The College of Engineering at the University of Baghdad witnessed the public discussion of the master’s student (Sura Kamal Mohameed) from the Civil Engineering Department/ Road and Transportation on his thesis entitled (Finite Element Analysis of Flexible Pavement under Horizontal and Vertical Load) on Wednesday, 18/9/2024, in Chemical Engineering Department Hall. Under the supervision of (Asst. Prof. Dr. Mohannad H. Al-Sherrawi)
The research aims to improve the structural design of flexible pavement and maintain a balance between the criteria of rutting, fatigue and slippage.
The results showed that the thickness of the base layer has a significant effect in protecting the flexible pavement from the risk of rutting under static load. For the purpose of protecting asphalt pavement from the risk of vehicles braking at intersections, which causes slippage cracks, the thickness of the asphalt layer is determined. When it increases from 100 to 200 mm, the horizontal strain below the asphalt layer decreases by 51.6%.
Accordingly, the research came out with a set of recommendations, including: In the case of dynamic load in the presence of horizontal forces, the best case to protect the subgrade layer from the risk of rutting and the asphalt layer from the risk of slippage cracks is that the thickness of the asphalt layer be 200 mm with an elasticity factor of 2069 MPa, as there was an improvement in the rutting and slippage criteria by 50, 32% Respectively from the original design of the model.
After scientific discussion by the respected members of the discussion committees and listening to the researcher’s defense, the researcher obtained a master’s degree in civil engineering / Road and Transportation with a grade of (very good).
