Dimensionnement des chaussées routières

Choosing the thickness of the layers of materials used for the construction of roads remains an ongoing concern for road engineers especially due to an increase of traffic, and particularly that of heavy goods vehicles. The challenges of making the "right choice" are considerable. When roads are too thick, they require excessive initial investment costs. When they are too thin, they deteriorate rapidly and generate maintenance and reconstruction costs. This explains the importance of the research undertaken in order to define the most appropriate dimensioning. This work can take the form of extremely costly full-scale experiments, test road experiments, theoretical studies on the properties of the materials or the development of the mechanical models of multilayer systems. The article privileges the French approach as it is probably the most rational to date.