Influence of shock absorber condition on pavement fatigue using relative damage concept

Considering the importance of the road transportation nowadays, concerns related to pavement deterioration and maintenance have become relevant subjects. Especially for commercial vehicles, the vertical dynamic load (characterized by the tire-road interaction) is directly related to wear on the road surface. Given this, the main objective of this paper is to analyse effects of vertical loads applied on the flexible pavement, considering the variation of the condition of shock absorbers from a truck's front suspension. The measurements were performed on a rigid truck, with 2 steering front axles, in a durability test track located in Brazil. With a constant load of 6 tons on the front suspension (the maximum allowed load on front axles according to Brazilian legislation), 3 different shock absorber conditions were evaluated: new, used and failed. By applying the relative damage concept, it is possible to conclude that the variation of the shock absorber conditions will significantly affect the vertical load applied on the pavement. Although the results clearly point to a dependent relationship between the load and the condition of the shock absorbers, it is recommended to repeat the same methodology, in future to analyse the influence of other quarter car model variants (such as spring rate, mass and tire spring stiffness).