Mechanistic-empirical Pavement Design Guide A Manual of Practice

"This document or manual of practice describes a pavement design methodology that is based on engineering mechanics and has been validated with extensive road test performance data. This methodology is termed mechanistic-empirical (ME) pavement design, and it represents a major change from the pavement design methods in practice today. Interested agencies have already begun implementation activities through staff training, collection of input data (materials library, traffic library, etc.), acquiring of test equipment, and preparation of field sections for local calibration. This manual, referred to as the Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG), presents the information necessary for pavement design engineers to start using the ME-based design and analysis method. The software supporting this method is called Pavement ME Design and is commercially available through AASHTOWare. The software is referred to in this document as PMED. Multiple enhancements have been made to AASHTOWare PMED based on completed research projects sponsored by the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). In addition, revisions to the software were based on evaluations performed by State Highway Agencies and others in the Community of Practice. The third edition of the MEPDG Manual of Practice was prepared so the manual was consistent with the enhanced features and models included in the software through 2018."--