1

Institution of Engineers Australia, 2012

* Paper C10-664 submitted 1/06/10; accepted for publication
after review and revision 13/12/10.

Corresponding author Komsun Siripun can be contacted at
komsun.siripun@postgrad.curtin.edu.au.
The design model of unbound granular
materials for fexible pavement
*
K Siripun

, P Jitsangiam and H Nikraz

Curtin University of Technology, Perth, Western Australia
ABSTRACT: This study aims to introduce an alternative design model of unbound granular
base course materials by utilising laboratory test results such as resilient modulus, permanent
deformation and bearing capacity of base course materials. Current pavement designs mostly
overlook all problematical behaviours of unbound granular base layers and consider only as a layer
transferring traffc loads to underneath layers regardless on the unbound granular base course
deteriorations. Based on the existing design protocols in Australia, there are only the design criteria
of the horizontal tensile strains at the bottom of the asphalt layer and the vertical deformations
occurring at the top of the subgrade. The actual performances of granular base course materials
under traffc loads have been rarely accounted into the pavement design protocol. Currently, road
activities are growing in terms of magnitude and frequency far beyond the past and causing the
early road damages leading to major road maintenances. The study presents hypothetically the more
rational approach of the stress and strain distribution in a fexible pavement using the fnite element
method with sophisticated laboratory results. In this study, the effects of a traffc load and material
attributes which they were generated when vehicle travels, hence stress and strain contributing
between tires and characteristics of unbound granular pavement materials were investigated.
Moreover, the alternative design model for unbound granular layers was defned in order to draw
up the guideline and recommendation on the current pavement analysis and design.
KEYWORDS: The design model; unbound granular base course; fexible pavements;
design and analysis approach.
REFERENCE: Siripun, K., Jitsangiam, P. & Nikraz, H. 2012, The design model of unbound
granular materials for fexible pavement, Australian Journal of Civil Engineering, Vol. 10,
No. 1, pp. 1-10, http://dx.doi.org/10.7158/C10-664.2012.10.1.
1 INTRODUCTION
Flexible pavements with unbound granular base
course and thin bituminous surfacing are commonly
used in the Australian road network. Over the
years, roads have been subjected to the changing
of traffc load characters resulting in a pavement
premature failure. Consequently, there are more
complexities of pavement loading conditions and the
current pavement analysis becomes shortcomings in
predicting reliable pavement behaviours. Generally,
the fexible pavement with bituminous surfacing is a
complex structure consisting of a number of materials
with various properties; hence an ideal mathematical
model of the pavement structure may not yet be
available. The most of all numerical response models
based on the conventional method of the analytical
multi-layered concept has considered pavement
material behaviour in a linear elastic regime and
the homogeneous and isotopic pavement materials
for every layer with two elastic parameters of the
modulus of elasticity and Poissons ratio. However,
the application of the multi-layer elastic theory with
static loading is a reasonable approach compared
with the empirical pavement design method relying
on the simple test values as California bearing ratio
(CBR). Nonetheless, the common failure criteria of the
current pavement design are relied on the horizontal
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tensile strain at the bottom of an asphalt layer and
the compressive strain at the top of a subgrade layer.
For the failure mechanism of an asphalt layer under
traffc loads, it is still unclear to explain how and
where failure commencement and the pattern of
crack propagation. The use of tensile strain values for
fexible pavements would be justifed if the thickness
of the stiff asphalt layer subjected to traffc loads
is relatively thick. Consequently, the locations and
types of failure criteria in an asphalt layer needs to
be reinvestigated.
The traditional method (empirical design) becomes
sub-standard because the test protocols obtain
design parameters from static loading tests and show
shortcomings of mechanical fundaments (Molenaar,
2007). On the other hands, the mechanistic pavement
design attempts to explain pavement characteristics
under real pavement conditions (loads, and material
properties from pavement structure conditions
and environment) is based on design parameters
from sophisticated tests simulating real pavement
conditions into the test protocol (Collins et al,
1993). Analysis and design methods for flexible
pavements have been used since early in the last
century. Traditional design systems still being used,
however, reveal that systems must be developed to
include current mechanistic empirical approaches.
Empirical methods with or without a strength test
were the early methods employed in the design of
fexible pavements referring to the soil classifcation
system (Hogentogler & Terzaghi, 1929; AASHTO,
1986). In the past, most pavement structures were
natural earth or gravel roads and the load carrying
capacity of the pavement solely depended on the
shear strength parameters of the selected materials.
It should be remembered that currently almost 65%
of the global road network still consists of earth
and gravel roads (Molenaar, 2007). It is clear that
design procedure observes only stresses induced
in the pavement and the shear failure allowance of
the pavement surface. Vehicles run into problems
because of the lack of the bearing capacity of the
pavement material. From this example, precise
knowledge of the load pressures applied to the
pavement and the strength of the materials used
is essential to be able to design pavements that can
sustain millions of load repetitions.
The empirical design systems were, not surprisingly,
based on determining the required thickness of good
quality layers on top of the subgrade to prevent
shear failure to occur in the subgrade. Certainly,
the required thickness was dependent on the shear
resistance of the subgrade and the amount of traffc.
Furthermore, the quality of the covering layers has
to be such that shear failure will not occur in these
layers. This was the basis for the CBR thickness
design method. In the CBR design charts, the traffc
load was characterised by the number of vehicles
per day and the shear resistance of the materials
was characterised by their CBR value. The charts
were used in the following way. First, the number
of commercial vehicles had to be determined and
when this number was known, the appropriate curve
was selected. Next the CBR value of the subgrade
needed to be determined and the required layer
thickness on top of the subgrade estimated. Finally
in the CBR test, a plunger was inserted into the soil
sample with a specifc displacement rate and the
load obtained during a specifc displacement rate.
A load-displacement curve was provided in this
way and compared with reference to material with
the CBR value. The CBR design method results in
thin asphalt layers to provide a smooth driving
surface and suffcient skid resistance. Design curves
based on road material tests became available in the
1960s detailing the structural design of roads under
various conditions of climate, materials and traffc
loading. Experience and simple knowledge of index
properties (such as the CBR) are the key input factors
of the empirical approach which limits shear failure
and defections (Huang, 1993).
The empirical nature of traditional pavement design
procedure is based on experience and the results of
simple tests such as the CBR, particle size distribution,
moisture sensitivity, aggregate durability, angle of
shearing resistance and defection. Such results are all
static parameters and simple index parameters rather
than any consideration of multidimensional geometry,
realistic material behaviour and displacement
distribution during cyclic loading, stresses and
strain distribution in multi-layered pavement design.
Consequently, the use of an empirical approach
becomes sub-standard and can be evaluated only in
a limited capacity. Traditional design procedure has
been criticised by Wolff & Visser (1995), who argued
that it is too simplistic and does not take into account
the non-linear behaviour of unbound granular
materials (UGMs).
The mechanistic-empirical (M-E) approach is based
on limitations in the use of the principles of mechanics,
such as elasticity, plasticity and viscoelasticity. It
consists of two stages: the frst is an analysis of the
pavement layer system using a mechanistic model
such as the multi-layered concept and fnite element
(FE) procedure that includes elastic, non-linear elastic
(such as resilient modulus model) or elastoplastic
models, such as Von Mises, Mohr-Coulomb and
hardening or continuous yielding (Vermeer, 1982).
In the second stage, the stresses and strains from
the wheel load, computed from the frst stage, are
usually used in empirical formulas to determine
rutting, damage, cracking, and amount of traffc.
Generally, uniaxial quantities of the tensile strain,

t
, at the bottom of the asphalt layer, and the vertical
compressive strain,
c
, at the top of the subgrade
layer are used to calculate various deteriorations
using empirical formulas. This approach can make
improvements in design compared to the empirical
approach whose formulas to calculate distress
may not provide accurate predictions as they do
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not account for multidimensional geometry, non-
homogenieties, anisotropy, and non-linear material
responses, which are strongly dependent on stress,
strain, time, environmental factors, and load
repetitions (Chandrakant, 2007). The full mechanistic
approach can allow for all factors not considered
in the empirical formulas in stage two of the M-E
approach, in a unifed method for all layers. As a
result, the distresses are evaluated as a part of the
solution (eg. FE) procedure, without the requirement
of empirical formulas.
The current pavement design method in Australia
is provided by Austroads pavement design guide
(Austroads, 2004), which has been promoted at
the level of a M-E based design method, where
the performance of a pavement structure can be
determined from the application of an analytical
process. It uses this to determine the response of
the pavement structure to a single load and a critical
response whether the horizontal tensile strain
at the bottom of an asphalt layer or the vertical
compressive strain at the top of the subgrade layer.
The strain is used as an input into a performance
relationship that relates the critical response to the
allowable amount of design axles/traffc. Based
on the mechanistic pavement analysis and design,
it was found that the stress dependency of vertical
modulus can be modelled by using the elastic model
by dividing the layers into several sub-layers. From
the mechanistic design step, the pavement structure
scenario was established frst from the generally
used pavement cross-section in Western Australia
which contains asphalt as a road surface, hydrated
cement treated crushed rock base as a road base,
crushed limestone (CLS) as a road sub-base, and
Perth silty sand as a road subgrade. The pavement
was analysed to fnd the vertical and the horizontal
stresses occurring in the pavement material layer
(Harichandran et al, 1990). The suitable resilient
modulus of materials for mechanistic design was
determined from its resilient modulus model by
relying on the laboratory results of the modulus
tests. CIRCLY 5.0 (MINCAD Systems, 2004) was
used for mechanistic pavement design to determine
the traffc loading intensity of a pavement. This
software uses state-of-the-art material properties
and performance models and is continuously being
developed and extended. The first mainframe
version of CIRCLY was released in 1977 and the
current Windows version is CIRCLY 5.0. It is an
integral component of the Austroads pavement
design guide widely used in Australia and New
Zealand. The system calculates the cumulative
damage induced by a traffc spectrum consisting
of any combination of user-specified vehicle
types and load confgurations. As well as using
the usual equivalent single wheel and axle load
approximations, optionally the contribution, such as
foundation engineering and settlement analysis, can
also be analysed using CIRCLY, which is based on
integral transform techniques and offers signifcant
advantages over linear elastic analysis techniques.
A large number of computer programs have been
developed for calculating stresses, strains and
deflections of layered elastic systems which are
checked against the defned failure criteria. In all
these programs, pavement layers are considered
as homogeneous, linear elastic. In real situations,
however, the assumption of homogeneous, linear
elastic pavement materials becomes invalid. Almost
all pavement materials are not homogeneous,
especially granular materials particulate in nature.
The FE method for the analysis of fexible pavements
was first applied by Duncan et al (1968). Many
computer programs based on this FE method were
later developed and its use in determining stresses,
strains and defections is becoming popular with the
availability of high-speed computers. Furthermore,
this method can handle structures with non-linear
materials. In all these programs, the traffc loading
is considered as static loading. The incorporation of
traffc loading as dynamic loading is still in its early
stages of research.
In practice, deteriorations can take place in base
and sub-base layers if improper materials are
utilised. While under traffc loading, the top and
bottom parts of an asphalt layer, in particular, are
subjected to the changes because of the bending
from vehicle movement leading to, in both parts, the
transformation of tension to compression and being
back to tension again before returning to its original
contour (Akbulut & Aslantas, 2005). Following this
phenomena, the design criterion of the maximum
permissible horizontal strain at the bottom of the
stiff asphaltic layer (Austroads, 2004) is in doubt.
Furthermore, the current pavement analysis of base
and sub-base courses is considered only the vertical
compressive (
y,y
) stress distributing to the multi-
layers of pavements which the magnitude of stresses
takes place in sub layers depending on each elastic
stiffness of pavement materials with a given layer
thickness. This concept does not represent to the
realistic conditions of pavements. Hence, pavement
analysis and design inevitably involve additional
base and sub-base attributes. Form the analysis and
design points of view, there are doubts in whether
the output of this analysis is precise enough in the
current pavement conditions which are going far
beyond what happened in the past.
This study introduces an alternative pavement
design by utilising the more fundamental analysis
of the multi-layered pavement system with the
characteristics of the linear (and non-linear) elastic,
the Poisson ratio, the resilient modulus and the
permanent deformation of pavement materials.
Resilient modulus based on the recoverable strain
under repeated loading was used to replace the
Youngs modulus of the conventional concept. For
the proposed pavement analysis and design in this
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study, the stresses, strains and defections at specifed
distances from the load are then theoretically
calculated, assuming fnite subgrade and fnite lateral
boundaries in the FE program. Layer thicknesses and
material properties are adjusted until the computed
responses are lower than the failure criterion as
shown in fgure 1.
2 PAVEMENT MULTI-LAYER MODELLING
This study was undertaken incorporating with
realistic material properties of pavement layers in the
analysis of fexible pavements using the FE method. As
the initiative step from fgure 1, pavement materials
within the pavement system were subjected to a static
load specifed from the Austroad design protocol
(Austroads, 2004), and then the pavement system
was modelled as a FE model. The FE analysis was
carried out using the FE computer package ABAQUS/
STANDARD (Dassault Systmes Simulia Corp, 2009).
For the pavement modelling, an initial pavement
structure was set up by using the common use
pavement layer system in Western Australia as
detailed material types and depths in table 1. The
pavement was subjected to static loading while
considering the linear and non-linear properties of
the pavement layers. The FE program used eight
nodes of isometric elements as a solid continuum.
The problems were simplifed under the plain strain
conditions and the material properties of each layer
on the pavement were used (Hadi & Bodhinayake,
2003). Dimensional parameters used in the modelling
are illustrated in fgures 2 and 3 show the FE meshes
of the problem and the type of boundary conditions
of the particular structure. A normal contact pressure
of 750 kPa based on Austroads (2004) design protocol
was assumed to be uniformly distributed over the
contact area. All pavement structures were modelled
consisting of three layers, wearing, base course and
sub-grade as shown in fgure 2. FEs were unifed by
nodes at their common edges. The interfaces between
layers were considered as fully bonded and rough
with the boundary conditions and rotation was
allowed at all supports. The following conditions
were applied with reference to fgure 3 for defning
the boundary conditions. The vertical displacements
of the bottom plane of the model were pinned and
the side planes were released vertically but were
fixed horizontally. The FE analysis provided an
approximate solution for an engineering structure
with various types of boundary conditions and under
various types of loading using a stiffness or energy
formulation (Duncan et al, 1968). In the derivation of
the stiffness matrix for elements, three factors such
as the geometry of elements, the degrees of freedom
allowed for the nodes to displace and the material
properties of elements are considered. This solution
provides displacements at the nodal periods and
stresses and strains at integration points.
Fig ure 1: Ultimate strength design method.
Table 1: Pavement material parameters.
Layer Material Modulus (MPa) Poisson ratio Thickness (mm)
Wearing Asphalt 3000 0.30 30
Base CRB 450 0.35 350
Subgrade PS 150 0.35 Vary
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Fig ure 2: Standard pavement diagram.
Fig ure 3: The finite element pavement diagram.
3 THICKNESS EVALUATION OF
UNBOUND GRANULAR LAYER
This study introduces the structural failure criteria
of pavements namely the bearing and shear strength
capacity and permanent deformation for the UGM
as an unbound granular base course. However, most
fexible pavements are at risk of rutting, premature
deterioration, because of the insuffcient carrying
load ability of pavement layers. It is suggested that
the new pavement analysis and design needs to
take the ultimate strength of each unbound granular
layer into account to minimise unexpected rutting
of pavements resulting from the deterioration
in such layer. This proposed design started with
determination of the bearing capacity of pavement
materials including punching and contacting
resistance and the results were compared with those
derived from the multi-layer FE analysis as shown
in fgure 4. Accordingly, the thicknesses of the base
layer strongly depend on the bearing capacity of the
underneath layer as the subgrade. The proper base
thickness is the enough layer depth in which the
stress can distribute through by not damaging an
underneath layer. That means the underneath layer
can resist the stress distributing from the upper at the
acceptable level relying on its bearing capacity which
needs to match with the vertical strain equation at the
top of subgrade as designed traffc (Austroads, 2004).
Moreover, the minimum thickness of an asphalt
layer was defned based on the assumption that no
unacceptable permanent deformation occurs in base
layer derived from the permanent deformation test
results (Siripun et al, 2009). Finally, each layer was
then analysed to indicate stress-strain results as in
fgure 4 and compared with the design allowance. The
procedure shows whether the calculated responses
matched defned failure criteria on particular layer
thickness and then material properties have to be
adjusted again to fnd matching points with the
failure criteria.
Fig ure 4: The vertical stress distribution of pavement structure.
The Western Australian pavement selected for this
study consists of a 30 mm thick asphalt layer as the
surfacing course, crushed rock base (CRB) layer as
the base-course, CLS as the sub-base course, and
Perth sand (PS) as the subgrade. The pavement layer
confguration, material properties are given in table 1.
This pavement was subjected to a static pressure equal
to 750 kPa, applied through a single wheel radius of
92.1 mm. In estimating, the linear elastic properties of
pavement materials, the test results were used with
the Austroad (2004) and AASHTO (1986) guides.
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3.1 Bearing capacity estimation and
minimum pavement thickness design
The unbound granular pavement material layer
in this study was determined its bearing capacity
by using CBR results with the concept of the
shallow foundation bearing capacity. The study
presents an alternative method using the analytical
approach with the drained shear strength parameters
(cohesion, internal friction angle) of UGMs for the
pavement thickness design. This approach is based
on the shallow foundation-bearing capacity theory
and the confguration of the CBR test can be closely
modelled in bearing capacity theory as a circular
foundation with a surcharge as shown in fgure 5.
The ultimate bearing capacity of a circular traffc
load is calculated from an equation incorporating
with appropriate soil parameters (eg. shear strength,
unit weight) and details about size, shape, and depth
of the footing. Terzaghi (1943) stated the ultimate
bearing capacity of a strip footing as a three-term
expression incorporating the bearing capacity factors
N
C
, N
q
and N

in equation (1) which are related to

the angle of friction. Eventually, the ultimate bearing
capacity of subgrade material has to be assessed with
design stress based on an analysis of the results. The
pavement thickness would be defned using equation
(4) with a safety factor of 2.5. Subsequently, the
allowable vertical compressive strain of particular
pavement thickness conforms to equation (5)
(Austroads, 2004) for traffc design evaluation.
( )
2
1.3 0.3
/4
ult
C q
Q
CN DN HN
D

= + +
t
(1)
SF = 2.5 = q
ult
/q
s
(2)
D = d + H (3)
2.5 1.3 0.3
0.3
s C
q
q CN dN
H
N N

=
+
(4)
7
9300
N
c
(
=
(

(5)
where Q
ult
[kN] = ultimate bearing load; q
ult
[kPa] =
ultimate bearing capacity; q
s
[kPa] = stress at the top
of subgrade; D [m] = load diameter at the subgrade;
d [m] = load diameter at the surface; [kN/m
3
] =
average unit weight; H [m] = pavement thickness;
SF = safety of factor; N
C
, N
q
and N

= dimensionless
factors; N = number of standard axle repetitions; and
[-] = micro-strain at the top of subgrade.
3.2 Multi-layer strength evaluation
At this stage of the proposed analysis, all premature
deteriorations of pavement structures were defned
as the ultimate strength of each layer. Following
thickness determination, ultimate strength
parameters were used to defne the proper stiffness of
the pavement structure. The design stresses of certain
pavement layers were selected from the maximum
stresses as shown in fgure 4. The structures of base
and subgrade as UGMs have two main criteria: (i) the
bearing capacity under a single wheel load as shown
in table 2; and (ii) the shear resistance surrounding
the wheel load that can be determined by materials
shear strength parameters using equation (6). Table 2
presents the material capacities based on laboratory
test results compared with analysing stresses.
tan
ult n
s s
C
SF
t o |
t t
+
= =
(6)
where
ult
[kN] = ultimate bearing load; C [kPa] =
cohesion;
s
[kPa] maximum shear stress; [] =
internal friction angle; and
n
[kPa] = normal stress.
3.3 The acceptable plastic strain of
the UGM base and subgrade layers
The plastic strain of UGM was also discussed in
order to fnd the acceptable plastic strain of the
base course using repeated load triaxial test results.
Figure 6 shows the responses of plastic strain for
CRB, each stress ratio, respectively. The range of
CRB was stress levels (
1
/
3
) of 15 and the minimum
Fig ure 5: Bearing estimation of unbound granular subgrade.
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thickness of asphalt would be defned under this
limited stage. The representative plastic strain
model of CRB limited stage is exhibited in equation
(7). Static failure criteria used to determine the
acceptable amount of permanent deformation in an
UGM was located at 2% based on a triaxial shear
test (Molenaar & Houben, 2002). This means that
a permanent deformation of 2% was substituted
in equation (7) to establish the suitable number of
vehicles. Consequently, the number of vehicles that
CRB is able to sustain without any deterioration
based on the limited range of material.
0.0416
26.6125
1000
p
N
CRB c
(
=
(

(7)
4 CONCLUSION AND DISCUSSIONS
Based on fndings, the thickness of unbound granular
base course should provide appropriate stresses and
strains on the top of subgrade by determining the
shallow foundation analytical approach with multi-
layer FE analysis. From these results, the vertical
and horizontal stresses under the wheel path were
signifcantly high compared to other regions. Vertical
compressive and shear stresses, the two main effects
on base, sub-base and subgrade, are signifcantly
different from current design criteria requiring only
an acceptable strain on the top of the subgrade that is
not quite realistic. Based on the results, the unbound
granular layers including subgrade are completely
affected by the shear stress at surrounding wheel
loads compared to the compressive stress of the
conventional concept. The base course, especially,
tends to fail with a shear stress although its
compressive capacity is still very high. From this
fnding, it should be noted that an unbound granular
base course provides high internal friction or high
shear resistance to cope with rutting and shoving
failures. The following conclusions were drawn:
The minimum base course thickness should be
more than 350 mm as shown in table 2 to prevent
the excessive strain at the top of the subgrade with
respect to its bearing capacity and the multi-layer
FE analysis.
The most critical strength of the UGM in this study
is shear stress surrounding wheel contact areas
rather than the compressive strength as shown
in table 2.
The FE program, by incorporating the elastictoplastic
relationship of laboratory test results in conjunction
with an approach for verifcation of failure criteria,
may lead to acceptable solutions and reliability
with the material properties and an amount of any
traffc intensity.
Table 2: Pavement layer analysis.
Vertical stress under
wheel load (kPa)
Bearing capacity
(kPa)
Safety factor
Layer thickness
(mm)
Base 717 6720 9.4 350
Subgrade 179 445 2.5
Shear stress in front
and behind load (kPa)
Shear capacity
(kPa)
Safety factor
Layer thickness
(mm)
Base 265 464 1.7 350
Subgrade 40 93 2.3
0
2
4
6
8
10
1 10 100 1000 10000 100000 1000000
Number of load cycles N
V
e
r
t
i
c
a
l

p
e
r
m
a
n
e
n
t

d
e
f
o
r
m
a
t
i
o
n

(
m
m
)
.
5 9 14 15
Range A
Range B
Range C
Stress level
Fig ure 6: The permanent deformation relationship of CRB under various stress levels.
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Based on the existing empirical approach, it
is possible to include suitable layer strength
parameters for thickness design that can be
described the real behaviour of the pavement.
Ultimate strength analysis using FEs constitutes
a powerful and versatile approach that should be
developed and improved in future. In particular,
this innovative analysis can serve as a guide to
a more rational design and analysis on a whole
range of pavement structures. The following
recommendations were drawn:
It is recommended that these results are not
available under actual service conditions. Further
research desires to focus on the correlation of the
laboratory results and modelling to full scale and
feld performance for result validations.
To implement the overall pavement design,
further study should investigate other pavement
layers such as asphalt, sub-base and subgrade
and traffc behaviour and types of applied stress
should be observed in further work to study the
effects of traffc loads on pavement structure.
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Association of State Highways and Transportation
Offcials (AASHTO), 1986, Guide for the design of
pavement structures, Washington DC.
Akbulut, H. & Aslantas, K. 2005, Finite element
analysis of stress distribution on bituminous
pavement and failure mechanism, Materials &
Design, Vol. 26, No. 4, pp. 383-387.
Austroads, 2004, Pavement Design A Guide to the
Structural Design of Road Pavements.
Chandrakant, S. D. 2007, Unifed DSC Constitutive
Model for Pavement Materials with Numerical
Implementation, International Journal of Geomechanics,
Vol. 7, No. 2, pp. 83-101.
Collins, I. F., Wang, A. P. & Saunders, L. R. 1993,
Shakedown theory and the design of unbound
pavements, Road Transp. Res., Vol. 2, No. 4, pp. 28-39.
Dassault Systmes Simulia Corp., 2009, ABAQUS
Version 6.9 Users Manual, Providence, RI, USA.
Duncan, J. M., Monismith, C. L. & Wilson, E. C. 1968,
Finite element analysis of pavements, Highway
Research Board Highway Research Record, Vol. 228, pp.
18-33.
Hadi, M. N. S. & Bodhinayake, B. C. 2003, Non-
linear fnite element analysis of fexible pavements,
Advances in Engineering Software, Vol. 34, pp. 657-662.
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KOMSUN SIRIPUN
Komsun Siripun is a PhD candidate in the pavement engineering at Curtin
University. He graduated with a MEng from Chiang Mai University. He is
currently assisting Professor Hamid Nikraz in the pavement research group at
Curtin University of Technology, where he provides technical support services
within the Faculty of Engineering and Computing. His research interests are
in the area of pavement materials.
PEERAPONG JITSANGIAM
Peerapong Jitsangiam is a lecturer in the pavement and geotechnical engineering
at Curtin University. His research has a strong emphasis on pavement. To date,
much of his research has focused on characterisation of pavement materials and
utilisation of potential by-products from industry in pavement construction.
HAMID NIKRAZ
Hamid Nikraz is currently a Professor and Head of the Department of Civil
Engineering and Curtin-PRG at Curtin University. He has particular expertise
in pavement materials and soil stabilisation techniques. He has made efforts
to attract the highest quality students to achieve strategic R&D initiatives. This
currently includes leading 10 research teams with a total of 43 research students
and research fellows. He is recognised as an authority in the sustainable use
of industrial by-products in geotechnical, pavement and geopolymer concrete
engineering, spanning research interests in geomechanics, soil stabilisation,
pavement design and construction, and waste management. His efforts have
directly contributed to the preeminent research profle of the department and
the university in these areas, attracting national and international collaborators
from both academia and industry.
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