A Framework to Utilize Shear Strength Properties for Evaluating Rutting Potentials of Unbound Aggregate Materials

This paper presents shear strength and permanent deformation trends of four unbound aggregate materials, commonly used for base and subbase layers in the state of North Carolina, USA, studied through repeated load triaxial testing, using the University of Illinois FastCell equipment. A testing and modeling framework has been established to develop a proper permanent deformation prediction model, referred to herein as the UIUC rutting model, with number of load applications. According to the framework, the unbound aggregate shear strength properties are incorporated into the model using the ratio of the applied wheel load shear stress to the mobilized shear strength, i.e., the Shear Stress Ratio (SSR). This requires conducting repeated load permanent deformation tests at SSR values of 0.25, 0.5 and 0.75 to determine the trends in permanent deformation accumulation. The prediction ability of the developed UIUC rutting model is evaluated in this paper for the four materials tested at both an engineered target gradation and source gradations.