Full Scale Testing with the Mobile Load Simulator: Advanced Measurements Related to Pavement Behavior and Surface Layer Damage

Tests in full scale with the Mobile Load Simulator (MLS10) are introduced in this paper. A pavement with controlled or constant parameters was constructed inside an insulated building and trafficked with a total of 100.000 cycles, with 65 kN loads over a period of 15 days. To study the behavior of the pavement throughout the loading history, the pavement was instrumented with different sensors. Results of longitudinal strain measurements by optical fibers in base layer, transverse strains at the surface measured by strain gauges and deflection measurements by the Benkelman beam are discussed. Finally, to evaluate transverse profiles of the surface, photogrammetry and scanner techniques were used and compared to results of a profilometer. The first results of the MLS 10 tests presented in this paper allowed to reproduce in the laboratory the actual damage of the surface layer due to real loads and to analyze with precision the stresses induced on the surface as a function of the number of load cycles.