Characterizing the three-stage rutting behavior of asphalt pavement with semi-rigid base by using UMAT in ABAQUS

A reliable UMAT subroutine of selected constitutive model of asphalt mixture is developed and applied to characterize the three-stage rutting behavior of asphalt pavement by using ABAQUS. It is indicated that the heavier traffic load not only induces the greater rutting depth, but also accelerates the rutting rate, causing the pavement earlier enter into rutting failure with shortened service life. The damage evolution and axle-load conversion are further discussed. Results show that the pavement subjected to heavier axle loads has the greater damage and faster damage evolution. The axle-load conversion index is 5.97 according to rut equivalence principle.