Pavement analysis and design

Unit -I
Deffination of pavement types

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 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, flexible pavements normally has many layers.
Hence, the design of flexible pavement uses the concept of layered system.
Based on this, flexible pavement may be constructed in a number of layers and
the top layer has to be of best quality to sustain maximum compressive stress, in
addition to wear and tear. The lower layers will experience lesser magnitude of
stress and low 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). Flexible pavement layers reflect the deformation of the
lower layers on to the surface layer (e.g., if there is any undulation in sub-grade
then it will be transferred to the surface layer). In the case of flexible pavement,
the design is based on overall performance of flexible pavement, and the stresses
produced should be kept well below the allowable stresses of each pavement
layer.

Types of Flexible Pavements

The following types of construction have been used in flexible pavement:

Conventional layered flexible pavement,

Full - depth asphalt pavement, and

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 sub-grade. 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. 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, assuming an elastic plate resting on viscous
foundation. Plate theory is a simplified version of layer theory that assumes the
concrete slab as a medium thick plate which is plane before loading and to
remain plane after loading. Bending of the slab due to wheel load and
temperature variation and the resulting tensile and flexural stress.

Types of Rigid Pavements

Rigid pavements can be classified into four types:
Jointed plain concrete pavement (JPCP),

Jointed reinforced concrete pavement (JRCP),

Continuous reinforced concrete pavement (CRCP), and

Pre-stressed concrete pavement (PCP).

Jointed Plain Concrete Pavement: are 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 reinforce-ment.

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 reinforce-ment.

Material characterization for pavement construction

 following
material properties are important for both flexible and rigid paveme
nts.

When pavements are considered as linear elastic, the elastic moduli and
poisson ratio of subgrade and each component layer must be specified.

If the elastic modulus of a material varies with the time of loading, then the
resilient modulus, which is elastic modulus under repeated loads, must be
selected in accordance with a load duration corresponding to the vehicle
speed.

When a material is considered non-linear elastic, the constitutive equation

relating the resilient modulus to the state of the stress must be provided.

However, many of these material properties are used in visco-elastic models

which are very complex and in the development stage. This book covers the
layered elastic model which require the modulus of elasticity and poisson ratio
only.

The Environmental factors that affect the pavement material

Environmental factors affect the performance of the pavement materials a

nd causevariousdamages.Environmental factors that affect pavement are of
two types, temperature and precipitation and they are discussed below
Temperature

The effect of temperature on asphalt pavements is different from that of

concrete pavements.

Temperature affects the resilient modulus of asphalt layers, while it induces

curling of concrete

slab. In rigid pavements, due to difference in temperatures of top and bottom of

slab, temperature

stresses or frictional stresses are developed. While in flexible pavement,

dynamic modulus of

asphaltic concrete varies with temperature. Frost heave causes differential

settlements and
pavement roughness. Most detrimental effect of frost penetration occurs during
the spring break up

period when the ice melts and subgrade is a saturated condition.

Precipitation

The precipitation from rain and snow affects the quantity of surface water
in filtrating

into the subgrade and the depth of ground water table. Poor drainage may bring
lack of shear strength,pumping, loss of support, etc.

Factors which affects pavement design

Traffic and Loading

There are three different approaches for considering vehicular and traffic
characteristics, which affects pavement design.

Fixed traffic: Thickness of pavement is governed by single load and number

of load repetitions is not considered. The heaviest wheel load anticipated is used
for design purpose. This is an old method and is rarely used today for pavement
design.

Fixed vehicle: In the fixed vehicle procedure, the thickness is governed by the
number of repetitions of a standard axle load. If the axle load is not a standard
one, then it must be converted to an equivalent axle load by number of
repetitions of given axle load and its equivalent axle load factor.

Variable traffic and vehicle: In this approach, both traffic and vehicle are
considered individually, so there is no need to assign an equivalent factor for
each axle load. The loads can be divided into a number of groups and the
stresses, strains, and deflections under each load group can be determined
separately; and used for design purposes. The traffic and loading factors to be
considered include axle loads, load repetitions, and tyre contact area.

Important factor in the pavement design

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 tyre pressure is an important factor, as it determine 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 affect the stress distribution and deflection within a
pavemnet. 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 intro-duction 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 depend 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. Although the pavement deformation
due to single axle load is very small, the cumulative effect of number of
loarepetition is significant. Therefore, modern design is based on total number
of standard axle load (usually 80 kN single axle).

Equivalent single wheel load

To carry maximum load with in 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:

equalancy concept is based on equal stress; contact area is circular;

influence angle is 45o; and
 soil medium is elastic, homogeneous, and isotropic half space. The ESWL
is given by:

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.

Failure Criteria

A and B are the critical locations for tensile strains ( t ). Maximum value of the
strain is adopted for design. C is the critical location for the vertical subgrade
strain ( z ) since the maximum value of the ( z ) occurs mostly at C.

Fatigue Criteria:

Bituminous surfacings of pavements display flexural fatigue cracking if the

tensile strain at the bottom of the bituminous layer is beyond certain limit.
The relation between the fatigue life of the pavement and the tensile strain
in the bottom of the bituminous layer was obtained as

in which, Nf is the allowable number of load repetitions to control fatigue

cracking and E is the Elastic modulus of bituminous layer. The use of equation
28.1 would result in fatigue cracking of 20% of the total area.

Rutting Criteria
The allowable
number of load repetitions to control permanent deformation can be expr
essed as
 Design procedures for flexible pavement
For flexible pavements, structural design is mainly concerned with
determining appropriate layer thickness and composition. The main design
factors are stresses due to traffic load and temperature variations. Two methods
of flexible pavement structural design are common today: Empirical design and
mechanistic empirical design.

Empirical design

An empirical approach is one which is based on the results of

experimentation or experience.

Some
of them are either based on physical properties or strength parameters of
soil subgrade. An empirical approach is one which is based on the results of
experimentation or experience. An empirical analysis of flexible pavement
design can be done with or with out a soil strength test. An example of design
without soil strength test is by using HRB soil classification system, in which
soils are grouped from A-1 to A-7 and a group index is added to differentiate
soils within each group. Example with soil strength test uses McLeod,
Stabilometer, California Bearing Ratio (CBR) test. CBR test is widely known
and will be discussed.

Mechanistic-Empirical Design

Empirical-Mechanistic method of design is based on the mechanics of

materials that relates input, such as wheel load, to an output or pavement
response. In pavement design, the responses are the stresses, strains, and
deflections within a pavement structure and the physical causes are the
loads and material properties of the pavement structure. The relationship
between these phenomena and their physical causes are typically described
using some mathematical models. Along with this mechanistic approach,
empirical elements are used when defining what value of the calculated
stresses, strains, and deflections result in pavement failure. The
relationship between physical phenomena and pavement failure is
described by empirically derived equations that compute the number of
loading cycles to failure.
 Traffic and Loading

There are three different approaches for considering vehicular and traffic
characteristics, which affects pavement design.

Fixed traffic: Thickness of pavement is governed by single load and number of

load repetitions is not considered. The heaviest wheel load anticipated is used for
design purpose. This is an old method and is rarely used today for pavement
design.

Fixed vehicle: In the fixed vehicle procedure, the thickness is governed by the
number of repetitions of a standard axle load. If the axle load is not a standard
one, then it must be converted to an equivalent axle load by number of repetitions
of given axle load and its equivalent axle load factor.

Variable traffic and vehicle: In this approach, both traffic and vehicle are
considered individually, so there is no need to assign an equivalent factor for each
axle load. The loads can be divided into a number of groups and the stresses,
strains, and deflections under each load group can be determined separately; and
used for design purposes. The traffic and loading factors to be considered include
axle loads, load repetitions, and tyre contact area.

Equivalent single wheel load

To carry maximum load with in 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:

• equalancy concept is based on equal stress;

• contact area is circular;
• influence angle is 45 ; and
• soil medium is elastic, homogeneous, and isotropic half space.

The ESWL is given by:

(
1
)

where is the wheel load, is the center to center distance between the two
wheels, is the clear distance between two wheels, and is the desired depth.
 Figure: ESWL-Equal stress concept

Example 1

Find ESWL at depths of 5cm, 20cm and 40cm for a dual wheel carrying 2044 kg
each. The center to center tyre spacing is 20cm and distance between the walls of
the two tyres is 10cm.

Solution

For desired depth z=40cm, which is twice the tyre spacing, ESWL = 2P=2 2044
= 4088 kN. For z=5cm, which is half the distance between the walls of the tyre,
ESWL = P = 2044kN. For

z=20cm, =

=3.511. Therefore, ESWL =

antilog(3.511)= 3244.49 kN

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: The maximum allowed axle
load on the roads is called legal axle load. For highways the maximum legal axle
load in India, specified by IRC, is 10 tonnes. Standard axle load: It is a single
axle load with dual wheel carrying 80 KN load and the design of pavement is
based on the standard 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. If the pavement structure fails with number of repetition

of load and for the same failure criteria if it requires number of repetition

of load , then and are considered equivalent. Note

that, and equivalency depends on the failure criterion employed.

Equivalent axle load factor: An equivalent axle load factor (EALF) defines the
damage per pass to a pavement by the 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 criterias are commonly adopted: fatigue cracking
and ruttings. The fatigue cracking model has the following form:

(2)

where, is the number of load repetition for a certain percentage of

cracking, is the tensile strain at the bottom of the binder course, is the

modulus of elasticity, and are constants. If we consider fatigue

cracking as failure criteria, and a typical value of 4 for , then:

(3)

where, indicate vehicle, and indicate the standard axle. Now if we

assume that the strain is proportional to the wheel load,

(4)

Similar results can be obtained if rutting model is used, which is:

(5)

where is the permissible design rut depth (say 20mm), is the

compressive strain at the top of the subgrade, and are constants. Once
we have the EALF, then we can get the ESAL as given below.

(6
)
where, is the number of axle load groups, for axle

load group, and is the number of passes of axle load group during the
design period.

Example 1

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:

Refer the Table . The ESAL is given as

Table: Example 1 Solution
Axle No.of Load EALF
Load Repetition

i (KN)
( ) ( )

1 40 10000 625
= 0.0625

2 80 1000 1000
=1

3 160 100 1600

= 16

Example 2

Let the number of load repetition expected by 120 kN axle is 1000, 160 kN is
100, and 40 kN is 10,000. Find the equivalent standard axle load if the
equivalence criteria is rutting. Assume 80 kN as standard axle load and the

rutting model is where =4.2 and =4.5.

Solution

Refer the Table . The ESAL is given as

Table: Example 2 Solution
Axle No.of Load EALF
Load Repetition
 i (KN)
( ) ( )

1 120 1000 6200

= 6.200

2 160 100 2263

= 22.63

3 40 10000 441.9
= 0.04419

Example 3

Let number of load repetition expected by 60kN standard axle is 1000, 120kN is
200 and 40 kN is 10000. Find the equivalent axle load using fatigue cracking as

failure criteria according to IRC. Hint:

Solution

Refer the Table . The ESAL is given as

Table: Example 3 Solution
Axle No.of Load EALF
Load Repetition

i (KN)
( ) ( )

1 40 10000 2065
= 0.2065

2 60 1000 1000
=1

3 120 200 2965.081

= 14.825

CONTACT PRESSURE
Contact pressure is the pressure exerted by the tyre on the road. If you assume
that the car’s weight is evenly distributed, then divide the car’s weight by 4 to get
the weight supported by each wheel. Then divide that by the area of rubber of
the tyre contacting the road. That’s the contact pressure. Friction is the coefficient
of friction x the weight and you may think it better to have a very high contact
pressure by having narrow tyres. But it’s the other way round; you’re far better
having wide tyres and therefore lots of area than having narrow tyres and lots of
contact pressure. Just look at how wide the tyres are on F1 cars.
 Comparison between flexible and rigid pavement
COMPARISON OF RIGID AND FLEXIBLE PAVEMENT
Flexible pavement Rigid pavements
Deformation in the sub grade is
Deformation in the sub grade is transferred to subsequence
transferred to upper layers Layers
Have low flexural strength Have high flexural Strength
No such phenomenon of grain to grain
load transferred
Load transferred to gain to gain contract exist
Have low completion test but high Have low repairing cost but high
repairing cost completion cost
Damaged by oil and chemicals No damage by oil or Greece
Design based on Flexural strength or
Sesign Based on load distribution factor slab action
Pavement Design

Unit -2

Stresses in Pavements
Layered System Concepts: One Layer System: Boussinesq Theory. Two Layer
Theory: Burmister’s Theory. Three Layer System. Stresses in Rigid Pavements.
Relative Stiffness of Slabs, Modulus of Subgrade Reaction, Stresses due to
Warping, Stresses due to Friction, Stresses due to Load, IRC Recommendations.

Assumptions in Multi Layered Elastic Systems

The material properties of each layer are homogeneous – property at point Ai is the same at Bi

• Each layer has a finite thickness except for the lower layer, and all are infinite in lateral directions. •
Each layer is isotropic, that is, the property at a specific point such as Ai is the same in every direction or
orientation.

• Full friction is developed between layers at each interface.

• Surface shearing forces are not present at the surface. • The stress solutions are characterized by two
material properties for each layer, i.e., ( µ, E).

Stresses in Layered Systems

• At any point, 9 stresses exist. They are 3 normal stresses ( σz, σr, σt) and 6 shearing stresses ( τrz =τzr;
τrt =τtr; τtz =τzt )

• At each point in the system there exists a certain orientation of the element such that the shearing
stresses acting on each face are zero.

– The normal stresses under this condition are principal stresses and are denoted by σ1(major), σ2
(intermediate) and σ3 (minor)

1.
One –Layer Systems •

If, one-layer system is assumed as a homogeneous half space, Boussinesq equations can be applied. •
Half space is an infinite large area with infinite depth with a top plane on which loads are applied. •
Boussinesq equations are developed for computing stresses in a homogeneous, isotropic and elastic
media due to a point load at the surface. – Stress is independent of the properties of the transmitting
medium. – Maximum stress occurs on the vertical plane passing through the point of load application, on
a particular horizontal plane. – Pressure is maximum at shallow depths, theoretically becoming zero at
infinite depth. But, for all practical purposes, σz is taken as zero when z is sufficiently large.

σ z = k p/z2

• Load is not a point load – it is distributed over an elliptical area. This contact area can be approximated
to a circular shape.

• Variation of stress follows the same general pattern

• Vertical stress resulting from uniformly distributed circular load may be obtained by integration of
Boussinesq equation.
• Love has obtained the following closed from equation for the vertical stress beneath the centre of the
loaded area:

• Newmark has developed charts for foundation work for computing stresses

Example problems on One-layer Systems

3. Given the following data for the pavement shown in the figure, compute the deflection at point m, σz
and εr at point o and σ1,2,3 and τmax at point p.

a= 152 mm;

p = 552 kPa h1=254 mm;

E1 = 173 MPa;

µ1 = 0.35 E2 = 110 MPa;

µ2 = 0.4

Coordinates of points: m: (z=0, r=0) o:

(z=457, r=305) p:

(z=457, r=0)

Two-layer Systems
• The effect of layers above subgrade is to reduce the stress and deflections in the subgrade.

• Burmister (1958) obtained solutions for two-layer problem by using strain continuity equations.

• Vertical stress depends on the modular ratio (i.e., E 1 / E2 )

• Vertical stress decreases considerably with increase in modular ratio.

• For example, for a/h1=1 and E1 / E2 = 1, σz at interface = 65% of contact pressure for a/h1=1 and E1 /
E2 = 100, σz at interface = 8% of contact pressure

Vertical Surface Deflection in a Twolayer System

• Burmister (1958) dveloped a chart for computing vertical surface deflection in a two-layer system. •
The deflection factor, F2, is obtained from the chart based on the values of a/ h 1 and E 1 / E2 .

• Then the deflection is computed from the following equations:

– Deflection under a flexible Plate = – Deflection under a rigid Plate = 2 2 5.1 F E pa ∆ T = 2 2 18.1 F E pa ∆
T
Boussinesq's Equation
2.
In order to determine the stresses due to applied loads, foundation design engineers have
used the theory of elasticity. However, for the theory to be used, it is not necessary that the
soil be truly elastic or only the ratio of stress to strain should be constant. Hence, even in the
case of non-elastic soil masses, the elastic theory can be used, provided relatively small
orders of stress are dealt with. Since foundations are designed with a required factor of safety
against shear and bearing failure of soil, it is safe to assure that the stresses in soil are, in
fact, small enough to assume stress–strain proportionality.

In 1885, Boussinesq published equations to determine the state of stress in a subgrade

material. He investigated the stresses in an elastic, semi-infinite, homogeneous, and isotropic
soil solid medium. The assumed solid medium is loaded normally on its upper plane surface
by a concentrated point load. The material is also considered weightless and unstressed.

Draw a soil medium subjected to point load on its upper surface and stress distribution as
shown in Figure (1)
Here, Q is the point load, and are the vertical stress and shear stress, respectively, at a
point O located at a depth of z and a horizontal distance of r from point load Q.

Boussinesq derived the equation of vertical stress and shear stress in a soil medium.

The vertical stress is estimated with the following expression:

The shear stress load is estimated with the following expression:

Rewrite the Equation (1) as follows:

Here, the term is the Boussinesq’s influence factor, which is given by the following expression:

Here, the term is the number and is a function of ratio, and hence the vertical stress at a

depth z is dependent only on the ratio and independent of the material.

What is Westergaard equation?

Water-deposited sedimentary soils, which are quite common in occurrence, are deposited alternately
in the form of horizontal layers of silts and clays. For this condition, Westergaard’s solution is better
suited. Westergaard treated the soil as an elastic medium to be laterally reinforced with a large
number of infinitely thin, perfectly rigid horizontal sheets that allow only vertical movement but prevent
the mass as a whole from undergoing any lateral strain and showed that the vertical stress can be
expressed as follows:

Here, is the Poisson’s ratio of elastic soil medium and Poisson’s ratio range is 0-0.5 for linear
elastic materials and is the Westergaard influence factor.

The Boussinesq’s equation gives larger values of vertical stress when , which means that

the stress increase is significant. For larger , the values of are very small and are about the
same for both methods. In geotechnical engineering practice, the Boussinesq’s equation is widely
used for two reasons. It is simpler than the Westergaard’s equation and since the vertical stress
estimates are greater from the Boussinesq’s equation, it can only overestimate the loadings within the
soil, and hence be a conservative one.
Burmister’s Method
Burmister introduced a semi empirical method for the design of flexible pavements. In this
method, he considered pavement as number of layers. And some assumptions are
considered which are as follows:

• The material in each layer is homogeneous

• The material is isotropic
• The material is elastic in nature
• Contact between the layers is continuous
• Unloaded top layer is free from normal and shearing stresses
• The surface layer is infinite in length (horizontal direction) and finite in depth
(vertical direction).
• The surface layer is infinite in length (horizontal direction) and finite in depth
(vertical direction).
• The underlying layers are infinite in both directions.
• Burmister given the deformation equations for both flexible and rigid pavements by
considering the poisons ratio of soil and pavement material to 0.5.

• For flexible pavements For rigid pavements

Where, p = uniform pressure
• a = radius of plates F2 = deflection factor
• Es = modulus of the subgrade soil.
• Deflection factor is dependent of ratio of modulus of subgrade soil to the modulus of
pavement material. So, from the below graph we can select the value of deflection
factor corresponding to the ratio of base layer thickness to the radius of load that is
 • h/a.

Procedure of Flexible Pavement Design by Burmister’s Method

• In the Burmister’s design process, firstly conduct plate bearing test on the soil. The
diameter of plate used is 30cm. now determine the modulus of subgrade soil. In the

next step, determine the deflection factor from the below formula
After obtaining the deflection factor from above formula, now select the value of
ratio of modulus of subgrade soil to the modulus of pavement material (Es/Ep) for
the given value of (h/a ratio from the graph. Now for the design load (P) and tire

pressure (p) determine the contact radius (a) from the below formula.
And again, find the new value of deflection factor F2 for the design deflection value

Where = 0.25cm or 0.5cm. For the obtained values of new

deflection factor and Es/Ep ratio, select the appropriate h/a ratio from the above
graph. And finally, by substituting contact radius (a) in h/a ratio we can get the value
of base layer thickness (h
three-layer system
of road design are empirical. They cannot be extended to cover new types of loading or materials
of construction.

Neither can they be used for the analysis of the behavior of roads. A fundamental method for
the design of flexible roads is being developed by Thornton. The basis of this method is to
determine the thicknesses of the various layers so that the stresses and strains developed by
moving traffi

c are within the permissible limits for the materials. It is therefore necessary to be able to
calculate the values of these stresses and strains. A real road structure may be represented by a
system of elastic layers lying on a semi-infinite elastic mass. From a review of methods available
for calculating stresses in such systems,

it was concluded that the stresses should be obtained from rigorous solutions of the elastic
equations for layered systems. Suitable solutions for a wide range of the parameters involved
have been published by A. Jones of the Thornton Research Centre.

The stress fectors are tabulated at wide intervals of the four parameters involved. In the analysis
and design of road structures it is necessary to interpolate between the tabulated values. A
convenient graphical method of doing this is described. STRESS AND STRAIN FACTORS Figure

1 shows a three-layer road structure and the stresses for which factors have been calculated.
These have been confined to points at the interfaces on the vertical centerline through the
loaded area because they have their maximum values under these conditions if the load is
uniformly distributed.

The tables prepared by Jones (1) list the stress factors given in Table 1. The stresses are obtained
multiplying the contact stress by the stress factor. These were the six stress factors given by
Acum and Fox (2) whose tables were considerably extended by Jones (1).

The difference between the vertical and horizontal stresses was tabulated for convenience in
obtaining shear stresses.

Because in the design and analysis of flexible pavements the stresses and strains existing at the
bases of the upper two layers can be important, it would be convenient to have the stress
factors, RRl and RR'2, and the strain factors, Vz (RRl-ZZl) and % (RR'2 - ZZ2), tabulated directly.
They have been obtained from data in the Jones tables by computations carried out on the IBM
650 system computer at Wood River. The horizontal strain is obtained from the strain factor by
multiplying the factor by the contact stress and dividing by the elastic modulus of the lay
Stresses in Rigid Pavements
A. Stresses due to Environment 

Warping (or Curling) Stresses

Warping Stresses due to temperature differential or change in humidity (temperature or

moisture gradient) Location:

Interior Loading

Edge loading

Corner Loading

Shrinkage/Expansion Stresses

B. Stresses due to External Loading 

Such as stresses induced by traffic loads Location: 

Interior Loading

(sufficiently away from the joints- no discontinuity effect)  Edge loading  Corner Loading
C. Other Stresses - Such as frictional forces between the slab and foundation

Stresses in CC Pavement •

Temperature Stresses – Due to the temperature differential between the top and bottom of the slab,
curling stresses (similar to bending stresses) are induced at the bottom or top of the slab

• Frictional stresses – Due to the contraction of slab due to shrinkage or due to drop in temperature
tensile stresses are induced at the middle portion of the slab

• Wheel Load Stresses – CC slab is subjected to flexural stresses due to the

• E = modulus of elasticity

• Cx and Cy = Bradbury's coefficients

• T = temperature

• a = radius of contact

• h = thickness of cement concrete slab

• k = modulus of subgrade reaction

• l = raduis of relative stiffness

• t = temperature differential

• αt = coefficient of thermal expansion

• ε = strain • µ = Poisson's ratio • σ = stress

2.1 Modulus of Sabgrade Reaction –
Ratio of load per unit area ( applied through a centrally loaded rigid body) of horizontal surface of a mass
ofsoil to corresponding settlement of the surface. It is determined as the slope of the secant drawn
between the point corresponding to zero settlement and the point of 1'25 mm settlement, of a load-
settlement eurve obtained from a plate load test on a soil using a 75 em diameter or smaller loading
plate with corrections for size of plate used.

2.2 Deftectio

- The amount of downward vertical movement of a horizonta1 surface due to the applieation of a load to
the surface.

2.3 K-value –
If the assumption that the reaction of the subgrade is proportional to the deflection is entirely correct,
the curve in Fig. 1 should be straight line and the slope of this line should give the modulus ofsubgrade
reaction measured in

K = O-f25 MPa/cm = (/l~ kgf/cm~/cm

MPa/cm ( kgf ICDl"lcm).

The results, however, usually give a curve which is convex upwards and which has no straight portion
even initially, ~-value is, therefore, taken as the slope of the line passing through the origin and the point
on the curve corresponding to 1'25 rom settlement ( see Fig. 1 ):

K = O-f25 MPa/cm = (/l~ kgf/cm~/cm where

p = load intensity corresponding to settlement of plate of 1·25 mm, Alternatively, the

K-value may be defined as a pressure of 0'07 MPa (0'70 kgf/cmZ )

divided by the corresponding settlement. That is when a standard 75 em diameter steel bearing plate is
subjected to

a load of 0-07 3 100 kgf', say K = -d- MPa/cm

[ 0·70 ] K == d ---kgffern-fern where d = settlement in em.

2.4 Stift'ening Plates –

Nest of plates stacked on the bearing test plate for stiffening it. --~- , ·Glossary of terms and symbols
relating to soil engineering

3. APPARATUS - (see Fig. 2).

3.1 Bearing Plates - It is a circular mild steel plate of 75 em diameter and 25 mm thickness. Smaller
bearing plates of 45, 40 or 30 em may also be used.

3.2 Loading Attachment - Loads are applied by means of a hydraulic jack or a screw jack working
against a reaction frame through bearing plates. The loading attachment should have a capacity of at
least 150 kN ( 15 000 kgf) equipped with ball and socket joint between the test load and the jack to avoid
eccentricity. The device should have an arrangement for attaching to a truck, trailer, truss or any other
equipment load reaction.

3.3 Jacks - Hydraulic or screw jack of 150 kN ( 15 oeo kgf) capacity.

3.4 Proving RiDg - One calibrated proving ring of capacity I 150 kN ( 15 000 kgf) with dial gauge to
read to an accuracy of 0·002 mm, The proving ring should have an accuracy of one..half percent of the
load

3.5 Loading ReactioD -- The reaction for jacking can be provided by a truck, trailer or anchor frame
such that its reaction shall be at least 2·5 m away from the centre of the bearing plates. When the test is
to be conducted on granular subgrades, a reaction of at le-ast 150 kN ( 15 000 kgf ) will be required. For
cohesive soils a 50 kN ( 5 000 kgf) reaction may be sufficient,

3.6 MeaBuriag DeformatioD -- The vertical movement resulting from applied loads will be
measured by at least three ~ial gauges unifoi rilly ~p iced 120~ apart, preferably four uniformly placed at
90° apal t, and placed at about 10 rom away from the rim of 75-cm plate. The gauges will be 6 IS I 9214

• 1979 supported by an independent datum bar such that their positions are unaffected by the loading
operations. These supports should be at least 2·4 m from the plates and the wheels. The settlement of
the plate is taken as the average of the readings of the dial gauges used for the purpose. Gauges with an
accuracy of 0·002 mm are desirable; however, gauges with an accuracy of 0'01 mm may be . led if tlme-
readings are made.

3.7 Jack.Pads - Due to variation in the depth of test points some distance pieces) for example,
spacers, will be required between jack and proving ring. These can be solid cylindrical pieces of
aluminium alloy or any other suitable material to withstand and help in transferring heavy loads on to the
bearing plate. These spacers should be at least 15, ~O and 30 em long, The exact requirement of these
jack pads will vary from one test point to another according to depth of test point below ground surface,

3.8 StUleDing Plates - These are mild steel plates of 60, 45 and 30 em diameter and 25 mm thickness. 3.9
Miscellaneous Apparat•• - Datum bar of 5 m length with suitable dial gauge attachments, pick axes,
showel, trowel, spatula, spirit level and plumb bob.

4. TEST PROCEDURE
4.1 Two alternative test procedures may be followed. More accurate tests are made with a 75-cm plate,
and a load reaction arrangement, a loading jack, a proving ring to measure the load and three dial gauges
placed diagonally apart about 10 mm from the rim to measure the vertical deflection

. 4.2 PreparatioD

01 Test Area - K-value tests should be conducted on representative area. Most soils exhibit a marked
reduction in the modulus ofsubgrade reaction with increase in moisture content, which cannot be
generalized, Conditions of moisture content, density, and type of material all enter into the
interpretation of test results to give a design value which will represent the condition of equilibrium that
ultimately will exist in the subgrade. Generally, subgrade is composed of either natural ground or fill-
material. Preparation of an area for testing will depend on composition of subgrade.

4.2.1.2 When the test is made on granular subgrade, extreme care shall be taken not to disturb the
natural condition of the subgrade while the test site is being prepared. Prior to placement of 75 em
diameter plate, the area should be cleared of loose material and levelled.

4.2.1.3 On gravely soils flat bearing surface can best be obtained with plaster of paris, which should be
levelled with the plate before the plaster has set. The K-value test should not be started until the plaster
has sufficiently hardened.
in layers.

4.2.2.1 The test should be conducted keeping in view elimination of bearing pressures of reaction frame
and datum bar, as mentioned in

4.2.1. The bearing plate with its lower surface oiled shall be placed on the prepared surface and rotated.
When the plate is removed all proud portions indicated by oil marks shall be as levelled as possible. If
levelling is difficult due to presence of granular material, a layer of fine dry sand at no place thicker than 5
mm may be laid and the plate seated properly.

4.3 LoadiDg Procedure - There are two methods for determination of modulus of subgrade reaction as
given in 4.3.1 and 4.3.2. 4.3.1

Method 1 - The loading system and bearing plate should be seated by applying a load of 3·1 kN (310 kgf)
(0·007 MPa for a standard 75 em diameter plate), when the design thickness ofpavement is less than 40
ern which is normally used for lightly loaded pavements. For heavy duty pavements a seating loading of
6·2 kN (620 kgf) should be used. The seating load will be allowed to remain until practically complete
deformation has taken place, at this time a reading should be taken on the dial gauges and adjusted to
'zero' reading. Cyclic loading under 3'1 kN ( 310 kgf) or 6·2 kN ( 620 kgf) seating load, as required, may be
8 18 I 9214

• 1979 used to assure ~ood seating of the bearing plate. Then without releasing the seating load an
additional 31 kN ( 3 100 kgf) [that is, a total 34'1 kN ( 3 410 kgf') or 37"2 kN (3 720 kgf) load depending on
the type of the pavement] should be applied to the plates and held until practically complete settlement
has taken place. For recording observations, pro forma given at Appendix A should be used. Prior to
releasing the 31 kN (3 100 kgf) load, a value of Ku win be computed for the average deflection at the
plate rim by the formula: 0·07 Ku == -d- MPa/cm, or 0·70 K U = -d- kgf fem'fem where d = deflection in
em. One of the procedures given in

4.3.1.1 and 4.3.1.2 should be then followed depending upon the type of subgrade and the value of
uncorrected modulus of subgrade Kg

.4
IRC method of design of flexible pavements
28.1 Overview

Indian roads congress has specified the design procedures for flexible
pavements based on CBR values. The Pavement designs given in the previous
edition IRC:37-1984 were applicable to design traffic upto only 30 million
standard axles (msa). The earlier code is empirical in nature which has
limitations regarding applicability and extrapolation.

This guidelines follows analytical designs and developed new set of designs up
to 150 msa in IRC:37-2001.

28.2 Scope

These guidelines will apply to design of flexible pavements for Expressway,

National Highways, State Highways, Major District Roads, and other categories
of roads. Flexible pavements are considered to include the pavements which
have bituminous surfacing and granular base and sub-base courses conforming
to IRC/ MOST standards. These guidelines apply to new pavements.

28.3 Design criteria

The flexible pavements has been modeled as a three layer structure and
stresses and strains at critical locations have been computed using the linear
elastic model. To give proper consideration to the aspects of performance, the
following three types of pavement distress resulting from repeated (cyclic)
application of traffic loads are considered:

1. vertical compressive strain at the top of the sub-grade which can cause sub-
grade deformation resulting in permanent deformation at the pavement
surface.

2. horizontal tensile strain or stress at the bottom of the bituminous layer

which can cause fracture of the bituminous layer.

3. pavement deformation within the bituminous layer. While the permanent

deformation within the bituminous layer can be controlled by meeting the mix
design requirements, thickness of granular and bituminous layers are selected
using the analytical design approach so Introduction to Transportation
Engineering

28.1 Tom V.

Mathew and K V Krishna Rao CHAPTER 28. IRC METHOD OF DESIGN OF

FLEXIBLE PAVEMENTS NPTEL May 3, 2007 !h Compressive Strain Tensile Strain
Sub Grade Soil Granular Base / Sub Base Course Binder Course Figur

e 28:1: Critical Locations in Pavement that strains at the critical points are
within the allowable limits. For calculating tensile strains at the bottom of the
bituminous layer, the stiffness of dense bituminous macadam (DBM) layer with
60/70 bitumen has been used in the analysis.

28.4 Failure Criteria A and B are the critical locations for tensile strains (t).
Maximum value of the strain is adopted for design.

C is the critical location for the vertical subgrade strain (z) since the maximum
value of the (z) occurs mostly at C.

Fatigue Criteria:

Bituminous surfacings of pavements display flexural fatigue cracking if the

tensile strain at the bottom of the bituminous layer is beyond certain limit. The
relation between the fatigue life of the pavement and the tensile strain in the
bottom of the bituminous layer was obtained as Nf = 2.21 × 10−4 × 1 t 3.89 ×
1 E 0.854 (28.1) in which, Nf is the allowable number of load repetitions to
control fatigue cracking and E is the Elastic modulus of bituminous layer. The
use of equation

28.1 would result in fatigue cracking of 20% of the total area. Rutting Criteria
The allowable number of load repetitions to control permanent deformation
can be expressed as Nr = 4.1656 × 10−8 × 1 z 4.5337 (28.2) Nr is the number of
cumulative standard axles to produce rutting of 20 mm. Introduction to
Transportation Engineering

28.2 Tom V. Mathew and K V Krishna Rao CHAPTER 28. IRC METHOD OF
DESIGN OF FLEXIBLE PAVEMENTS NPTEL May 3, 2007
28.5 Design procedure Based on the performance of existing designs and using
analytical approach, simple design charts and a catalogue of pavement designs
are added in the code. The pavement designs are given for subgrade CBR
values ranging from 2% to 10% and design traffic ranging from 1 msa to 150
msa for an average annual pavement temperature of 35 C.

The later thicknesses obtained from the analysis have been slightly modified
to adapt the designs to stage construction. Using the following simple input
parameters, appropriate designs could be chosen for the given traffic and soil
strength:

• Design traffic in terms of cumulative number of standard axles; and

• CBR value of subgrade.

28.6 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 tonnes 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 Introduction to
Transportation Engineering 28.3

Tom V. Mathew and K V Krishna Rao CHAPTER 28. IRC METHOD OF DESIGN OF
FLEXIBLE PAVEMENTS NPTEL May 3, 2007 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.

• 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.
• Two-lane single carriageway roads: The design should be based on 75 % of
the commercial vehicles in both directions.

• Four-lane single carriageway roads: The design should be based on 40 % of

the total number of commercial vehicles in both directions.

• 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.

28.7 Pavement thickness design charts For the design of pavements to carry
traffic in the range of 1 to 10 msa, use chart 1 and for traffic in the range 10 to
150 msa, use chart 2 of IRC:37 2001. The design curves relate pavement
thickness to the cumulative number of standard axles to be carried over the
design life for different sub-grade CBR values ranging from 2 % to 10 %. The
design charts will give the total thickness of the pavement for the above
inputs. The total thickness consists of granular sub-base, granular base and
bituminous surfacing. The individual layers are designed based on the the
recommendations given below and the subsequent tables.

28.8 Pavement composition Sub-base Sub-base materials comprise natural

sand, gravel, laterite, brick metal, crushed stone or combinations thereof
meeting the prescribed grading and physical requirements. The sub-base
material should have a minimum CBR of 20 % and 30 % for traffic upto 2 msa
and traffic exceeding 2 msa respectively.

Sub-base usually consist of granular or WBM and the thickness should not be
less than 150 mm for design traffic less than 10 msa and 200 mm for design
traffic of 1:0 msa and above. Base The recommended designs are for
unbounded granular bases which comprise conventional water bound
macadam Introduction to Transportation Engineering

28.4 Tom V. Mathew and K V Krishna Rao CHAPTER 28. IRC METHOD OF
DESIGN OF FLEXIBLE PAVEMENTS NPTEL May 3, 2007 (WBM) or wet mix
macadam (WMM) or equivalent confirming to MOST specifications.
The materials should be of good quality with minimum thickness of 225 mm
for traffic up to 2 msa an 150 mm for traffic exceeding 2 msa.

Bituminous surfacing The surfacing

consists of a wearing course or a binder course plus wearing course. The most
commonly used wearing courses are surface dressing, open graded premix
carpet, mix seal surfacing, semi-dense bituminous concrete and bituminous
concrete. For binder course, MOST specifies, it is desirable to use bituminous
macadam (BM) for traffic upto o 5 msa and dense bituminous macadam (DBM)
for traffic more than 5 msa.

Problem

28.9 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%. Solution

Distribution factor = 0.75

. N = 365 × (1 + 0.075)15 − 1) 0.075 × 400 × 0.75 × 2.5 = 7200000 = 7.2 msa

. Total pavement thickness for CBR 4% and traffic 7.2 msa from IRC:37 2001
chart1 = 660 mm

4. Pavement composition can be obtained by interpolation from Pavement

Design Catalogue (IRC:37 2001). (a) Bituminous surfacing = 25 mm SDBC + 70
mm DBM (b) Road-base = 250 mm WBM (c) sub-base = 315 mm granular
material of CBR not less than 3
28.11 Problems 1.

Design the pavement for construction of a new two lane carriageway for design life 15 years using IRC
method. The initial traffic in the year of completion in each direction is 150 CVPD and growth rate is 5%.
Vehicle damage factor based on axle load survey = 2.5 std axle per commercial vehicle. Design CBR of
subgrade soil=4%.

28.12 Solutions 1.

Distribution factor = 0.75 2.

N = 365 × (1 + 0.05)15 − 1) 0.05 × 300 × 0.75 × 2.5

= 4430348.837 = 4.4 msa

3. Total pavement thickness for CBR 4% and traffic 4.4 msa from IRC:37 2001 chart1 = 580 mm

4. Pavement composition can be obtained by interpolation from Pavement Design Catalogue (IRC:37
2001).

(a) Bituminous surfacing = 20 mm PC + 50 mm BM

(b) Road-base = 250 mm Granular base

(c) sub-base = 280 mm granular material.

 UNIT-III

Pavement Design

IRC Method of Flexible Pavement Design, AASHTO Method of Flexible Pavement Design, IRC
Method for Rigid Pavements, use of Geosynthatics in pavements

IRC method of design of flexiblepavements

Overview

Indian roads congress has specified the design procedures for flexible pavements
based on CBR values. The Pavement designs given in the previous edition IRC:37-
1984 were applicable to design traffic upto only 30 million standard axles (msa). The
earlier code is empirical in nature which has limitations regarding applicability and
extrapolation. This guidelines follows analytical designs and developed new set of
designs up to 150 msa in IRC:37-2001.

28.1 Scope

These guidelines will apply to design of flexible pavements for Expressway, National
Highways, State Highways, Major District Roads, and other categories of roads. Flexible
pavements are considered to include the pavements which have bituminous surfacing and
granular base and sub-base courses conforming to IRC/ MOST standards. These
guidelines apply to new pavements.

28.2 Design criteria

The flexible pavements has been modeled as a three layer structure and stresses and
strains at critical locations have been computed using the linear elastic model. To give
proper consideration to the aspects of performance, the following three types of pavement
distress resulting from repeated (cyclic) application of traffic loads are considered:

1. vertical compressive strain at the top of the sub-grade which can cause sub-grade
deformation resulting in permanent deformation at the pavement surface.
2. horizontal tensile strain or stress at the bottom of the bituminous layer which can
cause fracture of the bituminous layer.

3. pavement deformation within the bituminous layer.

 While the permanent deformation within the bituminous layer can be controlled by meeting
the mix design requirements, thickness of granular and bituminous layers are selected

Binder Course

Tensile Strain

Granular Base / Sub Base Course

Compressive Strain

Sub Grade Soil

Figure 28:1: Critical Locations in Pavement

that strains at the critical points are within the allowable limits. For calculating tensile
strains at the bottom of the bituminous layer, the stiffness of dense bituminous macadam
(DBM) layer with 60/70 bitumen has been used in the analysis.

28.1 Failure Criteria

A and B are the critical locations for tensile strains (ϵt). Maximum value of the strain is
adopted for design. C is the critical location for the vertical subgrade strain (ϵz) since
the maximum value of the (ϵz) occurs mostly at C.

Fatigue Criteria:
Bituminous surfacings of pavements display flexural fatigue cracking if the tensile strain
at the bottom of the bituminous layer is beyond certain limit. The relation between the
fatigue life of the pavement and the tensile strain in the bottom of the bituminous layer
was obtained as

Design procedure

Based on the performance of existing designs and using analytical approach, simple design charts
and a catalogue of pavement designs are added in the code. The pavement designs are given for
subgrade CBR values ranging from 2% to 10% and design traffic ranging from 1 msa to 150 msa for
an average annual pavement temperature of 35 C. The later thicknesses obtained from the analysis
have been slightly modified to adapt the designs to stage construction. Using the following simple
input parameters, appropriate designs could be chosen for the given traffic and soil strength:

Design traffic in terms of cumulative number of standard axles; and

CBR value of subgrade.

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:

Initial traffic in terms of CVPD

Traffic growth rate during the design life

Design life in number of years

Vehicle damage factor (VDF)

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
tonnes 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.

• 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.

• Two-lane single carriageway roads: The design should be based on 75 % of the commercial
vehicles in both directions.

• Four-lane single carriageway roads: The design should be based on 40 % of the total number
 of commercial vehicles in both directions.

• 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.

28.1 Pavement thickness design charts

For the design of pavements to carry traffic in the range of 1 to 10 msa, use chart 1 and for traffic in
the range 10 to 150 msa, use chart 2 of IRC:37 2001. The design curves relate pavement thickness
to the cumulative number of standard axles to be carried over the design life for different sub-
grade CBR values ranging from 2 % to 10

%. The design charts will give the total thickness of the pavement for the above inputs. The total
thickness consists of granular sub-base, granular base and bituminous surfacing. The individual
layers are designed based on the the recommendations given below and the subsequent tables.

28.2 Pavement composition

Sub-base

Sub-base materials comprise natural sand, gravel, laterite, brick metal, crushed stone or
combinations thereof meeting the prescribed grading and physical requirements. The sub-base
material should have a minimum CBR of 20 % and 30 % for traffic upto 2 msa and traffic exceeding
2 msa respectively. Sub-base usually consist of granular or WBM and the thickness should not be
less than 150 mm for design traffic less than 10 msa and 200 mm for design traffic of 1:0 msa and
above.

Base

The recommended designs are for unbounded granular bases which comprise conventional water
bound macadam

AASHTO Design Method

C.1 Introduction

The AASHTO Guide for Design of Pavement Structures (AASHTO, 1993) is the primary document used to
design new and rehabilitated highway pavements. Approximately 80% of all states use the AASHTO pavement
design procedures, with the majority using the 1993 version. All versions of the AASHTO Design Guide are
empirical design methods based on field performance data measured at the AASHO Road Test in 1958-60.

Chapter 3 of this manual describes the evolution of the various versions of the AASHTO Design Guide.
Geotechnical inputs to the 1993 AASHTO design procedure are detailed in Chapter 5. Chapter 6 provides
some design examples using the 1993 AASHTO procedures.
The overall approach of the 1993 AASHTO procedure for both flexible and rigid pavements is to design for a
specified serviceability loss at the end of the design life of the pavement. Serviceability is defined in terms of
the Present Serviceability Index, PSI, which varies between the limits of 5 (best) and 0 (worst). Serviceability
loss at end of design life, ΔPSI, is partitioned between traffic and environmental effects, as follows (see also
Figure 3.8):

(C.1)

ΔPSI = ΔPSITR + ΔPSISW + ΔPSIFH

in which ΔPSITR, ΔPSISW and ΔPSIFH are the components of serviceability loss attributable to traffic, swelling,
and frost heave, respectively. The structural design procedures for swelling and frost heave are the same for
both flexible and rigid pavements; these are detailed in Appendix G of the 1993 AASHTO Guide. The structural
design procedures for traffic are different for flexible and rigid pavement types. These procedures are
summarized below in Sections C.2 and C.3, respectively. For simplicity, only the design procedures for new
construction are summarized here. The design procedures for reconstruction are similar, except that
characterization of recycled materials may be required. See the 1993 AASHTO Guide for details of additional
procedures (e.g., determination of remaining structural life for overlay design) relevant to rehabilitation design.

C.2 Flexible Pavement Structural Design

Design Equation

The empirical expression relating traffic, pavement structure, and pavement performance for flexible
pavements is:

(C.2)

log10 ( W18 ) = ZR S0 + 9.36 log10 ( SN + 1 ) - 0.20

ΔPSI

log10

4.2 - 1.5

+ + 2.32 log10 ( MR ) - 8.07

1094

0.40 +

( SN + 1 )5.19

in which:
 W18 = number of 18 kip equivalent single axle loads (ESALs)

ZR = standard normal deviate (function of the design reliability level)

S0 = overall standard deviation (function of overall design uncertainty)

ΔPSI = allowable serviceability loss at end of design life

MR = subgrade resilient modulus

SN = structural number (a measure of required structural capacity)

The first five parameters typically are the inputs to the design equation, and SN is the output. Equation (C.2)
must be solved implicitly for the structural number SN as a function of the input parameters. The structural
number SN is defined as:

(C.3)

SN = a1 D1 + a2 D2 m2 + a3 D3 m3

in which D1, D2, and D3 are the thicknesses (inches) of the surface, base, and subbase layers,
respectively, a1, a2, and a3 are corresponding structural layer coefficients, and m2 and m3 are drainage
coefficients for the base and subbase layers, respectively. Equation (C.3) can be generalized for additional
bound and/or unbound layers. Note that there may be many combinations of layer thicknesses that can provide
satisfactory SN values; cost and other issues must be considered to determine the optimal final design.

Design Inputs

Analysis Period

Performance period refers to the time that a pavement design is intended to last before it needs rehabilitation. It
is equivalent to the time elapsed as a new, reconstructed, or rehabilitated pavement structure deteriorates from
its initial serviceability to its terminal serviceability. The term "analysis period" refers to the overall duration that
the design strategy must cover. It may be identical to the performance period. However, realistic performance
limitations may require planned rehabilitation within the desired analysis period, in which case, the analysis
period may encompass multiple performance periods. Analysis period in this context is synonymous with
design life in the 1993 AASHTO Guide. AASHTO recommendations for analysis periods for different types of
roads are summarized in Table C-1.

Table C-1. Guidelines for length of analysis period (AASHTO, 1993).

Highway conditions Analysis period (years)

High-volume urban 30 - 50
 Table C-1. Guidelines for length of analysis period (AASHTO, 1993).
Highway conditions Analysis period (years)

High-volume rural 20 - 50

Low-volume paved 15 - 25

Low-volume aggregate surface 10 - 20

Traffic

Traffic is one of the most important factors in pavement design, and every effort should be made to collect
accurate data specific to each project. Traffic analysis requires the evaluation of initial traffic volume, traffic
growth, directional distribution, and traffic type.

The AASHTO Design Guide is based on cumulative 18 kip (80 KN) equivalent single-axle loads (ESALs).
Detailed traffic analysis is beyond the scope of this reference manual. However, ESALs may be estimated
using the following equation:

(C.4)

ESAL = ( ADT0 ) ( T ) ( Tf ) ( G ) ( D ) ( L ) ( 365 ) ( Y )

in which:

ADT0 = average daily traffic at the start of the design period

T = percentage of trucks in the ADT

Tf = truck factor, or the number of 18 kip ESALs per truck

G = traffic growth factor

D = directional distribution factor

L = lane distribution factor

Y = design period in years

AASHTO (1993) and standard pavement engineering textbooks (e.g., Huang, 2004) provide details on the
determination of all of these parameters and estimation of design ESALs.
Reliability

Design reliability is defined as the probability that a pavement section will perform satisfactorily over the design
period. It must account for uncertainties in traffic loading, environmental conditions, and construction materials.
The AASHTO design method accounts for these uncertainties by incorporating a reliability level R to provide a
factor of safety into the pavement design and thereby increase the probability that the pavement will perform as
intended over its design life. The levels of reliability recommended by AASHTO for various classes of roads are
summarized in Table C-2.

Table C-2. Suggested levels of reliability for various functional classifications (AASHTO, 1993).

Functional classification Recommended level of reliability

Urban Rural

Interstate and other freeways 85 - 99.9 80 - 99.9

Principal arterials 80 - 99 75 - 95

Collectors 80 - 95 75 - 95

Local 50 - 80 50 - 80

Note: Results base on a survey of AASHTO Pavement Design Task Force.

The reliability level is not included directly in the AASHTO design equations. Rather, it is used to determine the
standard normal deviate ZR. Values of ZR corresponding to selected levels of reliability are summarized in Table
C-3.

Table C-3. Standard normal deviates for various levels of reliability.

Reliability (%) Standard normal deviate (ZR) Reliability (%) Standard normal deviate (ZR)

50 0.000 93 -1.476

60 -0.253 94 -1.555

70 -0.524 95 -1.645

75 -0.674 96 -1.751

80 -0.841 97 -1.881
 Table C-3. Standard normal deviates for various levels of reliability.
Reliability (%) Standard normal deviate (ZR) Reliability (%) Standard normal deviate (ZR)

85 -1.037 98 -2.054

90 -1.282 99 -2.327

91 -1.340 99.9 -3.090

92 -1.405 99.99 -3.750

The AASHTO design equations also require specification of the overall standard deviation S0. For flexible
pavements, values for S0 typically range between 0.35 and 0.50, with a value of 0.45 commonly used for
design.

Serviceability

Serviceability is quantified by the Present Serviceability Index, PSI. Although PSI theoretically ranges between
5 and 0, the actual range for real pavements is between about 4.5 to 1.5.

The initial serviceability index po corresponds to road conditions immediately after construction. A typical value
of po for flexible pavements is 4.2. The terminal serviceability index pt is defined as the lowest serviceability that
will be tolerated before rehabilitation or reconstruction becomes necessary. A terminal serviceability index of
2.5 or higher is recommended for design of major highways. Thus, a typical allowable serviceability loss due to
traffic for flexible pavements can be expressed as:

(C.5)

ΔPSI = pt - po = 4.2 - 2.5 = 1.7

Subgrade Resilient Modulus

Pavement subgrade quality is defined in terms of its resilient modulus MR. The resilient modulus MR is a basic
material property that can be measured directly in the laboratory, evaluated in-situ from nondestructive tests, or
estimated using various empirical relations as detailed in Chapter 5. The 1993 AASHTO Design Guide also
incorporates a procedure for considering seasonal fluctuations in MR to determine a seasonally averaged value
for use in design. This procedure is summarized in Section 5.4.3.

Layer Properties

The material properties required for each layer are the structural layer coefficients ai and, for unbound
materials, the drainage coefficients mi. Methods for evaluating the ai and mi values for unbound materials are
detailed in Sections 5.4.5 and 5.5.1, respectively. The chart in Figure C-1 can be used to estimate the structural
layer coefficient for asphalt concrete in terms of its elastic modulus at 68°F. Values of a1 between 0.4 and 0.44
are typically used for dense graded asphalt concrete.

Figure C-1. Chart for estimating structural layer coefficient of dense-graded asphalt concrete based on the
elastic (resilient) modulus (AASHTO, 1993).
Click here for text version of image

Procedure

The steps in the 1993 AASHTO flexible pavement design procedure are summarized below in the context of
the example baseline scenario presented in Section 6.2.1:

1. Determine the analysis period. For the example design scenario, a 30-year design life is specified.
2. Evaluate the design traffic: W18 = 11.6 million ESALs.
3. Determine the design reliability factors: Reliability = 90% (usually set by agency policy), ZR = -
1.282, S0 = 0.45.
4. Determine the allowable serviceability loss due to traffic: ΔPSI = 1.7 (this may be reduced if frost heave
or swelling soils are an issue).
5. Evaluate the seasonally averaged subgrade resilient modulus MR using the procedures described in
Section 5.4.3: MR = 7,500 psi.
6. Determine the layer properties:
o Structural layer coefficients ai for all bound layers (see Section 0 for asphalt concrete, 1993
AASHTO Guide for other stabilized materials) and unbound layers (Section 5.4.5).
Recommendations for appropriate ai values for rehabilitation design are given in Table 5-44 in
Section 5.4.5. Values for example design:
a1 = 0.44, a2 = 0.17.
 o Drainage coefficients mi for all unbound layers (Section 5.5.1): m2 = 1.0.
7. Solve Eq. (C.2) for the required overall structural number: SN = 5.07.
8. Determine the design layer thicknesses for the pavement section:
o Using Eq. (C.2) with MR set equal to the granular base resilient modulus EBS = 40,000 psi (from
the correlation in Eq. 5.16), solve for the required structural number for the asphalt concrete
surface layer: SN1 = 2.62.
o Convert SN1 to the required thickness of asphalt: D1 = SN1 / a1 = 5.95 → 6 inches1.
o Assign the remaining required structural number to the granular base layer:
SN2 = SN - D1 a1 = 2.43.
o Convert SN2 to the required thickness of granular base: D2 = SN2 / m2 a2 = 14.3 → 14 inches.1

C.3 Rigid Pavement Structural Design

Design Equation

The empirical expression relating traffic, pavement structure, and pavement performance for rigid pavements
is:

(C.6)

log10 ( W18 ) = ZR So + 7.35 log10 ( D + 1 ) - 0.06

ΔPSI

log10 Sc Cd ( D0.75 - 1.132 )

4.5 - 1.5

+ + ( 4.22 - 0.32 pt ) log10

1.64 × 107 18.42

1+ 215.63 J D0.75 -

( D + 1 )8.46 ( Ec / k )0.25

in which:

W18 = number of 18 kip equivalent single axle loads (ESALs)

ZR = standard normal deviate (function of the design reliability level)

S0 = overall standard deviation (function of overall design uncertainty)

ΔPSI = allowable serviceability loss at end of design life

pt = terminal serviceability
 k = modulus of subgrade reaction (pci)

Sc = PCC modulus of rupture (psi)

Ec = PCC modulus of elasticity (psi)

J = an empirical joint load transfer coefficient

Cd = an empirical drainage coefficient

D = required PCC slab thickness (inches)

The first ten parameters typically are the inputs to the design equation, and D is the output. Equation (C.6)
must be solved implicitly for the slab thickness D as a function of the input parameters.

The design of JRCP and CRCP pavements also requires design of the steel reinforcement. Reinforcement
design is beyond the scope of this manual; refer to the 1993 AASHTO Guide for details on this.

Design Inputs

Analysis Period

Same as for flexible pavements; see Section 0.

Traffic

Same as for flexible pavements; see Section 0. Note that the truck factor Tf will not in general be the same for
rigid and flexible pavements. Refer to the 1993 AASHTO Design Guide or standard pavement engineering
textbooks like Huang (2004) for determination of the truck factor.

Reliability

Similar to flexible pavements; see Section 0. For rigid pavements, values for S0 typically range between 0.3 and
0.45, with a value of 0.35 commonly used for design.

Serviceability

Similar to flexible pavements; see Section 0. A typical value of po for rigid pavements is 4.4. As for flexible
pavements, a terminal serviceability index of 2.5 or higher is recommended for design of major highways. Thus,
a typical allowable serviceability loss due to traffic for rigid pavements can be expressed as:

(C.7)
 ΔPSI = pt - po = 4.4 - 2.5 = 1.9

Modulus of Subgrade Reaction

The design modulus of subgrade reaction k is a computed quantity that is a function of the following properties:

• Subgrade resilient modulus MR

• Thickness of granular subbase DSB
• Resilient modulus of granular subbase ESB
• Depth to bedrock DSG (if shallower than 10 feet)
• Loss of Service LS (an index of the erodibility of the granular subbase)

See Section 5.4.6 for the procedure for determining the design value for the modulus of subgrade reaction k.

Other Layer Properties

Other layer properties include the modulus of rupture Sc and elastic modulus Ec for the Portland cement
concrete slabs, an empirical joint load transfer coefficient J, and the subbase drainage coefficient Cd. The PCC
parameters Sc and Ec are standard material properties; mean values should be used for the pavement design
inputs. The joint load transfer coefficient J is a function of the shoulder type and the load transfer condition
between the pavement slab and shoulders; recommended values are summarized in Table C-4. See Section
5.5.1 for determination of the drainage coefficient Cd.

Table C-4. Recommended load transfer coefficients for various pavement types and design conditions
(AASHTO, 1993).
No Shoulders Asphalt Shoulders Tied PCC Shoulders

With Load Without Load With Load Without Load With Load Without Load
Transfer Transfer Transfer Transfer Transfer Transfer
Devices Devices Devices Devices Devices Devices

JPCP / 3.2 3.8 - 4.4 3.2 3.8 - 4.4 2.5 - 3.1 3.6 - 4.2
JRCP

CRCP 2.9 N.A. 2.9 - 3.2 N.A. 2.3 - 2.9 N.A.

Procedure

The steps in the 1993 AASHTO rigid pavement design procedure are summarized below in the context of the
example baseline scenario presented in Section 6.2.1:

1. Determine the analysis period. For the example design scenario, a 30-year design life is specified.
2. Evaluate the design traffic: W18 = 18.9 million ESALs
 3. Determine the design reliability factors: Reliability = 90% (usually set by agency policy), ZR = -
1.282, S0 = 0.45.
4. Determine the terminal serviceability and allowable serviceability loss due to traffic: pt = 2.5, ΔPSI =
1.9 (this may be reduced if frost heave or swelling soils are an issue).
5. Evaluate the effective modulus of subgrade reaction k using the procedures described in Section 5.4.6.
Specific design inputs to this procedure are the seasonally averaged subgrade resilient modulus MR =
7,500 psi, the assumed thickness of the granular subbase DSB, the seasonally averaged subbase
resilient modulus ESB = 40,000 psi, the depth to bedrock DSG (if less than 10 feet-not the case for this
example design), and the loss of service coefficient LS = 2.
6. Specify the PCC properties: Sc = 690 psi, Ec = 4.4 × 106 psi (these would typically be from material
specifications; mean values should be used for inputs).
7. Determine the other input parameters: joint load transfer coefficient J = 3.2, drainage coefficient Cd =
1.0.
8. Solve Eq. (C.6) for the required slab thickness: D = 10.55 ≈ 10.5 inches.

Note that the thickness assumed for the granular subbase in Step 5 can influence the required slab thickness
computed in Step 8. If desired, several design alternatives can be evaluated to arrive at the optimal design.

, IRC Method for Rigid Pavements,

Overview
As the name implies, rigid pavements are rigid i.e, they do not flex much under loading like flexible
pavements. They are constructed using cement concrete. In this case, the load carrying capacity is
mainly due to the rigidity ad high modulus of elasticity of the slab (slab action). H. M. Westergaard is
considered the pioneer in providing the rational treatment of the rigid pavement analysis.

Modulus of sub-grade reaction

Westergaard considered the rigid pavement slab as a thin elastic plate resting on soil sub-grade,
which is assumed as a dense liquid. The upward reaction is assumed to be proportional to the
deflection. Base on this assumption, Westergaard defined a modulus of sub-grade reaction in

kg/cm given by where is the displacement level taken as 0.125 cm and is the
pressure sustained by the rigid plate of 75 cm diameter at a deflection of 0.125 cm.

Relative stiffness of slab to sub-grade

A certain degree of resistance to slab deflection is offered by the sub-grade. The sub-grade
deformation is same as the slab deflection. Hence the slab deflection is direct measurement of the
magnitude of the sub-grade pressure. This pressure deformation characteristics of rigid pavement
lead Westergaard to the define the term radius of relative stiffness in cm is given by the

equation .

(1)
where E is the modulus of elasticity of cement concrete in kg/cm (3.0 10 ), is the Poisson's
ratio of concrete (0.15), is the slab thickness in cm and is the modulus of sub-grade reaction.

Critical load positions

Since the pavement slab has finite length and width, either the character or the intensity of maximum
stress induced by the application of a given traffic load is dependent on the location of the load on the
pavement surface. There are three typical locations namely the interior, edge and corner, where
differing conditions of slab continuity exist. These locations are termed as critical load positions.

Equivalent radius of resisting section

When the interior point is loaded, only a small area of the pavement is resisting the bending moment
of the plate. Westergaard's gives a relation for equivalent radius of the resisting section in cm in the

equation .

(2)

where is the radius of the wheel load distribution in cm and is the slab thickness in cm.

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 in kg/cm

respectively and given by the equation - .

(3)
 (4)

(5)

where is the slab thickness in cm, is the wheel load in kg, is the radius of the wheel load
distribution in cm, the radius of the relative stiffness in cm and is the radius of the resisting
section in cm

Figure: Critical stress locations

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 in kg/cm

respectively and given by the equation - .

 (6)

(7)

(8)

where is the modulus of elasticity of concrete in kg/cm (3 10 ), is the thermal coefficient of

concrete per C (1 10 ) is the temperature difference between the top and bottom of the

slab, and are the coefficient based on in the desired direction and right angle

to the desired direction, is the Poisson's ration (0.15), is the radius of the contact area and is
the radius of the relative stiffness.

Frictional stresses

The frictional stress in kg/cm is given by the equation

(9)

where is the unit weight of concrete in kg/cm (2400), is the coefficient of sub grade friction
(1.5) and 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

• Summer, mid-day: The critical stress is for edge region given by

• Winter, mid-day: The critical combination of stress is for the edge region given

by
• Mid-nights: The critical combination of stress is for the corner region given

by

Design of joints
Expansion joints
The purpose of the expansion joint is to allow the expansion of the pavement due to rise in
temperature with respect to construction temperature. The design consideration are:

• Provided along the longitudinal direction,

• design involves finding the joint spacing for a given expansion joint thickness (say 2.5 cm
specified by IRC) subjected to some maximum spacing (say 140 as per IRC)

Figure: Expansion joint

Contraction joints
The purpose of the contraction joint is to allow the contraction of the slab due to fall in slab
temperature below the construction temperature. The design considerations are:

• The movement is restricted by the sub-grade friction

• Design involves the length of the slab given by:

(10)
 •

• where, is the allowable stress in tension in cement concrete and is taken as 0.8 kg/cm

, is the unit weight of the concrete which can be taken as 2400 kg/cm and is the
coefficient of sub-grade friction which can be taken as 1.5.
• Steel reinforcements can be use, however with a maximum spacing of 4.5 m as per IRC.

Figure: Contraction joint

Dowel bars
The purpose of the dowel bar is to effectively transfer the load between two concrete slabs and to
keep the two slabs in same height. The dowel bars are provided in the direction of the traffic
(longitudinal). The design considerations are:

• Mild steel rounded bars,

• bonded on one side and free on other side

Bradbury's analysis
Bradbury's analysis gives load transfer capacity of single dowel bar in shear, bending and bearing as
follows:

(11)

(12)
 (13)

where, is the load transfer capacity of a single dowel bar in shear , bending and bearing

, is the diameter of the bar in cm, is the length of the embedment of dowel bar in cm, is the

joint width in cm, are the permissible stress in shear, bending and bearing for the
dowel bar in kg/cm .

Design procedure

Step Find the length of the dowel bar embedded in slab by equating Eq. =Eq. , i.e.

(14)

Step Find the load transfer capacities , , and of single dowel bar with the

Step Assume load capacity of dowel bar is 40 percent wheel load, find the load capacity factor f as

(15)

Step Spacing of the dowel bars.

• Effective distance upto which effective load transfer take place is given by , where is
the radius of relative stiffness.
• Assume a linear variation of capacity factor of 1.0 under load to 0 at .
• Assume a dowel spacing and find the capacity factor of the above spacing.
• Actual capacity factor should be greater than the required capacity factor.
 • If not, do one more iteration with new spacing.

Example
Design size and spacing of dowel bars at an expansion joint of concrete pavement of thickness 25
cm. Given the radius of relative stiffness of 80 cm. design wheel load 5000 kg. Load capacity of the
dowel system is 40 percent of design wheel load. Joint width is 2.0 cm and the permissible stress in

shear, bending and bearing stress in dowel bars are 1000,1400 and 100 respectively.

Solution:

Given, , , , ,

, and ; and assume diameter.

Step-1: length of the dowel bar

Solve for by trial and error:

put put put

Minimum length of the dowel bar

is , So, provide long and .

Therefore .

Step 2: Find the load transfer capacity of single dowel bar

Therefore, the required load transfer capacity

Step-3 : Find the required spacing: Effective distance of load

transfer . Assuming spacing,

Actual capacity is

Therefore assume spacing and now the actual capacity is

Therefore provide mild steel dowel bars of length center to center.

Tie bars
In contrast to dowel bars, tie bars are not load transfer devices, but serve as a means to tie two slabs.
Hence tie bars must be deformed or hooked and must be firmly anchored into the concrete to function
properly. They are smaller than dowel bars and placed at large intervals. They are provided across
longitudinal joints.

Step Diameter and spacing: The diameter and the spacing is first found out by equating the total sub-
grade friction tot he total tensile stress for a unit length (one meter). Hence the area of steel per one
meter in is given by:

(16)

where, is the width of the pavement panel in , is the depth of the pavement in , is the

unit weight of the concrete (assume ), is the coefficient of friction (assume ),

and is the allowable working tensile stress in steel (assume ).

Assume to bars for the design.

Step Length of the tie bar: Length of the tie bar is twice the length needed to develop bond stress
equal to the working tensile stress and is given by:

(17)

where, is the diameter of the bar, is the allowable tensile stress in , and is the
allowable bond stress and can be assumed for plain and deformed bars respectively

as and .
Example
A cement concrete pavement of thickness 18 cm, has two lanes of 7.2 m with a joint. Design the tie
bars. (Solution:) Given h=18 cm,

b=7.2/2=3.6m,

. Step 1: diameter and spacing: Get from

Assume . Therefore spacing is ,

say Step 2: Length of the bar: Get from

[Ans] Use tie bars of length of

Summary
Design of rigid pavements is based on Westergaard's analysis, where modulus of subgrade reaction,
radius of relative stiffness, radius of wheel load distribution are used. For critical design, a
combination of load stress, frictional stress and warping stress is considered. Different types of joints
are required like expansion and contraction joints. Their design is also dealt with.

Problems

1. Design size and spacing of dowel bars at an expansion joint of concrete pavement of thickness
20 cm. Given the radius of relative stiffness of 90 cm. design wheel load 4000 kg. Load capacity
of the dowel system is 40 percent of design wheel load. Joint width is 3.0 cm and the permissible
stress in shear, bending and bearing stress in dowel bars are 1000,1500 and

100 respectively.
 2. Design the length and spacing of tie bars given that the pavement thickness is 20cm and width

of the road is 7m with one longitudinal joint. The unit weight of concrete is 2400 , the

coefficient of friction is 1.5, allowable working tensile stress in steel is 1750 , and

bond stress of deformed bars is 24.6 .

Solutions

1. Given, , , , ,

, and ; and assume diameter.

Step-1: length of the dowel bar ,

Solving for by trial and error, it is =39.5cm Minimum length of the dowel bar

is , So, provide long and .

Therefore .

Step 2: Find the load transfer capacity of single dowel bar

Therefore, the required load transfer capacity (refer equation)

Step-3 : Find the required spacing: Effective distance of load

transfer . Assuming spacing,

Actual capacity is

Assuming 40cm spacing, capacity is,

So we should consider 2.52>2.335 as it is greater and more near to other value. Therefore

provide mild steel dowel bars of length center to center.

2. 2.Given h=20 cm,

b=7/2=3.5m,

. Step 1: diameter and spacing:

Assume . Therefore spacing

is , say Step 2: Length of the bar:

[Ans] Use tie bars of length of

use of Geosynthatics in pavements

A typical flexible pavement system includes four distinct layers: asphalt concrete, base course,
subbase, and subgrade (Fig. 1). The surface layer is typically asphalt concrete, which is a
bituminous hot-mix aggregate obtained from distillation of crude petroleum. The asphalt
concrete is underlain by a layer of base course, typically consisting of 0.2 m to 0.3 m of unbound
coarse aggregate.
An optional subbase layer, which generally involves lower quality crushed aggregate, can be
placed under the base course in order to reduce costs or to minimize capillary action under the
pavement.

Fig. 1 Cross-section of flexible pavement system (Muench 2006) Pavement distress may occur
due to either traffic or environmental loads. Traffic loads result from the repetition of wheel
loads, which can cause either structural or functional failure. Environmental loads are induced
by climatic conditions, such as variations in temperature or moisture in the subgrade, which
can cause surface irregularities and structural distress. Cycles of wetting and drying (or freezing
and thawing) may cause the breakdown of base course material. Construction practices also
affect pavement performance

. For example, the use of aggregates with excessive fines may lead to rapid pavement
deterioration. Finally, pavement distress is also a function of maintenance or, more correctly,
lack of maintenance (Yoder and Witczak 1975). For example, sealing cracks and joints at proper
intervals and maintaining the shoulders improve pavement performance. The various distress
 mechanisms induced by traffic and environmental loads can be enhanced through the use of
geosynthetics, as discussed next.

Geosynthetics in pavement design Geosynthetics have been used in pavement design to

address the functions of separation, filtration, lateral drainage, sealing, and reinforcement.
Specifically, geosynthetics have been used for separation Zornberg, J.G. (2011). “Advances in
the Use of Geosynthetic in Pavement Design.” Invited Keynote Paper, Proceedings of the
Second National Conference on Geosynthetics, Geosynthetics India '11, India Institute of
Technology Madras, Chennai,

India, September 23-24, Vol. 1, pp. 3-21. KN-4 Jorge G. Zornberg in pavement projects to minimize
intrusion of subgrade soil into the aggregate base or sub-base. Also, geosynthetics can perform a
filtration function by restricting the movement of soil particles from the subgrade while allowing
water to move to the coarser adjacent base material. In-plane drainage function of a geosynthetic
can provide lateral drainage within its plane. In addition, geosynthetics have been used to mitigate
the propagation of cracks by sealing the asphalt layer when used in pavement overlays. Finally,
geosynthetics can be used in flexible pavements for a reinforcement function. While the
reinforcement function has often been accomplished using geogrids, geotextiles have also been
used as reinforcement inclusions in transportation applications (Bueno et al. 2005, Benjamin et al.
2007).

The stresses over the subgrade are higher in unreinforced flexible pavements than in
geosynthetic-reinforced pavement (Fig. 2). The geosynthetic reinforcement is often placed at the
interface between the base and sub-base layers or the interface between the sub-base and
subgrade layers or within the base course layer of the flexible pavement. The improved
performance of the pavement due to geosynthetic reinforcement has been attributed to three
mechanisms:

(1) lateral restraint,

(2) increased bearing capacity, and

(3) tensioned membrane effect (Giroud and Noiray 1981, Giroud et al. 1984, Perkins and Ismeik
1997, Holtz et al. 1998). These three mechanisms are illustrated in Fig.

3. Fig. 2 Relative load magnitudes at subgrade layer level for

(a) unreinforced flexible pavement and

 (b) geosynthetic-reinforced flexible pavement Fig.

3 Reinforcement mechanisms induced by geosynthetics (Holtz et al. 1998):

(a) Lateral restraint;

(b) Increased bearing capacity; and

(c) Membrane support The primary mechanism associated with the reinforcement function for
flexible pavements

(Fig. 3a) is lateral restraint or confinement (Bender and Barenberg 1978). The name may be
misleading as lateral restraint develops through interfacial friction between the geosynthetic and
the aggregate, thus the mechanism is one of a shear-resisting interface (Perkins 1999).

When an aggregate layer is subjected to traffic loading, the aggregate tends to move laterally
unless it is restrained by the subgrade or by geosynthetic reinforcement. Interaction between the
base aggregate and the geosynthetic allows transfer of the shearing load from the base layer to a
tensile load in the geosynthetic. The tensile stiffness of the geosynthetic limits the lateral strains
in the base layer.

Furthermore, a geosynthetic layer confines the base course layer thereby increasing its mean
stress and leading to an increase in shear strength. KN-5 Advances in the Use of Geosynthetics in
Pavement Design Both

Geosynthetics have been used in roadway systems for reinforcement, layer separation, drainage,
stress relief, and as moisture barriers. For separation function, the proper geosynthetic prevents the
subgrade soil fines from migrating into the unbound aggregate layers, and prevents the aggregate of
this layer from penetrating into the subgrade while allowing free water movement.

To reinforce aggregate layers, the geosynthetic should be applied within the aggregate layer at the
highest shear location. The geosynthetic may enhance the interlock, but it may also introduce a
slippage plane. Impermeable geosynthetic application underneath an open-graded drainage layer
for pavement built on a subgrade with a low water table level would significantly improve the
pavement performance.

The use of a geosynthetic drainage layer, at the appropriate location within the pavement system,
appears to be promising. For cracked surfaces, it is vital to correctly bond the reinforcement to the
overlay to make it effective. However,

a low modulus geosynthetic that has the appropriate thickness would dissipate most of the available
strain energy at the crack tip. The potential stripping in HMA, excessive deflection, failure in the
pavement materials, and compatibility and appropriate use of geosynthetics in pavements should
not be overlooked. For the covering abstract see ITRD E117244.

use of Geosynthatics
This study was primarily concerned with the use of geotextile, a geosynthetic membrane to strengthen the
foundation of a flexible pavement. Three soil samples were collected from FUTA environs and all of the
samples underwent primary soil tests such as natural moisture content,
sieve analysis, compaction and California bearing ratio (CBR) test to determine the geotechnical
properties of the samples. In carrying out the project, a flexible pavement model using tested soil samples
was constructed with the geotextile material incorporated
. The slope of the model was 4% to serve as camber and for proper drainage. From the pavement model
test, the average moisture content of the three soil samples used as sub-grades in the model with
geotextile were 25.7%, 20.4% and 18.7% for samples labelled A, B and C. A control sample of A without
geotextile in the pavement model had a moisture content of 30.6% after being exposed to same external
weather conditions of rainfall and sunshine for 8 weeks. These moisture content results were compared
with the natural moisture content values of the samples.
It was found that the 3 soil samples with geotextile had lower moisture content and the sub-bases were
properly separated from their respective sub-grades, as opposed to sample A without the geotextile
material. Geotextile material design and selection should be based on sound engineering principles as
they will serve the long-term interest of both user and industry.
The use of geotextiles should be incorporated into the construction of roads as they are economical in
reducing the stress of 'borrowing to fill', enhance strength of the sub-grade and increase service life of the
roadway
UNIT -IV

Pavement Inventories
Serviceability Concepts, Visual Rating, Pavement Serviceability Index,
Roughness Measurements, Measurement of Distress Modes Cracking, Rutting,
Rebound Deflection using Benkleman Beam Deflection Method, Load Man
Concept, Skid Resistance Measurement.

Serviceability Concepts
Serviceability is an indicator that represents the level of service a pavement provides to the
users. This subjective opinion is closely related to objective aspects,

which can be measured on the pavement's surface. This research aims specifically at relating
serviceability results obtained by a 9-member evaluation panel,

representing the general public as closely as possible, to parameters (particularly of roughness)

measured with instruments on 30, 25, and 11 road sections of asphalt concrete,

Portland cement concrete, and asphalt overlay, respectively. Results show that prediction of
serviceability is quite accurate based on roughness evaluation

, while also revealing that, by comparison to studies in more developed countries, Chileans are
seemingly more tolerant, in that they assign a somewhat higher rating to ride quality.

Furthermore, visible distress does not have a significant influence on serviceability values for
Chilean users. A ratio between International Roughness Index (IRI) and Serviceability,

as defined by AASHTO, was developed and may be used in this design method. Results for the
final pavement condition of urban pavements were obtained (IRI-asphalt final = 5.9; IRI-concrete
final = 8.1).
Serviceability OF PAVEMENTS
A system is described wherein the serviceability of pavements is rated
subjectively by a panel made up of men selected to represent many important
groups of highway users.
Through multiple regression analysis a mathematical index is derived and
validated through which pavement ratings can be satisfactorily estimated from
objective measurements taken on the pavements.
These serviceability indices (or the direct ratings) always refer to the
conditions existing at the time the measurements (or ratings) are made.
Performance of a pavement may then be determined by summarizing the
serviceability record over a period of time.
The system, developed at the AASHO Road Test, has potential for wide
application in the highway field, particularly in sufficiency rating, evaluation of
design systems, and evaluation of paving materials and construction
techniques through the provision of an objective means for evaluation of
performance.

ROAD TEST INDEXES

The techniques previously described were used in the derivation of present
serviceability indexes for the AASHO Road Test.
This section of the report includes tabulations of the actual data obtained in
the field rating sessions by the Road Test Rating Panel and data obtained from
the objective measurements of the pavements rated.
Relationships among the ratings and various measurements are shown
graphically and the results of the regression analyses in which the serviceability
indexes were derived are given. The matter of precision required of an index
and precision attained in the Road Test indexes is discussed.
Alternate measurement systems are mentioned for the benefit of agencies
not able to equip themselves with elaborate instruments. Ratings for Selected
Pavements After the establishment of concepts, ground rules, and rating forms
for present serviceability ratings, the AASHO Road Test Performance Rating
Panel rated 19 pavement sections near Ottawa, 111., on April 15-18, 1958; 40
sections near St.
PaulMinneapolis on August 14-16, 1958; 40 sections near Indianapolis on May
21-23, 1959; and 39 sections on and near the Road Test in Illinois on January
20-22, 1960.
Ten Illinois sections, 20 Minnesota sections, 20 Indiana sections and 24
sections on and near the Road Test were flexible pavements, whereas all
remaining sections were rigid pavements. Each section was 1,200 ft long
except those on the Road Test, which averaged 215 ft. With the generous
cooperation of the respective state highway departments, sections at each
location were selected to represent a wide range of pavement conditions.
Coincident with the rating session. Road Test crews and instruments were
used to obtain condition surveys and profile measurements for each section.
Summaries for all evaluations of the 74 flexible pavement sections are shown
in Table
1; corresponding evaluations for the first 49 rigid pavements are given in Table
2. The principal objective of the fourth rating session was to rate flexible
pavement sections that included rather severe degrees of rutting—a
phenomenon not included in the previous sets of flexible pavement. A second
objective of the fourth session was to rate a small number of rigid pavements
only for the purpose of checking present serv

Pavement Serviceability Index

A system is described wherein the serviceability of pavements is rated

subjectively by a panel made up of men selected to represent many important
groups of highway users.
Through multiple regression analysis a mathematical index is derived and
validated through which pavement ratings can be satisfactorily estimated from
objective measurements taken on the pavements. These serviceability indices
(or the direct ratings) always refer to the conditions existing at the time the
measurements (or ratings) are made.
Performance of a pavement may then be determined by summarizing the
serviceability record over a period of time. The system,
developed at the AASHO Road Test, has potential for wide application in the
highway field, particularly in sufficiency rating, evaluation of design systems,
and evaluation of paving materials and construction techniques through the
provision of an objective means for evaluation of performance

Performance
In the preceding section the steps in the formulation of a present serviceability
index were delineated. The index is computed from a formula containing terms
related to objective measurements that may be made on any section of
highway at any time.
At the AASHO Road Test these measurements are made and the index
computed for each test section every two weeks. Thus a serviceability-time
history is available for each test section beginning with the time test traffic
operation was started.
As can be seen from Figure 1, the present serviceability values range in
numerical value from zero to five. In order to fulfill the first Road Test
objective, to find relationships between performance and pavement structure
design, some summarization of the serviceabilitytime history is implied.
Performance may be said to be related to the ability of the pavement to serve
traffic over a period of time. A pavement with a low serviceability during much
of its life would not have performed its function of serving traffic as well as one
that had high serviceability during most of its life,

even if both ultimately reached the same state of repair. The Road Test staff
studied many alternate techniques for summarizing the serviceability-time
history into an index of performance.
The performance index chosen consisted of the mean ordinate of the
serviceability-time history record. The choice of mean ordinate of
serviceability-time record was largely due to its simplicity and the ease with
which it can be understood by those interested in the Road Test f

Roughness Measurements
Pavement roughness is generally defined as an expression of irregularities in the
pavement surface that adversely affect the ride quality of a vehicle (and thus the
user). Roughness is an important pavement characteristic because it affects not
only ride quality but also vehicle delay costs, fuel consumption and maintenance
costs. The World Bank found road roughness to be a primary factor in the
analyses and trade-offs involving road quality vs. user cost (UMTRI, 1998[1]).
Roughness is also referred to as “smoothness” although both terms refer to the
same pavement qualities.

Measurement

Today, roughness is typically quantified using some form of either present

serviceability rating (PSR), international roughness index (IRI) or other
index with IRI being most prevalent.

International Roughness Index (IRI)

The international roughness index (IRI) was developed by the World Bank
in the 1980s (UMTRI, 1998[1]). IRI is used to define a characteristic of the
longitudinal profile of a traveled wheeltrack and constitutes a
standardized roughness measurement.

The commonly recommended units are meters per kilometer (m/km) or

millimeters per meter (mm/m).

The IRI is based on the average rectified slope (ARS), which is a filtered
ratio of a standard vehicle’s accumulated suspension motion (in mm,
inches, etc.) divided by the distance traveled by the vehicle during the
measurement (km, mi, etc.). IRI is then equal to ARS multiplied by 1,000.
The open-ended IRI scale is shown in Figure 2.
 Various correlations have been developed between PSR and IRI. Two are
presented here. One was reported in 1986 by Paterson:

Another correlation was reported in a 1992 Illinois funded study performed

by Al-Omari and Darter (1992[3]):

This study used data from the states of Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, New
Mexico, and Ohio for both flexible and rigid pavements. The associated
regression statistics are R2 = 0.73, SEE = 0.39, and n = 332 sections.
Correlations are highly dependent upon the data that are used.

Measurement Techniques
The equipment for roughness survey data collection can be categorized
into the four broad categories shown in Table 1.

Table 1. Roughness Measuring Equipment

Equipment / Technique Complexity

Rod and level survey most simple

Dipstick profiler simple

Profilographs simple

Response type road roughness meters (RTRRMs) complex

Profiling devices more complex

The following discussion with a few modifications was taken directly from the
“Pavement Condition Data Collection Equipment” article in the FHWA Pavement
Notebook (1989[4]).
Survey
A survey (performed by a survey crew) can provide an accurate measurement of
the pavement profile. The use of surveys for large projects, however, is
impractical and cost prohibitive.

Figure 3. Dipstick 2000.

Dipstick Profiler
The dipstick profiler can be used to collect a relatively small quantity of
pavement profile measurements. The Dipstick Profiler (see Figures 3 and 4)
consists of an inclinometer enclosed in a case supported by two legs separated
by 305 mm (12 in.). Two digital displays are provided, one at each end of the
instrument. Each display reads the elevation of the leg at its end relative to the
elevation of the other leg. The operator then “walks” the dipstick down a
premarked pavement section by alternately pivoting the instrument about each
leg. Readings are recorded sequentially as the operator traverses the section.
The device records 10 to 15 readings per minute. Software analysis provides a
profile accurate to ± 0.127 mm (± 0.005 in.). A strip can be surveyed by a single
operator in about one-half the time of a traditional survey crew. The dipstick is
commonly used to measure a profile for calibration of more complex
instruments
Profiling Devices
Profiling devices are used to provide accurate, scaled, and complete reproductions
of the pavement profile within a certain range. They are available in several forms,
and can be used for calibration of RTRRMs. The equipment can become fairly
expensive and complex. Three generic types of profiling systems are in use today:

• Straight edge. The simplest profiling system is a straight edge. Modifications

to the straight edge, such as mounting it on a wheel, result in a profilograph.
• Low speed systems. Low speed systems such as the CHLOE profilometer
are moving reference planes. The CHLOE is a long trailer that is towed at low
speeds of 3 to 8 kph (2 to 5 mph). The slow speed is necessary to prevent
any dynamic response measurement during the readings. A few agencies still
use the CHLOE to calibrate their RTRRMs.
• Inertial reference systems. Most sophisticated road profiling equipment uses
the inertial reference system. The profiling device measures and computes
longitudinal profile through the creation of an inertial reference by using
accelerometers placed on the body of the measuring vehicle to measure the
vehicle body motion. The relative displacement between the accelerometer
and the pavement profile is measured with either a “contact” or a “non-
contact” sensor system.

The earliest profiling devices used a measurement system in direct contact with the
pavement to measure profile. Several contact systems have been used, and are still
in use today. The French Road Research Laboratory developed the Longitudinal
Profile Analyzer (APL) in 1968.

Systems used today in the United States are frequently installed in vans (Figure 7)
which contain microcomputers and other data handling and processing
instrumentation. Older profiling devices are usually contact systems, while the more
recently manufactured devices use non-contact sensors. The non-contact systems
use probes, either acoustic or light, to measure differences in the pavement surface.
For instance, the South Dakota road profiler simultaneously collects three ultrasonic
profiles, one for each wheelpath and one for the lane center. These profiles are used
to calculate (by computer) a mathematical measure of roughness and an estimate of
rutting at specified intervals along the roadway. A hybridized South Dakota road
profiler combines the three ultrasonic sensors with two laser sensors, one for each
wheelpath, for simultaneous measurement of the same roadway by two different
sensor types under identical conditions (Virginia Transportation Research Council,
1996[5]). Integrated analysis units can continuously collect a wide variety of data at
highway speeds such as:

• Transverse profile/rutting
• Grade, cross-slope
• Pavement texture
• Pavement condition or distress
• GPS coordinates
• Panoramic right-of-way video
• Pavement video
SURFACE DISTRESS
Surface distress is any indication of poor or unfavorable pavement performance or signs of
impending failure. The general surface distresses can be grouped under the following three
broad groups. The distresses under each of the groups are also mentioned along with the
unit of measurement in parentheses

. • Fracture – Cracking (% area cracked

• Distortion - localized settlements and depression (depth in mm), rutting (rut depth in mm)
and shoving

• Disintegration - raveling, stripping, potholes and patching (% effected area or no of pot

holes per km length) Surface distress is related to roughness (the more cracks, distortion
and disintegration - the rougher the pavement will be)

as well as structural integrity (surface distress can be a sign of impending or current

structural problems). Measures of distress can be either subjective or objective.

A simple example of a subjective measurement may be rating of each type of defect based
on visual inspection on a scale of 0-5 as Very Poor, Poor, Fair, Good and Very Good as in
PSR.

Objective measurements, which are generally more expensive to obtain, use different types
of automated distress detection equipment.

Older techniques,
used teams of individuals who drove across every km of pavement to be measured. The
measurements were made using simple instruments and by visual estimation.

The rut depths were measured using straight edge and the area of cracking, patching,
raveling, etc were visually estimated. Based on the objective measurements the Present
Serviceability Index (PSI) could be obtained using the AASHTO equation.

Current methods record pavement surface distresses using video imaging using a specially
equipped van that is fitted with high-resolution cameras.

The van can travel at the usual highway speeds. Evaluation is either done manually by
playing the video back on specially designed workstations while trained crews rate the
recorded road surface or automatically by computer image processing software.

In more advanced Integrated Pavement Analysis Units, in addition to high resolution video
cameras, other instruments such as non-contact (laser) profilometers for mapping
longitudinal as well as transverse pavement profile, distance measuring instrument and
computer workstations for processing the data are fitted.

Automatic Road Analyser and Laser Road Surface Tester fall in this category. Using
Integrated Pavement Analysis Units one can obtain the following measurements.
• Roughness

• Distress (cracking, rut depth)

• Gradients, camber, curvature

• Pavement texture The rating suggested by IRC in its guidelines for maintenance
management of primary, secondary and urban roads is given in the following table.

Pavement Condition Rating Based on Different Types of Defects Defects Range of Distress
Cracking (%) >30 21 to 30 11 to 20 5 to 10 30 11 to 30 6 to 10 1 to 5 0 Pothole (%) >1 0.6 to
1.0 0.1 to 0.5 0.10 0 Shoving (%) >1 0.6 to 1.0 0.1 to 0.5 0.10 0 Patch (%) >30 16 to 30 6 to
15 2 to 5 5 3 to 5 Up to 2 Up to 1 0 Rutting (mm) >50 21 to 50 11 to 20 5 to 10

SKID RESISTANCE
Skid resistance is the force developed when a tyre that is prevented from rotating
slides along the pavement surface (Highway Research Board, 1972). Skid resistance
is an important pavement evaluation parameter because inadequate skid resistance
will lead to higher incidences of skid related accidents.

Skid resistance depends on pavement surface texture. Skid resistance changes over
time. Typically it increases in the first two years following construction as the
roadway is worn away by traffic and rough aggregate surfaces become exposed,
then decreases over the remaining pavement life as aggregates become more
polished.

Skid resistance is generally quantified using some form of friction measurement

such as a friction factor or skid number.

Friction factor (like a coefficient of friction):

f = F/L Skid number:

SN = 100(f) where:

F = frictional resistance to motion in plane of interface

L = load perpendicular to interface Measurement Techniques

• Portable Pendulum Skid tester

• The locked wheel tester

• The spin up tester

• Pavement surface texture measurement Portable Pendulum Skid tester it is a

dynamic pendulum impact type tester for measuring the resistance offered by a
surface under test. It is used for measuring spot values of surface friction at
representative locations. Though, it provides good information on the skid resistance
of the pavement, it cannot provide data with different speeds.

The locked wheel tester This method uses a locked wheel skidding along the tested
surface to measure friction resistance.

It is possible to measure skid resistance at different speeds in this method. The spin
up tester A spin up tester has the same basic setup as a locked wheel tester but
operates in an opposite manner.

For a spin up tester, the vehicle (or trailer) is brought to the desired testing speed
(typically 64 km/hr ) and a locked test wheel is lowered to the pavement surface.

The test wheel braking system is then released and the test wheel is allowed to "spin
up" to normal traveling speed due to its contact with the pavement.

The friction force can be computed by knowing the test wheel's moment of inertia
and its rotational acceleration.

This avoids the use of costly force measuring equipment. Pavement surface texture
measurement In this method the pavement skid resistance is correlated with the
pavement macrotexture. By measuring the pavement texture and using the
established correlation between the macrotexture and the skid resistance, the skid
resistance is obtained.

Rutting, Rebound Deflection using Benkleman Beam

Deflection Method,
Benkelman Beam is a simple device that operates on the lever arm principle.
The Benkelman Beam is used with a loaded truck - typically 80 kN on a single
axle with dual tires inflated to 480 to 550 kPa. Measurement is made by
placing the tip of the beam between the dual tires and measuring the
pavement surface rebound as the truck is moved away. The Benkelman Beam
is low cost but is also slow, labor intensive and does not provide a deflection
basin. The procedure of measuring rebound deflection and finding the
characteristic deflection using Benkelman Beam is documented in the
following standard.

IRC:81-1997 Guidelines for strengthening of flexible road pavements using

Benkelman Beam deflection technique.

Using the above standard one can design the overlays after arriving at the
pavement characteristic rebound deflection.
Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD)
is an impact load device that delivers a transient impulse load to the
pavement surface and the resulting pavement response (deflection
basin) is measured by a series of sensors (geophones). Vertical
deflection of the pavement in multiple locations is recorded by the
geophones, which provides a more complete characterization of
pavement deflection. The area of pavement deflection under and near
the load application is collectively known as the "deflection basin". One
of the advantages of FWD is that multiple tests can be performed on the
same location using different weight drop heights. The advantage of
FWD over BB is that it is quicker, the impact load can be easily varied
and it more accurately simulates the standard loading of trucks, both
with respect to time of application of the load as well as the magnitude of
the load. Therefore, using FWD deflection data one can characterize the
existing pavement layers in terms of their layer modulii using
backcalculation procedures with the help of mechanistic structural
models. Once the pavement layers are characterised in terms of their
present resilient modulii, overlays can be designed using mechanistic
procedures. The characteristics of important equipment for the
pavement performance evaluation is documented in “Guidelines for
Maintenance Management of Primary, Secondary and Urban Roads,”
IRC, 2004. The same is provided in Ta

Load Man Concept

The Loadman is a closed 1172 mm long aluminium tube of 132 mm diameter. Its
components areillustrated in Figure 2.1 (not to scale).
The tube contains a freely moving weight with a rubber cushionat its lower end. At the
top end there is an accelerometer, electronic circuitry and 3 x 9 volt batteries
topower the unit.
An aluminium plate is below the electronics which has a flexible rubber
mounting bushand a magnet. Table 2.1 gives the technical
specifications of the Loadman.The unit is operated by turning it upside down so that the
falling weight slides to the upper end of thetube and becomes attached to the
magnet.
The device is then placed on the point to be measured andheld perpendicular
to the surface. A button is pushed and the weight falls. The accelerometer recordsthe
deflection under the weight along with the length of loading impulse. The Loadman will
give thefollowing output
:deflection in mm;the modulus of elasticity
(E or E-modulus);the length of loading impulse;
the percentage of rebound deflection compared to the maximum
deflection;the effectiveness of compaction
(the ratio of the E-modulus of the second to first test
UNIT-V
Pavement Evaluation
Functional Pavement Performance Evaluation: AASHTO Method,
Psycho Physical and Psycho Metric Scaling Techniques, Deduct Value
Method. Beam Deflection Method, Pavement Distress Rating
Technique. Design of Overlays by Benkelmen Beam Deflection
Methods as per IRC – 81 - 1997 – pavements on problematic
soils.

Functional Pavement Performance Evaluation

Road pavement performance evaluation and prediction is two most
important parts of pavement management system
. In order to scientifically and accurately predict the future road
pavement situation,evaluation indexes and main influence factors of
pavement performance were analyzed.
Then functional performance,structure performance, safety
performance, and comfortability performance was selected as the
evolution index and three factors were taken as parameters, including
temperature, annual precipitation,annual average daily traffic.
The two prediction models of BP neural network and hybrid algorithms
based on neural network and genetic algorithm were built respectively.
Forecasting result shows that neural network model based on genetic
algorithms has higher prediction accuracy and more network
generalization than those of BP neural network.
Psycho Physical and Psycho Metric Scaling Techniques
ONE of the most significant developments resulting from the recently
completed AASHO Road Test was the formulation and definition of the
concepts of serviceability and failure of highway pavements, reported by
Carey and Irick (1).
Although the concept of pavement serviceability has been used more or
less intuitively for many years to gage the success of pavement designs,
the significant contribution of this study
(1) was to demonstrate that serviceability was quantifiable
. Furthermore it was shown that serviceability is a psychological quantity
or experience, and not a physical measurement derived from pavement
surface roughness.
The technique developed for measuring both serviceability and failure at
the Road Test is based on a subjective estimate procedure.
 Although the manner in which human beings gage serviceability is
necessarily an empirical problem, the known facts of psychophysics,
however, set certain valuable guidelines.
It is well established that psychological experiences are measurable.
However, all psychophysical quantities are subject to potential bias and
distorting factors.
The fact that an observer can be influenced in what he reports does not mean
that his psychological impressions are not quantifiable, but merely that the
task of measurement is difficult.
An observer is sensitive not only to the physical stimuli he is trying to
measure, but also to a large number of other factors that can distort his
judgment to varying degrees. In view of the susceptibility of human
SCALE CONSTRUCTION AND FORMAT
To assist raters in arriving at quantitative judgments at an interval
scale level of measurement, the attribute definition should be
supplemented and reinforced by cues or descriptive phrases.
Champney (2) after an extensive study has listed criteria that may be
used as a guide to the systematic development of cues for rating
studies.
The most important of these recommendations are that cues should
apply to a very short and particular range on the continuum to
provide raters with definite anchors, and that the cues for each trait
should be unique to that trait
. In particular, cues of a very general character such as "excellent,"
"poor," etc., should be avoided. The determination of the optimum
scale format for a particular rating situation is necessarily an
empirical problem. The error of leniency and the central tendency
effect may be minimized by judicious selection of cues.
It was previously pointed out that a positive leniency error may be
minimized by using only unfavorable cues, because raters anticipate
a mean rating somewhere near the cue "good" or its equivalent. The
error of central tendency may be counteracted by adjusting the
strength of the descriptive phrases.
Greater differences in meaning may be introduced between steps
near the extremities of the scale than between steps near the central
area. A most important parallel problem concerns the number of
steps or categories
Deduct Value Method
The method is based on a visual survey of the number and
types of distresses in a pavement. First, the type and extent of
existing distresses, their severity level is collected. Next,
distress density is calculated for each type of distress. The
density values are translated into deduct value (DV) and
corrected deduct value (CDV) using a set of curves proposed
by the ASTM. The ASTM does not include the formulae of
these curves, but they are recalculated by
researchers.[1][5] Finally, the value of the PCI is calculated in an
iterative process. The result of the analysis is a numerical value
between 0 and 100, with 100 representing the best possible
condition and 0 representing the worst possible condition.
Pavement distress types for asphalt pavements include:

The upper portion of the Pavement Classifications\Corrected Deduct

Values library shows the various Pavement Classifications. The lower
portion displays the Corrected Deduct Values for the selected Pavement
Classification. The values in this library are derived from the corrected
deduct values found in the USACERL Manual. The Cartegraph library
stores 100, the USACERL corrected deduct value.
The total Deduct Value is the sum of the deduct point for all of the
distresses in a sample. Q1,Q2,Q3... represent the number of distresses
in the sample that have a deduct value over 2.
The value for a samples total Deduct Value and Q value is interpolated
on the Corrected Deduct Values table. This number represents the
distress index for the sample.
. Beam Deflection Method
Highway pavement is a structure that provides users durable surface for
quality riding experience. In engineered terms highways pavement is a
structure of superimposed layers of processed materials above the natural
stratum (sub-grade). The structure is basically designed to distribute the
applied vehicle loads to the sub-grade. The pavement structure should have
a surface that provide the acceptable riding quality, adequate skid
resistance. Further, the pavement material should be selected so as to
provide a light reflection and also low noise pollution. Although, pavement
must have to serve for its basic purpose of transmission of stresses
induced due to the wheel load. The quality pavement should be frequently
evaluated.

Pavement evaluation is of two types

1. Structural evaluation
2. Functional evaluation

Structural Evaluation of flexible pavemen t at various location helps to

evaluate whether the pavement is structurally capable for design traffic,
and climatic condition. Structural adequacy is the primary response of
pavement to transient loads and consists in deformation, deflection,
stresses, strain and permanent deformation at critical points in pavement
layers. Generally, for structural evaluation deflection criteria are widely
used.
Following is the explanation of deflection measurement using Benkelman
beam deflection method.

The Structural evaluation of flexible pavement by Benkelman beam

deflection (BBD) test is based on principal of surface deformation under an
applied wheel load, this depends on,

1. Sub-grade soil, moisture content its compaction,

2. Thickness and quality of various layers
3. Drainage condition
4. Pavement surface temperature

Description of Benkelman Beam Equipment and Procedure

The Benkelman Beam shown in Fig. 1. Benkelman beam has a movable

beam attached through a fulcrum to a fixed base which rests on the
pavement surface. The beam apparatus is placed on the road surface with
the extreme end or tip of the beam resting and remaining on the pavement
surface at the point where the deflection is to be measured. Movemen t

the tip of the beam is measured by a dial gauge, which is in contact with.
The Benkelman Beam deflections should be measured at 20 points in each
kilometre, staggered at 50 m interval in both directions with truck having
rear axle load of 8.17 tones and Tyre pressure of 5.6 kg/cm 2 . The
measurements should be made in accordance CGRA procedure laid down in
IRC: 81-1997.
The truck should be driven slowly parallel to the edge of road and stopped
such that the left side of the rear dual wheel placed centrally over the point
of deflection measurement. The probe end of the Benkelman beam inserted
between the gaps of the dual wheel and is placed exactly over the deflection
observation point. When the dial gauge reading is stationary note the initial
dial gauge reading as D 0 . The truck moved forward slowly through a
distance of 2.7 m from the initial point and stopped. The intermediate dial
gauge reading noted as D i . Typically, intermediate reading noted when the
rate of recovery of the pavement is less than 0.025 mm per minute. The
truck is then further driven forward through a distance of 9.0 m and the final
dial gauge reading D f is recorded. The three deflection dial readings D 0 , D i ,
and D f forms a set of readings at one deflection point under con sideration.
Similarly, the truck is moved to the next deflection point and the procedure
is repeated. The temperature of the pavement surface should also be
recorded at intervals of an hour during the observations. The moisture
content of the sub grade soil is also to be determined at suitable intervals,
the rebound deflection value D at any point is given by one of the following
two conditions

1. If D i – D f ≤ 2.5 divisions of the dial gauge or 0.025 mm, D = 2 (D 0 – D f )

divisions of 0.01 mm units = 0.02 (D 0 – D f ) mm
2. If D i – D f ≥ 2.5 divisions of the dial gauge or 0.025 mm, this indicates
that correction is needed for the vertical movement of the front legs.

Correction applied is

D = 2 (D 0 – D f ) + 2 K (D i – D f ) divisions.
Then Temperature and sub-grade moisture correction should be applied.

Strength of Pavement Rebound Deflection

Strong Upto 1

Moderate 1 to 2

Weak 2 to 3

Very Weak >3

Pavement Distress Rating Technique
Properly designed and maintained HMA pavements can provide many years of
satisfactory service. However, like all pavements, HMA pavements can be
damaged by certain conditions. This page is intended to:

1. Assist in identifying basic HMA pavement damage. HMA pavement

damage that is visible at the surface of the pavement is often called
“surface distress”.
2. Provide some insight into why particular surface distresses are
problematic.
3. Provide some basic guidance into what kinds of conditions might lead to
certain surface distresses.
4. Suggest some basic repair strategies.This section is organized
alphabetically by type of surface distress. If you are looking for a specific
type, scroll down and look at the thumbnails to see which picture
mostclosely matches the condition you are investigating. Photos of each
type of distress are accompanied by a description of the distress, the
reason it is a problem, some of the most likely causes and basic repair
strategy.

index of Pavement Distress

• Alligator (Fatigue) Cracking
• Bleeding
• Block Cracking
• Corrugation and Shoving
• Depression
• Joint Reflection Cracking
• Longitudinal Cracking
• Patching
• Polished Aggregate
• Potholes
• Raveling
• Rutting
• Slippage Cracking
• Stripping
• Transverse (Thermal) Cracking
• Water Bleeding and Pumping
Note on Pavement Distress
Distressed pavement is often a result of a combination of factors, rather than
just one root cause. There are always exceptions to the rule – the exact
condition you are looking for may not be here. Please contact your state DOT or
Pavement Association for assistance.

Alligator (Fatigue) Cracking

Description: A series of interconnected cracks caused by fatigue failure of the

HMA surface under repeated traffic loading. As the number and magnitude of
loads becomes too great, longitudinal cracks begin to form (usually in the
wheelpaths). After repeated loading, these longitudinal cracks connect forming
many-sided sharp-angled pieces that develop into a pattern resembling the back
of an alligator or crocodile.

Problem: Roughness, indicator of structural failure, cracks allow moisture

infiltration into the base and subgrade, eventually results in potholes and
pavement disintegration if not treated.

Possible Causes: Inadequate structural support for the given loading, which can
be caused by a myriad of things. A few of the more common ones are:

• Decrease in pavement load supporting characteristics.

o Probably the most common reason is a loss of base, subbase or
subgrade support from poor drainage. Water under a pavement
will generally cause the underlying materials to become weak.
o Stripping on the bottom of the HMA layer. The stripped depth
contributes little to pavement strength so the effective HMA
thickness decreases.
Repair: A fatigue cracked pavement should be investigated to determine the
root cause of failure. Any investigation should involve digging a pit or coring the
pavement to determine the pavement’s structural makeup as well as
determining whether or not subsurface moisture is a contributing factor. Once
the characteristic alligator pattern is apparent, repair by crack sealing is
generally ineffective. Fatigue crack repair generally falls into one of two
categories:

Bleeding

Bleeding in the wheelpath.

Severe bleeding.
Description: A film of asphalt binder on the pavement surface. It usually creates
a shiny, glass-like reflecting surface that can become sticky when dry and
slippery when wet.

Problem: Loss of skid resistance when wet, unsightly

Possible Causes: Bleeding occurs when asphalt binder fills the aggregate voids
during hot weather or traffic compaction, and then expands onto the pavement
surface. Since bleeding is not reversible during cold weather or periods of low
loading, asphalt binder will accumulate on the pavement surface over time.
Likely causes are:

• Excessive asphalt binder in the HMA (either due to a poor mix design or
manufacturing problems)
• Excessive application of asphalt binder during BST application
• Low HMA air void content (e.g., not enough void space for the asphalt to
occupy), likely a mix design problem
Repair: The following repair measures may eliminate or reduce the asphalt
binder film on the pavement’s surface but may not correct the underlying
problem that caused the bleeding:

• Minor bleeding can often be corrected by applying coarse sand to blot up

the excess asphalt binder.
• Major bleeding can be corrected by cutting off excess asphalt with a
motor grader or removing it with a heater planer. If the resulting surface
is excessively rough, resurfacing may be necessary (APAI, no date given).

Block Cracking

Block cracking in a parking lane. Parking lanes see little if Block cracking in a parking lane.
any traffic, therefore the only likely distresses that will
occur are raveling and block cracking. These cracks are
probably too wide to be effectively crack sealed.
Description: Interconnected cracks that divide the pavement up into
rectangular pieces. Blocks range in size from approximately 1 ft2 to 100 ft2.
Larger blocks are generally classified as longitudinal and transverse cracking.
Block cracking normally occurs over a large portion of pavement area but
sometimes will occur only in non-traffic areas.

Problem: Allows moisture infiltration, roughness

Possible Causes: HMA shrinkage and daily temperature cycling. Typically caused
by an inability of asphalt binder to expand and contract with temperature cycles
because of:

• Asphalt binder aging

• Poor choice of asphalt binder in the mix design

Repair: Strategies depend upon the severity and extent of the block cracking:
 • Low severity cracks (< 1/2 inch wide). Crack seal to prevent (1) entry of
moisture into the subgrade through the cracks and (2) further raveling of
the crack edges. HMA can provide years of satisfactory service after
developing small cracks if they are kept sealed (Roberts et. al., 1996[1]). If
looks are important, or cracking is extensive, a slurry seal can be placed
over the sealed cracks.
• High severity cracks (> 1/2 inch wide and cracks with raveled edges).
Remove and replace the cracked pavement layer with an overlay.

Corrugation and Shoving

Shoving at a busy intersection. Shoving in an intersection.

Description: A form of plastic movement typified by ripples (corrugation) or an
abrupt wave (shoving) across the pavement surface. The distortion is
perpendicular to the traffic direction. Usually occurs at points where traffic starts
and stops (corrugation) or areas where HMA abuts a rigid object (shoving).

Problem: Roughness

Possible Causes: Usually caused by traffic action (starting and stopping)

combined with:

• An unstable (i.e. low stiffness) HMA layer (caused by mix contamination,

poor mix design, poor HMA manufacturing, or lack of aeration of liquid
asphalt emulsions)
• Excessive moisture in the subgrade
Repair: A heavily corrugated or shoved pavement should be investigated to
determine the root cause of failure. Repair strategies generally fall into one of
two categories:

• Small, localized areas of corrugation or shoving. Remove the distorted

pavement and patch.
• Large corrugated or shoved areas indicative of general HMA failure.
Remove the damaged pavement and overlay.

Depression

Slight depression in the loading dock area of

a hardware store. This is likely due to a Depression in an access roadway probably caused
localized area of soft subgrade. subgrade settlement. Note that the pavement
fatigue cracked significantly as it has settled.

Description: Localized pavement surface areas with slightly lower elevations

than the surrounding pavement. Depressions are very noticeable after a rain
when they fill with water.

Problem: Roughness, depressions filled with substantial water can cause vehicle
hydroplaning

Possible Causes: Subgrade settlement resulting from inadequate compaction

during construction.

Repair: By definition, depressions are small localized areas. A pavement

depression should be investigated to determine the root cause of failure.
Depressions should be repaired by removing the affected pavement then
digging out and replacing the area of poor subgrade. Patch over the repaired
subgrade.
Joint Reflection Cracking

Joint
reflective cracking on a low-use industrial road.
Joint reflective cracking on an urban arteri
Description: Cracks in a flexible overlay of a rigid pavement. The cracks occur
directly over the underlying rigid pavement joints. Joint reflection cracking does
not include reflection cracks that occur away from an underlying joint or from
any other type of base (e.g., cement or lime stabilized).

Problem: Allows moisture infiltration, roughness

Possible Causes: Movement of the rigid pavement slab beneath the HMA
surface because of thermal and moisture changes. Generally not load initiated,
however loading can hasten deterioration.

Repair: Strategies depend upon the severity and extent of the cracking:

• Low severity cracks (< 1/2 inch wide and infrequent cracks). Crack seal to
prevent (1) entry of moisture into the subgrade through the cracks and (2)
further raveling of the crack edges. In general, rigid pavement joints will
eventually reflect through an HMA overlay without proper surface
preparation.
• High severity cracks (> 1/2 inch wide and numerous cracks). Remove and
replace the cracked pavement layer with an overlay after proper
preparation of the underlying rigid pavement.

Longitudinal Cracking
 Longitudinal cracking. The cracking appears
Longitudinal cracking on a collector street.
to be the onset of alligator (fatigue) cracking
The cracking appears to be the onset of
and may be occurring on the longitudinal
alligator (fatigue) cracking and may be
joints.
occurring on the longitudinal joints.
Description: Cracks parallel to the pavement’s centerline or laydown direction.
Usually a type of fatigue cracking.

Problem: Allows moisture infiltration, roughness, indicates possible onset of

fatigue cracking and structural failure.

Possible Causes:

• Poor joint construction or location. Joints are generally the least dense
areas of a pavement. Therefore, they should be constructed outside of the
wheelpath so that they are only infrequently loaded. Joints in the
wheelpath will general fail prematurely.
• A reflective crack from an underlying layer (not including joint reflection
cracking)
• HMA fatigue (indicates the onset of future fatigue cracking)
• Top-down cracking

Repair: Strategies depend upon the severity and extent of the cracking:

• Low severity cracks (< 1/2 inch wide and infrequent cracks). Crack seal to
prevent (1) entry of moisture into the subgrade through the cracks and (2)
further raveling of the crack edges. HMA can provide years of satisfactory
service after developing small cracks if they are kept sealed (Roberts et.
al., 1996[1]).
• High severity cracks (> 1/2 inch wide and numerous cracks). Remove and
replace the cracked pavement layer with an overlay.
Patching

Small utility patch on a

collector street.
Right: Larger Utility patch across an arterial. Notice that th
patch edges are separated from the surrounding pavemen
These edges need to be crack sealed to prevent water
infiltration into the subgrade.

Description: An area of pavement that has been replaced with new material to
repair the existing pavement. A patch is considered a defect no matter how well
it performs.

Problem: Roughness

Possible Causes:

• Previous localized pavement deterioration that has been removed and

patched
• Utility cuts

Repair: Patches are themselves a repair action. The only way they can be
removed from a pavement’s surface is by either a structural or non-structural
overlay.

Polished Aggregate
 Two adjacent SMA pavements at the NCAT Test Track
near Auburn, AL. The pavement on the right uses river
rock, which is more susceptible to abrasion, as its This close-up picture of a road
aggregate and is showing some signs of aggregate surface shows aggregate wear after
polishing. about 5 years of wear.
Description: Areas of HMA pavement where the portion of aggregate extending
above the asphalt binder is either very small or there are no rough or angular
aggregate particles.

Problem: Decreased skid resistance

Possible Causes: Repeated traffic applications. Generally, as a pavement ages

the protruding rough, angular particles become polished. This can occur quicker
if the aggregate is susceptible to abrasion.

Repair: Apply a skid-resistant slurry seal, BST or non-structural overlay.

Potholes

Pothole on a major highway. The area has been

repaired but the repair is failing. A more
Pothole forming from a badly fatigued
wheelpath area on an arterial. Notice
 the water in the pothole even though it comprehensive effort is needed to correct this
has not rained in almost 12 hours. pavement failure.
Description: Small, bowl-shaped depressions in the pavement surface that
penetrate all the way through the HMA layer down to the base course. They
generally have sharp edges and vertical sides near the top of the hole. Potholes
are most likely to occur on roads with thin HMA surfaces (1 to 2 inches) and
seldom occur on roads with 4 inch or deeper HMA surfaces (Roberts et al.,
1996[1]).

Problem: Roughness (serious vehicular damage can result from driving across
potholes at higher speeds), moisture infiltration

Possible Causes: Generally, potholes are the end result of fatigue cracking. As
fatigue cracking becomes severe, the interconnected cracks create small chunks
of pavement, which can be dislodged as vehicles drive over them. The remaining
hole after the pavement chunk is dislodged is called a pothole.

Repair: In accordance with patching techniques.

Raveling

1. Raveled area on an arterial in Honolul

This raveling is probably a result of
segregation, temperature differentials
or inadequate compaction.
This road has not been overlayed in almost
20 years. Additionally, it was used as an
arterial bypass for 6 months as a sewer line
was placed under the arterial.
Description: The progressive disintegration of an HMA layer from the surface
downward as a result of the dislodgement of aggregate particles.
Problem: Loose debris on the pavement, roughness, water collecting in the
raveled locations resulting in vehicle hydroplaning, loss of skid resistance

Possible Causes:

• Loss of bond between aggregate particles and the asphalt binder as a

result of:
o Asphalt binder aging. Aging is generally associated with asphalt
binder oxidation as it gets older. As the asphalt binder gets older,
oxygen reacts with its constituent molecules resulting in a stiffer,
more viscous material that is more likely to lose aggregates on the
pavement surface as they are pulled away by traffic.
o A dust coating on the aggregate particles that forces the asphalt
binder to bond with the dust rather than the aggregate
•
• Mechanical dislodging by certain types of traffic (studded tires, snowplow
blades or tracked vehicles).

Repair: A raveled pavement should be investigated to determine the root cause

of failure. Repair strategies generally fall into one of two categories:

• Small, localized areas of raveling. Remove the raveled pavement and

patch. If the pavement is still structurally sound, the raveling can be fixed
with a fog seal or slurry seal.
• Large raveled areas indicative of general HMA failure. Remove the
damaged pavement and overlay.

Rutting

Shallow rutting on another Honolulu

Shallow rutting on a Honolulu arterial. arterial.
Description: Surface depression in the wheelpath. Pavement uplift (shearing)
may occur along the sides of the rut. Ruts are particularly evident after a rain
when they are filled with water. There are two basic types of rutting: mix rutting
and subgrade rutting. Mix rutting occurs when the subgrade does not rut yet the
pavement surface exhibits wheelpath depressions as a result of compaction/mix
design problems. Subgrade rutting occurs when the subgrade exhibits
wheelpath depressions due to loading. In this case, the pavement settles into
the subgrade ruts causing surface depressions in the wheelpath.

Problem: Ruts filled with water can cause vehicle hydroplaning, can be
hazardous because ruts tend to pull a vehicle towards the rut path as it is
steered across the rut.

Possible Causes: Permanent deformation in any of a pavement’s layers or

subgrade usually caused by consolidation or lateral movement of the materials
due to traffic loading. Specific causes of rutting can be:

• Insufficient compaction of HMA layers during construction. If it is not

compacted enough initially, HMA pavement may continue to densify
under traffic loads.
• Subgrade rutting (e.g., as a result of inadequate pavement structure)
• Improper mix design or manufacture (e.g., excessively high asphalt
content, excessive mineral filler, insufficient amount of angular aggregate
particles)

Repair: A heavily rutted pavement should be investigated to determine the root

cause of failure (e.g. insufficient compaction, subgrade rutting, poor mix design
or studded tire wear). Slight ruts (< 1/3 inch deep) can generally be left
untreated. Pavement with deeper ruts should be leveled and overlayed.

Slippage Cracking
 Slippage crack on a truck haul road.

Slippage crack possibly caused by poor tack

coat bonding.
Description: Crescent or half-moon shaped cracks generally having two ends
pointed into the direction of traffic.

Problem: Allows moisture infiltration, roughness

Possible Causes: Braking or turning wheels cause the pavement surface to slide
and deform. The resulting sliding and deformation is caused by a low-strength
surface mix or poor bonding between the surface HMA layer and the next
underlying layer in the pavement structure.

Repair: Removal and replacement of affected area.

Stripping
 A small
A sma
pavement core showing stripping at the bottom of
pavement core showing stripping at
the pavement section. Picture taken in Washington
the bottom of the pavement section.
State.
Picture taken in Washington State.
Description: The loss of bond between aggregates and asphalt binder that
typically begins at the bottom of the HMA layer and progresses upward. When
stripping begins at the surface and progresses downward it is usually called
raveling.

Problem: Decreased structural support, rutting, shoving/corrugations, raveling,

or cracking (fatigue and longitudinal)

Possible Causes: Bottom-up stripping is very difficult to recognize because it

manifests itself on the pavement surface as other forms of distress including
rutting, shoving/corrugations, raveling, or cracking. Typically, a core must be
taken to positively identify stripping as a pavement distress. Stripping is typically
caused by:

• Poor aggregate surface chemistry

• Water in the HMA causing moisture damage

Repair: A stripped pavement should be investigated to determine the root cause

of failure (i.e., how did the moisture get in?). Generally, the stripped pavement
needs to be removed and replaced after correction of any subsurface drainage
issues.
Transverse (Thermal) Cracking

Transverse crack.
Transverse crack near Loveland Pass,
Colorado.
Description: Cracks perpendicular to the pavement’s centerline or laydown
direction. Usually a type of thermal cracking.

Problem: Allows moisture infiltration, roughness

Possible Causes:

• Shrinkage of the HMA surface due to low temperatures or asphalt binder

hardening.
• Reflective crack caused by cracks beneath the surface HMA layer
• Top-down cracking

Repair: Strategies depend upon the severity and extent of the cracking:

• Low severity cracks (< 1/2 inch wide and infrequent cracks). Crack seal to
prevent (1) entry of moisture into the subgrade through the cracks and (2)
further raveling of the crack edges. HMA can provide years of satisfactory
service after developing small cracks if they are kept sealed (Roberts et.
al., 1996[1]).
• High severity cracks (> 1/2 inch wide and numerous cracks). Remove and
replace the cracked pavement layer with an overlay.
Water Bleeding and Pumping

ater bleeding through a pavement surface.

arge Similar conditions. Picture taken in
Washington State.
Description: Water bleeding occurs when water seeps out of joints or cracks or
through an excessively porous HMA layer. Pumping occurs when water and fine
material is ejected from underlying layers through cracks in the HMA layer or out
the sides of the HMA layer under moving loads.

Problem: Decreased skid resistance, an indication of high pavement porosity

(water bleeding), decreased structural support (pumping)

Possible Causes:

• Porous pavement as a result of inadequate compaction during

construction or poor mix design
• High water table
• Poor drainage

Repair: Water bleeding or pumping should be investigated to determine the

root cause. If the problem is a high water table or poor drainage, subgrade
drainage should be improved. If the problem is a porous mix (in the case of
water bleeding) a fog seal or slurry seal may be applied to limit water infiltration.

Design of Overlays by Benkelmen Beam Deflection Methods as

per IRC – 81 - 1997 –
Asphalt overlay over asphalt pavements
Asphalt overlays on CC pavements
CC overlays on asphalt pavements
CC overlays on CC pavements

transportation constitutes a major portion in the overall transportation

system.
With the increase in traffic volume, there is observatory increase in the
distress of pavement structure, which in turn causes excessive
deterioration.
With time, the failure goes on increasing gradually due to overloading of
axles and significant variations in daily and seasonal temperature of
pavement which is responsible for early development of distress
symptoms like potholes, rutting, cracks, and undulations in bituminous
surfacing.
Thus the evaluation of the condition of pavement becomes quite
necessary to choose appropriate improvement technique that can be
implemented to improve the quality and strength of the pavement
structure.
This paper presents a case study on structural and functional evaluation
of flexible pavement and analyzes the condition of the pavement which
includes relevant data like soil sub grade data, existing pavement
structure, traffic data, laboratory investigations, rebound deflection by
using BBD technique and finally the design of the overall thickness of
the pavement and overlay, required to strengthen the pavement. T
he paper also includes comparison between the existing and the newly
designed pavement thickness.
Conclusions are also drawn from the overall study conducted on the
road stretches followed by some useful recommendations.
Keywords – Functional evaluation, Structural evaluation, BBD technique,
Overlay design, Strengthen the pavement, Rebound deflection.
Road transport plays a chief role in the overall transportation system,
because of various advantages like, door to door service, flexibility, easy
availability, and many more. Hence, it becomes necessary to provide a
good road network for the development of any country.
Pavements once constructed needs periodic inspection for maintenance
purpose. Since reconstruction of the damaged pavements is very
expensive and can highly affect the economy of the country,
strengthening method is

A.Functional Evaluation Pavement Condition Survey

and/or Roughness
Survey are carried out to evaluate functional properties of pavement.
Pavement roughness is defined as an expression of irregularities in the
pavement surface that adversely affect the ride quality of a vehicle. B.
Structural Evaluation Structural evaluation of pavement deflection is the
structural property of the pavement. Benkelman Beam is used to
evaluate the structural properties of the pavement (as per IRC: 81 –
1997 and IRC: 37 –
2001). This method has been most widely adopted in India. VI.
FUNCTIONAL EVALUATION

A. Pavement Condition Survey(PCS)

In accordance with IRC: 81-1997 (Clause 4.2), this phase of operation,
which precedes the actual deflection measurement, consists primarily of
visual observations supplemented by simple measurements for rut-depth
using a 3-meter straight edge. Based on these, the road length shall be
classified into sections of equal performance in accordance with the
criteria given in the table.
TABLE II CRITERIA FOR CLASSIFICATION OF PAVEMENT
SECTIONS
Classification Pavement Condition
Good No cracking, rutting less than 10 mm Fair
No cracking or cracking confined to single crack in the wheel track with
rutting between 10 mm to 20 mm Poor
Extensive cracking and/or rutting greater than 20 mm. Sections with
cracking exceeding 20% shall be treated as failed.
Site 01: In this site, there are negligible ruts, cracking or any other road
distresses, this part is good from PCS point of view.
 Site 02: In this site, there are some visible ruts and cracking, this part is
fair from PCS point of view.

B. Pavement Structure Survey (PSS)

The existing crust of pavement layers is 220 mm GSB, 250 mm WBM.

Site 02: The existing crust of pavement layers is 160 mm GSB, 250 mm
WBM.
The existing road is highly in distress condition due to increase in traffic.
As the industrial area is saturated and most of the industries are in
production, hence the heavy traffic is increasing day by day.
Thus road needs strengthening by providing overlay thickness. C.
Laboratory Investigation The sub-grade soil samples were collected from
three different locations of the road and following tests were carried out:
TABLE III - LABORATORY TEST RESULTS FOR SITE 01
Tests Performed Sample 1 Sample 2 Sample 3 Moisture Content 1.23%
1.21% 1.24% Plasticity Index NP NP NP CBR Value 7.3% 7.3% 7.3%
SSRG International Journal of Civil Engineering (SSRG - IJCE) –
Volume 5 Issue 3 – March 2018
ISSN: 2348-8352

But considering the code, CBR value is taken as 7 % for the ease of
calculations and design.
TABLE IV - LABORATORY TEST RESULTS FOR SITE
02 Tests Performed Sample 1 Sample 2 Sample 3 Moisture Content
1.13% 1.12% 1.13% Plasticity Index NP NP NP CBR Value 8.03%
8.03% 8.03%

But considering the code, CBR value is taken as 8 % for the ease of
calculations and design.
VII. TRAFFIC SURVEY
The design traffic is considered in terms of the cumulative number of
standard axles to be carried out during the design life of the road. It’s
computation involves estimation of the initial volume of commercial
vehicles per day, lateral distribution of traffic, growth rate, design life (in
years) and the vehicle damage factor (number of standard axle per
commercial vehicle) to convert commercial vehicles to standard axles.
TABLE

Experimental Setup of Benkelman Beam Deflection Equipment

The Benkelman beam measures the deflections under standard wheel
load condition. The beam is a handy instrument which is most widely
used for measuring deflection of pavements. It consists of a lever 3.66 m
long, pivoted 2.44 m from the end carrying the contact point which rests
on the surface of the pavement. The deflection of the pavement surface
produced by the test load is transmitted to the
Equipment used in survey
1. Thermometer
2. Truck
3. Auger
4. Benkelman Beam
5. Mandrel
6. Dial Gauge
7. Glycerol
8. Tape
C. Pavement Deflection Measurement
Three types of data are required for knowing the deflection:
1) Temperature data:The standard temperature for doing the experiment
is 35°C. The procedure followed for determining the temperature is given
below –
a) A hole is drilled into the pavement with the help of a mandrel. The
depth of the hole is 45 mm and the diameter of the hole at the top is 1.25
cm and at the bottom is 1 cm. b) The hole is then filled with glycerol and
the temperature is recorded after 5 minutes with the thermometer (range
of temperature between 0° 100°) with 1° division. c) The temperature
readings are measured for every hour during the survey.
The
OVERLAY DESIGN FOR FLEXIBLE PAVEMENT
Using the values of characteristic deflection to design the overlay for
strengthening of the two selected sites the thicknesses as per the
recommended graph of IRC: 81-1997 (Fig 9) comes out to be:
Site 01 – 90 mm
Site 02 – 80 mm
As per IRC: 37-2001 (plate 1)Recommended Pavement Design for
Traffic Range 1 – 10 msa, the
Pavement Composition Allowable thickness
GSB 160 mm GB (WBM) 250 mm Bituminous Surfacing Wearing Course
(BC) 30 mm Binding Course (DBM) 50 mm
ANALYSIS AND RESULT
In table XI and table XII, the existing and the proposed crust for both the
sites have been compared and thus the overlay thickness is deduced.
TABLE XI - COMPARISON OF EXISTING AND PROPOSED CRUST
OFSITE 01 Existing Crust Proposed Crust
GSB – 220 mm WBM – 250 mm Total– 470 mm
GSB – 220 mm WBM – 250 mm DBM – 50 mm BC – 40 mm
Total – 560 mm

TABLE XII - COMPARISON OF EXISTING AND PROPOSED CRUST

OF SITE 02 Existing Crust Proposed Crust
GSB – 160 mm WBM – 250 mm Total– 410 mm
GSB – 160 mm WBM – 250 mm DBM – 50 mm BC – 30 mm Total –490
mm
In the figure given below, the new pavement thickness is designed for
both the sites.
Fig 3:Newly designed pavement thickness for site
Fig 4:Newly designed pavement thickn
It is advisable to implement the necessary maintenance measures at an
early stage when the distresses have just started showing up.
It is seen that proper pavement measures at an early onset of
distresses, can obviate major maintenance expenditure in future.
Out of all the deflection measuring methods, the BBD method is the
most simple and reliable method.
This method is used to measure the rebound deflection of pavement
only under static load.
The correction of temperature is needed when bituminous layer is
appreciably thick and temperature is standardized to 35°C. XII.
RECOMMENDATION
Periodic maintenance procedures should be implemented so as to
maintain the design serviceability and increase the life span of the
pavement.
While designing the new pavements, proper investigation and IRC
guidelines should be followed
. The infill used must be of desired characteristics which can be fully
compacted with ease to attain the required strength.
Proper camber and shoulders should be present.
There should be coordination between the various agencies responsible
for lying of utilities and the construction of roads.
pavements on problematic soils.

expansive soils are problematic and susceptible to ground movements,

causing significant damage to overlying structures and reduction of bearing
capacity. Geotechnical engineering has long recognized that the moisture
variation triggers the expansive nature of soils resulting in its swell and
shrinkage.
Numerous stabilizing additives have been used to treat expansive soils
such as lime, cement and fly ash. However, the use of bio-enzymes as a soil
stabilizing agent is not currently fully understood.
This study examines the durability performance of the enzymatic
stabilization of expansive soils in road pavements subjected to moisture
fluctuation.
Number of experiments was performed under controlled conditions to
investigate the mechanical and hydraulic response of stabilized soils
subjected to cyclic moisture degradation at various initial moisture
contents covering practical moisture ranges in applicable with road
pavements.
Results showed that strength of stabilized soils was considerably increased
with the addition of enzyme based stabilizer, revealing its ability to
maintain the material stiffness over moisture fluctuation.
While wetting and drying tests had damaging effects on the UCS, enzyme
based stabilization served to preserve soil strength effectively throughout
the loading cycles.
Results obtained from the mechanical/hydraulics tests were further
elaborated using imaging analysis which provides an insight into the
mechanism of enzyme based stabilization and the influence of moisture
when using this novel stabilization approach
. This research will substantially benefit geotechnical applications including
cost-effective and sustainable road constructions.