Pavement behaviour under the super single tyre

Abstract

Pavement behaviour under the super single tyre (SST) was investigated and compared with that under a conventional dual tyre (CDT). Contact areas and contact pressures over a range of loading conditions were measured and compared. Two approaches were used in the analyses. In the first, measurements were made of deflections with depth in the pavement structure under Heavy Vehicle Simulator loading. From this data, the material properties and structural life of the pavement were precisely determined under SST and CDT loading conditions. In the second, a complementary theoretical approach was used to determine the relative life of a wide variety of pavement structures. It is concluded that the super single tyre is generally more damaging than the conventional dual tyre under the same load, and that the maximum legal wheel load of the super single tyre should be kept at the present level of 3 850 kg