The Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide is a software developed by the American Association

of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) for the designing of a pavement. Along with the
software a guide was also developed to state the regulations and tips on pavement design.

The software mainly has two parts;

1. Mechanistic Part- It focuses on the physical causes

2. Empirical Part- It observes the performance and determines the relationship.

So altogether, this software identifies the physical causes of stresses in pavement structures and it
calibrates them with observed pavement performance.

The MEPDG is designed to update the 1993 AASHTO Guide for Design of Pavement Structures, which is
primarily based on empirical observations from the AASHO Road Test that began in the 1950s. By using
newer data collected as part of the Long-Term Pavement Performance (LTPP) program, the MEPDG
allows for design inferences that would be harder to justify from the limited designs and traffic levels
covered by the Road Test. In conjunction with the MEPDG research project, software was also
developed to assist in organizing and performing these design calculations.

Approach
The MEPDG software allows the user to input the traffic as well as the traffic conditions on that stretch
of road and on based on the inputs, the software will compute how the design will perform against the
loads and environmental stresses. This will give the user an idea of how the pavement will sustain over a
period in terms of pavement deterioration and decrease in the ride quality of the pavement.

Based on the results obtained from the software for the trial stretch of road, the design service life of
the pavement can be estimated from the prevailing loads and the environmental stresses, also if it is not
according to the requirements, adjustments and steps can be taken to improve the overall performance
of the pavement.

Performance
After the data input, the stretch of the road is evaluated based on stresses and strains the pavement will
experience over its service life. Both Flexible and Rigid pavement can be evaluated using this software.

The performance indicators used for asphalt pavements include;

 Rutting
 Fatigue (alligator cracking)
 Longitudinal cracking
 Transverse cracking.

For rigid pavements, both Jointed Plain Concrete Pavement (JPCP) and Continuously Reinforced
Concrete Pavement (CRCP) can be evaluated using the MEPDG. Specific performance indicators include;