This investigation presents a new perspective on the structural behavior of stabilized foundation pavements through full-scale testing and simulation where the historical premise of bottom-up fatigue cracking has been challenged. Two full-scale pavement sections were constructed at the National Center for Asphalt Technology Test Track in 2018. One section featured a stabilized foundation under the asphalt layers while the other was a thick-lift asphalt section on conventional base and subgrade materials. Both sections were embedded with pavement response instrumentation and their behavior was observed over time under accelerated truck trafficking. In addition, computational simulations were executed to explain the observed behavior. The strain measurement at the bottom of the asphalt concrete (AC) for the thick-lift section showed a familiar trend in which the tensile strain at the bottom of the AC increased exponentially with temperature. In contrast, the strain at the bottom of the AC in the stabilized foundation pavement was predominantly in compression at elevated temperatures. Further analysis revealed that compressive strain at the bottom of the AC increased exponentially with temperature similar to conventional flexible pavements but with a reversed sign. The results were confirmed by falling weight deflectometer testing that was conducted directly above the embedded pavement sensors. Computational simulations confirmed the behavior and suggested that the maximum tensile strain could occur at shallower depths, possibly mid-depth of the AC, in stabilized foundation pavements. This indicates stabilized foundation pavements could be prone to middle-up cracking and subsequent precautions should be taken to avoid middle-up fatigue cracking.

通过全面测试和模拟，该研究为稳定的基础路面的结构行为提供了新的视角，而自下而上的疲劳裂纹的历史前提受到了挑战。2018年，在国家沥青技术测试中心建设了两个全尺寸铺装路段。一个路段的特点是沥青层下面的地基稳定，而另一个则是在常规基础和路基材料上的厚沥青路段。这两部分都嵌入了路面响应仪表，并且在加速卡车运输的过程中观察了它们的行为。另外，执行了计算机仿真来解释观察到的行为。在厚混凝土的沥青混凝土（AC）底部的应变测量显示了一个熟悉的趋势，其中AC底部的拉伸应变随温度呈指数增加。相反，稳定基础路面中AC底部的应变主要在高温下处于压缩状态。进一步的分析表明，AC底部的压缩应变与温度相似，与传统的柔性路面相似，但呈指数增加，但符号相反。该结果通过直接在嵌入式路面传感器上方进行的落锤重量偏转仪测试得到了证实。计算模拟证实了这种行为，并建议最大拉伸应变可能出现在交流电的较浅深度（可能是中深度），在稳定的基础路面上。这表明稳定的地基路面可能易于出现中上裂缝，应采取后续措施避免中上疲劳裂缝。