 2 jd 1 c13 ÞÞ=d 2 , k41 ¼
k43 ¼ c44 ðd 2 2 d1 l21 2 jÞ k42 ¼ k44 ¼ c44 ðd2 2 " #( )
and e2l1 z e2l2 z A
d1 l22 2 jÞ. ¼ ð15aÞ
Let k21 e2l1 z k22 e2l2 z B
8 h iT 8 9
> ^ ^ ^ ^ < s^~z =
< U 1 ¼ u~ z ðj; 0; vÞ; u~ z ðj; 0; vÞ; u~ z ðj; z; vÞ; u~ r ðj; z; vÞ
>
¼ N½A; B T
h iT ; : t^~r ;
>
: T 1 ¼ 2s^~z ðj; 0; vÞ; 2t^~r ðj; 0; vÞ; s^~z ðj; z; vÞ; t^~r ðj; z; vÞ
>
" #( )
k31 e2l1 z k32 e2l2 z A
ð11Þ ¼ : ð15bÞ
k41 e2l1 z k42 e2l2 z B
where u~^ z ðj; 0; vÞ; u~^ r ðj; 0; vÞ, s^~z ðj; 0; vÞ and t^~r ðj; 0; vÞ are
the values of u~^ z ðj; z; vÞ, u~^ r ðj; z; vÞ, s^~z ðj; z; vÞ and
2478 K. Yan et al.

4. Analytical layer-element solution to for for radical and vertical displacements, respectively. The
multilayered pavement process is as follows:
After the stiffness matrices have been obtained for all Let the closed form equation for the inverse Hankel
layer-elements that make up the structure, the global transform for the vertical displacement at node i be:
stiffness matrix may be assembled in the same way as the
ð
1
conventional finite element method (FEM). Let us assume
the thickness of the ith layer to be hi ¼ Hi –Hi21, in which uzi ðrÞ ¼ u~ zi ðjÞJ 0 ðjrÞjdj; ð18Þ
Hi and Hi21 are the depths from the surface to the bottom 0
and the top of the ith layer, respectively. The global
stiffness matrix of the multi-layered pavement can be the above integral can be written as a series of integrals:
obtained after considering the continuity conditions of the cð2 cð3
interfaces between the adjacent layers:
uzi ðrÞ ¼ u~ zi ðjÞJ 0 ðjrÞjdj þ u~ zi ðjÞJ 0 ðjrÞjd j
2 38 ^ 9
K1 >
> u~ z ðj; 0; vÞ >>
c1 c2
ð19Þ
> > ð
7>> u^ ðj; 0; vÞ >
cnþ1
6 >
6 K2 7>> ~ >
>
7> > þ ··· þ u~ zi ðjÞJ 0 ðjrÞjdj þ · · ·:
r
6 > >
6 .. 7< .
=
6 . 7 .. cn
6 7> >
6 7> >
6 K m21 7>>
> ~^ z ðj; zm ; vÞ >
>
>
4 5>>
u >
>
Then the 6-point Gaussian quadrature is adopted, the
>
> >
K m : u~^ r ðj; zm ; vÞ >
; equation above can be evaluated as Equation (20)
according to Abramowitz and Stegun (Abramowitz and
8 9 8 ^ 9 Stegun 1972), where the functions yq and wq are Gaussian
> 2 s^~z ðj; 0; vÞ > > > P~ 1z >>
>
> >
> >
> >
> nodes and their corresponding weights, respectively:
>
> >
> >
> ^ >
>
>
> 2 t^~ ð j ; 0; vÞ >
> >
> P~ >
>
>
>
r >
> >
> 1r >
> ð
cnþ1
< = < = cnþ1 2 cn X6
.. ..
¼ . ¼ . ; ð16Þ u~ zi ðjÞJ 0 ðjrÞjd j ¼ wq u~ zi ðbq ÞJ 0 ðbq Þbq :
>
> >
> >
> >
> 2
>
> > > > q¼1
>
> s^~z ðj; z; vÞ > >
>
>
>
> P~^ mz >>
>
cn
>
> >
> >
> >
> ð20Þ
>
: t^~r ðj; z; vÞ ; > > > >
: P~ mr >
^ ;

in which m represents an element number. The vector in cnþ1 2 cn cnþ1 þ cn

the left hand side is the displacement vector and the one in bq ¼ yq þ : ð21Þ
2 2
the right hand side is the force vector. The force vector
should be obtained from the boundary condition. The parameter, cn , which represents the limits of each
By considering the solution of FWD load, the solution to interval, was chosen by dividing the region between the
the load can be obtained by means of the Hankel transform successive roots for the derivative of the Bessel function of
and Fourier transform: order zero into 10 equal intervals. What’s more, to
simplify the calculation, the infinite summation in
apðvÞ Equation (19) was carried out for the ten circles of the
P~^ 1z ðj; 0; vÞ ¼ J 1 ðjrÞ; P~^ 1r ðj; 0; vÞ ¼ 0; ð17Þ
j Bessel function based on researches conducted by Kim
(2011) and Al-Khoury et al.(2001), respectively.
where a is the radius of the load, p is the amplitude of the
load.
Combined with the boundary conditions Equation 5. Verification
(17), the displacement and stress in the transformed In order to verify the accuracy of the foregoing theory in
domain for all layer-elements of the pavement can be this paper, their numerical implementation has been done
obtained through Equation (16) from the global stiffness by comparing the results with that of the FEM. The
matrix. The real solutions can be obtained by taking the properties of the pavement layers used for the elastic
inversion of the Fourier transform and Hankel transform. analysis are shown in Table 1 ðEv ¼ Eh ¼ mv ¼ mh Þ, an
In this paper, the fast Fourier transform (FFT) method is approximate expression Gv ¼ Ev =ð2ð1 þ mv ÞÞ is adopted
used to conduct the inverse Fourier transform, and the according to Barden (1963) and Wang et al. (2004). The
number of samples is 2048 with a time interval (Dt) of FWD loading was idealised to be a half-sine load
0.25 ms. The inversion of Hankel transform is accom- distribution over a circular area of radius 150 mm, a peak
plished using inverse Hankel transforms of orders 1 and 0 magnitude of 50 kN and a duration of 30 ms,
 International Journal of Pavement Engineering 2795

Table 1. Layer properties for pavement simulation.

Elastic Mass
modulus Poisson’s Thickness density
Layer (MPa) ratio (mm) (kg/m3)
Asphalt 1000 0.35 180 2400
Base 1400 0.30 320 2300
Subgrade 60 0.45 1 1800

PðtÞ ¼ 50 sin ðpt=0:03Þ; ð0 # t # 0:03 sÞ. The surface

deflections were calculated at radial distances of 0, 203,
305, 457, 610, 914 and 1524 mm from the centre of the
loading plate.
In the FEM, the geometry was calculated using C3D8R
element. The pavement structure was assumed to extend
10 m in the horizontal direction and 11.54 m in the vertical
direction; Rayleigh damping is adopted in the finite Figure 2. Pavement surface deflection by FEM.
element model and a damping ratio of 0.05 is used for
asphalt and base layer. The detailed mesh model is shown
in Figure 1.
The pavement deflection was first calculated suppos-
ing that the pavement is lying on a half space, and then a
bedrock (infinite stiffness) was assumed to be located
3.0 m below the pavement surface. The calculated results
based on the derived solution in this paper are presented in
Figures 2– 5. It can be seen that the two methods can
provide almost identical results, regardless of whether
there is shallow bedrock below the pavement or not. The
presence of shallow bedrock introduced vibrations at the
end of deflection time history, which increased the
duration of deflections history.

6. Numerical results and discussion

Figure 3. Pavement surface deflection by layer-element
To investigate the effect of the modulus ratio (n ¼ Eh/Ev)
approach.
in the direction of the horizontal direction, the simulation
was carried out using the same pavement structure that was
used for the previous FEM simulation (Table 1) with a
couple of exceptions. The elastic moduli of asphalt layer

(a) (b)

Figure 1. The model of FEM. (a) boundary condition and load Figure 4. Pavement surface deflection by FEM with a bedrock
and (b) element model. at 3 m below surface.
2680 K. Yan et al.

400

350 n=0.25
n=0.50
n=0.75
300 n=1.00

deflection/µm
250

200

150

100

50
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0
r/m

Figure 7. The maximum deflection at different asphalt layer

Figure 5. Pavement surface deflection by layer-element
modulus ratios.
approach with a bedrock at 3 m below surface.
agreement with the no shallow bedrock’s. This is also
were selected as follows: Ev ¼ 1000 MPa, n ¼ 1/4, 2/4, 3/4, confirmed in Figure 9.
and 4/4, and mh ¼ mv ¼ 0.35, and the other parameters Figures 10 and 11 show the calculated vertical
were kept the same as Table 1. The simulated deflection deflection on the surface varied with different modulus
time histories in the centre of the loading plate without ratios in the direction of the horizontal direction of the base
considering the presence of shallow bedrock are shown in layer for no shallow bedrock, and results for the model with
Figure 6. It can be seen that the surface deflections are larger shallow bedrock are presented in Figures 12 and 13. The
than the isotropic case (n ¼ 4/4) if horizontal stiffness is elastic modulus of base layer were selected as follows:
smaller than the vertical stiffness. Figure 7 shows the results Ev ¼ 1400 MPa, n ¼ 1/4, 2/4, 3/4 and 4/4, and
of surface deflections in different positions. As the ratio of mh ¼ mv ¼ 0.3, and the other parameters were kept the
elastic modulus becomes smaller, deflections near the point same as Table 1. The surface deflections exhibit a
of loading become bigger but the differences decrease for decreasing trend with increasing modulus ratio, regardless
points far from the point of loading. For pavement built of with or without shallow bed rock. Comparing Figure 11
above shallow bedrock, the simulated results for deflection with Figure 7, it can be found that the properties of
time histories in the centre of the loading plate are presented transversely isotropic of the asphalt layer have more effect
in Figure 8. Different from the no shallow bedrock, it is on the surface deflection than the properties of transversely
observed that the surface deflections for the centre of the anisotropic of the base layer; however, this is not claimed
loading plate increase with modulus ratio changing from while comparing Figure 13 with Figure 9.
1/4 to 4/4; however, in other positions the results are still in

Figure 6. The deflection of load centre at different asphalt layer Figure 8. The deflection of load centre at different asphalt layer
modulus ratios. modulus ratios with a bed rock at 3.0 m below surface.
 International Journal of Pavement Engineering 7
281

Figure 9. The maximum deflection at different base layer Figure 12. The deflection of load centre at different base layer
modulus ratios with a bedrock at 3 m below surface. modulus ratios with a bedrock at 3 m below surface.

Figure 13. The maximum deflection at different base layer

modulus ratios with a bedrock at 3 m below surface.
Figure 10. The deflection of load centre at different base layer
modulus ratios. 7. Conclusion
By employing the Fourier –Hankel transform, the govern-
400
ing equations for transversely isotropic elastic pavement
n=0.25
under impact load are solved analytically. Based on the
350 n=0.50 obtained solutions, the analytical layer-element for a single
n=0.75 layer was derived, and then the global stiffness matrix was
n=1.00
300 assembled in the same way as the conventional FEM. The
deflection/µm

deflections of each layer under impact load were calculated

250 by taking the inversion of the Fourier –Hankel transform.
Comparison with finite element analysis of typical
200
pavement under FWD load and with computational results
obtained by the use of the layer-element method, developed
150
and implement in this study, have shown to be accurate. The
100
numerical analysis of the multi-layered transversely
isotropic elastic pavement subjected to FWD loading
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 showed that the modulus ration (n ¼ Eh/Ev) had an obvious
r/m
effect on the surface deflection of the multi-layered
Figure 11. The maximum deflection at different base layer medium. The advantage of the layer-element approach over
modulus ratios. other conventional methods like as the finite layer method
2882 K. Yan et al.

and the transfer matrix method lies on no existence of Barden, L., 1963. Stresses and displacements in a cross-
positive exponential functions and reduction of matrix anisotropic soil. Geotechnique, 13 (3), 198– 210.
Doyle, J.F., 1997. Wave propagation in structures: spectral
operation, which is results to improve the computational
analysis using fast discrete Fourier transforms. 2nd ed.
efficiency. With suffice accuracy compared with finite Mechanical Engineering Series. New York: Springer.
element analysis, and superior efficiency to conventional Haskell, N.A., 1953. The dispersion of surface waves in
methods, the analytical layer-element approach behaves as multilayered media. Bulletin of Seismological Society of
a good method to calculate the deflection of typical America, 43 (1), 17 – 43.
Kausel, E. and Roesset, J.M., 1981. Stiffness matrices for layered
pavement under FWD load in this article. What’s more, it
soils. Bulletin of Seismological Society of America, 71 (6),
can also be extended to solve the displacements and stresses 1743– 1761.
of transversely isotropic pavements subjected to other load Kim, J., 2011. General viscoelastic solutions for the multilayered
types. This will make the analytical layer-element approach systems subjected to static and moving loads. Journal of
promising to predict distresses of the pavement and provide Materials in Civil Engineering, ASCE, 23, 1007– 1016.
Kim, Sung-Hee, Little, Dallas N., and Masad, Eyad, 2005.
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