Civil Engineering Department

College of Engineering
KAAF UNIVERSITY COLLEGE

__________________________________ Highway Engineering II CIV 467

Lecture 2_ Traffic Loading
Kwasi Agyeman Boakye ( [email protected])

Overview of the Course ( CIV 467)

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Time Period * 7:00am 10:00am

Days * Saturdays , 21 Sept, 28 Sept , 05 Oct, 12 Oct , 19 Oct , 26 Oct , 02 Nov, 09 Nov, 16 Nov, 23 Nov, 30 Nov, Dec 07. Mode of Assessment * Coursework and 2 Test - 30%; Exams - 70% Recommended Reading o Highway; The location, Design Construction and the Maintenance of Road Pavement , C. A. O Flarherty, Fourth Edition (2002). oTraffic and Highway Engineering, Garber N.J and Hoel A.L, Bill Stenquist (2002). oPavement Design Manual, Ghana, First Edition (1998). oStandard Specification for Roads and Bridges, Ghana , 2007

Vehicle Categories
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In evaluating the traffic condition of a facility and for assessing the geometric design requirements, it is necessary to consider all types of vehicles using (or expected to use) the facility. In Ghana the following categories of vehicles are used for design; Axle Load Configuration.pdf
Cars Taxis Pick Up/Vans/4 WD Veh Small Bus Medium Bus/Mummy Wagon Large Bus Light Truck Medium Truck Heavy Truck Semi-trailer (Light) Semi-trailer (Heavy) Truck Trailer Extra Large Trucks & Others

But for pavement design, only the vehicles that carry significantly heavy loads are important commercial vehicles. Thus the from the Light Trucks to the Extra Large Truck & Others category.
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Traffic Loads
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Vehicle loads can be categorized into various categories such as Gross Load, Axle Load, Wheel Load for different purposes. Also the axles have various categorisations.
200kN 80kN 120kN

Load Transfer through Wheels

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Load transfer is done through the wheels of vehicles. These wheels are pneumatic tyres inflated with air. Three parameters are considered in application of loads through wheels; Total wheel load Shape of contact area Distribution of pressure over the contact area

Load Transfer through Wheels

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Contract Pressure and Tyre Pressure

For high inflation pressures Wall of tyre in tension, Contact pressure is less than tyre pressure

For low inflation pressures Wall of tyre in compression, Contact pressure is greater than tyre pressure.

Rigid Factor = Contact Pressure / Tyre Pressure RF=1, when average tyre pressure = 0.7 MPa RF>1, when average tyre pressure < 0.7 MPa RF<1, when average tyre pressure > 0.7 Mpa Tyre Pressure = Inflation Contact Pressure = Wheel Load/(area of imprint)
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Load Transfer through Wheels

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Stresses Vertical Stresses Unidirectional surface shear stresses (breaking and acceleration) Centripetal shear stresses The pressure distribution (vertical, centripetal or unidirectional) is not normally uniform. Normally only uniformly distributed vertical surface stress equal to tyre pressure is considered for analysis. Load Contact Area Shape of contact area depends on; -Inflation - Tyre age - Pavement Surface

Contact Area Shapes

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Different contact shape areas are considered for analyses, such as; Circular Rectangular Rectangular with semi-circular ends More exact shapes for rigorous analysis Circular Contact Area Area (A) = Wheel Load (P)/ contact pressure(p) For circular contact area, radius of contact area is obtained as; a = (1/p)(P/p)0.5 Example: For 20kN load (P) transmitted through a pressure (p) of 0.7MPa, the radius of contact area is given by a2 = 20,000/0.7 a = 95.365mm

Contact Area Shapes

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Rectangle with Semi Circular Ends Contact Area (A) = 0.522L2 In An Example; For a P = 20kN and p= 0.7MPa determine the length of contact area if the contact area is assumed to be a rectangle with a semi Circular ends. Ans L= 233.8mm Note: Where the rectangle with semi circular ends is converted to an equivalent rectangle the dimensions take this form;
A= 0.522L2 0.6L

0.8712L

Design Loading Considerations

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Traffic loads applied over several years ( design life period) traffic volume increases each year. Vehicles on a given road carry different loads

Vehicles on different facilities carry different loads

The wheel loads are carried over different portions of the pavement and not at a single location.

The manner of the transmission of the load to the pavement depends on the speed of the vehicle.
Pavement is designed to carry traffic load over a specific period (design life) Thus it is essential to have a good estimate of the total number of vehicles expected to use the facility during the design life period
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Traffic Forecast
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It will also help in design if the traffic volumes during different periods (even on a yearly basis) of the design life can be estimated. These estimates can be done from the traffic volumes prevailing in a base year and by selecting appropriate growth factors and projection techniques. Projection of cumulative commercial traffic over design life is given by; N = 365 x A [ (1+r)n 1] r A= Initial design traffic in the year of completed construction (com.veh/day) r = annual growth rate of commercial vehicles expressed as a fraction n= Design period (years)

Where

Note: This cumulative volume will be used to determine the Cumulative Equivalent Standard Axle (CESA).

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Traffic Forecast
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The traffic in the year of completion of construction is estimated using the expression; A = P (1+r)x Where P = Number of commercial vehicles/day as per last count x = No. of years between the last count and the year of completion of construction

The cumulative traffic (commercial vehicles) for the design period N, would have to be adjusted for the following to get the design traffic; Directional distribution of traffic Lateral placement characteristics of wheels on pavement Load spectrum

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Traffic Forecast
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Example The average two-way traffic per day on an existing 2 lane highway counted in 2010 was 4000 commercial vehicles. Determine the cumulative volume of commercial vehicles over the design life of the road if; The annual growth rate of commercial vehicles , r=7% N= design period is 15 years And construction of road is expected to be completed in 2013 Solution Determine A; A = 4000(1+0.07)2 = 4580cvpd
N= 365x 4580x[ (1+0.07)15 1] =42x106 cvpd 0.07

Try this Determine the cumulative volume of commercial vehicles for the design of the pavement for construction of a new bypass with the following data: 1. Two lane carriage way 2. Initial traffic in the year of completion of construction = 400 CVPD (sum of both directions) 3. Traffic growth rate = 7.5 % 4. Design life = 17 years 5. Construction is expected to occur over a period of 4 years.
Ans. 4.7x106 cvpd.

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Lateral distribution of wheel loads

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All the commercial vehicles do not take the same lateral position on highway. Depending on the type of facility (two-way, multi lane), number of lanes, etc the paths that the wheels of commercial vehicles tread differ. As a result all the wheels of all the commercial vehicles utilizing the pavement during the design period do not stress the same point on the pavement. Each part of the pavement get different repetitions of loads.

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Lateral distribution of wheel loads

Some recommended load distributions
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Single lane roads Design is based on total number of commercial vehicles in both direction Two-lane Single carriageway road Design is based on 75% of the total number of commercial vehicles in both direction Four lane Single Carriageway Road Design is based on 40% of the total number of commercial vehicles in both directions.

Dual Carriage Roads Design of dual two lane carriageway roads should be based on 75% of the number of commercial vehicles in each direction. For dual three lane carriageway and dual four lane carriageway the distribution factor will be 60% and 45% respectively.

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Traffic Load Considerations in Design

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Pavements of highways and airports carry different types of vehicles. And also vehicles carry different magnitude of loads and occur repeatedly.
The question is; which vehicle and how many repetitions are considered in design? Load Considerations in Design Three different approaches occur, namely; Fixed Traffic Fixed Vehicle Variable Traffic and Vehicle

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Traffic Load Considerations in Design

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In the Fixed Traffic Design Approach heaviest anticipated vehicle is the main concern for design. The number of repetitions is not considered. Pavements are designed for a single wheel load. Multiple wheel loads are converted to an Equivalent Single Wheel Load (ESWL) Eg. Airport pavements and highways that would carry very heavy loads. Not commonly used.

For Fixed Vehicle Design Approach the design is governed by the number of repetitions of a standard vehicle or axle. 80KN single axle is considered as the standard axle. Axles that are not either single or not equivalent to 80kN are converted into equivalent standard axle loads using Equivalent Standard Axle Load Factor. Multiplying the repetitions of a given axle load by the EALF gives the equivalent number of 80kN axle load repetitions.
Sum of the equivalent repetitions obtained for all the axle loads anticipated (during the design period) is used as a design parameter. And most design approaches use this method. In the Variable Vehicle and Traffic Approach variations in loads and repetitions of each individual load are considered as important for design. There is no need to deal with traffic in terms of ESWL or ESAL. It is normally used for procedures adopting a cumulative damage approach.
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Equivalent Standard Wheel Loads (ESWL)

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This is defined as the load on a single tyre that will cause an equal magnitude of pre selected parameter (stress, strain, deflection or distress) at a given location within a specific pavement system to that resulting from a multiple wheel load at the same location within the pavement structure.

Here the equivalency is in terms of a selected parameter ( for a selected pavement and a selected location). To determine ESWL the following parameters must be considered;
Equal vertical stress Equal vertical deflection Equal tensile strain Equal contact pressure Equal Contact radius

These design parameters can be theoretically calculated or experimentally determined as specified in a given design methodology.
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Determining ESWL - Using Equal Vertical Stress Concept

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This concept depends on the fact that there is an equal maximum vertical stress on the subgrade. This is based on approximation of stress distribution in a one layer system.
Pd Sd d Pd

d/2 2Sd

For a pavement thickness less than d/2, no stress overlaps. Hence ESWL will be Pd. At a depth of approximately 2Sd, the effect of overlap is such that it is equivalent to stress caused by 2Pd. For an intermediate depth it is assumed that a linear relationship exists between load and thickness plotted on a log-log scale.
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Determining ESWL - Using Equal Vertical Stress Concept

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Thus,
2Pd P Pd

ESWL (log scale)

Z=d/2

Z Depth Z (log scale)

Z=2Sd

Where

log (ESWL) = log Pd + 0.301 log (2 Z/d) log (4Sd/d )

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Example Using Equal Vertical Stress Concept

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Example Determine the ESWL for the pavement loading below;

20kN 300mm 20kN 100mm

Solution
20kN 300mm E1 = E2 Pavement (E1) Subgrade (E2) 600mm 20kN 100mm

50mm

200mm

E1 = E2 Pavement (E1) Subgrade (E2)

200mm

40 ESWL (log scale) ? 20 50 Z Depth Z (log scale) 600

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Example Using Equal Vertical Stress Concept

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Therefore log (ESWL) = log Pd + 0.301 log (2 Z/d) log (4Sd/d ) = log 20 + 0.301 log (2 x200/100) log (4x300/100 )
Thus ESWL =29.44kN

Try Calculate ESWL by equal stress criteria for a dual wheel assembly carrying 2044 kg each for a pavement thickness of 5, 15, 20, 25 and 30 cms. The distance between walls of the tyre is 11 cm. Use either graphical or functional methods.
(Hint: Pd=2044kg, Sd=27cm, d=11cm). [Ans: 2044, 2760, 3000, 3230 and 4088]

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Determining ESWL - Using Equal Vertical Deflection Concept

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P
Sd

ESWL

E1, m1

Max. Deflection

E1 = E2 M1=0.5 E2 M2 =0.5

E2, m2

For single layer system deflection at any depth and radial distance is given by; D= p x a x F 1 (E) Where D is the deflection at depth z and radial distance (measured from the centre of the load) r and E is the elastic modulus of the pavement (subgrade modulus in case of a two layer system) and

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Determining ESWL - Using Equal Vertical Deflection Concept

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F is a deflection factor , a function of r and z. A chart of it is shown below;

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Calculating ESWL - Using Equal Vertical Deflection Concept

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The deflection for ESWL is given by; D ESWL= pESWL x a x FESWL ..2 (ESUB) For the multiple wheel the deflection is also given by DMultiple= pMultiple x a x Fmax 3 (ESUB) Thus according to the Equal vertical deflection concept , the deflection should be equal; D ESWL= Dmultiple
pESWL x FESWL = pMultiple x Fmax .4 pMultiple is known and given Fmax is a function of wheel configuration r and depth z FESWL is a function of h (and r=o) Thus pESWL and ESWL can be determined.
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Determining ESWL for 2 layer System Using Equal Vertical Deflection Concept
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For the two layer system having modulus E1 and E2, the deflection at the interface of the two layers is most important. As such it is given by; D= p x a x F where F is the interface deflection factor, a function of radial distance r and (E subgrade) and pavement thickness h.

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Determining ESWL for 2 layer System Charts for Determining Factors

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Determining ESWL for 2 layer System Charts for Determining Factors

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Determining ESWL for 2 layer System - Using Equal Vertical Deflection Concept
Trial Question
20kN 300mm A
E1=250 m1=0.5 E2=50 m2=0.5
1 2 3

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20kN

100mm B 200mm

Point 2 Load A r/a = 100/100 = 1 (r/a = 1 , h/a = 2) thus F=0.4 ( from chart slide 24) Load B r/a = 200/100 = 2 (r/a = 2 , h/a = 2) thus F=0.35 ( from chart slide 24) Total F = 0.4+0.35 = 0.75
Point 3 Load A r/a = 150/100 = 1.5 (r/a = 1.5 , h/a = 2) thus F=0.38 ( from chart slide 24) Load B r/a = 150/100 = 1.5 (r/a = 1.5 , h/a = 2) thus F=0.38 ( from chart slide 24) Total F = 0.38+0.38 = 0.76 Thus maximum deflection, Fmax = 0.78 occurs at Point 1.

Where m is Poisson distribution values. Solution E1/E2=250/50=5 Z/a =200/100 = 2 Explore points 1, 2 and 3 for maximum deflection Point 1 Load A r/a = 0/100 = 0 (r/a = 0 , h/a = 2) thus F=0.5 ( from chart slide 27) Load B r/a = 300/100 = 3 (r/a = 3 , h/a = 2) thus F=0.28 ( from chart slide 27) Total F = 0.5+0.28 = 0.78

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Determining ESWL for 2 layer System - Using Equal Vertical Deflection Concept
ESWL
Thus pESWL = pMultiple x FMax FESWL = 0.6366x 1 0.7 = 0.9930MPa
ESWL = pESWL x contact area = 0.909 x x 1002 = 31.2kN

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E1 = E2 M1=0.5 E2 m2 =0.5

200mm
3

Thus for an ESWL acting at point 3, (r/a = 0 , z/a = 2) thus F=0.5 ( from chart slide 27) Thus from equation 4 pESWL x FESWL = pMultiple x Fmax Where pMultiple = 20,000 x 1002 pMultiple = 0.6366MPa

Try this
Calculate the surface deflection under the centre of a tyre (a = 152 mm, p = 552 kPa) for a 305 mm pavement having a 345 MPa modulus and subgrade modulus of 69 MPa from two-layer theory. Also calculate the interface deflection. a. A circular load with a radius of 152 mm and a uniform pressure of 552 kPa is applied on a two-layer system. The subgrade has an elastic modulus of 35 kPa and can support a maximum vertical stress of 55 kPa. What is the required thickness of full depth AC pavement, if AC has an elastic modulus of 3.45 GPa. b.Instead of a full depth AC pavement, if a thin surface treatment is applied on a granular base (with elastic modulus 30 of 173 MPa), what is the thickness ofbase course required?

ESWL Other Criteria

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Other Criteria exist for determining ESWL apart from the vertical Stress and Deflection methods. These include;
Equal Tensile Strain For pavements with bituminous layers Equal Tensile Stress Concrete Pavements.

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Equivalent Axle Load Factors (EALF)

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In some design methods pavements are designed for a selected number of repetitions of a standard load (Standard axle load 80kN). As such EALFs are used to convert different axle loads into equivalent repetitions of a standard axle.
EALFs defines the damage caused to the pavement by one application of the axle load under consideration relative to the damage caused by a single application of a standard axle. Design is based on the total number of applications of standard axle load during the design period which is known as the Equivalent Standard Axle Load (ESAL).

Where

m = number of axle load groups Fi= EALF for the ith-axle load group ni= number of applications of the ith group during the design period
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Equivalent Axle Load Factors (EALF)

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For the design of pavements, it is important to have information on EALFs and the expected axle load spectrum for the design period. Axle load spectrum describes the number of passes of axles for different groups of axle loads ( 0 5 kN, 5-10 kN, etc).
EALF ( relative damaging effect) is a function of the type of pavement, composition and strength of pavement and criterion determining performance (damage). EALF can be determined from the following; -Obtained from field observations of performance of pavements carrying different types of axle loads. -From AASHTO road test ( which is often used) -Obtained from theoretical exercise using appropriate mechanistic criteria Note! EALFs are different for different types of pavements and for different performance criteria.

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AASHTO EALF
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The AASHTO Road Experiment resulted in ESAL factors as a function of the axle configuration, load, pavement strength ( structural number or slab thickness), terminal condition of the pavement.
A simplification of this is the Fourth Power Law given as: ESAL factor = [ axle load ] standard Axle load
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Example . The damaging effect caused by 160kN load relative to a standard axle load of 80kN is given as;
ESAL F= (160/80)4 = 16 Try this; Let number of load repetition expected by 80 KN standard axle is 1000, 160 KN is 100 and 40 KN is 10000. Find the equivalent axle load.
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AASHTO EALF
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AASHTO EALF
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Axle Load Measurement

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To estimate the total projected repetitions of commercial traffic in terms of the repetitions of a standard load unit (standard axle load) it is necessary to have an estimate of the axle load spectrum besides the EALFs.
Axle load spectrum is obtained by conducting axle load survey of commercial vehicles. Thus, measurement of axle loads of a sample of commercial vehicles plying on a given facility. If facility is very new, commercial vehicle data is obtained from another facility similar to the one being designed. This is often conducted with portal weigh pads placed on the site.

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Axle Load Survey and Determination of VDF

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In conducting an axle load survey - An adequate number of commercial vehicles are sampled - Usually only the wheel loads are measured - Axle load = 2x wheel ( thus, where only one wheel load is measured) - Commercial vehicles in both directions is considered
An analysis of axle load data from 450 sampled commercial vehicles, totaling 1000 axles measured is as shown,
Load Group Frequency
50 250 400 250 40 10 1000

Mid Pt
20 60 100 140 180 200 700

EALF
0.0625 0.3164 2.4414 9.379 25.629 57.19 95.0183

ESAL
3.13 79.10 976.56 2344.75 1025.16 571.90 5000.595

Thus 1000 axles = 5000.6 standard axles(80kN) 1 axle = 5.0 standard axle 450 commercial vehicles = 5000.6 standard axles (80kN) 1 comm. vehicle = 11.11 stded axles (Vehicle Damage Factor)

0 - 40 40 - 80 80 - 120 120 - 160 160 - 200 200 - 240 Total

VDF is used for converting a given traffic volume into equivalent number of standard of standard axles. VDF is a typical value representing the loads carried by the commercial vehicles plying on facility. Which is determined by conducting axle load surveys. 38

Estimation of Design Traffic

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The repetitions of standard load (80kN) expected to be applied on the pavement during a specified period ( design life) is a function of ;
-Initial traffic (commercial) Cumulative traffic over the entire period taking into account projections about rate of growth -Vehicle Damage Factor Lateral placement characteristics of wheel loads

Example 1. Design life =15years 2. Traffic growth rate = 8% 3. VDF = 4.5 4. Three lane dual carriage way with 12,000 commercial vehicle per day. (0.6 distribution) N= 365x[ (1+0.08)15 1] x 6000 x 0.6 x 4.5 = 160.55msa 0.08 Try this on your own Estimate the design life traffic for a facility with 2-lane road, ADT = 4000cvpd (two-way), VDF=5.0, Design life = 15years, rate of growth of commercial vehicles =7%.
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