Browsing by Author "Azary, Andrea"
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Item Effects of Implements of Husbandry (Farm Equipment) on Pavement Performance(Minnesota Department of Transportation Research Services Section, 2012-04) Lim, Jason; Azary, Andrea; Khazanovich, Lev; Wang, Shiyun; Kim, Sunghwan; Ceylan, Halil; Gopalakrishnan, KasthuriranganThe effects of farm equipment on the structural behavior of flexible and rigid pavements were investigated in this study. The project quantified the difference in pavement behavior caused by heavy farm equipment as compared to a typical 5-axle, 80 kip semi-truck. This research was conducted on full scale pavement test sections designed and constructed at the Minnesota Road Research facility (MnROAD). The testing was conducted in the spring and fall seasons to capture responses when the pavement is at its weakest state and when agricultural vehicles operate at a higher frequency, respectively. The flexible pavement sections were heavily instrumented with strain gauges and earth pressure cells to measure essential pavement responses under heavy agricultural vehicles, whereas the rigid pavement sections were instrumented with strain gauges and linear variable differential transducers (LVDTs). The full scale testing data collected in this study were used to validate and calibrate analytical models used to predict relative damage to pavements. The developed procedure uses various inputs (including axle weight, tire footprint, pavement structure, material characteristics, and climatic information) to determine the critical pavement responses (strains and deflections). An analysis was performed to determine the damage caused by various types of vehicles to the roadway when there is a need to move large amounts agricultural product.Item Quantification of the effects of heavy agricultural vehicle loading on pavement performance.(2012-03) Azary, AndreaStarted in 2007, the Pooled Fund Study, which was sponsored by the Minnesota Department of Transportation, Iowa Department of Transportation, Illinois Department of Transportation, and the Minnesota Local Road Research Board began at the MnROAD testing facility in Monticello, Minnesota. There were both flexible and rigid pavement sections implemented with strain gauges, LVDTs and earth pressure cells at the MnROAD testing facility. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of farm equipment on the structural responses (stresses and strains) of flexible and rigid pavements. The goal of the project was to not only quantify the pavement damage caused by this heavy farm equipment compared to the damage caused by a 5-axle, 80 kip semi-truck, but to also implement and develop a computer based model that could be used to predict pavement damage. The study findings revealed that traffic wander, seasonal effects, pavement structural characteristics, and vehicle type/configuration have a pronounced effect on pavement responses to farm implements. The experimental data clearly demonstrated that all farm implements tested induced higher subgrade stresses than a standard 5-axle, 80 kip semi-truck. To minimize damage in flexible pavements due to farm implement loading, the following recommendations may be considered: increasing the number of axles while ensuring even load distribution among axles; avoiding unfavorable environmental conditions such as fully saturated and/or thawed base/subgrade or high AC temperature; and constructing a paved shoulder.