Requirement Management for the 3D Pavement Model Over the Lifecycle

1. Introduction

This article addresses the structuring of data relating to the pavement that form a part of a road infrastructure, and its development throughout a project lifecycle.. Modelling of the information necessary for pavement design, construction, operation, servicing and maintenance is proposed. The data model defined is accompanied by a representation of exchanges between actors and of the key processes for management of requirements with Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) tools.

Within the framework of the MINnD National Project – a research project dedicated to the deployment of digital modelling in the infrastructure sector – the work presented here was the subject of Use Case No. 2 (UC2) – Pavement Lifecycles.

The UC2 Work Group brought together the key actors involved in the design construction, operating and maintenance of infrastructures, as well as PLM specialists (see Figure 1).

Figure 1.

Different phases along pavement lifecycle

Pavement are a major element of road infrastructure assets: they require design rules appropriate to a changing context (traffic, climate, period of validity of design capacity, etc.); they adapt over the service life period (servicing, reinforcement, widening, etc.); they interact strongly with other users (convenience, safety, etc.); they represent an important budget item in terms of construction, maintenance and operation.

Structuring pavement related data, defining the objects to which these data are attached and identifying and representing the exchanges between the different actors make it possible to have available all of the information needed for knowledge of the level of service provided for users and of the condition of the asset throughout its lifecycle.

2. Aims Of The Study

In this Use Case the use of a digital model in infrastructure life-cycle management is addressed via the pavement component, with the aims of:

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  Defining a complete information model associated with pavement, by identifying and structuring the data exchanged between the different actors and in the different project phases

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  Representing the processes within which these exchanges take place

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  Bringing out the different viewpoints of the actors involved: owners, designers, builders, operators, etc.

We therefore propose a methodology for management of requirements and decisions throughout the lifecycle of pavement assimilated to a product, by application of PLM tools.

An exhaustive data model associated with a roadway is developed for the different project development phases. This conceptual model, integrated into the digital model of the infrastructure, covers all categories of roads (motorways, main roads, secondary roads, urban roads), with the corresponding guidelines and standards, and covers both new and existing structures.

We propose a representation of different viewpoints and of the information exchanges, as well as modelling of key processes.

The use of digital models in this framework opens up real opportunities for improving the fluidity of data exchanges between the different actors in the field. But first, it is necessary to identify the actors, the information, and the processes (types of exchanges, project phases, etc.) within which the exchanges take place (Figure 2).

Figure 2.

Development process for a model of data exchanged

3. Research Approach

Within the framework of this Use Case, the approach adopted consisted in:

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  Defining exhaustively the data required for implementation of a project;

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  Bringing together the data in “elementary operations”;

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  Breaking down operations by project phase, from design to operation;

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  Defining the different objects issuing from the road structure and assigning them a set of attributes from the data identified;

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  Identifying exchanges between actors and making a list of typical interactions between them according to data and project phase.