APT FACILITIES IN EUROPE
APT FACILITIES IN EUROPE
Click on the name of the country to find information about the APT facility in that country
COST 347 -
EUROPEAN UNION
Brief Description:
The COST
COST 347 was established in October 2000 under the European Commission with the main objective
being to develop a European code of good practice to optimize the use of Accelerated Load Testing (ALT)
facilities and to improve the application of results from them. From this a more harmonized approach to
accelerated load testing of pavements in Europe was developed. It is a generally accepted fact that accelerated
load testing is one of the most important means of investigating pavement behavior. In spite of large costs,
high benefit-cost ratios can be expected from ALT research. Thus a Pan-European approach was adopted
aiming to result in a more robust outcome that had wider acceptance, yet reduced costs to the participating countries. A total of 18 European countries participated in the COST Action 347, together with the participation of the
TRB Committee on Full Scale/Accelerated Pavement Testing, and close links with ALT centers in South Africa,
Australia, and New Zealand. Among the direct outcomes of the work were a regular newsletter (accessible at
the COST 347 website), and an e-mail based discussion forum. To realize the benefits intended, the COST 347 Action investigated methods of combining information from
different ALT facilities. This required an understanding of the influence of different scale factors concerning time,
loading variables and dimensions as well as the repeatability or reproducibility of ALT. A system whereby ALT
information can be shared and transferred from one ALT facility to another, in an atmosphere of co-operation,
results in less duplication of research and enables researchers to focus on a common goal and thereby accelerate
progress in the Highway Engineering Community. The study will lead to: * An increase in pan-European cost-sharing research ventures; * Collaborative research ventures between the public and the private sector; * A broadening in the base of non-owner organizations using ALT facilities; * International co-operation with pavement research groups outside Europe. * An international association for ALT to strengthen international ties.
DRTM
- DENMARK
Brief
Description:
The Danish Road Testing Machine is a linear track facility
capable of testing full-scale pavements under wheel loads up to 65 kN
(14,300 lb) at speeds up to 30 km/h (18.6 mph). The pavement is
constructed in a pit and the temperature in the pavement can be
controlled between -10ºC and +30ºC (14ºF to 86ºF)
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Facility's:
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LCPC - FRANCE
Brief Description:
The largest circular test track in operation is at the
Laboratoire Central des Ponts and Chaussees (LCPC) near Nantes. This
facility has a four-arm rotating loading system, running two wheel
assemblies on an inner track, 30 m (100 ft) in diameter, and an outer
track, 40 m (131 ft) in diameter. Loads of 40 to 75 kN (8,800 to 16,520
lb) on a dual-wheel, can be applied at speeds of up to 105 km/h (65
mph). It is possible to simulate tandem axles of 280 kn (61,500 lb) at
lower speeds and to simulate single wheel-loading. The first test was
conducted in 1978. This highly successful APT program, with extensive
research studies and strong interaction though partnering with industry
is one of the most active in the world today.
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to Facility's:
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Brief
Description:
The German APT facility located at the Bundersanstalt fur
Stessenwesen (BASt) research center has an unique configuration. The
BASt Pulse Loading Facility has three hydraulic plate loading rigs. The
pulse load plates mode along the test section to simulate traffic at
approximately 20 km/h (12.5 mph) and applies loads to 200 kN (44,000
lb). The facility was commissioned in 1963.
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to Facility's: Website
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Brief Description:
The Road and Railroads Research Laboratory of Delft University of Technology (TUDelft) has a linear facility, LINTRACK. The facility was commissioned in 1991. The loading wheel assembly permits single-, dual- or super-single wheel mounting at loads from 15 to 100 kN (3,300 to 22,000 lb) and travels over the test section at 20 km/h (12.5 mph). The segment of the test section where the wheel travels at constant speed is 3.5 m (11.5 ft) long. Loading is distributed transversely 1 m (3.2 ft) each side of the centerline. The whole loading assembly is mounted on rails across a 55 m (180 ft) long test area in which transverse test sections can be constructed by conventional equipment. The loading machine is placed inside a temperature control room.
The research conducted at LINTRACK focused on the validation of empirical and theoretical models for rutting and cracking in flexible pavements, the evaluation of the damaging effects of various wheel configurations and the performance evaluation of innovative pavement structures.
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Facility's:
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Brief Description:
Finland and Sweden have a joint APT
program operating a HVS Mark IV. The device is jointly owned by the
Technical Research Center of Finland, the Finnish National Road
Administration, and the Swedish National Road and Transport Research
Institute (VTI). The Swedish National Road Administration provides
support to VTI to cover its share of the capital cost. The HVS–Nordic
(a linear full-scale accelerated pavement testing machine) was
initially located in Finland in 1997 and 1998, and then in Sweden from
1998 through 2000. In Finland the machine is located at the Technical
Research Center and in Sweden at VTI. The loading wheels of the
HVS–Nordic can be dual or single with standard or wide-based tires. The
lateral movement is ±750 mm and the wheel load can be varied between 20
kN and 110 kN with speeds up to 15 km/h. The HVS–Nordic is unique in
that it is mobile with full temperature control and the loading can be
varied dynamically ±20% sinusoidaly.
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Facility's:
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Brief
Description:
The Technical University of Iassy, Romania, commissioned a
circular test track with a diameter of 10 m (32 ft) in 1957. After more
than 40 pavements were tested, the loading machine was replaced in 1982
by a 15-m (51-ft) diameter circular facility. The facility was
reconstructed again in 1999.
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Brief
Description:
The circular facility operated at Vuis-Cesty in Bratislava was
commissioned in 1994. The outdoors circular track has a diameter of 32
m (105 ft). The machine has three arms, each having a full truck axle
(4 wheels). The operating speed is between 10 and 50 km/h (7 and 31
mph).
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to Facility's: Website
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Brief
Description:
Spain has a major facility at the Road research Center (Centro
de Estudios de Carreteras CEC) near Madrid. The center is part of the
Center for Public Works Studies and Experimentations (Centro de
Estudios y Experimentacion de Obras Publicas (CEDEX)), managed by the
Ministry of Public Works Transport and Environment. The facility has
two parallel straights each of three 25-m (82-ft) sections joined by
circular arcs. The test sections are built with normal construction
equipment in an U-shaped concrete box, 8 m (26.2 ft) wide by 2.6 m (8.5
ft) deep, which allows the control of mositure content in the subgrade
soil. Loading is applied by two bogies, each guided by an internal
perimeter wall, which are capable of mounting one-, two-, or
three-wheel, single- or dul-tire half axles. The load is by gravity at
speeds up to 60 km/h (37 mph) and axle loads between 110 and 150 kN
(24,200 to 33,000 lb). Pavemet instrumentation is monitored from a
control center that also operates the two vehicles.
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to Facility's:
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Brief
Description:
Two APT facilities are active in Switzerland, a linear facility
at the Ecole Polytechnique Federal de Lausanne (EPFL) HVS machines are
operated at the facility, and a circular facility at the Ecole
Polytechnique Federal de Zurich (EPFZ).
The Linear APT Facility at EPFL - Lausanne
The Circular APT Facility at EPFZ - Zurich
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to Facility's:
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There are two facilities in the U.K.: one at the OK Transport Research Laboratory and one at the University of Ulster.
PTF at TRL
Brief
Description:
The Pavement Test Facility (PTF) at the UK Transport Research
Laboratory (TRL) was commissioned in 1985. The PTF is capable of one-way and
two-way loading on single or dual tires at loads to 102 kN (22,500 lb).
The operating speed is 20 km/h (12.5 mph) over a 6.7 m (22 ft) long
test section.
Links
to Facility's:
Website
Publications
page
University of Ulster
Brief
Description:
The APT facility at the University of Ulster is placed indoors.
Specimens of pavement structures having the dimensions of are loaded by a single-tire full size truck wheel in
bi-directional mode.
Links
to Facility's:
Website
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Last Updated:
January 28, 2005
