Optimization of AASHTO DNPS86 Pavement Design Program

Abstract

This paper describes an optimization program supplement to the DNPS86 pavement design computer program to produce a minimum‐cost combination of pavement layer thicknesses. The DNPS86 program has been made a subroutine of the optimization program in such a way that the ongoing changes being made to DNPS86 by others can be easily accommodated. This eliminates the need for the designer to optimize by manual iterative search, thereby reducing design costs and assuring a minimum‐cost design. The modified program is called DNPS86O, the O for optimization. Parametric graphs further reduce the designer's work by enabling rapid elimination of all but the least‐cost generic pavement type. The optimization program then obtains the minimum‐cost design, with corresponding layer thicknesses. Numerical examples illustrate the savings in design time and in equivalent first cost of resulting pavement made possible by using this optimization program.