The objective of this research was to analyze and evaluate the interaction between heavy vehicle characteristics and pavement performance for application in pavement management. Heavy vehicle (truck and bus) characteristics include tire types (bias ply, radial, low profile radial, and "super-single"), tire pressures, tire contact (area and load distribution), tire configuration (single, dual, and other), suspension systems (variable load, load sharing, and dynamic response), axle configuration (spacing, location, and steering axle), axle static loads, and operating conditions (speeds and acceleration/deceleration). Pavement factors include design (flexible and rigid), operating conditions (high speed and low speed), surface conditions (smooth, rough, jointed), traffic mix, and geometrics. Both static and dynamic interactions between various heavy vehicle and pavement factors were analyzed and evaluated to determine their relationships and relative significance. Analytical and experimental procedu res were used to investigate the effects of these interactions on pavement performance and to provide guidelines for use in pavement analysis and design applications.

Thirty-six truck configurations were selected to represent the most common truck design variations currently in use, along with potential future variations. These configurations were evaluated to determine the relative level of road damage induced on 18 representative rigid pavement designs and 13 representative flexible pavement designs, as a basis for establishing relationships of truck design and operating parameters to pavement performance.

All work has been completed and the final report has been published as NCHRP Report 353.