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This paper discusses the advantages of this method, studies its most distinctive features and analyzes its differences with respect to other methodologies of pavement design or management, especially comprehensive in the case of the HDM-IV, and mainly focusing on the case of flexible pavements.
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It also allows the user to predict the evolution of existing pavements, what helps to propose actions to extend their useful life and to avoid failures otherwise unexpected. The innovative and comprehensive design method known as Mechanistic-Empiri- cal Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG) has been developed in the United States to change this trend. Thus, certain designs are therefore accepted without considering other possibilities that could provide a more desirable response to external loads and better recoup the allocated investment. Most of the methods used to date only take into account a small part of the parameters that affect pavement throughout its useful life. The existence of new materials and production methods, as well as the new requirements that current traffic imposes, make necessary the development of innovative methods for the design of road pavement structural sections or for the management of the already constructed ones. Pavement design constitutes one of the essential aspects of any road, not only because it is directly related to its functionality and users’ safety, but also because of its cost-related implications. Palabras Claves: Pavimentos, diseño, administración, daño incremental, optimización.
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Por ello algunos países fuera de EEUU ya han importado y calibrado este método, lo que al mismo tiempo permite a la comunidad científica llevar a cabo estudios comparativos y mejorar sus pequeñas deficiencias. Tras analizar diferentes métodos de diseño y gestión de firmes, el MEPDG destaca como el más completo al ser el que tiene en cuenta un mayor número de factores que afectan al firme. El MEPDG puede predecir con precisión la evolución de los deterioros, ayudando por tanto a elegir el diseño más adecuado para el caso de firmes de nueva construcción, o a programar la conservación de los ya existentes. Keywords: Pavement, design, management, incremental damage, optimizationĮl objetivo de este artículo es describir los rasgos más característicos del método de diseño de firmes conocido como Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide, así como compararlo con otras metodologías de renombre, destacando sus ventajas y desventajas. Therefore, some countries outside the USA have already imported and calibrated this method, what, at the same time, allows the scientific community to carry out comparative studies and improve its small deficiencies. After analyzing different pavement design and management methods, the MEPDG stands out as the most comprehensive one as it takes into account and properly combines the greatest number of factors that affect the pavement. The MEPDG can accurately predict damage evolution, thus helping to choose the most appropriate design for new pavements or to schedule the conservation of the already existing ones. *Universidad de la Coruña, Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros de Caminos, Canales y Puertos de La Coruña Campus de Elviña, 15071 La Coruña (Spain) (+34) 981 167 000 Ext: 6031 de la Coruña, Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros de Caminos, Canales y Puertos de La Coruña paper is aimed at describing the most distinctive features of the pavement design method known as Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide and to compare it with other renowned methodologies, while emphasizing its advantages and disadvantages. Mechanistic-empirical pavement design guide: características y elementos distintivos Mechanistic-empirical pavement design guide: features and distinctive elements