Application of Fault Tree Analysis to Identify Moisture Damage Potential in Flexible Road Pavements

Abstract

Highway engineers understand the damaging impact on the performance of the road pavement when excess water enters into the pavement. As a consequence, most pavement design and rehabilitation methods recognize the importance of addressing moisture damage and related drainage deficiencies to ensure expected pavement performance. This study develops and demonstrates the application of the fault tree analysis (FTA) technique, to identify the moisture damage potential in flexible road pavements. The FTA includes qualitative and quantitative approaches for risk analysis. The qualitative risk assessment helps to identify the potential causes of any premature failure in the road pavement. The quantitative risk analysis involves the adaptation of a prediction method to identify the probability of failure at different stages of the lifecycle of the road pavement. This allowed both the early development of moisture damage in road pavements, along with permanent damage to be identified in the case study. The assessment of the FTA concluded it to be a viable technique for identifying risks associated with flexible road pavements that are prone to moisture damage.