Three decades of development and achievements: the heavy vehicle simulator in accelerated pavement testing

The purpose of this paper is two fold. First, it will provide a brief description of the technological developments involved in the Heavy Vehicle Simulator (HVS) accelerated pavement testing equipment. This covers the period from concept in the late 1960's, to the current state-of-the-art HVS Mk-IV Plus and HVS-A Mk-V. Second, an overview of the research performed by the various accelerated testing programs currently using the HVS as their accelerated testing tool will be provided. The overview will focus on the South African experience, where the HVS was developed. Brief descriptions of HVS research and summaries from other programs worldwide are also provided. These include the Partnered Pavement Research Center (California), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Engineering Research and Development Center (CRREL and WES), the Swedish and Finnish HVS-Nordic program and the Florida DOT HVS test programs.