• International Journal of Highway Engineering
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• v.8 no.3 s.29
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• pp.129-141
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• 2006

The vertical soil pressure developed in the granular layer of asphalt pavement system is influenced by various factors, including the wheel load magnitude, the loading speed, and asphalt pavement temperature. This research observed the distribution of vertical soil pressure in pavement supporting layer by investigating measured data from soil pressure gage in the KHC Test Road. The existing specification of subbase and subgrade compaction was also evaluated with measured vertical pressure. The finite element analysis was conducted to verify the accuracy of results with measured data because it can maximize research capacity without significant field test. The test data was collected from A5, A7, A14, and A15 test sections at August, September, and November 2004 and August 2005. Those test sections and test data were selected because they had best quality. The size of influence area was evaluated and the vertical pressure variation was investigated with respect to load level, load speed, and pavement temperature. The lower speed, higher load level, and higher pavement temperature increased the vertical pressure and reduced the area of influence. The finite element result showed the similar trend of vertical pressure variation in comparison with measured data. The specification of compaction quality for subbase and subgrade is higher than the level of vertical pressure measured with truck load so that it should be lurker investigated.