A creative rapid assembly modular free form pavement for post-disaster temporary roads and sidewalks

Immediate aid to survivors of a natural disaster is the keynote to crisis management. Providing temporary access is one of the most important principles of immediate relief. However, in the postdisaster conditions, it is not possible to use road construction machinery, especially in rural areas. Therefore, in this study, the feasibility of using a Rapid Assembly Building (RAB) system for the temporary pavement with the possibility of rapid construction, which follows the natural topography of the place, is investigated. The introduced system consists of a high-density polyurethane (PUR) foam core as well as two continuous layers of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) facings. For this purpose, the mechanical properties of the materials and composite pavement were determined by a series of laboratory tests. Then, the mechanical performance and bearing behaviour of an element of the presented pavement system was numerically modelled under AASHTO loading. Since in the post-disaster situation, it is not possible to establish the subgrade, an un-compacted subgrade is used for modelling. The results show that this system can be used well in post-disaster situations to provide a rapid, safe, yet robust road without any permanent deformation.