This study systematically investigates the influence of various material and soil property inputs on the mechanistic‐empirical (ME) design of flexible pavements, utilizing the AASHTOWare Pavement ME Design software. An experimental design framework, specifically the Plackett–Burman design, was employed to analyze the effects of eleven critical parameters, each with two distinct levels. These parameters included subgrade soil type, asphalt concrete (AC) layer thickness, growth rate, two‐way average annual daily truck traffic (AADTT), effective binder content, air voids, asphalt binder type, design life, base layer thickness, resilient modulus of subgrade, and water table level. Sensitivity analyses, conducted through multiple linear regression (MLR) and neural network (NN) models, consistently demonstrated that variations in material properties, such as asphalt binder grade and effective binder content, significantly influence pavement distress and roughness. Increased traffic volumes were associated with higher pavement thickness requirements, particularly for AC layers, to mitigate rutting and cracking. The analysis identified design life, initial AADTT, and air void content as the most influential factors impacting pavement performance outputs such as the International Roughness Index (IRI). Statistical findings indicated that a longer design life (20 years), higher traffic volume (1000 trucks/day), and increased air voids (6%) lead to a higher IRI (2.86 m/km). The IRI of 2.86 m/km is the maximum predicted roughness across the twelve experimental scenarios and occurs in Test Set 3, which features a 20‐year pavement design life, 1000 trucks/day, and 6% air voids. Results indicate that a balanced pavement layer thickness of 195 mm meets criteria for roughness, total pavement permanent deformation (total rutting), and longitudinal cracking, while excessive base thickness yields minimal reduction in the required AC thickness. These findings highlight the need for multifactor, comprehensive analysis within the ME design process to improve pavement performance and durability.
Adwez et al. (Thu,) studied this question.