Los pavimentos compuestos como alternativa constructiva para vías de tráfico pesado.

Abstract

Composite pavements in recent years have gained prominence in many countries. In Europe they are known for their long duration on major roads, demonstrating the potential to become a cost-effective pavement solution for high-traffic highways. In the present work of investigation the use of different structures of composite pavements in routes of heavy traffic in Ecuador is analyzed since they have demonstrated the potential to turn into a solution of profitable pavement for freeways with high levels of traffic. Two types of composite pavements were designed: 1) asphalt layer on cement-treated base and 2) whitetopping on asphalt layer. Using a design matrix which relates different levels of ESAL with different qualities of subgrade. These pavements were compared with flexible and rigid pavements. To carry out the empirical-mechanistic analysis, two regions of the country were considered: Costa and Sierra in order to contrast the different climatic conditions to which the pavement will be subjected. As a result, excellent behavior of the BEC was obtained by not failing any performance model. The white-topping design was done by the methodology of the Texas Department of Transportation, which was compared with designs according to AASHTO 93 for conventional slabs. As a result, the reduction of slab thickness for whitetopping in heavy traffic was obtained. From the obtained results, technical and economic comparisons were made in order to identify their advantages and disadvantages over conventional designs.