Homeworks
Ten assignments trace the arc of the course: what pavements are, what they're made of, how they carry load, and how they're designed. Every homework links the tools and chapters you need — start at the assignment, and everything else is one click away.
Assignments are released as the semester reaches them. The full sequence is listed below so you can see what is coming; each one opens on its release date.
Pavement Types, Layers & Distresses
What the layers of flexible and rigid pavements do, how mechanistic-empirical design works, and how pavements fail — pumping, rutting, and the damage done by different axles and tire pressures.
Subgrade & Material Characterization
Fit the generalized resilient modulus model to triaxial data, evaluate subgrade strength with the CBR test, and review lime stabilization of weak soils.
Stresses in Layered Systems
Stresses, strains, and deflections in one-, two-, and three-layer systems under a circular load, using the classic Boussinesq and Burmister charts and tables.
Multilayer Elastic Analysis
Analyze a four-layer structure under a 720 kPa, 145 mm circular load with a layered-elastic program (e.g., WinJULEA), plot the response profiles with depth, and interpret each layer.
Traffic Loading & Volume
Design traffic in ESALs: load equivalency factors, truck factors, growth, and lane distribution — converting mixed traffic into the single number that drives thickness design.
Drainage Design
Estimate inflow, size the permeable base, and check filter criteria — with FHWA’s DRIP software as a check on hand calculations.
AASHTO Flexible Pavement Design
The AASHTO 1993 flexible design procedure end to end: structural number, layer and drainage coefficients, reliability, and the design nomographs.
Mechanistic-Empirical Flexible Design
An IDOT-style mechanistic design for a rural four-lane highway, then a WinJULEA sublayered analysis feeding AASHTOWare transfer functions to predict fatigue cracking and rutting versus load repetitions.
Rigid Pavement Design
Concrete pavements: curling stresses, Westergaard edge and corner loading, joint design, and the rigid design procedures of Chapter 12.
Airfield Pavements & Life-Cycle Assessment
Check runway ACR/PCR compatibility for a B747-400 and design an airfield section with FAARFIELD; then run a full pavement life-cycle assessment to find the stage that dominates GHG emissions.