Local Calibration of the MEPDG for New Hampshire

This report summarizes the University of New Hampshire (UNH) results of a study to calibrate the Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG) model for sites and conditions within New Hampshire. MEPDG adds mechanistic understanding of material properties into methods for the design of flexible pavements which has traditionally used an empirical method that correlates designs with observed performance. MEPDG is part of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) 2002 Design Guide and includes over 135 potential inputs for flexible pavements (e.g. climate conditions and traffic loading). The inputs allow the model to be calibrated so that the predicted pavement performance (distress) can resemble what is observed in field application. The pavement section evaluation indicated that it will exceed the distress performance units set by the NHDOT.