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HIGHWAY ENGINEERING (15CV63)
MODULE – 3
PAVEMENT MATERIALS
INTRODUCTION
Subgrade Soil
Subgrade soil is an integral part of the road pavement structure which directly receives
the traffic load from the pavement layers. The subgrade soil and its properties are important in
the design of pavement structure. The main function of the subgrade is to give adequate support
to the pavement and for this the subgrade should possess sufficient stability under adverse
climate and loading conditions.
The formation of waves, corrugations, rutting and shoving in black top pavements and
the phenomena of pumping, blowing and consequent cracking of cement concrete pavements
are generally attributed due to the poor subgrade conditions.
Desirable Properties
The desirable properties of soil as a highway material are
a) Stability
b) Incompressibility
c) Permanency of strength
d) Minimum changes in volume and stability under adverse conditions of weather and
ground water
e) Good drainage
f) Ease of compaction
The soil should possess adequate stability or resistance to permanent deformation under
loads, and should possess resistance to weathering, thus retaining the desired subgrade support.
Minimum variation in volume will ensure minimum variation in differential strength values of
the subgrade. Good drainage is essential to avoid excessive moisture retention and to reduce
the potential frost action. Ease of compaction ensures higher dry density and strength under
particular type and amount of compaction.
Department of Civil Engineering 1

SOIL CLASSIFICATION
Soil Classification Based on Grain Size
There are several soil classification systems based on grain size of soil, according to
which soils have been classified as
a) Gravel
b) Sand
c) Silt and Clay
The most widely accepted grain size classification system is MIT soil classification system.
The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has also adopted the same limits as MIT system for the
Indian Standard Classification System for soil grains. The limits of grain size are as follows.
Very coarse Boulder size > 300 mm

soils Cobble size 80 - 300 mm
Coarse soils Gravel size (G) Coarse 20 - 80 mm
Fine 4.75 - 20 mm
Sand size (S) Coarse 2 - 4.75 mm
Medium 0.425 - 2 mm
Fine 0.075 - 0.425 mm
Fine soils Silt size (M) 0.002 - 0.075 mm
Clay size (C) < 0.002 mm
Highway Research Board (HRB) classification of soils

The Highway Research Board (HRB) soil classification method is also called Revised
Public Roads Administration (PRA) soil classification system. With just three simple
laboratory tests namely sieve analysis, liquid limit and plastic limit, it is possible to classify the
soils. The HRB soil classification system is generally adopted in highway engineering for the
classification of subgrade soils.
Soils are divided into seven groups A-1 to A-7. A-1, A-2 and A-3 soils are granular soils,
percentage fines passing 0.075 mm sieve being less than 35. A-4, A-5, A-6 and A-7, soils are
fine grained or silt-clay soils, passing 0.075 mm sieve being greater than 35 percent.

 A-1 soils are well graded mixture of stone fragments, gravel coarse sand, fine sand and
non-plastic or slightly plastic soil binder. The soils of this group are subdivided into
two subgroups, A- 1-a, consisting predominantly of stone fragments or gravel and A-I-
b consisting predominantly of coarse sand.
 A-2 group of soils include a wide range of granular soils ranging from A- 1 to A-3
groups, consisting of granular soils and up to 35% fines of A-4, A-5, A-6 or A-7 groups.
Based on the fines content, the soils of A-2 groups are subdivided into subgroups A-2-
4, A-2- 5, A-2-6 and A-2-7.
 A-3 soils consist mainly, uniformly graded medium or fine sand similar to beach sand
or desert blown sand. Stream-deposited mixtures of poorly graded fine sand with some
coarse sand and gravel are also included in this group.
 A-4 soils are generally silty soils, non-plastic or moderately plastic in nature with liquid
limit and plasticity index values less than 40 and 10 respectively
 A-5 soils are also silty soils with plasticity index less than 10%, but with liquid limit
values exceeding 40%. These include highly elastic or compressible, soils, usually of
diatomaceous of micaceous character.
 A-6 group of soils are plastic clays, having high values of plasticity index exceeding
10% and low values of liquid limit below 40%; they have high volume change
properties with variation in moisture content.
 A-7 soils are also clayey soils as A-6 soils, but with high values of both liquid limit and
plasticity index, (LL greater than 40% and P1 greater than 10%). These soils have low
permeability and high volume change properties with changes in moisture content.

CALIFORNIA BEARING RATIO (CBR) TEST

This is a penetration test developed by the California division of highway. For
evaluating the stability of soil subgrade and other pavement materials. The test results have
been correlated with flexible pavement thickness requirement for highway and airfield. CBR
test may be conducted in the laboratory on a prepared specimen in a mould or in situ in the
field.
CBR Test Set Up

Laboratory CBR test
The laboratory CBR apparatus consists of
Cylindrical mould
Mould 150mm dia, 175mm height with 50mm collar height, detachable perforated base
with spacer disc of 148mm dia and 47.7mm thick is used to obtain a specimen of exactly
127.3mm height.
Loading Machine
Compression machine operated at a constant rate of 1.25mm/min. Loading frame with
cylindrical plunger 50mm dia & dial gauge for measuring the deformation due to application
of load.
Compaction rammer
Type of compaction No of layers Wt of hammer (kg) Fall (cm) No of blows
Light compaction 3 2.6 31 56
Heavy compaction 5 4.89 45 56

Annular weight or surcharge weight

2.5 Kgs of surcharge wt of 147mm dia are placed on specimen both at the soaking and
testing of prepared samples.
Procedure
CBR test may be performed on undisturbed soil specimens.
 About 5kgs of soil is taken passing though 20mm IS sieve and retained on 4.75mm IS
sieve and the soil is mixed with water up to OMC.
 The spacer disc is placed at the bottom of the mould over the base plate & a coarse filter
paper is placed over the spacer disc.
 Then the moist soil sample is to be compacted over this in the mould by adopting either
IS light compaction or IS heavy compaction.
 For IS heavy compaction 3 equal layers of compacted thickness about 44mm by
applying 56 evenly distributed blows from 2.6kgs rammer.
 For IS heavy compaction 5 equal layers of compacted thickness about 26.5mm by
applying 56 evenly distributed blows from 4.89 kg rammer.
 After compacting the last layer, the collar is removed and the excess soil above the top
of the mould is evenly trimmed off by means of straight edge (of 5mm thickness).
 Clamps are removed and the mould with compacted soil is lifted leaving below the
perforated base plate & the spacer disc which is removed and the mould with compacted
soil is weighed
 Filter paper is placed on the perforated base plate & the mould with compacted soil is
inverted & placed in position over the base plate and now the clamps of the base is
tightened
 Another filter paper is placed on the placed on the top surface of the sample & the
perforated plate with adjustable stem is placed over it.
 Now surcharge weights of 2.5 or 5kgs are placed over the perforated plate & the whole
mould with the weights is placed in a water tank for soaking such that water can enter
the specimen both from the top & bottom.
 The initial dial gauge readings are recorded & the test set up is kept undisturbed in the
water tank to allow soaking of the soil specimen for full 4 days or 96 hrs.
 The final dial gauge reading is noted to measure the expansion & swelling of the
specimen due to soaking.
 The swell measurement assembly is removed the mould is taken out of the water tank

& the sample is allowed to drain in a perpendicular position for 15 min surcharge wt,
perforated plate with stem, filter paper is removed.
 The mould with the soil subgrade is removed from the base plate & is weighed again to
determine the wt of water absorbed.
 Then the specimen is clamped over base plate surcharge wt.’s is placed on specimens
centrally such that the penetration test could be conducted. The mould with base plate
is placed under the penetration plunger of loading machine.
 The penetration plunger is seated +at the center of the specimen & is brought in contact
with the top surface of the soil sample by applying a seating load of 4kgs.
 The dial gauge for measuring the penetration values of the plunger is fitted in position
 The dial gauge of proving ring & the penetration dial gauge are set to 0.
 The load is applied though the penetration plunger at a uniform rate of 1.5mm/min
 The load reading are recorded at penetration reading 0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 4, 5, 7.5,
10 & 12.5mm.
 In case the load reading starts decreasing before 12.5mm penetration, the max load &
the corresponding penetration values are recorded.
 After the final reading the load is released & the mould from loading machine.
 The proving ring calibration factor is noted so that load dial gauge value can be
converted into the load in kg.
Calculation
Swelling or expansion ratio is calculated from the formula.
Expansion ratio = (100 (df – di))/h
Where,
df = Final dial gauge after soaking in mm
di = Initial dial gauge before soaking in mm
h = initial ht of the specimen in mm
[𝑳𝒐𝒂𝒅 𝒐𝒓 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒏 ]
𝒂𝒕 𝟐.𝟓 𝒐𝒓 𝟓.𝟎𝒎𝒎 𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏
CBR = 𝑳𝒐𝒂𝒅 𝒐𝒓 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒂𝒈𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒈𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒔 𝒙 𝟏𝟎𝟎
[ ]
𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒍𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒍

Standard Load values on crushed stone aggregates for specified penetration values
Penetration, mm Standard Load, kg Unit Standard Load, kg/cm2
2.5 1370 70
5.0 2055 105
 Generally, CBR value @ 2.5mm penetration is higher & this value is adopted.
 The initial upward concavity of the load penetration is due to the piston surface not
being fully in contact with top of the specimen or when the top layer of soaked soil
being too soft.
MODULUS OF SUBGRADE REACTION OF SOIL PLATE BEARING TEST

The plate bearing test has been devised to evaluate the supporting power of subgrade
or any other pavement layer by using plates of larger diameter. Plate bearing test was originally
meant to find the modulus of subgrade reaction in the Westergards’s analysis for wheel load
stresses in cement concrete pavement. In the plate bearing test a compressive stress is applied
to the soil or pavement layer through rigid plates of relatively large size & the deflection is
measurement for various stress values. The deflection level is generally limited to a low value
of 1.25mm to 5mm.
Plate Bearing Test Set Up
Modulus subgrade reaction (k)

 K may be defined as the pressure sustained per unit deformation of subgrade at
specified pressure level using specified plate size.
 The standard plate size for finding K value is 75cm dia in same test a smaller plate of
30cm dia is also used (75,60,45,30 & 22.5 cm dia).
Apparatus used Bearing plate

Mild steel of 75cm dia & 1.5 to 2.5 cm thickness.

Loading equipment:
Reaction frame or dead load applied may be measured either by a proving ring or dial gauge
assembly.
Settle measurement
It may be made by means of 3 or 4 dial gauge fixed on the periphery of the bearing plate from
an independent datum frame. Datum frame should be supported from the loaded area.
Procedure
 At the test site, about 20cm top soil is removed & the site is levelled & the plate is
properly seated on the prepared surface.
 The stiffening plates of decreasing dia are placed & the jack & proving ring assembly
are fitted to provide reaction against the frame.
 3 or 4 dial gauges are fixed on the periphery of the palte from the independent datum
frame foe measuring settlement.
 A seating load of 0.07 kg/cm2 (320kgs for 75 dia) is applied & released after a few sec.
 The settlement dial gauges reading are now noted corresponding to zero load.
 A load is applied by means of jack sufficient to cause an average settlement of about
0.25mm.
 When there is no perception increase in settlement or when the rate of settlement is less
than 0.025mm/min (case of clayey soil or wet soil), the reading of the settlement dial
gauge is noted & the avg settlement is found & the load is noted from the proving ring
dial reading.
 The load is then increased till settlement increases to a further amount of about 0.25mm
& the avg settlement & load are found.
 The procedure is repeated till the settlement reaches 0.175cm.
 A graph is plotted with mean settlement versus mean bearing pressure (load/unit area)
as shown in fig.
Bearing pressure settlement curve.
The pressure p (kg/cm2) corresponding to a settlement delta = 0.125cm (obtained from the
graph shown above)
The modulus of subgrade reaction k is calculated from the relation given in kg/cm3

𝒑 𝒑
𝑲= ∆ =
𝟎. 𝟏𝟐𝟓
Correction for smaller plate size

In some cases, the load capacity may not be adequate to cause 75cm dia plate to settle 0.175cm.
In such a case a plate of smaller dia (say 30cm) may be used.
Then K value should be found by applying a suitable correction for plate size.
Assuming the subgrade to be an elastic medium with modulus of elasticity E (kg/cm2), the
theoretical relationship of deformation (cm) under a rigid plate of radius a (cm) is given by
𝟏. 𝟏𝟖 (𝒑 𝒙 𝒂)
∆=
𝑬
𝒑
From plate load test we know that, 𝑲 =
∆
Therefore
𝒑𝒙𝑬
𝑲=
𝟏. 𝟏𝟖 (𝒑 𝒙 𝒂)
𝑬
𝑲=
𝟏. 𝟏𝟖 𝒂
If the value of E is taken as constant for a soil, then k x a = constant
Ie K a = k1 a1 or k 30 a 30 = k 75 a 75
Hence if the test is carried out with a smaller plate of radius a & the modulus of subgrade
reaction K is found.

Then the corrected value of modulus of subgrade reaction K for std plate of radius a, is given
by
𝒌𝟑𝟎 𝒙 𝒂𝟑𝟎
𝒌𝟕𝟓 =
𝒂𝟕𝟓
Allowance for Worst Subgrade Moisture

The modulus of subgrade reaction K of the soil will be lowest at the soaked condition .
the moisture content at the time of carrying out plate load test may not represent the worst
moisture condition and hence in such cases the value of modulus of subgrade reaction K is
found out the prevailing moisture content and the value so obtained is modified by applying a
correction factor
𝒑𝒔
𝒌𝑺 = 𝒌𝑼 = 𝒌 (∆ 𝑼 )
𝑼
𝒑 ∆𝑺
Correction for Deflection or Bending of Mild Steel Plate

Given by IS 9214 -1980
𝒌𝒃 = 𝟎. 𝟗𝟓𝟓𝟔 𝒙 𝑲 − 𝟎. 𝟎𝟏𝟏𝟑 𝒙 𝑲𝟐

AGGREGATES













BITUMINOUS MATERIALS












BITUMEN EMULSION






COMPARISON BETWEEN TAR & BITUMEN
Bitumen Tar
It has black to dark brown color It also has black to dark brown in color
Tar is produced by the destructive distillation

It is natural petroleum product
of coal or wool
It is soluble in carbon disulphide & in

Tar is soluble only in toluene
carbon tetrachloride
It has better weather resisting property It has inferior weather resisting property
Bitumen are less temp susceptible Tar is more temp susceptible
Free carbon content is less Free carbon content is More
It neither binds the aggregate well nor It binds aggregate more easily & retain it
retains the presence of water better in the presence of water.

Introduction to pavement design

A highway pavement is a structure consisting of superimposed layers of processed
materials above the natural soil sub-grade, whose primary function is to distribute the applied
vehicle loads to the sub-grade. The pavement structure should be able to provide a surface of
acceptable riding quality, adequate skid resistance, favorable light reflecting characteristics,
and low noise pollution.
Requirements of a pavement
The pavement should meet the following requirements:
x Sufficient thickness to distribute the wheel load stresses to a safe value on the subgrade soil
x Structurally strong to withstand all types of stresses imposed upon it x Adequate
coefficient of friction to prevent skidding of vehicles
x Smooth surface to provide comfort to road users even at high speed
Types of pavements
The pavements can be classified based on the structural performance into two, flexible
pavements and rigid pavements. In flexible pavements, wheel loads are transferred by grain-
to-grain contact of the aggregate through the granular structure. The flexible pavement, having
less flexural strength, acts like a flexible sheet (e.g. bituminous road). On the contrary, in rigid
pavements, wheel loads are transferred to sub-grade soil by flexural strength of the pavement
and the pavement acts like a rigid plate (e.g. cement concrete roads).
Flexible pavements
Flexible pavements will transmit wheel load stresses to the lower layers by grain-to-
grain transfer through the points of contact in the granular structure (see Figure 19:1). The
Department of Civil Engineering, MITE 43

wheel load acting on the pavement will be distributed to a wider area, and the stress decreases
with the depth. Taking advantage of this stress distribution characteristic
The lower layers will experience lesser magnitude of stress and less quality material can be
used. Flexible pavements are constructed using bituminous materials. These can be either in
the form of surface treatments (such as bituminous surface treatments generally found on low
volume roads) or, asphalt concrete surface courses (generally used on high volume roads such
as national highways).
pavement layer
Types of Flexible Pavements
The following types of construction have been used in flexible pavement: x Conventional
layered flexible pavement,
x Full - depth asphalt pavement, and
x Contained rock asphalt mat (CRAM).
Conventional flexible pavements are layered systems with high quality expensive materials are
placed in the top where stresses are high, and low quality cheap materials are placed in

lower layers.
Full - depth asphalt pavements are constructed by placing bituminous layers directly on the soil
subgrade. This is more suitable when there is high traffic and local materials are not available.
Contained rock asphalt mats are constructed by placing dense/open graded aggregate layers in
between two asphalt layers. Modified dense graded asphalt concrete is placed above the sub-
grade will significantly reduce the vertical compressive strain on soil sub-grade and protect
from surface water
Rigid pavements
Rigid pavements have sufficient flexural strength to transmit the wheel load stresses to
a wider area below. A typical cross section of the rigid pavement is shown in Figure below
Compared to flexible pavement, rigid pavements are placed either directly on the prepared sub-
grade or on a single layer of granular or stabilized material.
Since there is only one layer of material between the concrete and the sub-grade, this
layer can be called as base or sub-base course. In rigid pavement, load is distributed by the slab
action, and the pavement behaves like an elastic plate resting on a viscous medium Rigid
pavements are constructed by Portland cement concrete (PCC) and should be analyzed by plate
theory instead of layer theory,

Types of Rigid Pavements
Rigid pavements can be classified into four types: x Jointed plain concrete pavement (JPCP),
x Jointed reinforced concrete pavement (JRCP),
x Continuous reinforced concrete pavement (CRCP), and x Pre-stressed

concrete pavement (PCP).
Jointed Plain Concrete Pavement is plain cement concrete pavements constructed with
closely spaced contraction joints. Dowel bars or aggregate interlocks are normally used for
load transfer across joints. They normally has a joint spacing of 5 to 10m.
Jointed Reinforced Concrete Pavement Although reinforcements do not improve the

structural capacity significantly, they can drastically increase the joint spacing to 10 to 30m.
Dowel bars are required for load transfer. Reinforcements help to keep the slab together even
after cracks.Continuous Reinforced Concrete Pavement Complete elimination of joints are
achieved by reinforcement.

Factors affecting pavement design
Traffic and loading

Traffic is the most important factor in the pavement design. The key factors include
contact pressure, wheel load, axle configuration, moving loads, load, and load repetitions.
Contact pressure
The tire pressure is an important factor, as it determines the contact area and the contact
pressure between the wheel and the pavement surface. Even though the shape of the contact
area is elliptical, for sake of simplicity in analysis, a circular area is often considered.
Wheel load
The next important factor is the wheel load which determines the depth of the pavement
required to ensure that the subgrade soil is not failed. Wheel configuration affects the stress
distribution and deflection within a pavement. Many commercial vehicles have dual rear
wheels which ensure that the contact pressure is within the limits. The normal practice is to
convert dual wheel into an equivalent single wheel load so that the analysis is made simpler.
Axle configuration
The load carrying capacity of the commercial vehicle is further enhanced by the
introduction of multiple axles.
Moving loads
The damage to the pavement is much higher if the vehicle is moving at creep speed.
Many studies show that when the speed is increased from 2 km/hr to 24 km/hr, the stresses and
deflection reduced by 40 per cent.

Repetition of Loads
The influence of traffic on pavement not only depends on the magnitude of the wheel
load, but also on the frequency of the load applications. Each load application causes some
deformation and the total deformation is the summation of all these
Environmental factors
Environmental factors affect the performance of the pavement materials and cause
various damages. Environmental factors that affect pavement are of two types, temperature and
precipitation.
Equivalent single wheel load
To carry maximum load within the specified limit and to carry greater load, dual wheel,
or dual tandem assembly is often used. Equivalent single wheel load (ESWL) is the single
wheel load having the same contact pressure, which produces same value of maximum stress,
deflection, tensile stress or contact pressure at the desired depth. The procedure of finding the
ESWL for equal stress criteria is provided below. This is a semi-rational method, known as
Boyd and Foster method, based on the following assumptions:
x equalancy concept is based on equal stress; x contact area is circular; x
influence angle is 45o; and
x soil medium is elastic, homogeneous, and isotropic half space.
Where P is the wheel load, S is the center to center distance between the two wheels, d is the
clear distance between two wheels, and z is the desired depth.

Equivalent single axle load
Vehicles can have many axles which will distribute the load into different axles, and in
turn to the pavement through the wheels. A standard truck has two axles, front axle with two
wheels and rear axle with four wheels. But to carry large loads multiple axles are provided.
Since the design of flexible pavements is by layered theory, only the wheels on one side needed
to be considered. On the other hand, the design of rigid pavement is by plate theory and hence
the wheel load on both sides of axle need to be considered. Legal axle load:
Repetition of axle loads:
The deformation of pavement due to a single application of axle load may be small but
due to repeated application of load there would be accumulation of unrecovered or permanent
deformation which results in failure of pavement.
Equivalent axle load factor:
An equivalent axle load factor (EALF) defines the damage per pass to a pavement by
the ith type of axle relative to the damage per pass of a standard axle load. While _finding the
EALF, the failure criterion is important. Two types of failure criteria‟s are commonly adopted:
fatigue cracking and rutting. The fatigue cracking model has the following form:
Where, Nf is the number of load repetition for a certain percentage of cracking, _t is the tensile
strain at the
bottom of the binder course, E is the modulus of elasticity, and f1; f2; f3 are constants.
If we consider fatigue


cracking as failure criteria, and a typical value of 4 for f2, then:
Where, i indicate Ith vehicle, and std indicate the standard axle. Now if we assume that the
strain is proportional to the wheel load,
Similar results can be obtained if rutting model is used, which is:
where Nd is the permissible design rut depth (say 20mm), s the compressive strain at the top
of the subgrade,
and f4; f5 are constants. Once we have the EALF, then we can get the ESAL as given below.
Equivalent single axle load, ESAL =
Where, m is the number of axle load groups, Fi is the EALF for ith axle load group, and ni is
the number of passes of ith axle load group during the design period.
Example 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. Solution:

IRC method of design of flexible pavements
Design traffic
The method considers traffic in terms of the cumulative number of standard axles (8160
kg) to be carried by the pavement during the design life. This requires the following
information:
1. Initial traffic in terms of CVPD
2. Traffic growth rate during the design life
3. Design life in number of years
4. Vehicle damage factor (VDF)
5. Distribution of commercial traffic over the carriage way.
Initial traffic
Initial traffic is determined in terms of commercial vehicles per day (CVPD). For the
structural design of the pavement only commercial vehicles are considered assuming laden
weight of three tones or more and their axle loading will be considered. Estimate of the initial
daily average traffic flow for any road should normally be based on 7-day 24-hour classified
traffic counts (ADT). In case of new roads, traffic estimates can be made on the basis of
potential land use and traffic on existing routes in the area.

Traffic growth rate
Traffic growth rates can be estimated

(i) by studying the past trends of traffic growth, and
(ii) By establishing econometric models. If adequate data is not available, it is
recommended that an average annual growth rate of 7.5 percent may be adopted.
Design life
For the purpose of the pavement design, the design life is defined in terms of the
cumulative number of standard axles that can be carried before strengthening of the pavement
is necessary. It is recommended that pavements for arterial roads like NH, SH should be
designed for a life of 15 years, EH and urban roads for 20 years and
other categories of roads for 10 to 15 years.
Vehicle Damage Factor
The vehicle damage factor (VDF) is a multiplier for converting the number of
commercial vehicles of different axle loads and axle configurations to the number of standard
axle-load repetitions. It is defined as equivalent number of standard axles per commercial
vehicle. The VDF varies with the axle configuration, axle loading, terrain, type of road, and
from region to region. The axle load equivalency factors are used to convert different axle load
repetitions into equivalent standard axle load repetitions. For these equivalency factors refer
IRC: 37 2001. The exact VDF values are arrived after extensive field surveys.
Vehicle distribution
A realistic assessment of distribution of commercial traffic by direction and by lane is

necessary as it directly affects the total equivalent standard axle load application used in the
design. Until reliable data is available, the following distribution may be assumed.
x Single lane roads: Traffic tends to be more channelized on single roads than two lane roads and
to allow for this concentration of wheel load repetitions, the design should be based on total
number of commercial vehicles in both directions.
x Two-lane single carriageway roads: The design should be based on 75 % of the commercial
vehicles in both directions.
x Four-lane single carriageway roads: The design should be based on 40 % of the total number
of commercial vehicles in both directions.
x Dual carriageway roads: For the 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.
Numerical example
Design 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 = 15 years
5. Vehicle damage factor based on axle load survey = 2.5 standard axle per commercial
vehicle
6. Design CBR of subgrade soil = 4%.

Rigid pavement design
Wheel load stresses - Westergaard's stress equation
The cement concrete slab is assumed to be homogeneous and to have uniform elastic properties
with vertical sub-grade reaction being proportional to the deflection. Westergaard developed
relationships for the stress at
interior, edge and corner regions, denoted as _i; _e; _c in kg/cm2 respectively and given by the
equation.
where h is the slab thickness in cm, P is the wheel load in kg, a is the radius of the wheel load
distribution in cm, l the radius of the relative stiffness in cm 29.1 and b is the radius of the
resisting section in cm

Temperature stresses
Temperature stresses are developed in cement concrete pavement due to variation in

slab temperature. This is caused by (i) daily variation resulting in a temperature gradient across
the thickness of the slab and (ii) seasonal variation resulting in overall change in the slab
temperature. The former results in warping stresses and the later in frictional stresses.
Warping stress
The warping stress at the interior, edge and corner regions, denoted as ά ti; ά te; ά tc in kg/cm2
respectively and given by the equation
Frictional stresses

The frictional stress ά f in kg/cm2 is given by the equation.
Where W is the unit weight of concrete in kg/cm2 (2400), f is the coefficient of sub grade
friction (1.5) and L is the length of the slab in meters.
Combination of stresses
The cumulative effect of the different stress give rise to the following thee critical cases
x Summer, mid-day: The critical stress is for edge region given by α critical = α e + α
te
– αf
x Winter, mid-day: The critical combination of stress is for the edge region given by α critical =
α e+ α te + α f
x Mid-nights: The critical combination of stress is for the corner region given by α critical = α c
+ α tc

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HIGHWAY ENGINEERING (15CV63)

Department of Civil Engineering 1

Very coarse Boulder size > 300 mm

Highway Research Board (HRB) classification of soils

Department of Civil Engineering 2

Department of Civil Engineering 3

CALIFORNIA BEARING RATIO (CBR) TEST

CBR Test Set Up

Department of Civil Engineering 4

Annular weight or surcharge weight

Department of Civil Engineering 5

Department of Civil Engineering 6

MODULUS OF SUBGRADE REACTION OF SOIL PLATE BEARING TEST

Plate Bearing Test Set Up

Modulus subgrade reaction (k)

Apparatus used Bearing plate

Department of Civil Engineering 7

Department of Civil Engineering 8

Correction for smaller plate size

Department of Civil Engineering 9

Allowance for Worst Subgrade Moisture

Correction for Deflection or Bending of Mild Steel Plate

Department of Civil Engineering 10

Department of Civil Engineering 11

Department of Civil Engineering 12

Department of Civil Engineering 13

Department of Civil Engineering 14

Department of Civil Engineering 15

Department of Civil Engineering 16

Department of Civil Engineering 17

Department of Civil Engineering 18

Department of Civil Engineering 19

Department of Civil Engineering 20

Department of Civil Engineering 21

Department of Civil Engineering 22

Department of Civil Engineering 23

Department of Civil Engineering 24

Department of Civil Engineering 25

Department of Civil Engineering 26

Department of Civil Engineering 27

Department of Civil Engineering 28

Department of Civil Engineering 29

Department of Civil Engineering 30

Department of Civil Engineering 31

Department of Civil Engineering 32

Department of Civil Engineering 33

Department of Civil Engineering 34

Department of Civil Engineering 35

Department of Civil Engineering 36

Department of Civil Engineering 37

Department of Civil Engineering 38

Department of Civil Engineering 39

Department of Civil Engineering 40

Department of Civil Engineering 41

COMPARISON BETWEEN TAR & BITUMEN

Tar is produced by the destructive distillation

It is soluble in carbon disulphide & in

Bitumen are less temp susceptible Tar is more temp susceptible

Free carbon content is less Free carbon content is More