Impact of Wide-Base Tires on Pavements: Results from Instrumentation Measurements and Modeling Analysis

Abstract

Wide-base tire technology can reduce vehicle fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions because there is less rolling resistance at the tire–pavement interface. This study investigated the impact of wide-base tires on two typical flexible pavement structures—full-depth and thin asphalt pavements—through accelerated pavement testing and advanced finite element modeling. Three tire configurations (dual, the first-generation 425, and the new generation 455 wide-base tires) and various pavement sections with different asphalt layer and granular base layer thicknesses were considered. In particular, the advanced modeling simulated realistic tire–pavement interaction and considered appropriate material properties for each pavement layer. It was evident from this study that, of the three possibilities, the wide-base 425 tire configuration caused the greatest pavement damage. The wide-base 455 tire was found to cause greater bottom-up fatigue cracking and increased potential for subgrade rutting than the dual-tire assembly on most tested sections except the thin pavement section with the thickest granular base layer. However, the impact of wide-base tires on fatigue cracking and subgrade rutting potential became less significant with a stronger pavement structure. The finite element modeling results indicated that, compared with the dual-tire assembly, the wide-base 455 tire resulted in similar or less primary rutting potential in thin asphalt pavements and less near-surface cracking potential in thick asphalt pavements.