Análise comparativa entre o método empírico e o mecanístico (Medina)

Abstract

When it comes to pavement design in Brazil, it is common to use the empirical pavement design method adopted by DNER in 1981, which is based on the results of the California Bearing Ratio (CBR) test. Since then, the National Design Method (Medina) has been developed. Medina is a method that combines mechanical and empirical approaches, using values of resilience modulus and permanent deformation to establish a design process that takes into consideration the calculation of stresses and deformations in the pavement structure. To assess the effectiveness of these methods, a comparative study was conducted through a case study involving two design processes for the duplication of the BR-277 highway in the state of Paraná, Brazil, in the subsection from km 344 to km 350+200m in the municipality of Guarapuava, covering a distance of 6.2 km. To compare and determine which method is best suited for use on this specific road. The comparison between the proposed pavement structures revealed that the mechanistic-empirical method resulted in a thicker and more robust structure. This translated into lower levels of fatigue cracking in the asphalt pavement and rutting.