| An attempt is made to reduce the errors arising from axisymmetric finite element modeling of flexible pavements using MICHPAVE. Three improvement techniques are implemented. First, the use of infinite elements to model the roadbed soil in place of the flexible boundary in MICHPAVE is investigated. Second, the width of the finite element mesh is increased by extending the distance between the load and the lateral boundary. Third, the aspect ratios of the finite elements are improved by increasing the number of elements used in the finite element mesh.;Although infinite elements have the potential to yield good results with a coarse mesh, calibration requirements introduce an undesirable feature into the analysis. Further, when infinite elements are used, computed displacements do not improve uniformly as the mesh is refined. On the other hand, when the flexible boundary is used computed displacements do improve uniformly as the mesh is refined. Hence, if the available computer memory is sufficient for a refined mesh, use of the flexible boundary is recommended. |
