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We look forward to keeping you updated on Pavement ME Design (PMED) news and we encourage you to send us suggestions for articles to be included in upcoming editions of the newsletter. We plan to publish a newsletter each quarter. Enjoy!
The Pavement ME Design Task Force is excited for what is to come in Fiscal Year 2022. One major initiative of the task force is to finalize Pavement ME Design version 3.0; a web-based version that offers a more user-friendly interface while requiring less reliance on the IT departments of users. This new version will be available to users at the beginning of FY 2023. We are also excited to be offering a few new training courses on the software. These training courses can be found in the AASHTOWare Catalog and are a great opportunity to receive hands-on training!
- Clark Morrison, P.E.,
North Carolina DOT, Chairperson - Hari Nair, P.E., Virginia DOT, Co-Chairperson
- Patrick Bierl, P.E., Ohio DOT
- Felix Doucet, Eng., Quebec MOT
- Ian Rish, P.E. Georgia DOT (new member)
- Dulce Feldman, P.E. California Department of Transportation
- Kumar Dave, P.E., Indiana DOT
- Jeff Neal, P.E., Kansas DOT, SCOA Liaison
- Ryan Hilton, Washington State DOT, T&AA Liaison (new liaison)
- Susanne Chan, Eng., Ontario MOT, TAC Liaison
- Tom Yu, P.E., FHWA Liaison
- Ryan Fragapane,
AASHTO Project Manager
(202) 624-3632
Two significant enhancement activities are currently in progress for FY 2022:
- Integrating the results from NCHRP 1-51 on the bonding and interaction between the PCC slab and base layer.
- Updating the global calibration for PCC pavements. As there has been no update to the global calibration for PCC pavements for some time, it will undergo a new recalibration in conjunction with the integration of the revised models from the NCHRP 1-51 project. The recalibration will also use the MERRA climate data available through LTPP InfoPave.
The NCHRP 1-51 model integration and recalibrated PCC distress and performance models will be included in PMED Version 3.0 (Web Technology Application), so please stay tuned for updates on this topic in the future e-Newsletters.
Four webinars are planned for this fiscal year. The webinar topics are selected based on feedback from webinar poll question responses, user group meetings, and commonly asked questions. All previously held webinar recordings, presentations, and Q&A responses are available on the webinar page of the PMED website. Click “Read More” to see the planned dates and topics for the four webinars.
The development work for the next generation of the PMED software is progressing well. The software team is currently working on completing the first Alpha version of the application. Once complete, an extensive testing process will begin. During the last few months, the development team and Task Force members met with the Technical Review Team (TRT) every two weeks to provide progress updates on the web application development. The TRT members provided valuable feedback and insights on how they use the PMED on a day-to-day basis. Their feedback and suggestions are used to improve the user experience and functionality of PMED. The TRT members represent DOT engineers, consultants, and academia.
As a reminder, a new discussion forum location for PMED has been established at www.engineering.stackexchange.com. The software maintenance team has moved the existing Q&A over to the new site. If you have questions, please post them on the new site with the “pavement” tag.
ARA suggests posting any pavement engineering and/or Pavement ME Design questions on the site. This forum is for civil engineers interested in pavement design and provides a global community discussion for pavement design.
The AASHTOWare Pavement ME Design Product Task Force (PMED-TF) provides broad oversight and direction for the support, maintenance and enhancement of the software. AASHTOWare tries to maintain a balance of members from across the country to represent the diverse climate and soil conditions. For further information about the Pavement ME Design Product Task Force, please contact Ryan Fragapane, Associate Project Manager at rfragapane@aashto.org or 202.624.3632.
The Pavement ME Design team has delivered multiple demonstrations/webinars to different agencies in North America over the past couple of years. If your agency is interested in hosting a virtual demonstration in using the software for design, you are encouraged to contact Mr. Ryan Fragapane at rfragapane@aashto.org or 202.624.3632.
We would like to welcome a new Task Force member and T&AA Liaison this year.
- Ian Rish – Georgia Department of Transportation
- Ryan Hilton (T&AA Liaison) – Washington State Department of Transportation
Please send any questions or issues related to using the software to the ME Design website and/or contact the Help Desk Manager, Shobhit Mundra at http://me-design.com/MEDesign/Report.aspx, via email at pavementmedesign@ara.com, or phone 1-217-356-4500.
As a friendly reminder, the Pavement ME Design Task Force continually acts to improve the software and welcomes suggestions from users. Suggestions are reviewed and prioritized at each Pavement ME Design Task Force meeting. Submit suggestions to Ryan Fragapane or any Pavement ME Design Task Force member. Feature ideas may now also be submitted through the Pavement ME Design website at: http://me-design.com/MEDesign/Report.aspx
Service units are available for purchase through AASHTO for implementing and using the Pavement ME Design software package. Many state agencies have already purchased service units, and these agencies can contact AASHTO to redeem them for implementation support.
We want to remind you that there are many resources related to all aspects of Pavement ME Design. The MEPDG Clearinghouse is a great resource to see what research has been done by state highway agencies for implementing the Pavement ME Design. Some topics include local calibration, input characterization, laboratory testing, traffic input collection, plus many, many more. Please visit the ME Clearing house website to learn about the research that has been completed in recent years.
Shobhit Mundra
- pavementmedesign@ara.com
- Phone: (217) 356-4500
Other ARA Staff:
- Harold Von Quintus, P.E., | ARA Project Manager |
- Chadwick Becker, | ARA Co-Project Manager |
- Wouter Brink, Ph.D., | ARA Engineering Support |
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