Potential anti-vibration pavements with damping layer: Finite element (FE) modeling, validation, and parametrical studies

Vibrations induced by traffic are of concern for road authorities due to disturbance on the population, and the damage of buildings and structures. In the field of pavement engineering, the anti-vibration paving technologies by the so-called damping layer are under investigation to avoid the generation of excessive vibration and contains propagation. To more fully examine the effectiveness and potential of such a damping layer in the application of anti-vibration pavement, numerical simulations based on a two-dimensional (2D) finite element (FE) model is conducted. The method of determining Rayleigh damping parameters is proposed to more accurately characterize the attenuation of vibration in the road pavements. Sensitivity analysis of varying monitored points and varying loads are performed. Several important parameters such as the damping layer position and thickness, damping ratio are evaluated as well. By the use of this FE simulation to model the vibration response induced by traffic, the costly construction mistakes and field experimentation can be avoided.