Pavement Disress Rating

FAKULTI KEJURUTERAAN AWAM
UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MARA

PULAU PINANG LABORATORY REPORT
TITLE: PAVEMENT DISTRESS RATING
1.0) INTRODUCTION
Pavement distress refers to the condition of a pavement surface in terms of its

general appearance. A distressed pavement may be fractured, distorted or
disintegrated. Many highway agencies use some procedures/methods in evaluating
the condition of flexible pavement. A pavement rating method uses the following
distress elements in evaluating the pavement condition: longitudinal or alligator
cracking, rutting, bleeding, ravelling and patching. Each element is characterized by
(1) SEVERITY: not severe, severe or very severe; and (2) FREQUENCY: none, rare,
occasional or frequent. The categories for frequency are based on the percentage of
area affected by a particular distress within the area of the section surveyed.
2.0) OBJECTIVE
To assist student in identifying and classifying the types and level of pavement
distress for road maintenance works.
3.0) PROBLEM STATEMENT
A periodical maintenance works must be carried out to ensure the level of

service is maintained at reasonable level and reducing the risk of accidents due to
poor road conditions. As an engineer attached to the maintenance company, you are
asked by the senior engineer to conduct a survey on pavement distress along few
major roads in UiTM Penang campus, rate the pavement condition using a suitable
method and suggest on innovative of technology for the maintenance works.
4.0) PROCEDURES
1. A suitable site of road that has distress or damage part is chosen in a range of
100 to 200 metres.
2. Recommended to install the traffic cones at the observed site for easy surveying
and also prevent any incident occurs.
3. Any types of distress or damages are observed and measured by using ruler.
4. The observed road distress is recorded based on severity of distress which is low,
moderate and high.
5.0) APPARATUS
1. Ruler.
6.0) ANALYSIS
All the types of road distress from various locations are determined as follows:
Figures Description
CRACKING
1) Fatigue Cracking / Crocodile Cracks
Severity: Moderate
Details:
A pattern of articulated pieces
formed by cracks that may be
lightly spalled. Cracks may be
sealed.
Location: Perai, Penang
Possible cause:
Inadequate pavement thickness.
Severity: High
Details:
Pieces more severely spalled at
edges and loosened, pieces rock
under traffic, pumping may
exist.
Location: Taiping, Perak
Possible cause:
Poor base drainage.
2) Block Cracking
Severity: Low
Details:
Blocks defined by unscaled cracks
with a mean width of 3 mm or less;
cracks with sealant in good
condition.
Possible causes:
Joints in underlying layer.
Severity: Moderate
Details:
Blocks defined by moderately
spalled cracks and cracks with a
mean width greater than 3 mm.
Possible cause:
Shrinkage cracks due to bitumen
seal hardening in bituminous
Location: UiTM Penang surfacing.
3) Edge Cracking
Severity: Moderate
Details:
Cracks with some breakup or
ravelling.
Possible cause:
Poor drainage at pavement edge
and shoulder.
Location: Seremban, N.Sembilan
Severity: High
Details:
Cracks with considerable breakup
or ravelling along edge.
Possible cause:
Inadequate pavement width which
forces traffic too close to pavement
edge.
4) Longitudinal Cracking
Severity: Moderate
Details:
Cracks with moderately severe
spalling, mean unsealed crack width
of greater than 3 mm, sealant
material in bad condition.
Possible cause:
Poorly constructed paving lane
in bituminous surfacing.
5) Transverse Cracking
Severity: Moderate
Details:
Cracks with moderate severity
spalling, mean unsealed crack width
of greater than 3 mm, sealant
material in bad condition.
Possible cause:
Reflection of shrinkage cracks.
PATCHING AND POTHOLES
1) Potholes
Severity: Low
Details:
Depth is lower than 25mm and area
is 0.1 to 0.3 considered low.
Possible cause:
Loss of surface course.
Severity: High
Details:
Depth is more than 50mm and area
is more than 0.3 considered high.
Possible cause:
Load associated disintegration of
base.
2) Patch Deterioration Severity: Low
Details:
Patch has, at most, low severity
distress of any type including
rutting < 6 mm. Pumping is not
evident, and there is no loss of
patching material.
Possible cause:
Defects can occur within a patch or
the patch can be a further defect
where it is raised or depressed
below the level of the pavement
surface.
SURFACE DEFORMATION
1) Rutting
Severity: Low
Details:
-Rutting is longitudinal deformation
or depression in the wheel paths
which occur after repeated
applications of axle loading. It may
occur in one or both wheel paths of
a lane.
-Rut depths of less than 12 mm

which is measured under a
transverse 1.2 m straight edge.
Possible cause:
Inadequate pavement thickness or
overstressed subgrade which
deforms permanently.
2) Shoving
Severity: Moderate
Details:
Noticeable and rough ride.
Possible cause:
Unstable granular base reflecting
through the surface.
SURFACE DEFECT
1) Bleeding
Severity: Moderate
Details:
-Bleeding is the presence of free
bitumen binder on the surface
resulting from upward migration of
the binder, causing low texture
depth and inadequate tyre to stone
contact.
-The picture is described as

moderate because it is distinctive
appearance with excess bitumen
already free.
Possible cause:
Paving over flushed surfaces. The
excess bitumen on the old surface
may coat be pumped up through
the new paving over a period of
time.
2) Ravelling
Severity: Moderate
Details:
-Ravelling is the progressive
disintegration of the pavement
surface by loss of binder or
aggregates or both.
-Considered moderate because the
aggregate or binder has worn away
and the surface texture is becoming
rough and pitted. Loose particles
generally exist.
Possible cause:
Insufficient bitumen content.
3) Delamination
Severity: Low
Details:
Considered low because the peeling
of the top layer has started but has
not progressed significantly. Surface
area peeled off is less than 0.1 m2.
Possible cause:
Adhesion of surface binder to
vehicle tyres.
Severity: Moderate
Details:
Surface area peeled off is between
0.1 m2 to 2.5 m2. Severe crocodile
cracks in and around the peeled off
area.
Location: UiTM Penang Possible cause:

Weak, loose layer immediately
underlying seal.
7.0) DISCUSSION
Based on the types of road distress obtained and tabulated in the analysis,
the road samples that we have observed have 4 different types of road distress that
comprises of cracking, patching and potholes, surface deformation and surface
defect.
The first type of road distress which is cracking was divided into five other types of
cracking that includes:
Types of Cracking Details

Fatigue or crocodile Description
cracking This type of cracking are series of connected cracks that were
caused by fatigue failure caused by flexible pavement under
traffic loading.
Problem caused due to distress

 Indicates failure of pavement structure
 Moisture infiltration
 Moisture accumulated in layers of pavement that can
weaken the materials used to compose pavement by
increasing pore pressure
 May lead to pothole
Cause of distress
 Decrease in supporting characteristics of pavement
load
 Poor pavement construction
 Inadequate structural design
Maintenance / Repair works of distress

 Small fatigue cracking shows that there are losses of
subgrade support in pavement.
 In order to repair small fatigue cracking, the part of

cracked pavement has to be removed by digging it out
and the removed part will have to be replaced, and if
necessary, drainage nearby that part of pavement has
to be improved
 The subgrade that has been improved will have to be
patched
 As for large fatigue cracking shows that there are
general structural failure in the pavement
 To repair large fatigue cracking, hot mix asphalts
overlay will be place onto surface of pavement
 Hot mix asphalt overlay consists of laying Portland
cement concrete or hot mix asphalt onto pavement
Block cracking Description
 Refers to connected cracks splits pavement into various
rectangular pieces
 Normally occurs at large area of pavement

 Moisture accumulated in layers of pavement that can
Cause of distress
 Shrinkage of flexible pavement
 Caused by inability of pavement to expand or contract
of due to aging of asphalt binder and improper choice
of asphalt binder in mix design of pavement

 Depends on level of severity

 For low severity cracks (about half an inch wide), the
crack has to be sealed (Normally sealed with overband
crack sealing) in order to avoid moisture from entering
the subgrade of pavement
 For further repair works, hot mix asphalt is
recommended to be used to seal cracks to ensure the
seal to last longer
 For pavement with high severity cracks (more than half
an inch wide), the part of cracked pavement has to be
removed and replaced with overlay where the process
laying Portland cement concrete or hot mix asphalt
onto pavement is done
Edge cracking Description
 Refers to cracks that start from the side of pavement
and later on will spread towards centre of pavement

 Allow water to enter the base beneath edge of
pavement and will later soften subgrade and base
beneath edge of pavement
 Lead to weak pavement due to presence of water
beneath edge of pavement
Cause of distress
 This type of cracking occur more often on rural road
 This is because rural roads are much narrower
compared to main roads, thus any vehicles that
travelled on rural roads in opposite direction will have
to move closer towards the edge of road while moving
on the road
 If the foundation of the pavement is not strong enough

to withstand the load of vehicles that passes through
the road on a daily basis or the maintenance or repair
works weren’t properly maintained or done, the road
may degrade faster
 Change in daily surrounding temperature and weather
patterns do contribute to the formation of this distress
 Low temperature causes asphalt to shrink and high
temperature causes pavement to break apart easily
 Provision of improper drainage systems that causes
water to enter beneath of road surface and causes road
to erode

 Installation of proper drainage systems will help
prevent water from entering beneath of road surface
therefore will later prevent road from eroding
 Foundation of pavement has to be strong and the
asphalt used has to have a strong base so pavement
can last, thus can withstand heavier vehicle load that
passes through pavement
Longitudinal cracking Description
 Cracks that occur are parallel to centre line of
pavement
 Can also be considered as a type of fatigue cracking

 Allows moisture infiltration
 Moisture accumulated in layers of pavement that can
 Indicate possible onset of alligator cracking and

structural failure
 Alligator cracking also known as fatigue or crocodile
cracking (Refer description of fatigue or crocodile
cracking above)
Cause of distress
 Poor joint construction where the joint may not be
constructed outside wheel track as it should be
 Reflective cracking that happens to be from underlying
layer of asphalt

 For low severity cracks (about half an inch wide and
infrequent cracks), the crack has to be sealed (Normally
sealed with overband crack sealing) in order to avoid
moisture from entering the subgrade of pavement
seal to last longer
Transverse cracking Description
 Refers to cracks that are perpendicular to centre line
of pavement
 Normally a type of thermal cracking (Distress that are
significant in cold climate regions)

 Allows moisture infiltration
Cause of distress
 Shrinkage of flexible pavement
 Caused by inability of pavement to expand or contract
of due to aging of asphalt binder and improper choice
of asphalt binder in mix design of pavement
 Reflective crack caused by cracks underneath surface of
hot mix asphalt layer

 For low severity cracks (about half an inch wide and
infrequent cracks), the crack has to be sealed (Normally
sealed with overband crack sealing) in order to avoid
moisture from entering the subgrade of pavement
seal to last longer
The second type of road distress which are patching and potholes were divided into
two types which are potholes and patch deterioration.
Types of distress Details

Potholes Description
 Small, bowl shaped depressions that occurs on the
surface of pavement that pierces through the hot mix
asphalt layer, all the way to the base course
 Have sharp edges and vertical sides
 Normally occurs on roads that has thin hot mix asphalt
surfaces
 Rarely occurs on roads that has deeper thin hot mix
asphalt surfaces

 Roughness
 Cause by driving across potholes at high speed
Possible causes
 Fatigue / alligator cracking
 As fatigue / alligator cracking becomes even severe, the
connected cracks creates small parts of pavement that
can be removed as vehicle were driven over the cracks
 Remaining hole that remains on pavement after
removal of other small parts of pavement is known as
pothole

 Asphalt patching techniques are applied in order to for

maintenance or repair works
 Commonly used method includes:
 Throw-and-roll method
a. Temporary method
b. Liquid asphalt filled into hole and rolled over
c. Liquid asphalt will start to harden as soon it reacts with
air
 Semi-permanent patches
a. Requires proper preparation for surface
b. Long-lasting method
c. Any debris or water that occurs on pavement surface
removed after area that will be patched is cut back
d. The hole will be filled with mixing of patch and
compacted using a roller
 Full-depth patching
a. A permanent method
b. Process of patching involves excavation of patching
area to depth of at least four inches so there will be a
firmer support for the pavement
c. Backfill applied after asphalt mix and tack coat in order
to provide firmer bonding between layer of pavement
Patch deterioration Description
 Portion of pavement surface that has been removed
and replaced with additional material applied to
pavement after removal of portion of pavement
surface
 Occurs in asphalt removal and replacement process

 Ponding of water along edges of patch
Possible causes
 Improper drainage system installed that causes water
to enter beneath of road surface and causes road to
erode

 Asphalt patching techniques can be applied in order to
for maintenance or repair works
 Commonly used method includes:
 Throw-and-roll method
d. Temporary method
e. Liquid asphalt filled into hole and rolled over
f. Liquid asphalt will start to harden as soon it reacts with
air
 Semi-permanent patches
e. Requires proper preparation for surface
f. Long-lasting method
g. Any debris or water that occurs on pavement surface
removed after area that will be patched is cut back
h. The hole will be filled with mixing of patch and
compacted using a roller
 Full-depth patching
d. A permanent method
e. Process of patching involves excavation of patching
area to depth of at least four inches so there will be a
firmer support for the pavement
f. Backfill applied after asphalt mix and tack coat in order
to provide firmer bonding between layer of pavement
The third type of road distress which is surface deformation was divided into two
types which are rutting and shoving.
Types of surface Details

deformation
Rutting Description
 Depression of surface in the wheel tracks
 Shearing may occur along the sides of rut
 Can be seen after raining as rutting deformation
normally will be filled with water around that time
 There are two types which are mix rutting and
subgrade rutting
 Mix rutting occurs when subgrade of pavement does
not rut yet while subgrade rutting occurs when
subgrade exhibits wheel tracks

 The rutting deformation filled with water can cause a
vehicle to be pulled toward path of deformation as
steered across rutting deformation
Possible causes
 Deformation in the layers of pavement that is caused
by movement of materials due to loading of traffic
 Improper mix design used to build pavement where the
content of asphalt may be too much or too little or
even amount of aggregates that are not enough
 The pavement that has major rutting deformation have
to be investigated in order to determine the cause of
deformation
 Cause of deformation includes:

 Improper mix design
 Insufficient compaction
Shoving Description
 Movement across pavement surface that is
perpendicular to traffic direction
 Normally occurs locations where traffic starts and stops

 Roughness
 Cause by driving across potholes at high speed
Possible causes
 Caused by action of starting and stopping of traffic

 Repair works for small areas of shoved pavement
includes removal of distorted pavement and patch
 As for large areas of shoved pavement, the damaged
part of pavement and overlay should be removed.
The fourth type of road distress which is surface defect was divided into three types
which are bleeding, ravelling and delamination.
Types of surface Details

defect
Bleeding Description
 Refers to the firm of asphalt binder on surface of
pavement
 This type of surface deformation is looks like a surface
that reflects and becomes sticky and slippery and the
pavement surface is dry and wet respectively

 Low skid resistance when pavement surface is wet
Possible causes
 Occurs when:
 Asphalt binder fills the voids of during hot weather
 Asphalt binder expands onto pavement surface
 This would lead to excessive of asphalt binder that
accumulates on pavement surface

 Minor bleeding can be repaired by applying coarse
sand to remove excess asphalt binder.
 Major bleeding can be repaired by removing the excess
asphalt using motor grader or heater planner.
 If the surface of pavement is still excessively rough,
pavement has to be resurfaced.
Ravelling Description
 Refers to continuous disintegration of hot mix asphalt
layer from surface due to removal of aggregate
particles from pavement surface
 Loss of skid resistance
Possible causes
 Bond loss between aggregate particles and asphalt
binder due to aging of asphalt binder
 Asphalt binder ages because of oxidation process that
occurs as it gets older where the

 For small area of ravelled pavement, the area of
pavement has to be removed and patched.
 For large ravelled pavement, the area of affected
pavement has to be removed.
Delamination Description
 Longitudinal cracking in the wheel tracks

 Can affect the thickness of wearing course of pavement
where the wearing course detaches from underlying
layer
Possible causes
 Improper temperature condition
 The change in the surrounding temperature that leads
to thermal expansion and contraction, and affects the
pavement surface and cause the distress to occur
 Adhesion of surface binder to the tyres of vehicle that
passes through the pavement
 For weak loose layer immediately underlying seal, the

underlying layer will have to be removed and filled with
full depth asphalt.
 As for adhesion of surface binder to vehicle tyres,

overlay has to be removed and replaced with a more
stable surfacing material.
 For polished or heavily painted host surface, affected
area, texture surface will have to be removed and
replaced with a new surface.
8.0) CONCLUSION
To conclude, the objective of the experiment was achieved where the types
and level of pavement distress for road maintenance works was identified and
classified accordingly.
Based on the observations made at four different locations of road, we have

four types of road distress which includes cracking, surface defect, patching and
potholes, and surface deformation. Each type of pavement distress was divided into
several other distresses which was stated and elaborated in the analysis of data and
discussion. The types of distress are was included together with the problems that
may occur due to the distress, the factors that lead to the occurrence of distress and
the maintenance and repair works that has to be executed in order to keep
pavement in good condition and without having any distress to risk the condition of
pavement surface.
The problems that may occur due to the distress, factors that lead to the
occurrence of distress and the maintenance and repair works that has to be
executed depends on the severity of the distress where the severity was classified
into three level which are low, moderate and high. These three elements included in
the discussion are important as it helps to increase the awareness of people
regarding the importance of keeping the pavement free from any distresses that can
affect it physically. This is because pavement is an important element in highway and
transportation engineering as it is used on a daily basis by vehicle users.
Last but not least, the maintenance of pavement has to be done in a

scheduled period so the conditions of pavement can be observed from time to time.
Thus, if maintenance was done on a scheduled basis, any damages of pavement can
be identified and repair works can be done as soon as possible to prevent the
damages from becoming even worse.
9.0) REFERENCES
1. JKR 20709-2060-92 – “A Guide to the Visual Assessment of Flexible Pavement

Surface Conditions”.
2. U.S Department of Transportation – “Distress Identification Manual for the Long-
Term Performance Program”.
3. Lanham, MD. Hot Mix Asphalt Materials, Mixture Design, and Construction.
National Asphalt Paving Association Education Foundation.
4. Pavement Tools Consortium, University of Washington, U.S Department of
Transportation. Pavement Management (Pavement Distresses).
Refer:
https://pavementinteractive.org/reference-desk/pavement
management/pavement-distresses/
5. Heitzman. M; Maser. K; Tran. N. H, Brown. R; Bell. H; Holland. S. D; Ceylan. H;
Belli. K and Hiltunen. D. (2013) Vol. 1. Second Highway Research Program 2
Report S2-R06D-RR-1, Non-destructive Testing to Identify Delaminations between
HMA Layers
6. Refer:
https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?
article=1016&context=ccee_reports
7. Australian Asphalt Pavement Association. (2010). Pavement Maintenance &
Rehabilitation.
Refer:
http://www.aapaq.org/q/qbspp2014p/notes-PDF/BSPP-2014Q-sec16-
Maintenance-and-rehabilitation-v2010-docx.pdf
10.0) APPENDICES
The road distress samples are taken from:
1. Taman Pauh Indah, 13700 Perai, Pulau Pinang.
2. UiTM Cawangan Permatang Pauh, 13500 Pulau Pinang.
3. Taiping, Perak.
4. Seremban, Negeri Sembilan.

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FAKULTI KEJURUTERAAN AWAM

UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MARA

TITLE: PAVEMENT DISTRESS RATING

Pavement distress refers to the condition of a pavement surface in terms of its

3.0) PROBLEM STATEMENT

A periodical maintenance works must be carried out to ensure the level of

Location: Seremban, N.Sembilan

Location: Taiping, Perak

-Rut depths of less than 12 mm

Location: Taiping, Perak

-The picture is described as

Location: UiTM Penang Possible cause:

Types of Cracking Details

Problem caused due to distress

Maintenance / Repair works of distress

 In order to repair small fatigue cracking, the part of

Problem caused due to distress

Maintenance / Repair works of distress

 Depends on level of severity

Problem caused due to distress

 If the foundation of the pavement is not strong enough

Maintenance / Repair works of distress

Problem caused due to distress

 Indicate possible onset of alligator cracking and

Maintenance / Repair works of distress

Problem caused due to distress

Maintenance / Repair works of distress

Types of distress Details

Problem caused due to distress

Maintenance / Repair works of distress

 Asphalt patching techniques are applied in order to for

Problem caused due to distress

Maintenance / Repair works of distress

Types of surface Details

Problem caused due to distress

 Cause of deformation includes:

Problem caused due to distress

Maintenance / Repair works of distress

Types of surface Details

pavement surface is dry and wet respectively

Problem caused due to distress

Maintenance / Repair works of distress

Maintenance / Repair works of distress

Problem caused due to distress

Maintenance / Repair works of distress

 For weak loose layer immediately underlying seal, the

 As for adhesion of surface binder to vehicle tyres,

Based on the observations made at four different locations of road, we have

Last but not least, the maintenance of pavement has to be done in a

1. JKR 20709-2060-92 – “A Guide to the Visual Assessment of Flexible Pavement

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