ODA BULTUM UNIVERSITY

INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
HIGHWAY ENGINEERING II COURSE OUTLINE______________________.
Course Title: Highway Engineering II Target Group: Contact Address:
Course Code: CEng4183  Civil Engineering [email protected]
Pre-requisite: - CEng3172  Year IV Semester I Phone: 0966459058/ 092772709
Credit Hours: 3 CH / 5 EtCTS Instructor: Daba A. (MSc, MA) Mode of delivery: Lectures, lab
Academic Year: 2021/22 Status of Course: Compulsory and project

Course Objectives  Knowledge of cost and economic life of roads

At the end of the course, students would understand:  Knowledge of overall highway design process.
 Identify the classification of soil with respect to Engineering Course Description
properties by laboratory works  Overview of pavement structures & types:
 Differentiate materials used in base and sub- base  Stresses in pavement structures.
construction that are available in the location of construction  Traffic volume and loading
 Select from every alternatives with what types of road to be  Sub grade soils, special soil tests for pavement design, soil
constructed. classification for highway purposes.
 Design structurally and efficiently flexible and rigid  Unbound pavement materials.
pavements  Stabilized pavement materials.
 Design drainage structure intelligently with the efficient and  Bituminous materials: sources and properties of binders; types
economical sections of asphalt mixtures.
Competences to be Acquired/course level competences  Marshall Method of mix design, and surface treatments.
 Students will demonstrate ability to analyze and design both  Structural design of flexible pavements: AASHTO method of
asphalt and concrete pavements. flexible pavement design.
 Knowledge of factors affecting the highway foundation  Design of flexible pavement structures using ERA and
structure AACRA design procedures,
 Knowledge of flexible and rigid pavement design  Design of gravel surfaced road
Course Syllabus/Contents:
Chapter 1: Introduction 6.2. Lime Stabilization
1.1. General 6.3. Cement Stabilization
1.2. Overview of Pavement Structures 6.4. Bitumen Stabilization
1.3. Basic Design Data Chapter 7: Bituminous Pavement Materials
Chapter 2: Stresses in Pavements 7.1. Introduction
2.1. Stresses in Flexible Pavements 7.2. Nature and Source of Bitumen
2.2. Stresses in Rigid Pavements 7.4. Properties of Bitumen
2.3. Kenpave Software 7.5. Tests on Bituminous Material
Chapter 3: Traffic Loading Chapter 8. Surface Dressing
3.1. Fixed Traffic Procedure 8.1. Introduction
3.2. Fixed Vehicle Procedure 8.2. Types of Surface Dressing
3.3. Traffic Volumes and Axle Loads 8.3. Designing the surface dressing
Chapter 4: Sub-grade soils Chapter 9: Structural Design of Flexible Pavements
4.1. Overview of Soil Survey and Site Investigation 9.1. Design of gravel roads
4.2. Essential Laboratory Tests 9.2. Design of asphalt pavements
4.3. Soil Classifications for Highway use 9.3. Design of Rigid Pavement
Chapter 5: Pavement Materials- Granular Material 9.4. Introduction to Design of Airfields
5.1. Road Sub-base Material Chapter 10: Introduction to Road Maintenance
5.2. Road Base Material 10.1. Introduction
5.3. Road Capping Layer Material 10.2. The pavement management context,
Chapter 6: Stabilized Pavement Materials 10.3. Pavement maintenance and rehabilitation, VIZIR 5.3 method
6.1. Mechanical Stabilization of quality evaluation for paved roads
Modes of Assessment: Continuous Assessment (Tests, quiz, assignments, lab reports) and Final Exams
References
1. Huang, Y.H. (2003), Pavement Analysis & Design, 2nd edition, Prentice- Hall (For Stress in Pavement)
2. Rogers, M. (2003), Highway Engineering, Blackwell Science Ltd.
3. Wright, P. H. and Karen, D. (2003), Highway Engineering, 7th edition, Wiley.
4. Mannering, F. L., Kilareski, W. P., & Washburn, S. S. (2004), Principles of Highway Engineering and Traffic Analysis, 3rd
edition, Wiley
5. Ethiopian Road Authority, ERA Pavement Design Manual Volume I and II Both 2002 and 2013 Edition
1 INTRDUCTION

1.1 General

The field of pavement design is dynamic  the concepts are changing with time as
technology develops and new equipment emerges for site investigation, material testing
and traffic data collection, and new data become available. In the early stage, pavement
design was carried out by a rule-of-thumb procedure based on entirely past experience.
Through the observation of performances of the already constructed roads, highway
engineers became aware that pavement performance is dependent on the subgrade soils.
Pavements constructed over plastic soils showed higher distress than those constructed
over granular deposits. With the knowledge of soil mechanics, pavement design was made
with soil classification.

With the increase in traffic and usage and development of heavy transport means, the
deterioration of pavements due to heavy trucks and aircrafts necessitated a more rational
approach of design. This led to full-scale and laboratory experiments in different countries
at different capacities. The well-known research investigations are those conducted in the
United Sates of America. The results of these and other full-scale and laboratory
experiments conducted under varying soil, climatic, and loading conditions in different
countries have given rise to our understanding and development of the existing design
methods. Although principles of pavement design are common to all problems and
localities, different highway agencies in different countries use different design manuals
prepared to suite their local conditions and available materials of construction.

1.2 Overview of Pavement Structures

A pavement structure is a layer structure which supports the vehicle load on its surface and
transfers and spreads the load to the subgrade without exceeding either the strength of the
subgrade or the internal strength of the pavement itself. The basic idea in building a
pavement for all-weather use by vehicles is to prepare a suitable subgrade, provide
necessary drainage, and construct a pavement that will:

1
Have sufficient total thickness and internal strength to carry expected traffic loads, and
distribute them over the subgrade soil without overstressing;

Have adequate properties to prevent or minimize the penetration or internal accumulation

of moisture; and

Have a surface that is reasonably smooth and skid resistant at the same time, as well as
reasonably resistant to wear, distortion and deterioration by vehicle loads and weather.

For a very low traffic where the soil can be trafficable and when there is economic
limitation, the natural subgrade soil can be made to carry the traffic load after clearing and
shaping. Such earth roads give seasonal services and require reshaping after seasonal
changes. Better than earth roads, gravel surfaced roads are also constructed by spreading
gravel over the subgrade, shaping and compacting to avoid excessive strain at the subgrade
level and to give services usually in all seasons. In the case of gravel-surfaced roads,
reshaping is necessary, but not as frequent as in earth roads. Gravel roads follow selected
routes and designed to carry low to medium traffic and serve as stage construction. The
surface material should be kept to a certain standard such as grading and plasticity.

1.2.1 Flexible Pavements

A flexible pavement is one, which has low flexural strength, and the load is largely
transmitted to the subgrade soil through the lateral distribution of stresses with increasing
depth as shown in Figure 1-1. The pavement trickiness is designed such
that the stresses on the subgrade soil are kept within its bearing capacity and the subgrade
is prevented from excessive deformation. The strength and smoothness of flexible
pavement structure depends to a large extent on the deformation of the subgrade soil.

Generally, two types of construction have been used for flexible pavements: conventional
flexible pavement, and full-depth asphalt pavement. A third type, known as contained rock
asphalt mat (CRAM) construction is still in the experimental stage and has not been widely
accepted for practical use.

2
 Figure 1-1. Stress distribution through flexible pavement structure

1.2.1.1 Conventional Flexible pavements

Conventional flexible pavements are multilayered structures with better materials on top
where the intensity of stress is high and inferior materials at the bottom where the intensity
is low. This design principle makes possible to use local materials and usually results in a
most economical design. This is particularly true in regions where high-quality materials
are expensive but local materials of inferior quality are readily available. Figure 1.2 shows
the cross section of a conventional flexible pavement. Starting from the top, a conventional
flexible pavement normally consists of surface course, base course, subbase course,
compacted subgrade, and natural subgrade. The use of the various courses is based on
either necessity or economy and some of the courses may be omitted.

Figure1.2: Section through a flexible pavement

3
Surface Course. The surface course is the top course of an asphalt pavement, sometimes
called the wearing course. It is usually constructed by dense graded hot-mix asphalt. It is a
structural part of the pavement, which must be tough to resist distortion under traffic and
provide a smooth and skid-resistant riding surface. The surface course must be waterproof
to protect the entire pavement and subgrade from the weakening effect of water.

Base Course. The base course is the layer of material immediately beneath the surface
course. It may be composed of well-graded crushed stone (unbounded), granular material
mixed with binder, or stabilized materials. It is the main structural part of the pavement
and provides a level surface for laying the surface layer. If constructed directly over the
subgrade, it prevents intrusions of the fine subgrade soils into the pavement structure.

Subbase Course. The subbase course is the layer of material beneath the base course
constructed using local and cheaper materials for economic reason on top of the subgrade.
It provides additional help to the base and the upper layers in distributing the load. It
facilitates drainage of free water that might get accumulated below the pavement. If the
base course is open graded, the subbase course with more fines can serve as a filter
between the subgrade and the base course.

Subgrade. Subgrade is the foundation on which the vehicle load and the weight of the
pavement layers finally rest. It is an in situ or a layer of selected material compacted to the
desirable density near the optimum moisture content. It is graded into a proper shape,
properly drained, and compacted to receive the pavement layers.

1.2.1.2 Full-Depth Asphalt Pavements

Full-depth asphalt pavements are constructed by placing one or more layers of hot-mix
asphalt directly on the subgrade or improved subgrade. This concept was conceived by the
Asphalt Institute and is generally considered the most cost-effective and dependable type
of asphalt pavement for heavy traffic and quite popular in areas where local materials are
not available. Figure 1.3 shows the typical cross section for a full-depth asphalt pavement.

4
1.2.2 Rigid Pavements

Rigid pavements are pavement structures constructed of cement concrete slabs, which
derive their capacity to withstand vehicle loads from flexural strength or beam strength due
to high modulus of elasticity. Because of high flexural strength, the vehicle load on cement
concrete slab is distributed over a relatively wider area of the soil than flexible pavements
and thus, variation in the subgrade soil strength has little influence. The flexural strength
also permits the slab to bridge over minor irregularities under it. Thus, the performance of
rigid pavements is more governed by the strength of the concrete slab that the subgrade
supports. Hence, the major factor considered in the design of rigid pavement is the
structural strength of the concrete.

The subgrade may provide a uniform support for the slab. However, where the subgrade
soil cannot provide a uniform support, or for one or more of the following reasons
described here under, there is always a necessity to build a base course under cement
concrete slab and it is widely used for rigid pavements.

Control of pumping. Pumping is defined as the ejection of water and subgrade soil through
joints, cracks, and along the edges of the pavements caused by the downward movements
of due to heavy axle loads. Pumping occurs when there is void space under the slab due to
temperature curling of the slab, deformation of the subgrade or both and erodible material
under the slab is saturated. It leads to faulting and cracking of the slab if not corrected in
time.

Control of frost action. Heave caused by the increase in volume of freezed water and the
formation and continuing expansion of ice lenses causes the concrete slab to break and
softens the subgrade during frost melts period. This occurs when the soil within the depth
of frost penetration is frost susceptible (e.g. clay), there is supply of moisture, and the
temperature freezes for a sufficient period of time.

Improvement of drainage. When the water table is high and close to the ground surface, a
base course can raise the pavement to a desirable elevation above the water table. An open-
graded base course provides an internal drainage system capable of rapidly removing water
that seeps through pavement cracks and joints carry it away to the roadside. A dense-
graded or stabilized base course can also serve as a waterproofing layer.

5
Control of shrinkage and swell. When the change in moisture causes subgrade to shrink or
swell, the base course can serve as a surcharge load to reduce the amount of shrinkage and
swell in addition to its use of improving drainage. Measures that are taken to reduce
entering water into the subgrade further reduce the shrinkage and swell potentials.

Expedition of Construction. A base course can be used as a working platform for heavy
construction equipment. Under severe weather conditions, a base course can keep the
surface clean and dry and facilitate the construction work.

1.2.2.1 Types of Concrete Pavement

Concrete pavements can be classified into four types: jointed plain concrete pavement
(JPCP), jointed reinforced concrete pavement (JRCP), continuous reinforced concrete
pavement (CRCP), and prestressed concrete pavement (PCP). Jointed plain concrete
pavements are plain concrete pavements constructed with closely spaced contraction joints.
Dowels or aggregate interlocks may be used for load transfer across the joints. In jointed
reinforced concrete pavements are concrete pavements with steel reinforcements in the
form of wire mesh or deformed bars mainly to allow the use of longer joint spacing but do
not increase the structural capacity of pavements. Because of the longer panel length,
dowels are required for load transfer across the joints. The amount of distributed steel
increases with the increase in joint spacing and is designed to hold the slab together after
cracking. Continuous reinforced concrete pavements are reinforced concrete pavements
designed joint-free for the purpose of eliminating joints, which are the weak spots in rigid
pavements. The elimination of joints would decrease the thickness of pavement required.

Concrete is weak in tension but strong in compression. The thickness of concrete pavement
required is governed by its modulus of rupture, which varies, with the tensile strength of
the concrete. The preapplication of a compressive stress to the concrete greatly reduces the
tensile stress caused by the traffic loads and thus decreases the thickness of concrete
required. The prestressed concrete pavements have less probability of cracking and fewer
transverse joints and therefore result in less maintenance and longer pavement life.
Prestressed concrete has been used more frequently for airport pavements than for highway
pavements because the saving in thickness for airport pavements is much greater than that
for highway pavements.

6
1.2.3 Composite Pavements

Composite pavements are pavements composed of cement concrete as a bottom layer and
hot-mix asphalt as a top layer to obtain an ideal pavement with the most desirable
characteristics. The cement concrete slab provides a strong base and the hot-mix asphalt
provides a smooth and nonreflective surface. However, this type of pavement is very
expensive and is rarely used as a new construction. Composite pavements include
rehabilitated concrete pavements using asphalt overlays, and asphalt pavements with
stabilized bases. For flexible pavements with untreated bases, the most critical tensile
stress or strain is located at the bottom of asphalt layer, while for composite pavements the
most critical location is at the bottom of the cement concrete slab or stabilized bases. A
disadvantage of this construction is the occurrence of reflection cracks on the asphalt
surface due to the joints and cracks in the rigid base layer.

1.2.4 Comparison of Rigid and Flexible Pavements

The following main differences between rigid and flexible pavements can be cited:

i) The manner in which vehicle loads are transmitted to the subgrade soil,

ii) Design precision,

iii) Design life,

iv) Maintenance requirements,

v) Initial cost,

vi) Suitability for stage construction,

vii) Surface characteristics,

viii) Permeability, and

i x) Traffic dislocation during construction.

7
1.2.5 Highway and Airport Pavements

The principles used for the design of highway pavements can be applied to those of airport
pavements. However, due to the following differences airport pavements are generally
thicker than highway pavements and require better surfacing materials.

(1) The gross-weight of an airplane is usually greater than that of a heavy truck, but the

number of load repetitions on airport pavements is usually smaller that that on

highway pavements.

(2) The arrangement and spacing of wheel loads on airport and highway pavements are

different.

(3) A typical tyre pressure on highway pavements is in the vicinity of 0.5 MPa while

aircrafts use a tyre pressure up to 3 MPa which is an important factor in the design of

the materials in the upper layer of the pavements.

(4) Vehicle loads are applied near to the edge of highway pavements but far away from

the outside edge of airport pavements.

(5) Unlike highway pavements, airfield pavements are subjected to an impact loading.

(6) The design load of airport pavements is the wheel load of the largest aircraft during

takeoff time due to heavy fuel weight. Although wheel loads can be used as design

loads, number of repetitions of standard axles is the commonly used design parameter

for highway pavements.

1.3 Basic Design Factors

Design factors can be divided into four broad categories: traffic loading, environment,
materials, and failure criteria. In this section, the factors in each category will be described
and how these factors are considered in the design process will briefly be discussed.

8
1.3.1 Traffic Loading

The loading applied by traffic is one of the major factors affecting the design and
performance of pavements. It is fundamental to estimate the structural wear produced by
traffic quantitatively both for the purposes of pavement design and maintenance and for
making comparisons of the structural effects of different traffic loading conditions. The
configuration, magnitude, and repetitions of axle loads are important aspects of traffic
loading that are considered in the analysis and design of pavements.

The principal function of pavement structure is to protect the subgrade from the loading
imposed by traffic. The primary loading factors that are important in the structural analysis
and design of pavements are the magnitude, configuration, and repetition of traffic loading.
The magnitude of maximum loading is commonly controlled by legal load limits. Traffic
surveys and loadometer studies are often used to establish the relative magnitude and
occurrence of the various loadings to which a pavement is subjected. Prediction or
estimation of the total traffic that will use a pavement during its design life is a very
difficult but obviously important task.

1.3.1.1 Axle-loads and configurations

Axle loads affect primarily the stresses and strains developed in the lower layers of the
pavement. Although much publicity is given to the physical size and gross weight of
vehicles, it is the individual wheel or axle-load that is critical in pavement design and
performance. Vehicle size and weight may have a devastating effect on the environment
but will not necessarily increase pavement wear. Heavier loads are usually carried on a
larger numbers of axles or wheels thereby maintaining or even reducing the individual
wheel or axle loads, although their number may be increased. Most countries limit, by law,
the maximum axle-load of vehicles that may use the roads without special permission.
Some of these limits are:

9
 Country Gross vehicle weight Maximum Axle load limit
(tonnes) (tonnes)

France 38.0 12.0

Germany 38.0 10.0

Italy 44.0 12.0

United 38.0 10. 2

Kingdom

EU proposal 44.0 11.0

It has been found difficult to enforce such limits and considerable effort is being directed
to the development of:

ƒ An on-board axle-load indicator, at reasonable cost, which could work in a

similar way to the tachograph; and

ƒ A relatively cheap axle-load measuring sensor to monitor the magnitude of

dynamic axle-loads at the roadside.

Small vehicles use single axles with single wheels. Larger vehicles mostly have either dual
wheels or single wheels with 'super-single' tyres at each end of the non-steer single axles;
still larger vehicles may have tandem or multiple axles arrangements in which the
successive axles are closely adjacent to one another. The larger aircraft use quite
complicated wheel arrangements because the total weight of the aircraft has usually to be
transmitted through two undercarriage legs, and many wheels are necessary to obtain a
reasonably low individual wheel load.

The spacing and configuration of wheels and axles vary with the purpose of the motor
vehicle. The arrangement of wheels and axles affect the stress distribution and deflection
within and below the pavement structure. Unless an equivalent single-axle or single-wheel
load is used, the consideration of multiple axles or multiple wheels is not a simple matter.
Rholdes (1996) cites literatures to substantiate the effect of multiple-axle and multiple-

10
wheel loads. The AASHO Road Test showed that an 80 kN single axle-load produced
about the same level of pavement wear as a 142 kN tandem axle-load. More recently, it has
also been shown by Atkinson and Blackman that a single wheel load would cause 2.5 times
as much fatigue wear per wheel pass as a dual wheel applying the same total load.

The design may, thus, be unsafe if the tandem and tridem axles are treated as a group and
considered as one repetition. The design is too conservative if each axle is treated
independently and considered as one repetition. Similarly, if the pavement is to be
designed for a fixed traffic, the case for airport pavements or highway pavements with
heavy wheel loads but light traffic volume, multiple wheels must be converted to an
equivalent single wheel load. Methods for analyzing multiple-axle and multiple-wheel
loads are presented in Section….

1.3.1.2 Tyre pressure

For most problems, the wheel load is assumed to be uniformly distributed over the contact
area. If a given load is applied via a number of different tyre pressures, the structural
effects in the upper layers are affected, whereas those deeper in the pavement are relatively
unaffected. This is due primarily to the area of the tyre pavement surface contact patch
varying with tyre pressure. As indicated in Figure 1- , the contact pressure is greater than
the tyre pressure for low-pressure tyres, because the wall of tyres is in compression and the
sum of vertical forces due to wall and tyre pressure must be equal to the force due to the
contact pressure; the contact pressure is smaller than the tyre pressure for high pressure
tyres. However, in pavement design, the contact pressure is generally assumed to be equal
to the tyre pressure. Because, heavier axle loads have higher tyre pressures and more
destructive effects on pavements, the use of tyre pressure as the contact pressure is
therefore on the safe side.

11
 Figure 1- 3: Relationship between contact pressure and tyre pressure

As will be seen in the coming sections, it is only the commercial vehicle that is important
in structural pavement design and a typical tyre pressure would be 0.5 MN/m2. Aircraft
tyres use pressures up to nearly 3.0 MN/m2 which can cause serious problems in the design
of the materials employed in the upper layers of the pavement.

The approximate shape of contact area for each tyre, which is composed of a rectangle and
two semicircles with the dimensions shown Figure 1- 4a. Based
on the finite element analysis of rigid pavements, a rectangular contact area is also
assumed with a length of 0.8712L and a width of 0.6L, which has the same area of
0.5227L2, as shown Figure 1- 4b.

a) Actual contact area b) Equivalent contact area

Figure 1- 4: Dimensions of tyre contact area

These contact areas are not axisymmetric and cannot be used with the layered theory.
When the layered theory is used for flexible pavement design, it is assumed that each tyre
has a circular contact area. This assumption is not correct, but the error incurred is believed
to be small. To simplify the analysis of flexible pavements, a single circle with the same

12
contact area as the duals is frequently used to represent a set of dual tyres, instead of using
two circular areas. This practice usually results in a more conservative design, but may
become unconservative for thin asphalt surface.

1.3.1.3 Number of repetitions

A succession of loads has a cumulative effect on the behaviour of pavements. It is

therefore necessary to design the pavement for a specified number of years and to estimate
the total number and magnitude of loads that will be applied during the periods specified.
A widely accepted procedure of considering traffic load is the use of equivalent factor and
convert each load into an equivalent 80 kN single axle load. The equivalency between two
different loads depends on the failure criteria used. Equivalent factor based on permanent
deformation may be different from those based on fatigue cracking. Generally, an
empirical approximation of a single equivalent factor is used for practical purposes.

1.3.1.4 Speed of traffic loading

Another factor related to traffic loading is the speed of traveling vehicles. Studies showed
that the stresses and deflections tend to decrease as the vehicle speed increases. Speed is
directly used as the duration of loading on pavements. Generally, the greater the speed, the
larger the modulus, and the smaller the strains in the pavement. Because of this, for a given
volume of traffic, greater thickness and quality of paving materials are required for
pavements in urban areas than those in rural areas. Similarly, such requirements are
considered for up hill roads and bus stops.

1.3.2 Environment

The environmental factors that influence pavement design include temperature, and
precipitation. Different standards of pavement design consider the effects of these factors
in various ways.

1.3.2.1 Temperature

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

pavements. Temperature affects the resilient modulus of bituminous layers and creates

13
thermal stresses in cement concrete slabs. In cold climates, the resilient modulus of
unstabilised materials also varies with freeze-thaw cycles.

The elastic and viscoelastic properties of bituminous materials are affected significantly by
pavement temperature. When the temperature is low, the bituminous layer becomes rigid
and has less fatigue life. The stiffness is also influenced by the condition of the mix and
the hardness of the binder used. To minimize thermal contraction cracking at low
temperature, a relatively soft binder and high binder content would be used, whereas for
hot conditions the hardness of the binder would be increased and the binder content
reduced to minimize plastic flow in the material.

The warping stresses in rigid pavements are generated principally by temperature changes.
Warping stresses some times of the year or the day are additive to the traffic stresses and
can influence the slab thickness requirements. Shortening the slab length reduces the effect
of these stresses.

Another effect of temperature on pavement design in cold climate is the frost penetration,
which results in a frost heave, and stronger subgrade in the winter but a much weaker
subgrade in the spring. Frost heave causes differential settlements and pavement
roughness. The most detrimental effect of frost penetration occurs during the spring period
when the ice melts and the subgrade is in a saturated condition. It is desirable to protect the
subgrade by using non-frost-susceptible materials or the design should take into account
the weakening of the subgrade.

1.3.2.2 Precipitation

Precipitation is important in the design, construction, and performance of reads in three

main aspects:

• The construction of earth works

• Strength of pavement structure

• Surface water drainage

14
The construction of earthworks. The specification of earthworks is normally defined either
directly or in terms of a standard compaction test. The design engineer should ensure that
the contractor meets the requirements of such specification. Such requirements in areas
where there are considerable dry months, such as in arid regions, transporting water can
considerably increase the construction cost. In contrary, there are areas where excess
rainfall over evaporation falls and cause difficulty for earthworks, and attaining the
specification will only be possible in few dry months.

Strength of pavement structure. The natural moisture content of the soil determines the
subgrade strength to be used in the design of the pavement structure. It is the responsibility
of the design engineer to estimate the natural moisture content and the corresponding
strength of the subgrade and ensure that this moisture content is maintained through out the
service life of the pavement structure. Further more, if the surface of a pavement is not
impervious, water in the form of rainfall percolates easily and can degrade the structural
performance of each layer of the pavement structure.

Surface water drainage. The maximum intensity of rainfall is required for the design of the
surface water drainage system of the road. This may include from open side ditches to
crossing structures like bridges. Minimum grades of roads are also decided based on the
criterion of pavement drainage. The link between rainfall and surface drainage is also
important in the design and construction of roads.

1.3.3 Materials

Pavement materials include soils, aggregates, bituminous binders, and cement. The
properties of these materials under traffic loading in a given environmental conditions is
fundamental for the proper design of pavement structures. Moreover, if economically
constructed facilities are to be obtained, locally available materials are to be used
efficiently.

The materials used in the construction of a highway are of interest to the highway engineer
to many other branches of Civil Engineering where the engineer need not to be very deeply
concerned with the properties of the materials being used.

15
Site investigation, aggregates, binders, and mixtures. The properties of these materials is
essential whether we use empirical or mechanistic methods of design.

1.3.4 Performance and Failure Criteria

Pavements are normally designed and constructed to provide, during the design life, a
riding quality acceptable for both private and commercial vehicles with acceptable
maintenance. The assumption is often made that road pavements begin to deteriorate as
soon as they are open to traffic, particularly, when they are underdesigned. But, where the
design life is of the order of 20 years or more, there should no visible deformation for the
first five years.

Fatigue cracking, rutting, and thermal cracking are the three principal types of distress
generally considered for flexible pavement design. The fatigue cracking of flexible
pavements is due to the horizontal tensile strains at the bottom of bituminous layer. Rutting
is a permanent deformation that occurs on flexible pavements along the wheel path.
Thermal cracking includes low-temperature and thermal fatigue cracking. Low-
temperature cracking is usually associated with flexible pavements in cold regions where
temperature fall below –23oC. Thermal fatigue cracking can occur in much milder regions
if an excessive hard bituminous binder is used or the binder becomes hardened duet
ageing.

Different methods of pavement design consider these pavement failures as design criteria,
but differently. In the AASHTO method of pavement design, a rating system known as the
present serviceability index (PSI) is used to account for performance of pavements. Others,
such as the Asphalt Institute and Shell relate the allowable number of load repetitions to
control fatigue cracking and permanent deformation. Several models are also available to
estimate cumulative damage of thermal cracking for a specified time after construction.

Fatigue cracking, pumping and other distresses such as faulting and joint deterioration are
recognised failures in rigid pavements. Fatigue cracking is most likely caused by the edge
stress at the midslab. It has long been considered the major criterion for rigid pavement
design. Although permanent deformation is not considered in rigid pavements design, the
resilient deformation under repeated wheel loads cause pumping. The resulting corner
deflection has been used as a criterion in addition to the fatigue.

16
2. Stresses in Pavements
2.1. Stresses in Flexible Pavements

2.1.1. Stresses in Homogeneous Mass

Boussinesq formulated models for the stresses inside an elastic half-space due to a
concentrated load applied on the surface. A half-space has an infinitely large area and an
infinite depth with a top plane on which the loads are applied. The simplest way to
characterize the behaviour of a flexible pavement under wheel loads is to consider the
subgrade, the subbase, base, and the surfacing layers to form a homogeneous half-space. If the
modulus ratio between the pavement and the subgrade is close to unity, as exemplified by a
thin asphalt surface and a thin granular base, the Boussinesq theory can be applied to
determine the stresses, strains, and deflections in the subgrade.
Error! Reference source not found. Figure 2-1 shows a homogeneous
half-space subjected to a circular load with a radius a and a uniform pressure q. The half-
space has an elastic modulus E and a Poisson ratio, v. A small cylindrical element with centre
at a distance z below the surface and r from the axis of symmetry is shown. Due to
axisymmetry, there are only three normal stresses, σz, σr, and σt, and one shear stress, τrz,
which is equal to τrz. These stresses are functions of q, r/ a, and z/ a.

Figure 2-1: Stresses under axisymmetric circular loading

Foster and Ahlvin have developed charts as provided here from Figure 2-2 to
Figure 2-6 for determining vertical stress σz, radial stress σr, tangential stress σt, shear stress
τrz, and vertical deflection w, assuming the half-space is incompressible with a Poisson ratio
of 0.5.
After the stresses are obtained from the charts, the strains can be computed from

εz =
1
E
[ ]
σ z − ν (σ r + σ t )

εr =
1
E
[ ]
σ r − ν (σ t + σ z )

17
 εt =
1
E
[ ]
σ t − ν (σ z + σ r )

If the contact area consists of two circles, the stresses and strains can be computed by
superposition.

Figure 2-2: Vertical stresses due to circular loading (Foster and Ahlvin, 1954)

Figure 2-3: Radial stresses due to circular loading (Foster and Ahlvin, 1954)

18
Figure 2-4: Tangential stresses due to circular loading (Foster and Ahlvin, 1954)

Figure 2-5: Shear stresses due to circular loading (Foster and Ahlvin, 1954)

19
 Figure 2-6: Vertical deflections due to circular loading (Foster and Ahlvin, 1954)

When a wheel load is applied over a single contact area, the most critical stress, strain, and
deflection occur under the centre of the circular area on the axis of symmetry, where τrz = 0
and σr = σt, so σz and σr are the principal stresses.

The stresses, strain, and deflection on the axis of symmetry of a wheel load applied to a
pavement, which is similar to a load applied to a flexible plate with radius a and a uniform
pressure q, can be computed by:
⎡ z3 ⎤
σ z = q ⎢1 − ⎥
⎢⎣ (a 2
+z )
2 1.5
⎥⎦

q⎡ 2(1 + ν )z z3 ⎤
σ r = ⎢1 + 2ν − + ⎥
2 ⎣⎢ a2 + z2
0.5
( a2 + z2 ) ( ) 1.5
⎦⎥

εz =
(1 + ν )q ⎡1 − 2ν +
2νz
−
z3 ⎤
⎢ ⎥
E ⎢⎣ (a 2
+ z2 )
0.5
(a 2
+ z2 ) 1.5
⎥⎦

εr =
(1 + ν )q ⎡1 − 2ν −
2(1 − ν )z
+
z3 ⎤
⎢ ⎥
2E ⎢⎣ (a 2
+ z2 )
0.5
(a 2
+ z2 ) 1.5
⎥⎦

w=
(1 + ν )qa ⎧⎪
E
⎨ 2
(
a
⎪⎩ a + z 2 ) 0.5
+
1 − 2ν
a
[(
a2 + z2 )
0.5
−z ]}

20
When ν = 0.5, the equation is simplified to

3qa 2
w=
(
2E a 2 + z 2 )
0.5

On the surface of the loaded half-space, z = 0, the deflection is

w0 =
(
2 1 − ν 2 qa )
E

If the load is applied on a rigid plate such as that used in a plate loading test, the deflection is
the same at all points on the plate, but the pressure distribution under the plate is not uniform
and is expressed as:

q(r ) =
qa
(
2 a2 − r2 ) 0.5

Figure 2-7: Differences between flexible and rigid plates

The smallest pressure is at the centre and equal to one-half of the average pressure. The
pressure at the edge is infinity. The deflection of the rigid plate is given by
π (1 − ν 2 )qa
w0 =
2E
All the above analyses are based on the assumption that the flexible pavement is homogenous,
isotropic and semi-infinite, and that elastic properties are identical in every direction
throughout the material.
With these assumptions, Bousinesq theory has the following drawbacks:

(1) Flexible pavements are multilayered structures each layer with its own modulus of
elasticity.

(2) The pavement layers and the subgrade soil are not perfectly elastic.

(3) The assumption that the load is uniformly distributed may not be true.

21
2.1.2. Stresses in Layered Systems

In actual case, flexible pavements are layered systems with better materials on top and cannot
be represented by a homogeneous mass. Various multilayer theories for estimating stresses
and deflections have been proposed. However, basic theories that utilize assumptions close to
actual conditions in a flexible pavement are those proposed by Burmister. Burmister first
developed solutions for a two-layer system and then extended them to a three-layer system
with the following basic assumptions:

1. Each layer is homogeneous, isotropic, and linearly elastic with an elastic

modulus E and a Poisson ratio, ν.

2. The material is weightless and infinite in the lateral direction, but of finite depth,
h, whereas the underlying layer is infinite in both the horizontal and vertical
directions.

3. A uniform pressure q is applied on the surface over a circular area of radius a.

4. The layers are in continuous contact and continuity conditions are satisfied at the
layer interfaces, as indicated by the same vertical stress, shear stress, vertical
displacement, and radial displacement.

2.1.2.1. Two-Layer Systems

The exact case of a two-layer system is the full-depth asphalt pavement construction in which
a thick layer of hot-mix asphalt is placed directly on the subgrade. If a pavement is composed
of three layers (e.g., surface course, base course, and subgrade) the stresses and strains in the
surface layer can be computed by combining the base course and the subgrade into a single
layer. Similarly, the stresses and strains in the subgrade can be computed by combining the
surface course and base course.

Vertical stress: The stresses in a two-layer system depends on the modulus ratio E1/E2, and
the thickness-radius ratio h1/a.
Figure 2-8a shows the effect of pavement layer on the distribution of vertical stresses under
the centre of a circular loaded area when the thickness h1 of layer 1 is equal to the radius of
contact area, or h1/a = 1 and a Poisson ratio of 0.5 for all layers.
Figure 2-8b also shows the effect of pavement thickness and modulus ratio on the vertical
stress, σc, at the pavement-subgrade interface.

22
 (a) (b)

Figure 2-8 (a) Vertical stress distribution in a two-layer system (Burmister, 1958) and (b)
effect of pavement thickness and modulus ratio on pavement–subgrade interface vertical
stresses (Haung, 1969)

Deflection: Surface and interface deflections have been used as criteria of pavement design.
The surface deflection, w0, under a uniformly circular loaded area is given in terms of the
deflection factor F2 as:
1.5qa
w0 = F2
E2
The deflection factor, F2, can be obtained from Figure 2-9 for the corresponding
E1/E2 and h1/a.

Figure 2-9: Vertical surface deflection for two-layer system (Burmister, 1943)

23
If the load is applied on a rigid plate, then

1.18qa
w0 = F2
E2
The interface deflection, w, between the two layers is expressed in terms of the deflection
factor F as:
qa
w= F
E2
The deflection factor, F, is different from F2 and provided in Figure 2-10 as a
function of E1/E2, h1/a, and r/a, where r is the radial distance from the centre of loaded area.

Figure 2-10: Vertical inteface deflection for two-layer systems (Haung, 1969)

24
 Figure 2-11: (Continued)

Critical tensile strain: The tensile strains at the bottom of the asphalt layer have been used as
a design criterion to prevent fatigue cracking. The critical tensile strain, e, at the bottom of the
first layer for a two-layer system can be determined by
q
e= Fe
E1

Figure 2-12: Strain factor for single wheel (Haung, 1973)

25
Where, Fe is the strain factor that can be obtained in Figure 2-12 as a
function of E1/E2, and h1/a. The critical tensile strain under dual wheels or dual-tandem
wheels is obtained from the same equation, but the strain factor needs to be corrected.

2.1.2.2. Three-Layer System

With quick computational facilities available, the analysis of three or more layers is no more a
difficult task. The three-layer system can be conceived as follows:
1. Top layer, representing all the bituminous layers taken together,
2. Second layer, representing the unbound base and subbase courses, and
3. Third layer, representing the subgrade.

Figure 2-13 shows a three-layer system and the stresses at the interfaces on the axis of
symmetry.

σz1 = vertical stress at interface 1

σz2 = vertical stress at interface 2
σr1 = radial stress at bottom of layer 1
σ’r1 = radial stress at top of layer 2
σr2 = radial stress at bottom of layer 2
σ‘r2 = radial stress at top of layer 3

Figure 2-13: Stresses at interfaces of a three-layer system under a uniform circular load

At the axis of symmetry, tangential and radial stresses are identical and the shear stress is
equal to 0.
Jones has developed a series of tables for determining the stresses in a three-layer system for
the following dimensionless parameters
:
E1 E2
k1 = k2 =
E2 E3

a h1
A= H=
h2 h2

26
Part of Jones’s tables is presented here as Table 2.3, from which four sets of stress factors,
ZZ1, ZZ2, ZZ1-RR1, and ZZ2-RR2, can be obtained. The product of these factors and the
contact pressure gives the stresses as:
σ z1 = q (ZZ 1)

σ z 2 = q(ZZ 2)

σ z1 − σ r1 = q(ZZ1 − RR1)

σ z 2 − σ r 2 = q(ZZ 2 − RR 2)
From the continuity of horizontal displacement at the interfaces, σ’r1 and σ’r2 can be
computed from
σ z1 − σ r 1
σ ' r 1 = σ z1 −
k1

σ z2 − σ r2
σ 'r 2 = σ z 2 −
k2
Once the stresses at the interfaces are calculated, strains can be computed from the equations
of strains.

27
Table 2-1: Stress factors for three-layer systems (Jones, 1962)

28
Table 2-1: (Continued)

29
2.2. Stresses in Rigid Pavements

Stresses in rigid pavements result from variety of sources, of which the applied vehicle loads,
changes in temperature of the slab, friction between the slab and the subgrade or base course
are the most important. These factors tend to result in deformations of the concrete slab,
which cause tensile, compression, and flexural stresses of varying magnitude.

2.2.1. Stresses Due to Vehicle Loading

Three methods can generally be used to determine the stresses and deflections in concrete
pavements due to vehicle loading:
1. Westergaard’s formulas
2. Influence charts
3. Finite element analysis

Here, Westergaard’s formulas derived to examine three critical conditions of loading: corner
loading, interior loading, and edge loading far from any corner are described.
Westergaard’s assumptions:
• The concrete slab acts as a homogenous isotropic, elastic solid in equilibrium.
• The reactions of the subgrade are vertical only and they are proportional to the
deflections of the slab.
• The thickness of the concrete slab is uniform.
• The load at the interior and the corner is distributed uniformly over a circular area of
contact and the circumference of the contact area at the corner is tangent to the edges
of the slab.
• The edge loading is distributed uniformly over a semi-circular area, the diameter of
the semi-circle being at the edge of the slab.

Corner Loading: when a circular load is applied near the corner of the concrete slab, the
stress, σc, and the deflection, Δc, at the corner are given by
3P ⎡ ⎛ a 2 ⎞ ⎤
0.6

σ c = 2 ⎢1 − ⎜⎜ ⎟ ⎥
h ⎢ ⎝ l ⎟⎠ ⎥
⎣ ⎦

P ⎡ ⎛ a 2 ⎞⎤
Δc = ⎢1.1 − 0.88 ⎜⎜ ⎟⎥
⎟
kl 2 ⎢⎣ ⎝ l ⎠⎥⎦

⎡ Eh 3 ⎤
in which P is the load, l is the radius of relative stiffness defined as l = ⎢
⎣12(1 − ν )k ⎦
2 ⎥ , k is the
modulus of the subgrade reaction, and a is the contact radius. The results obtained applying
the finite element method of analysis are:

30
 3P ⎡ ⎛ c ⎞ ⎤
0.72

σ c = 2 ⎢1 − ⎜ ⎟ ⎥
h ⎢⎣ ⎝ l ⎠ ⎥⎦

P ⎡ ⎛ c ⎞⎤
Δc = ⎢1.205 − 0.69 ⎜ l ⎟⎥
kl 2 ⎣ ⎝ ⎠⎦
where, c is the side length of the a square contact area, c = 1.772a

Modulus of subgrade reaction, k, is the constant that defines the subgrade in classical works
of rigid pavements as shown in Figure 2-14 and defined as:
p = kΔ
where, p is the reactive pressure, and Δ is the deflection of the slab. The value of k is
determined by means of the plate-loading tests.

(a) (b)

Figure 2-14: (a) Definition of subgrade reaction, k, (b) plot of plate loading test to determine
subgrade reaction
Interior Loading: The formula developed by Westergaard for the stress in the interior of a
slab under a circular loaded area of radius a is
3(1 + ν )P ⎛ l ⎞
σi = ⎜⎜ ln + 0.6159 ⎟⎟
2 πh 2 ⎝ b ⎠
in which l is the radius of relative stiffness and
b=a when a ≥ 1.724h

b = 1.6a 2 + h 2 − 0.675h when a < 1.724h

The deflection due to interior loading is

P ⎧⎪ 1 ⎛ a ⎞⎛ a ⎞ ⎫⎪
2

Δi = ⎨1 + ⎜⎜ ln − 0.673 ⎟⎟⎜ ⎟ ⎬
8 kl 2 ⎪⎩ 2π ⎝ 2l ⎠⎝ l ⎠ ⎪⎭
Edge Loading: The stresses and deflections due to edge loading as formulated by
Westergaard are:

31
For circular contact area

3(1 + ν )P ⎛ Eh 3 ⎞ 4v 1 − v 1.18(1 + 2v )a
σe = ⎜⎜ ln ⎟⎟ + 1.84 − + +
(3 + ν )πh 2 ⎝ 100ka
4
⎠ 3 2 l

2 + 1.2vP ⎡ (0.76 + 0.4v )a ⎤

Δe = ⎢1 − ⎥
E h3k ⎣ l ⎦
For semicircular contact area
3(1 + ν )P ⎛ Eh 3 ⎞ 4v (1 + 2v )a
σe = ⎜⎜ ln ⎟⎟ + 3.84 − +
(3 + ν )πh 2 ⎝ 100ka
4
⎠ 3 2l

2 + 1.2vP ⎡ (0.323 + 0.17v )a ⎤

Δe = ⎢1 − ⎥
E h3k ⎣ l ⎦
When a load is applied over a set of dual tyres, the equations can be used after converting the
contact area of the dual tyres into a radius, a, of equivalent circular contact area as:
1/ 2
0.8521Pd S d ⎛ p d ⎞
a= + ⎜ ⎟
qπ π ⎜⎝ 0.5227 q ⎟⎠
where, Pd is the load on dual tyres, q is the contact pressure, Sd is the spacing of the tyres.
2.2.2. Stresses Due to Curling
Changes in temperature through the slab cause differential expansion or contraction between
the top and bottom which results curling of the slab upward or downward. The weight of the
slab restrains the slab from curling upward or downward. Consequently, stresses known as
curling or warping stresses develop in the slap. During the day when the temperature on the
top of the slab is greater than that of the bottom, the top tends to expand with respect to the
neutral axis while the bottom tends to contract. Because the weight of the slab restrains the
downward curling, compressive stresses are induced at the top while tensile stresses occur at
the bottom. At night, when the temperature on the top of the slab is lower than that at the
bottom, the effect is the reverse.

The strain in the x-direction in the infinite slab curled upward as shown in
Figure 2-15 due to the stresses in the two directions can be determined by the generalized
Hook’s law as:

32
 Figure 2-15: Upward curling of elastic slab due to temperature

σx σy
εx = −ν
E E
σx
where, is the strain in x-direction due to σ x , the stress in the x-direction, and
E
σy
ν is the strain in x-direction due to σ y , the stress in the y-direction.
E

and,
σy σx
εy = −ν
E E
When the slab is bent in the in the x-direction, εy = 0, and σ y = ν σ x . Substituting this and
solving for σ x , gives:

Eε x
σx = (the stress in the bending direction), and
1 −ν 2

σ y = νσ x (the stress in the perpendicular direction to bending).

When bending occurs in both directions as in the case of temperature curling, the stresses in
both directions must be superimposed.

Let Δt represents the temperature differential between top and bottom of the slab, and αt
represents the coefficient of thermal expansion of concrete. If the temperature at top is greater
than at the bottom and the slab is completely restrained and prevented from moving, the strain
developed at the top will be compressive and at the bottom tensile as shown in
Figure 2-16 assuming the distribution of temperature is linear through out the slab depth.

Figure 2-16: Strain due to gradient in temperature

αt Δt
εx = εy =
2
The stress in x-direction due to bending in the in x-direction is

33
 Eα t Δ t
σx =
(
2 1 −ν 2 )
and the stress in the x-direction due to bending in y-direction is

νEα t Δ t
σx =
2(1 − ν 2 )
The total stress in the x-direction is then,
Eα t Δ t νEα t Δ t
σx = +
2(1 − ν ) 2(1 − ν 2 )
2

Eα t Δ t
σx =
2(1 − ν )
For a finite slab with length Lx and Ly in the x- and y-directions respectively, the total stress in
the x-direction can be expressed as:
C x Eα t Δ t C yνEα t Δ t
σx = +
2(1 − ν 2 ) 2(1 − ν 2 )

Eα t Δ t
σ x = (C x + C yν )
2(1 − ν 2 )
where Cx and Cy are correction factors for a finite slab in the x- and y-directions respectively.
Similarly, the stress in the y-direction is
Eα t Δ t
σ y = (C y + C xν )
(
2 1 −ν 2 )
Based on Westergaard’s analysis, Bradbury developed a simple chart shown as
Figure 2-17 here for determining the correction factors depending on Lx/l and Ly/l in the
respective directions. In the above equations, σ x and σ y are the maximum interior stresses at
the centre of the slab. The edge stress at the midspan of the slab can be determined by
CEα t Δ t
σ =
2
in which σ may be σ x or σ y depending on whether C is Cx or Cy.

Unless actual field measurements are made, it is reasonable to assume a maximum

temperature gradient of 0.055 to 0.0770C/mm during the day and about half of these values at
night. Stresses due to curling may be quite large and cause concrete to crack when combined
with loading stresses, but they are usually not considered in the thickness design of slabs.

34
 Figure 2-17: Bradbury stress correction factor for finite slab
2.2.3. Stresses Due to Friction
The friction between a concrete slab and its foundation causes tensile stresses in the concrete,
in the steel reinforcements, if any, and in the tie bars. It is the criteria for
• The spacing of plain concrete contraction joints
• Steel reinforcements for longer spaced concrete pavements
• The number of tie bars required as shown in Figure 2-18

Figure 2-18: Steel and joints in rigid pavements

The volume change caused by the variation of temperature and moisture:

• Induces tensile stresses and causes the concrete to crack
• Causes the joint to open and decreases the efficiency of load transfer
Figure 2-19 shows a concrete pavement subject to a decrease in
temperature. Due to symmetry, the slab tends to move from both ends toward the centre, but
the subgrade prevents it from moving; thus, frictional stresses are developed between the slab
and the subgrade. The amount of friction depends on the relative movement, being zero at the
centre where no movement occurs and maximum at some distance from the centre where the
movement is fully mobilized, as shown in Figure 2-19b. The
tensile stress in the concrete is greatest at the centre and can be determined by equating the
frictional force per unit width of slab, to the tensile force as shown in
Figure 2-19a.

35
 Figure 2-19: Stresses due to friction

γ c hLf
= σ ch
2

γ c Lf
σc =
2

in which σ c is the stress in the concrete, γ c is the unit weight of the concrete, L is the length
of the slab, and f is the average coefficient of friction between slab and subgrade, usually
taken as 1.5.

The spacing of joints in plain concrete pavements depends more on the shrinkage
characteristics of the concrete rather than on the stress in the concrete. Longer joint spacing
causes the joint to open wider and decrease the efficiency of load transfer. The opening of a
joint can be computed approximately by
ΔL = CL (αtΔT +ε)

where, ΔL = joint opening caused by temperature change and drying shrinkage of concrete;
αt = coefficient of thermal expansion of concrete, generally 9 to 10.8 x 10-6/0C);
ε = drying shrinkage coefficient of concrete, approximately 0.5 to 2.5 x 10-4;
L = joint spacing or slab length;
ΔT = change in temperature;
C = adjustment factor for friction layers, 0.65 for stabilised and 0.8 for granular base.

The design of longitudinal and transverse reinforcements and the tie bars across longitudinal
joints is determined based on the stresses due to friction assuming that all tensile stresses are
taken by the steel alone. Wire fabric or bar mats are used to increase the joint spacing and to

36
tie the cracked concrete together and maintain load transfers through aggregate interlock, but
not to increase the structural capacity of the slab.
σ c h = As f s

γ c hLf
As =
2 fs

in which As is the area of steel required per unit width and fs is the allowable stress in steel.
The steel is usually placed at the middepth of the slab and discontinued at the joint. However,
in actual practice the same amount of steel is used throughout the length of the slab.

Tie bars are placed along the longitudinal joint to tie the two slabs together so that the joint
will be tightly closed and the load transfer across the joint can be ensured. The amount of
steel required for tie bars can be determined in the same way as the longitudinal or transverse
reinforcements as:
γ c hL' f
As =
2 fs

in which As is the area of steel required per unit length of slab and L' is the distance from the
longitudinal joint to the free edge where no tie bars exist. For two- or three-lane highways, L'
is the lane width. If tie bars are used in all three longitudinal joints of a four-lane highway, L'
is equal to the lane width for the two outer joints and twice the lane width for the inner joint.
The length of tie bars is governed by the allowable bond stress.

37
3. Traffic Loading and Volume

Traffic is the most important factor in pavement design and stress analysis. Traffic constitutes
the load imparted on the pavement causing the stresses, strains and deflections in the pavement
layers and the subgrade. Hence the pavement design must account for the amount of traffic load
expected over its design life.

The traffic loads on pavement can be characterized by:

• Magnitude of load (wheel load or axle load)

• Configuration of load (axle and wheel configuration – single/dual wheel,
single/tandem/tridem axle, wheel and axle spacing):- these relate to the number of contact
points per vehicle (no. of wheels) and their spacing. As spacing between wheels gets
smaller, then their influence areas will overlap and one has to consider the combined
effect of all interacting wheel loads instead of dealing with a single wheel load.
• Load repetitions: Loads, along with the environment, damage pavement over time. Each
individual load (from commercial vehicles) inflicts a certain amount of unrecoverable
damage. This damage is cumulative over the life of the pavement and when it reaches
some maximum value the pavement is considered to have reached the end of its useful
service life.
• Other considerations include tire pressure, contact area, vehicle speed, traffic distribution
across the pavement etc.

There are three different procedures for considering traffic effects in pavement design. These are:

• Fixed traffic
• Fixed vehicle
• Variable traffic and vehicle

3.1 Fixed Traffic Procedure

In fixed traffic procedure, the pavement design is made for a single wheel load only and the
number of load repetition is not considered. If the pavement is subjected to multiple wheels, they
must be converted to an equivalent single wheel load (ESWL), so that the design method based
on single wheel can be applied.

This method has been used most frequently for airport pavements or for highway pavements to
be used by heavy wheel loads but light traffic volume. Usually the heaviest wheel load
anticipated is used for design purposes. This method is not so commonly used today. However,
the concept of converting multiple-wheel loads to a single wheel load is important and discussed
here.

38
3.1.1 Equivalent Single Wheel Load (ESWL)

The ESWL can be defined as the load on a single wheel that will induce an equivalent amount of
response (stress, strain or deflection) on a given pavement system to that resulting from multiple-
wheel load. The ESWL obtained from any theory depends on the criteria selected to compare the
single-wheel load with multiple-wheel loads. The use of different criteria for the comparison of
equivalent response (i.e. based on stress, strain or deflection) has an effect on the computed value
of ESWL.

For flexible pavements, the ESWL can be determined from theoretically calculated or
experimentally measured stress, strain, and deflections. It can also be determined from pavement
distress and performance tests. It should be noted that any theoretical method can be used as a
guide and should be verified by performance.

The comparisons of equal response (stress, strain, deflection) can be made by assuming equal
contact pressure under both the equivalent single wheel and the multiple wheels or by assuming
equal contact area under all wheels. Some of the methods used for converting multiple-wheel
loads to an equivalent single wheel load include:

• Equal vertical stress criterion

• Equal vertical deflection criterion
• Equal tensile strain criterion
• Equal contact pressure criterion

For rigid pavements ESWL can be determined by comparing the critical flexural stress in the
concrete.

A - Equal Vertical Stress Criterion

Boyd and Foster (1950) presented a semi rational method for determining ESWL based on the
consideration of the vertical stress in an elastic half-space. The method assumes that the ESWL
varies with the pavement thickness, as shown in figure 3.1 below.

The figure shows a total load 2Pd applied on a dual wheel assembly, with center to center spacing
between tires of Sd and clear distance between tire edges of d (d=Sd-2a). For thicknesses (depth)
smaller than half the clearance between dual tires, i.e. d/2, no stress overlap occurs and the stress
at these depths is due to only one wheel of the dual, hence ESWL is equal to one half the total
load (ESWL=Pd). For thickness greater than twice the center-to-center spacing of tires, i.e 2Sd,
the subgrade stresses due to the two wheels overlap completely, hence ESWL is equal to the total
load (ESWL = 2Pd). By assuming a straight-line relationship between thickness and wheel load
on logarithmic scales, the ESWL for any intermediate thickness can be easily determined. After
the ESWL for dual wheels is applied, the procedure can be applied to tandem wheels.

39
 No stresses overlap if
pavement thickness is less

Complete stress overlap if

pavement thickness is greater
than 2Sd

Fig. 3.1: Instead of plotting the pavement thickness and wheel load, it is more convenient to
compute the ESWL by:

0.301log(2 z / d )
log(ESWL) = log Pd + (3.1)
log(4S d / d )

The vertical stress factor σz /q discussed in chapter two (figure 2.2) can also be used to determine
the theoretical ESWL based on Boussinesq’s theory. For the same vertical stress σz, at a depth z
both for the single and dual wheel load having the same contact radius a, the maximum subgrade
stress under a single wheel occurs at the center of the applied load with the stress factor of σz /qs,
where qs is the contact pressure under a single wheel. The location of the maximum stress under
dual wheels is not known and can be determined by comparing the stresses at different points,:
point 1 under the center of one tyre, point 3 at the center between tires and point 2 midway
between points 1 & 3 (as illustrated in the example problem solved in class). The stress factor at
each point is obtained by superposition of the two wheels and the maximum stress factor σz /qd is
found, where qd is the contact pressure under dual wheels. Thus to obtain the same stress:

⎛σ ⎞ ⎛σ ⎞
q s ⎜⎜ z ⎟⎟ = q d ⎜⎜ z ⎟⎟ (3.2)
⎝ qs ⎠ ⎝ qd ⎠

40
For the same contact radius, contact pressure is proportional to wheel loads, or

Ps σ z / q d
= (3.3)
Pd σ z / q s
Where Ps is the single wheel load, which is the ESWL to be determined, and Pd is the load on
each of the duals and qs and qd are the contact pressures under a single wheel and dual wheels
respectively.

B - Equal Vertical deflection Criterion

In this method, developed by Foster and Ahlvin (1958), the pavement system is considered as a
homogeneous half-space and the vertical deflections at a depth equal to the thickness of the
pavement can be obtained from Boussinesq’s solutions. A single-wheel load that has the same
contact radius as one of the dual wheels and results in a maximum deflection equal to that caused
by the dual wheels is the ESWL.

The vertical deflection factor F presented in Chapter 2, figure 2.6 can be used to determine
ESWL. The vertical deflection under the single wheel and the dual wheels is given by:

q a
Single wheel Ws = s Fs (3.4a)
E

q a
Dual wheels Wd = d Fd (3.4b)
E

Where Fd is the deflection factor for the duals (the maximum value obtained after superposing
the deflection factors Fs for each wheel of the dual wheel assembly at the three critical points
discussed previously) and Fs is deflection factor for single wheel.

To obtain equal deflection, Ws = Wd, or;

q s Fs = q d Fd (3.5)

For the same contact radius, contact pressure is proportional to wheel load:

Fd
ESWL = Ps = Pd (3.6)
Fs

The method discussed above is an improvement over the Boyd and Foster method. However, it
assumes a homogeneous half space instead of a layered system which is not logical from the
theoretical view point. Determination of ESWL based on comparison of deflections determined
from layered theory would give a better (ESWL of higher magnitude) result.

41
C - Equal Tensile Strain Criterion

The conversion factors discussed in chapter two (figure 2.12, page 9 and figure 2.23) for the
critical tensile strain at the bottom of first layer can be used to determine the ESWL.

The tensile strain due to single wheel load is:

q
e = s Fe (3.7)
E1

and the tensile strain under dual or dual-tandem wheels is

Cq d
e= Fe (3.8)
E1

in which C is the conversion factor (obtained from figure 2.23) and qd is the contact pressure of
dual or dual-tandem wheels. For the same tensile strain:

q s = Cq d (3.9)

For equal contact radius, contact pressure is proportional to wheel load:

ESWL = Ps = CPd (3.10)

D - Criterion based on Equal Contact Pressure

The above analyses of ESWL are based on the assumption that the single wheel has the same
contact radius as each of the dual wheels. Another assumption, which has been frequently made,
is that the single wheel has a different contact radius but the same contact pressure as the dual
wheels.

The interface deflections for single and dual wheels with the same pressure can be written as

qa s
Ws = Fs (3.11)
E2

qa d
Wd = Fd (3.12)
E2

For equal deflection, Ws = Wd

qa s qa
Fs = d Fd (3.13)
E2 E2

42
where,

Ps Pd
as = and ad = (3.14)
πq πq

Substituting equations 3.14 into equation 3.13 and simplifying:

2
⎛F ⎞
ESWL = Ps = ⎜⎜ d ⎟⎟ Pd (3.15)
⎝ Fs ⎠

3.2 Variable Traffic and Vehicle

In this procedure, both traffic and vehicle are considered variable, so there is no need to assign
an equivalent factor for each axle load. The various axle 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. This procedure is most suited to mechanistic methods of
design, wherein the responses of pavement under different loads can be evaluated by using a
computer.

3.3 Fixed vehicle Procedure

In this procedure, the thickness of a pavement is governed by the number of repetitions of a

standard vehicle or axle load (usually 80kN single axle load). Axle loads which are not equal to
80kN or consist of tandem or tridem axles must be converted to an 80kN single-axle load by an
equivalent axle load factor (EALF).

EALF is defined as the damage per pass to a pavement by the axle in question relative to the
damage per pass of a standard axle load, (80KN). The number of repetitions under each single or
multiple axle load must be multiplied by its EALF to obtain the equivalent effect based on an
80kN single axle load. A summation of the equivalent effects of all axle loads during the design
period results in an equivalent single axle load (ESAL). ESAL is the design parameter to be used
in pavement thickness design. Due to the great varieties of axle loads and traffic volumes and
their intractable effects on pavement performance, most of the design methods in use today are
based on the fixed vehicle procedure.

3.3.1 Determination of EALF

The EALF depends on:

• Type of pavement,
• Thickness or structural capacity
• Terminal condition at which the pavement is considered failed,
• Failure criterion
• The condition of the deterioration of pavement at the time of evaluation, etc.

43
The most widely used method for determining EALF is based on empirical equations developed
from the AASHO road test (AASHTO 1972). EALF can also be determined theoretically based
on the critical stresses and strains in the pavement and the failure criteria.

3.3.2 EALF for Flexible Pavement

AASHTO Equivalency Factors

The following regression equation is one of the most widely used methods for determining
EALF obtained from the AASHTO Road Test:

⎛W ⎞ G G
log⎜⎜ tx ⎟⎟ = 4.79 log(18 + 1) − 4.79 log( L x + L2 ) + 4.33 log L2 + t − t (3.16)
⎝ Wt18 ⎠ β x β18

⎛ 4.2 − pt ⎞
Gt = log⎜ ⎟
⎝ 4.2 − 1.5 ⎠

0.081( Lx + L2 ) 3.23
β x = 0.4 + 3.23
( SN + 1) 5.19 L2

Where, Wtx = the number of x-axle load application at the end of time t,

Wt18 = the number of 18kip (80KN) single axle load application to time t,

Lx = the load in kip on one single axle, one set of tandem axles, or one set of tridem
axles,

L2 is the axle code: = 1 for single axles, 2 for tandem axles, and 3 for tridem axles,

SN = structural number - a function of thickness, modulus of each layer, and drainage

condition of base and subbase.

pt= terminal serviceability – which indicates the pavement conditions to be considered as

failures,

β18= the value of βx when Lx = 18 and L2=1

Wt18
And EALF = (3.17)
Wtx

Practically, EALF is not very sensitive to pavement thickness and SN equal to 5 may be used for
most cases and a pt value of 2 or 2.5 can be used.

44
Theoretical Analysis

In mechanistic analysis, fatigue cracking and permanent deformation of pavements are employed
as failure criteria. To limit the failure due to fatigue cracking, the allowable number of load
repetition is expressed as:

N f = f 1 (ε t ) (E1 )− f
− f2 3
(3.18)

Where, Nf = the allowable number of load repetitions to prevent fatigue cracking,

εt = the tensile strain at the bottom of the asphalt layer,
E1 = modulus of the asphalt layer, and
f1, f2, and f3 are constants to be determined from laboratory fatigue tests (f1
modified to correlate with field observations).

If Nfx and Nf80 are the allowable number of x-kN and 80 kN axle load repetitions, then

f2
W N f 80 ⎛ ε x ⎞
EALF = t 80 = = ⎜⎜ ⎟⎟ (3.19)
Wtx N fx ⎝ ε 80 ⎠

Where, εtx and εt80 are the tensile strains at the bottom of asphalt layer due to x kN and 80 kN
axle load repetitions respectively.

The constant f2 was determined by Asphalt institute and Shell and the values are 3.291 and 5.671
respectively. A theoretical analysis of EALF was also conducted by Deacon based on an
assumed f2 value of 4, which is in the range determined by Asphalt institute and Shell. For single
axles, it is reasonable to assume that tensile strains due to the axles in question and the standard
single-axle are directly proportional to axle loads. Using 4 as the value of f2, the EALF can be
approximated by what is known as the fourth power rule as:

4
⎛L ⎞
EALF = ⎜⎜ x ⎟⎟ (3.20)
⎝ L80 ⎠
For tandem and tridem axles, a more general equation is

4
⎛L ⎞
EALF = ⎜⎜ x ⎟⎟ (3.21)
⎝ Ls ⎠
Where, Ls is the load on standard axles which have the same number of axles as Lx. If the EALF
for one set of tandem or tridem axles is known, that for other axles can be determined by the
above equation.

45
The other failure criterion is to control permanent deformation by limiting the vertical
compressive strain on top of the subgrade, which can be expressed as:

N d = f 4 (ε c )
− f5
(3.22)

Suggested values of f5 are 4.477 by the Asphalt Institute, 4.0 by Shell, and 3.71 by the University
of Nottingham. The use of 4 for f5 is also reasonable. Therefore, when Ls and Lx are of the same
axle configuration, the EALF based on fatigue cracking may not be much different from that
based on permanent deformation and similar equation with the power of 4 can be applied.

ERA pavement design manual, which is based on TRL Road Note 31, relates the damaging
effect of axle loads to the standard 80kN axle using a power of 4.5 instead of 4. For multiple axle
vehicles, i.e. tandem or tridem axles, each axle in the multiple-group is considered separately.

3.3.3 EALFs for Rigid Pavements

AASHTO Equivalency Factors

The AASHTO equations for determining the EALF of rigid pavements are:

⎛W ⎞ G G
log⎜⎜ tx ⎟⎟ = 4.62 log(18 + 1) − 4.62 log( L x + L2 ) + 3.28 log L2 + t − t (3.23)
⎝ Wt18⎠ β x β 18
⎛ 4.5 − p t ⎞
Gt = log⎜ ⎟
⎝ 4.5 − 1.5 ⎠
3.63( L x + L 2 ) 5.20
β x = 1.00 + 3.52
( D + 1) 8.46 L2
Where Wtx, Wt18, Lx, L2, pt, and β18 are as defined for flexible pavements and D is the slab
thickness in inches. Value of pt = 2.5 and D = 9 inches can be used for unknown cases.

Theoretical Analysis

Based on fatigue cracking the allowable number of repetitions can be expressed as:

⎛σ ⎞
log N f = f 1 − f 2 ⎜⎜ ⎟⎟ (3.24)
⎝ Sc ⎠
in which, Nf is the allowable number of load repetitions for fatigue cracking, σ is the flexural
stress in slab, Sc is modulus of rupture of concrete, and f1 and f2 are constants. In the design of
zero maintenance jointed plain concrete pavements, f1 = 16.61 and f2 = 17.61 are recommended
(Darter and Barenberg (1977).

46
The Portland Cement Association (USA) recommends the following fatigue equations

⎛σ ⎞
For σ/Sc ≥0.55: log N f = 11.737 − 12.077⎜⎜ ⎟⎟ (3.25)
⎝ Sc ⎠

3.268
⎛ 4.2577 ⎞
For 0.45< σ/Sc <0.55 N f = ⎜⎜ ⎟⎟ (3.26)
⎝ σ S c _ 0.4325 ⎠

For σ/Sc ≤0.45 Nf = unlimited (3.27)

3.4 Traffic Analysis

The deterioration of paved roads is caused by traffic results from both the magnitude of the
individual wheel loads and the number of times these loads are applied. Hence, to design a paved
highway, it is necessary to consider not only the traffic volume or the total number of vehicles
that will use the road but also to predict the number of repetitions of each axle load group (or
wheel load group) during the design period. To convert the traffic volumes into cumulative
equivalent standard axle loads (ESAL or CESAL which is one design parameter in pavement
design) equivalency factors are used.

On the other hand, the mechanism of deterioration of gravel roads differs from that of paved
roads. Design of thickness of gravel roads is directly related to the number of vehicles using the
road rather than the number of equivalent standard axles as that for paved roads. The traffic
volume is therefore used in the design of unpaved roads (gravel roads), as opposed to the paved
roads which require the conversion of traffic volumes into the appropriate cumulative number of
equivalent standard axles.

In this section, method of determining the traffic volume and CESAL with reference to Ethiopian
Roads Authority (ERA) Pavement Design Manual will be discussed.

3.4 Traffic Analysis

• The deterioration of paved roads by traffic results both from

o Magnitude of Load
o Repetition of Load
• Hence, to design a paved highway, it is necessary to consider
o the traffic volume or the total number of vehicles that will use the road &
o to predict the number of repetitions of each axle load group (or wheel load group)
during the design period.
o The traffic volume is converted into cumulative equivalent standard axle loads (ESAL
or CESAL) using equivalency factors (EALF).
o CESAL is one design parameter in pavement design
• Gravel Roads - mechanism of deterioration of gravel roads different from that of paved roads.

47
 o Design of thickness of gravel roads is more related to the number of vehicles using the
road rather than the CESAL.
o The Traffic Volume in terms of initial AADT is used in the design of unpaved roads
(gravel roads),

The following Parameters and Considerations/Steps are involved in Traffic Analysis for
pavement design.

3.4.1 Design Period

The length or duration of time during which the pavement structure is expected to function
satisfactorily without the need for major intervention (rehabilitation such as overlays or
reconstruction) or the duration in time until the pavement structure reaches its terminal condition
(failure condition). Selecting appropriate design period depends on
• Functional importance of the road

• Traffic volume
• Location and terrain of the project
• Financial constraints
• Difficulty in forecasting traffic

Longer Design Period – for important roads, high traffic volume, roads in difficult location and
terrain where regular maintenance is costly and difficult due to access problems or lack of
construction material

Short Design Period – if there is problem in traffic forecasting, financial constraints, etc.
ERA recommended: Design Period

Road Classification Design Period (years)

Trunk Road 20
Link Road 20
Main Access Road 15
Other Roads 10

3.4.2 Determine Traffic Volume (ADT, AADT)

i) Vehicle classification

• Small axle loads from private cars and other light vehicles do not cause significant
pavement damage.

• Damage caused by heavier vehicles (commercial vehicles)

• Hence, important to distinguish

48
 o the proportion of vehicles which cause pavement damage (commercial vehicles) from
total traffic
• To do this, we need to have a vehicle classification system –
o To distinguish between commercial vehicles and small cars
o Distinguish between the different types of commercial vehicles and group them
according to their type, size (loading), configuration, etc.
• ERA vehicle classification system

Table 3-1: ERA Vehicle Classification

Vehicle Type of Vehicle Description

Code
1 Small car Passenger cars, minibuses (up to 24-passenger seats), taxis,
pick-ups, and Land Cruisers, Land Rovers, etc.

2 Bus Medium and large size buses above 24 passenger seats

3 Medium Truck Small and medium sized trucks including tankers up to 7 tons
load

4 Heavy Truck Trucks above 7 tons load

5 Articulated Truck Trucks with trailer or semi-trailer and Tanker Trailers

ii) Traffic Count

Traffic Count necessary

• To assess the traffic-carrying capacity of different types of roads
• Examine the distribution of traffic between the available traffic lanes
• In the preparation of maintenance schedules for in-service roads
• In the forecasting of expected traffic on a proposed new road from traffic studies on the
surrounding road system

Traffic volume data determined from

o Historical traffic data available in relevant authorities (ERA conducts regular 3 times a
year (Feb., Jul., Nov.) traffic counts on its major road network) and/or

o By conducting classified traffic counts:

ƒ On the road to be designed – if the road is an existing road and the project
is Upgrading, Rehabilitation, Maintenance, reconstruction, etc.
ƒ On other parallel routes and/or adjacent roads – for new roads
• Traffic volume data may vary daily, weekly, seasonally.

49
 • Hence to avoid error in traffic analysis and capture the average yearly trend, minimum 7
days count recommended
• ERA recommended procedure
o Conduct 7 days classified traffic count
ƒ 5 days for 16 hrs
ƒ Minimum 2 days for 24 hrs (one week day and one weekend)
• For long projects, there may be large difference in traffic volume along the road and
hence it is necessary to make the traffic counts at several locations.

iii) ADT (Average Daily Traffic)

• ADT is determined from the traffic count data as follows

o Adjust the 16hrs traffic count data into 24hr data by multiplying with the average night
adjustment factor
ƒ Night adjustment factor = (24hr traffic)/(16hr traffic) :- obtained from the
two days 24hr count data.
o (ADT)o = the current Average Daily Traffic= Average of the 7 days 24 hr traffic volume
data

iv) (AADT)o (Annual Average Daily Traffic = total annual traffic in both directions
divided by 365)

• In order to capture the average annual traffic flow trend, adjustment must be made for
seasonal traffic variation,

• Hence traffic count as above must be made at different representative seasons (ERA
conducts traffic counts on February, July and November)
• Make adjustment to (ADT)o – based on the season at which the current traffic count
belongs to and based on seasonal adjustment factors for the road (or similar roads)
derived from historic traffic data (ERA or other regional/national sources)
• (AADT)o = (ADT)o adjusted for seasonal variation

3.4.3 Traffic Forecast – determining traffic growth rate over the design period

• Very uncertain process

• Requires making analysis and forecast of past and future traffic growth trends, social and
economic development trends, etc
• In forecasting, Traffic categorized into the following:

50
 • Normal Traffic: Traffic that would pass along the existing road or track even if no
new or improved pavement were provided.
o Forecasted by extrapolating data on traffic levels and assume that growth will
remain either
ƒ Constant in absolute terms i.e. a fixed number of vehicles per year, or
ƒ Constant in relative terms i.e. a fixed percentage increase.
o Growth rate can also be related linearly to anticipated Gross Domestic Product
(GDP).
• Diverted Traffic: Traffic that changes from another route (or mode of transport) to
the project road because of the improved pavement, but still travels between the same
origin and destination.
o Origin and destination surveys (O/D survey) should preferably be carried out
to provide data on the traffic diversions likely to arise.

• Generated Traffic:

o Additional traffic which occurs in response to the provision or improvement of

the road.
o It may arise either because a journey becomes more attractive by virtue of a cost
or time reduction or because of the increased development that is brought about
by the road investment.
o Generated traffic is also difficult to forecast accurately and can be easily
overestimated.
• From thorough analysis of economic, social and development trends, determine overall
growth rate r for all vehicle categories or separate growth rate ri for each vehicle
category.

3.4.4 Axle Load Survey

• Carried out together with the traffic count
• Portable vehicle(wheel) weighing devices or weigh in motion (WIM) devices can be used
for survey
• Each axle of the vehicle is weighed and EALF computed for each axle

4 .5
⎛ L ⎞ (3.28)
EALF = ⎜ x ⎟
⎝ 80 ⎠

• Each axle of a tandem axle or tridem axle assembly is considered as one repetition and
EALF calculated for each axle i.e. a tandem axle constitutes 2 load repetitions and a
tridem axle constitutes 3 load repetitions. (according to ERA Pavement design manual)
• AASHTO pavement design procedure considers each passage of a tandem or tridem axle
assembly as one repetition and EALF calculated correspondingly.

51
 • Truck factor
o Truck factor can be computed for each vehicle by summing up the number of ESAL per
vehicle
o Average truck factor can be computed for each vehicle category (for example for Buses,
Light Trucks, Medium Trucks, etc.), by summing up the ESAL of all the vehicles in
each category and dividing by the number of vehicles (of that category) weighed:

∑j =1
ESAL j

TF i = (3.29)
n

Where TFi = Truck factor for the ith vehicle category

n = number of vehicles weighed (of the ith vehicle category) during the axle load survey
ESALj = number of equivalent standard axle loads for the jth vehicle

3.4.5 Design Traffic Loading

The data and parameters obtained from the studies discussed in the preceding sections can now
be used to estimate the design cumulative design traffic volume and loading.

i) Adjustment for Lane and Directional Distribution of Traffic – the AADT should be adjusted
as follows

Lane Distribution Factor (P): accounts for the proportion of commercial vehicles in the
design lane. For two lane highways, the lane in each direction is the design lane, so the lane
distribution factor is 100%. For multilane highways, the design lane is the heavily loaded
lane (outside lane).

Table 3-2: Lane Distribution Factors (ERA/AASHTO)

Number of Lanes Percent Traffic (ESAL)

in each direction in design Lane
1 100
2 80 – 100
3 60 – 80
4 50 – 75

Directional Distribution Factor (D): factor that accounts for any directional variation in
total traffic volume or loading pattern. It is usually 0.5 (50%). However, could be adjusted
based on actual condition (if there is directional tendency to commercial vehicle distribution
(volume or loading); for example if the heavy vehicles in one direction are loaded and come
back empty in the other direction).

52
ii) Calculating (AADT)1

• AADT1 = Annual Average Daily Traffic (both directions) at year of Road Opening (year
at which construction works are completed and the whole road is made open for traffic).

• If time between traffic count year (design time) and estimated year of road opening = x,
then

AADT1 = AADT0 (1+r)x (3.30)

• Note that AADT1 is used as the Design Traffic Parameter for Gravel Roads (ERA
Pavement Design Manual)

iii) Cumulative Traffic Volume (T) – can be computed for all traffic (T) or for each vehicle
class (Ti)

Ti = 365 (P) (D) AADT1i [(1+ri)N – 1] / ( ri ) (3.31)

Ti = cumulative volume of traffic for the ith commercial vehicle class in the design lane
over the design period (adjusted for lane distribution and direction).
ri = annual growth rate for the ith commercial vehicle class
P = Lane distribution factor; D = Directional distribution factor
N = Design Period in years

iv) Design Traffic (Cumulative Equivalent Standard Axle Load - CESAL) – is computed by
multiplying the total traffic volume for each vehicle category (Ti) by its corresponding truck
factor (TFi)

Design Traffic Load = CESAL=∑(Ti x TFi) (3.32)

v) The CESAL is used to determine the traffic class to be employed for pavement design.

Table 2-5: ERA Traffic Classes for Flexible Pavement Design

Traffic classes Range (106 ESAs)
T1 <0.3
T2 0.3 – 0.7
T3 0.7 – 1.5
T4 1.5 – 3
T5 3–6
T6 6 – 10
T7 10 – 17
T8 17 – 30

53
Design Example

Initial traffic volumes in terms of AADTs have been established for 2001 for a section of a trunk
road under study, as follows:

Vehicle classification 2001 AADT

Car 250
Bus 40
Truck 130
Truck-trailer 180

The anticipated traffic growth is a constant 5%, and the opening of the road is scheduled for
2005. In addition, an axle load survey has been conducted, giving representative axle loads for
the various classes of heavy vehicles, such as given below for truck-trailers (it is assumed that
the loads are equally representative for each direction of traffic):

Axle loads (Kg)

Vehicle No Axle 1 Axle 2 Axle 3 Axle 4

1 6780 14150 8290 8370

2 6260 12920 8090 9940
3 6350 13000 8490 9340
4 5480 12480 7940 9470
5 6450 8880 6290 10160
6 5550 12240 8550 10150
7 5500 11820 7640 9420
8 4570 13930 2720 2410
9 4190 15300 3110 2450
10 4940 15060 2880 2800

The projected AADTs in 2005 can be calculated as (AADTs in 2001) x (1.05)3, and the
corresponding one-directional volumes for each class of vehicle in 2005 are:

Vehicle classification One-directional traffic volume in 2005

Car 145
Bus 23
Truck 75
Truck-trailer 104

Selecting, for this trunk road, a design period of 20 years, the cumulative number of vehicles in
one direction over the design period is calculated as:

54
Vehicle classification Cumulative no. of vehicles in one direction over 20 years

Car 365x145[(1.05)20-1]/0.05=1750016
Bus 365x23[(1.05)20-1]/0.05=277589
Truck 365x75[(1.05)20-1]/0.05=905180
Truck-trailer 365x104[(1.05)20-1]/0.05=1255184

Equivalency factors for the sample of truck-trailers, and a mean equivalency factor for that class
of heavy vehicles, can be calculated as outlined below:

Vehicle No Axle 1 Axle 2 Axle 3 Axle 4 Total

Load Factor Load Factor Load Factor Load Factor Factor
1 6780 0.43 14150 11.91 8290 1.07 8370 1.12 14.54
2 6260 0.30 12920 7.91 8090 0.96 9940 2.43 11.60
3 6350 0.32 13000 8.13 8490 1.20 9340 1.84 11.49
4 5480 0.17 12480 6.77 7940 0.88 9470 1.95 9.77
5 6450 0.35 8880 1.46 6290 0.31 10160 2.68 4.80
6 5550 0.18 12240 6.20 8550 1.23 10150 2.67 10.28
7 5500 0.17 11820 5.30 7640 0.74 9420 1.91 8.12
8 4570 0.07 13930 11.10 2720 0.01 2410 0.00 11.18
9 4190 0.05 15300 16.92 3110 0.01 2450 0.00 16.99
10 4940 0.10 15060 15.76 2880 0.01 2800 0.01 15.88
Mean equivalency factor for truck-trailers = 11.47

For the sake of this example, it will be assumed that similar calculations have been performed,
giving mean equivalency factors for buses and trucks of 0.14 and 6.67 respectively.

Finally, the cumulative numbers of ESAs over the design period are calculated as follows, using
the cumulative numbers of vehicles previously calculated and the equivalency factors:

Vehicle classification Cum. no. of vehicles Equivalency factor 106 ESAs

Car 1750016 0.00 0.0

Bus 277589 0.14 0.0
Truck 905180 6.67 6.0
Truck-trailer 1255184 11.47 14.4
Total ESAs = 20.4

Based on the above analysis, the trunk road under study would belong to the traffic class T8 for
flexible pavement design.

55
 Table 2-5: Traffic Classes for Flexible Pavement Design

Traffic classes Range (106 ESAs)

T1 < 0.3
T2 0.3 - 0.7
T3 0.7 - 1.5
T4 1.5 - 3.0
T5 3.0 - 6.0
T6 6.0 - 10
T7 10 - 17
T8 17 – 30

56
4. SUBGRADE SOILS

4.1 Introduction

The subgrade constitutes the foundation material for the pavement structure as highway pavements
ultimately rest on the native soil (subgrade). Hence the performance of the pavement is affected by the
characteristics of the subgrade. And one of the major functions of a highway pavement is to reduce the
stresses transmitted to the subgrade to a level which the soil will accept without significant deformation.

Soil is also used as construction materials for highway construction (fill, capping layer, subbase, etc.).

Hence it is important to study the characteristics and engineering properties of soils for highway
engineers. However, given the inherent variability in soil nature which may change in type or condition
within a few meters distance, and the nature of highway projects (which are not compact like other type
of civil engineering projects (buildings, dams, --)) detail testing and assessment may not be possible,
and hence one has to be content with average assessment of soil conditions over a long length of road.

It is important to note here that the basic characteristics of soils and the engineering properties of the
soils depend among others on the geological processes and mechanics of soil formation i.e. origin &
formation of soils - parent material; mode of deposition/transport (residual or transported soil);
mechanism of transport – ice (glacial soils), water (alluvial soils), wind (aeoline soils), gravity (colluvial
soils)); climate; topography; time/age; vegetation, etc.

Hence a comprehensive study and analysis of soils will also involve a study of soils on a parent
material basis, which relies on the geological concepts of rock and soil formation as well as a good
grasp of the basic principles of soil mechanics.

4.2 Overview of Soil Survey and Site Investigation

In the evaluation of an area for construction of road including structures, or as a source of construction
materials, the soil condition must be investigated before any detailed designs are made. A soil survey
forms an essential part of the preliminary engineering survey for a road and its purpose is to furnish the
design engineer with all required information regarding the soil and ground water condition so that a
rational and economical design can be obtained.

57
The information most often required from soil investigation include depth, thickness, and properties of
each soil layer (the characteristics of the soil profile), location of groundwater table, availability of
suitable local construction materials, etc.

Information obtained from the soil survey enables to make decision on one or more of the following
design requirements:

• stability of the proposed location, both horizontally and vertically, and thereby selection of
roadway alignment;
• suitability of local materials for use as a construction materials for embankments and pavement
layers;
• subsurface and surface drainage requirements;
• need for treatment of subgrade and type of treatment required;
• thickness of pavement required; and
• design of foundations for bridges and other structures.

In general, a soil investigation work involves the following steps:

• Desk study & Site Reconnaissance - (Feasibility Stage Investigations)

• Ground investigation (field sampling and testing) and Laboratory testing - (Detail Investigations)
• Reporting - preparation of factual and interpretative report/reports pertinent for engineering
design.

Desk study: refers to work taken up prior to commencing the the ground investigation. It is the first
step in any soil survey work and involves the collection and review of existing information on the
general soil characteristics of the area in which the highway is to be located.

Relevant data to be collected and studied/analyzed include:

• general features such as geological formations, climate (temperature and rainfall) and
topography of the area.
• Specific data from previous soil investigation works for road design/construction purposes or
other purposes in the project area.

During the desk study, one can obtain and investigate relevant information/data from such sources as
given below:

58
 • General data - geological and pedological (soil) maps, land use maps, topographical maps and
aerial photos, and climate maps, meteorological data (temperature and rainfall data);
• Specific data – test pit/borehole logs and laboratory test results of previous investigations on
adjacent roads (or roads in the general project area), construction histories of such roads, other
subsurface investigation data (example – mineralogical explorations, water well drilling logs, or
investigations for any other civil engineering structures in the general project area)

Data and information obtained from the desk study:

• will provide preliminary information about the depth and characteristics of the soil profile, as the
soil profile in a particular local generally depend on the climate, topography, origin (parent
material) and mode of formation (geological process), time and vegetation cover.
• will enable delineation of approximate limits of geological formations in the project area (a map
showing such limits can also be prepared).
• can also furnish indications of potential material sources.

While conducting a desk study, it is essential to gather as much information as possible, as it would
save much time later and largely improves the planning and quality of the investigation.

Site Reconnaissance - The data inferred above is normally supplemented with field reconnaissance
survey to assess or visually inspect actual soil condition and any problems to be anticipated (may
involve collection of few samples and field/laboratory testing).

This is a walk over survey of the site involving visual inspection of alignment soils and other pertinent
geotechnical, topographic and hydrologic/hydraulic features. It aims at:

• verifying the assumptions made regarding the limits of geological formations,

• confirm the indications relative to sources of materials identified during the office review,
• visual inspection of the general and particular features including vegetation cover, identifying in
general terms potential problem areas like embankments on compressible soils, expansive
soils, deep or potentially unstable cuts, major rock excavations, slope instability, marshy
ground, springs or seepage, ponds or streams, etc,

The information gained from the desk study and reconnaissance will be used in the successive
screening and final selection of the most suitable route alignment. Also it will be used to plan type and
extent of subsequent detail field/laboratory investigation required.

59
Detail Investigation (Ground investigation and laboratory testing)

Detail soil survey is carried out on the selected route (either in one stage or in stages, example:
Preliminary soil survey and Final soil survey). This will involve obtaining and investigating enough soil
samples along the selected route, carrying out field tests as required, transporting the sampled soils to
a central laboratory and laboratory testing.

These will involve visual assessment, soil sampling and field and laboratory testing.

• Visual assessment on type and extent of soil along the route (soil extension survey)
• Identification of stretches with rock outcrops, potentially unsuitable (problematic) soil formations
(expansive soils, swamps, etc.)
• assessment of drainage patterns and potential drainage problems
• assessment of potential slope stability hazards
• assessment of foundation conditions for bridges or other structures, embankments, etc.
• identifying and investigation of potential suitable sources of materials for use in the road
construction works – fill, capping, subbase, etc.

The results of the investigation will be used to characterize the different soil types along the road and
map their boundaries (homogeneous sections), and derive pertinent design parameters required –
deformation parameters (E), shear strength parameters (C, ), consolidation parameters (Cc, Cv, mv),
empirical design parameters (CBR), etc.

The investigation has to be carried out at sufficient intervals and to depths below which ground
conditions cease to affect the works.

The field investigation and sampling are carried out by the following methods:

• Test pits or trenches: suitable for shallow depths only; enables disturbed/undisturbed soil
sampling, and direct inspection and register of soil profiles.
• Hand augers: suitable for shallow depths only, enable inspection of disturbed and mixed
samples of soil (mostly for visual inspection purposes).
• Boring test holes and sampling with drill rigs: using borehole rigs for advancing boreholes and
obtaining disturbed/ undisturbed samples, allow greater depths of investigation.
• Geophysical methods (Seismic or electrical)

60
The routine tests normally carried out on subgrade soils include:

¾ Soil classification and index tests: gradation, Atterberg limits, moisture content;
¾ Compaction and Strength tests: compaction test (standard or modified), CBR test
¾ Field tests (on existing road): field density and moisture content, DCP test
¾ Other tests (not so common): Modulus of deformation (Resilient Modulus – E), plate bearing test
(field test).

Reporting:

The process and findings of the investigations/survey works are presented in one report or series of
reports.

The procedures followed, the detail plan/program of investigation and actual investigations carried out,
the types and procedures (standards) followed in conducting field/laboratory tests, the actual test
results obtained, analysis and interpretation of field observations/assessments & test data and final
recommendations for design (design parameters and recommendations) are compiled and presented in
Factual reports and interpretative (Engineering) Reports (Soils and Materials Report, Engineering
Report, Geotechnical Report, etc.). The reporting shall include among others a summery of the test
program, a general description of the soil conditions, a detailed analysis of each type of soil found, and
recommendations for design (as required). A copy of the test-hole logs and the soil profile is also
included.

4.2.1 Depth of Investigation

Depth of investigation should normally extend to the level below which ground conditions cease to
affect the works. In this respect, it will be important to predefine the required depth of investigation (or
design depth) and carry out investigations accordingly at least to this depth.

The design depth is defined as the depth from the finished road level to the depth that the load bearing
strength of the soil no longer has an effect on the pavement’s performance in relation to traffic loading.
Properties of soil below the design depth may indirectly affect pavement performance, but are generally
unrelated to traffic loading. A preliminary vertical alignment may be required at the time of the soil
survey in order to ensure that soil samples are actually taken at levels that fall within the design depth
of the road.

61
The following table shows the depth of test pits for soil sampling as given in Tanzania Pavement
Design Manual, 1999.

Table 4.1: Design Depth (Tanzania Pavement Design Manual, 1999)

Road Type Design Depth (m)
General Heavy traffic class roads *
requirements
Paved trunk 0.8 1.2
roads
Other roads 0.6 1.0

* Heavy traffic class roads are roads with proportion of traffic loading as a result of axles loaded to
above 13 tonnes is > (greater than) 50% of the total design traffic loading (and CESAL > 0.2 x 106)

The Ethiopian Roads Authority Site Investigation manual (ERA, 2002) stipulates that for the purpose of
taking representative samples, pits shall be dug mostly in anticipated cut areas (since these cuts will
expose the sub-grade support of the future pavement and provide embankment materials), if possible
down to at least 30 cm below the expected sub-grade level. Further, in the case of a new alignment,
the depth of any pit should in no case be less than 1.5m unless rock or other material impossible to
excavate by hand is encountered. The engineer in charge of planning the investigations should make
every effort to locate the test pits (along the alignment as well as within the lateral extent of the
anticipated excavation) in order to optimize the representatively of the material excavated from the test
pit.

When required, investigations should be extended to below design depth to detect problems that need
special considerations such as presence of problem soils, unfavorable subgrade conditions, and
features associated with slope and embankments stability. If necessary, sub surface investigation is
carried out using field or in-place testing techniques.

4.2.2 Sampling and Frequency

The frequency and spacing of the test pits should depend on sound engineering judgment and on the
field conditions and be guided by a prior review of all possible documents as well as a preliminary
visual survey of the entire road alignment and the results of the investigations during preliminary

62
design. Although it is neither possible nor desirable to specify rigid rules for spacing, it is necessary to
set adequate average guidelines for homogeneity of design and reliability.

Table 4-2 & 4-3 give recommended sampling frequency and the corresponding tests. This frequencies
may be altered depending on the variations in soil types along the alignment. The identification tests
include Atterberg limits and gradation tests.

Table 4-2: Sampling Frequency (ERA, Site Investigation Manual, 2001)

Investigation Stage Test Description Frequency of Cumulative
Sampling
Feasibility/Preliminary Identification 1 Km
CBR 2 – 5 Km
Final Identification 0.5Km
CBR 1Km

Table 4-3: Sampling Frequency (Tanzanian Pavement Design Manual, 1999)

Frequency of Cumulative
Sampling
Type of Road Test Description
Paved Trunk Roads Identification 0.25Km
CBR 0.5Km
Other Paved Roads Identification 0.5Km
CBR 1km
Gravel Roads Identification 0.5Km
CBR 2Km

4.3 Laboratory Tests

The subgrade (the foundation material) must possess sufficient strength and stiffness to provide
adequate support for the pavement structure and associated traffic load, without shear failure or
excessive deformation. Owing to the fact that the nature of stresses imposed on pavements (transient
loads of short duration) and their relatively lower magnitude, shear strength of the soil is not normally
anticipated to be a critical factor in pavement thickness design. The elastic properties (E, ) of the
subgrade are the major foundation parameters needed (assuming normal traffic loading regimes).
However, these are relatively complex properties to measure and bearing in mind the variability of soils

63
within relatively short distances, it may not be economically feasible to use them directly to evaluate
subgrade properties. Hence, if pavements are to be designed empirically based on past
performance/experience records or fundamentally using the elastic theory (analytical methods),
relatively simple test procedures are required, the result of which can be related by experiment to the
structural properties.

The shear strength parameters – cohesion, c & angle of internal friction φ- are normally required in the
stability analysis of road embankments and deep cuts. Also consolidation parameters Cv, mv, Cc will be
required for settlement analysis of high embankment on soft clayey soils.

General desirable properties of a subgrade soil (or any foundation material) include: Stability – good
strength and stiffness under adverse loading and climatic (moisture) conditions, incompressibility, good
drainage properties, ease of compaction, volume stability (no/minimum shrink / swell characteristics
with change in moisture content).

In this section some common basic soil identification and classification tests routinely carried out on
subgrade soils and some empirical tests specifically developed for subgrade evaluation for pavement
design purposes will be discussed.

While conducting the soil testing, reference is frequently made to the standard methods of testing such
as British Standard (BS), American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), and American
Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). It should be noted that when
actually performing tests it is of the utmost importance that the specified standards be followed
precisely, as small differences in the testing procedure may have a noticeable influence on the test
result obtained.

4.3.1 Gradation Test (AASHTO T88)

The type of soil can be described in terms of the particle sizes present. The particles in soil may range
from granular fractions (boulders and cobbles - >75mm in size, Gravels 75 – 4.75mm in size; Sand –
4.75 – 0.075mm) to fine fractions which are too small to measure dierectly (silt – 0.075mm – 0.002mm
& clay - < 0.002mm and colloids - <0.001mm in size). Gradation test is conducted in order to obtain the
maximum size and the grain size distribution of particles in the soil. . it is expressed in terms of particles
by weight finer than specified sizes. Gradation test (sieve Analysis) is carried out for soil particles larger
than 0.075(0.063)mm. Sedimentation tests (Hydrometer test) is conducted for smaller (finer) particles.

64
Sedimentation tests are relatively complex (for site laboratories) and the properties of the silt and clay
fraction for road projects are generally assessed by plasticity tests.

Depending on the sample at hand, different types of gradation tests may be carried out: Dry Sieve
Analysis (for pure coarse or granular materials with out fines), Wet sieve analysis with/without
sedimentation test on the fine fractions (for mixture of coarse and fine grained soils) and hydrometer
analysis (for fine grained soils).

The gradation of soils influences many properties of the soil such as density/compactibility,
strength/stability/deformability, voids content, permeability, etc. Also particle shape, mineral
composition and degree of compaction have an effect on the above properties. Soil
classification/characterization and descriptions based on results of gradation tests are described at the
end of this chapter.

4.3.2 Atterberg Limits

Soils containing clay exhibit a property called plasticity. Plasticity is the ability of a material to be
moulded (irreversibly deformed) with out fracturing. This behavior is unique to clays and arises due to
the electrochemical behavior of clay minerals.

The stiffness or consistency of fine grained soils depends on their moisture content, and varies with
variations in the amount of moisture present. Depending on its moisture content, a soil can exist in one
of the following states: viscous liquid, plastic solid, semi solid and solid. Atterberg in 1911 proposed a
series of tests, mostly empirical, for the determination of the consistency properties/states of fine
grained soils. Atterberg limits define the moisture contents at which the soil changes from one state to
another. These include the liquid limit (LL), the plastic limit (PL), shrinkage limit (SL). They are
determined by tests carried out on the fine soil fraction passing the 425μm (No. 40) sieve.

Liquid limit (AASHTO T89) may be defined as the minimum water content at which the soil will start to
flow under the application of a standard shearing force (dynamic loading).

Plastic limit (AASHTO T90) – measure of toughness – the moisture content at which the soil begins to
fracture when rolled into a 3mm diameter thread.

65
Shrinkage limit 9AASHTO T92) is the maximum moisture content after which further reduction in water
content does not cause reduction in volume. It is the lowest water content at which a clayey soil can
occur in a saturated state.

Plasticity index (PI=LL-PL) is the numerical difference between the liquid and plastic limits. Thus, it
indicates the range of moisture content over which the soil remains deformable (in plastic state).

Figure Error! No text of specified style in document.-1: Consistency limits of soils

Another index that is used to reflect the properties of the natural soil is the liquid index (LI) and is
defined as:

wn − PL
LI = (4.1)
PI

where, wn is the natural moisture content of the soil.

Consistency limits and the plasticity index are used in the identification and classification of soils.
Generally, soils having high values of liquid limit and plasticity index are poor as subgrades/engineering
materials. Both the liquid limit and plastic limit depend on the type and amount of clay in the soils. In
soils having same values of liquid limit, but with different values of plasticity index; it is generally found
that rate of volume change and dry strength increases and permeability decreases with increase in
plasticity index. On the other hand, in soils having same values of plasticity index but different values of
liquid limit, it is seen that compressibility and permeability increase, and dry strength decreases with
increase in liquid limit. Soils that cannot be rolled to a thread at any water content are termed as Non-
Plastic (NP).

66
4.3.3 Compaction Test

Compaction is the process by which air is excluded from a soil mass to bring the particles closer
together and thus increase its density (dry density). The state of compaction of a soil is appropriately
expressed in terms of the dry density ( d) which is a measure of the state of packing of soil particles.

In-situ soils (foundation soils) in highway construction or other structures, and imported soils used in
embankments, subbases, bases in roads or other types of construction projects are placed in layers
and compacted to a higher density. Increasing the density of a soil improves its strength, lowers its
permeability, and reduces deformability (settlement, volume change). Compaction is achieved in the
field by using hand-operated tampers, sheep-foot rollers, rubber-tired rollers, or other types of roller.
The maximum density achieved because of compaction with rollers, and other types of compaction
equipment is measured in the field and compared with the maximum dry density of the soil previously
determined in laboratory compaction tests. This is the most common method of quality control at
construction sites.

If a loose soil is compacted by the application of a fixed amount of energy, then the dry density
achieved is related to the moisture content. The moisture-density relationship of soils was first studied
by Procter, and the test is sometimes known as Procter test. The dry density that can be obtained by
compaction varies with the moisture content, type of soil being compacted, and the compaction effort.
The relationship between moisture content and dry density for practically all soils takes the form shown
in Error! Reference source not found..

It can be seen from this relationship that for a given compactive effort, the dry density of a soil will vary
with its water content. At low moisture content, the soil is dry and stiff and friction between adjacent
particles prevents/limits relative movement between particles to assume denser configuration. As water
is added, larger films of water form around the particles, causing lubrication effects and facilitating
relative movements between particles to assume denser configuration (high density of soil mass).
Thus, the density increase and the air content decreases as the moisture increases. At some moisture
content, the soil attains the maximum practical degree of saturation (S<100%). The degree of
saturation, S, cannot be increase further due to entrapped air in the void spaces and around the
particles. Hence any further addition of water will result in the voids being overfilled with water causing
separation of particles and reduction of density (the additional water taking the space of the solid
particles). The moisture content at which maximum dry density is obtained is known as optimum
moisture content (OMC). At moisture content higher than the OMC, the air and water in the soil mass

67
tend to keep particles apart and prevent compaction. The dry density at higher moisture contents than
OMC, thus, decreases and the total voids increase.

Figure 4-2: Typical compaction curve

The zero-air void (ZAV) curve shown in Error! Reference source not found. is the theoretical
moisture-density curve for a saturated soil (where volume of voids filled with air is 0% (zero-air voids) or
degree of saturation S=100%). This curve is not attained in the field, since zero-air void cannot be
attained. Points on the ZAV curve may be calculated by

γ w Gs
γd = (4.2)
1 + wG s

where, γd= Dry density of soil,

γw= unit weight (density) of water,
Gs=specific gravity of soil particles, and
w= moisture content of the soil.

The distance between the zero-air void (ZAV) curve and the test moisture-density curve is an indication
of the amount of air voids remaining in the soil at different moisture contents. The farther away a point
on the moisture-density curve is from the ZAV curve, the more air voids remaining in the soil and the
higher is the like hood of expansion or swelling if the soil is exposed to water. Swelling of such soil can
be reduced by compacting at higher moisture content.

68
Soil type and gradation heavily affect the density that can be achieved by compaction. Granular, well-
graded soils generally have fairly high maximum densities at lower optimum moisture contents, while
clayey soils have lower densities and higher OMC. The edge-to-side bonds between clay particles
resist compactive efforts preventing attainment of denser structure. With granular soils, the more well-
graded soils have spaces between large particles that are filled with smaller particles when compacted,
leading to a higher density than with uniform or poorly graded soils. Typical moisture-density curves for
different types of soils are shown in Figure Error! No text of specified style in document.-2. Note that a
line joining the peak points of the density curves would be approximately parallel to the ZAV curve. This
is due to the fact that most soils at their maximum density still contain about 2-3% air.

a - Gravel-sand mixture
b - Well graded sand
c - Uniform sand
d - Mixed soil
e - Heavy clay

Figure Error! No text of specified style in document.-2: Compaction curves for different types soils

The OMC and the maximum dry density that can be attained on a given soil also depend on the
compactive effort used as shown in Figure Error! No text of specified style in document.-3. Compactive
effort is a measure of the mechanical energy imposed on the soil mass during compaction (energy per
unit volume). For a given soil, increase in compactive effort generally results in an increase in dry
density and a decrease in optimum moisture content.

69
 Figure Error! No text of specified style in document.-3: Effect of compactive effort on dry density

Laboratory compaction test: is a standard method of compaction using a standard amount of

compactive effort to produce a soil density against which site density values can be compared. The
original test involved compacting the soil in three approximately equal layers in a standard mould, using
a 2.5kg hammer falling through a height of 305mm (standard compaction test). However, with the
advent of heavier compaction equipment, greater densities were now achievable in the field. A modified
version of the test was developed to allow the application of greater compactive effort (and achieve
greater density) – i.e. compacting the soil of the same height in five approximately equal layers using a
4.5kg hammer falling through 457mm height (modified or heavy compaction test).

The soil sample is first air dried and sieved (usually through the 4.75-mm (No.4) sieve or 19mm sieve),
mixed thoroughly with water and then compacted in layers. The mass of the compacted sample is
measured (W), and a small sample taken to measure the corresponding moisture content (w). More
water is then added to the soil, and the procedure repeated until the dry density obtained decreases.
Comparison of standard and modified compaction tests is given in the following table;

Table 4.4: Standard and Modified compaction tests

Standard Compaction Modified (Heavy) Compaction
Test (AASHTO T99) Test (AASHTO T180)
Items
Diameter of mould (mm) 101.6/152.4 101.6/152.4
Height of sample (mm) 117 117
Number of lifts (layers) 3 5

70
 Number of blows per lift 25/56 25/56
Weight of Hammer 2.5kg 4.5kg
Diameter of end face of 51 51
hammer (mm)
Free fall height (mm) 305 457
3
Net volume of mould (cm ) 944/2124 944/2124

Note: larger diameter mould (152.5mm) is used for gravelly soils (soils with a significant amount of
gravel).

The bulk density of the soil for each trial is obtained by dividing the weight of the soil by the total volume
(γb=W/V). The dry density of the soil is determined by:

γm
γd = (4.3)
1+ w

Where γ b = bilk unit weight, w = moisture content

Field density test: Since the compatibility of soils varies considerably, the construction requirements
for roads are usually specified as a percentage of the maximum dry density found in a laboratory
compaction test for each soil type encountered on the project. For example, a project specification
might require that the soil be compacted to 95% of the maximum dry density found by the standard
compaction test. Quality control of compaction on a construction project involves conducting standard
field compaction tests on each soil type and constructed layer after compaction, and comparing the
result with the laboratory maximum dry density value for the soil, to ascertain if the specifications have
been met. If the maximum dry density from the test was 2000 kg/m3 at an optimum water content of
11%, the required field density would be 95% of 2000, or 1900 kg/m3. The moisture content of the soil
should be as close as possible to 11%, which reduces the required compactive effort (for example,
number of passes of the roller).

Field density tests are made using either destructive or nondestructive methods.

Destructive methods: the simplest is the core-cutter method. This method can be used only on
cohesive soils free from coarse-grained material. It involves driving a hollow metal cylinder, which has a
cutting edge, into the soil to remove an undistributed sample on which dry density and moisture content

71
determinations can be made. The other commonly used methods are the Sand Replacement method
and Rubber Balloon method. In these methods, a sample of compacted material is dug out of a test
hole in the soil layer whose density is being checked. The bulk mass of the soil removed is immediately
weighed (making sure that it does not loose any moisture) and the sample transported to the laboratory
for measuring the moisture content or the oven dried mass. The volume originally occupied by the
sample (the test hole) is then measured. The two methods differ in the method used to measure the
volume of the test hole. In the rubber balloon method, the volume is determined by forcing a liquid-filled
balloon into the test hole. The rubber membrane allows the fluid to fill all the cavities in the test hole.
The volume of fluid required to do this is read on a scale on the apparatus. In the sand replacement
method (using a sand cone apparatus), the weight of a standard dry sand (Ws), of known unit weight,
γs, required to fill the test hole is measured. The volume of the test hole is then determined from the
known unit weight of the sand as follows:

V=Ws/γs (4.4)

The quick and nondestructive method of measuring the in situ density and moisture content of the
compacted soil is the nuclear method. Using the nuclear equipment, the density is obtained by
measuring the scatter of gamma radiation by the soil particles since the amount of rays is proportional
to the bulk density of the soil. The moisture content is also obtained by measuring the scatter of
neutrons emitted in the soil due to the presence of hydrogen atoms. The detector in the nuclear
equipment measures the amount of rays and the neutrons that passes through the soil, and thus the
density and the moisture content can be calculated.

4.3.4 California Bearing Ratio (CBR) Test

The CBR test was originally developed by the California Division of Highways in the 1930s, as part of a
study of pavement failures. Its purpose was to provide an assessment of the relative stability of fine
crushed rock base materials. The test has been modified since then and extended to subgrades. It is
now widely used for evaluating the stability or strength of subgrade soil and other flexible pavement
materials for pavement design throughout the world. The CBR values obtained from either laboratory
tests or in-situ (field tests) have been correlated with flexible pavement thickness requirements for
highways and airfields.

In this test, a plunger is made to penetrate the soil, which is compacted to the prevalent dry density and
moisture content anticipated in the field (or to MDD and OMC as specified) in a standard mould (CBR

72
mould) at a specified rate of penetration. The resulting load-penetration curve is compared with that
obtained for a standard crushed rock material, which is considered an excellent base course material.
Depending upon the prevailing climatic conditions of the site, the compacted specimens are immersed
in water for four days before the penetration test. The soaking process is to simulate the worst moisture
condition of the soil that may occur in the field. During this period, the sample is loaded with a
surcharge load that simulates the estimated weight of pavement layers over the material tested. Any
swell due to soaking is also measured.

The load is applied by cylindrical metal plunger of 50 mm diameter, the standard penetration rate used
is 1.27mm/minute and readings of the applied load are taken at appropriate intervals of penetration
(0.5mm, 1.27mm(0.5”)) up to a total penetration of usually not more than 7.5 mm-12.7mm.

Typical test results are illustrated in Error! Reference source not found.. It sometimes happens that
the plunger is still not perfectly bedded in the specimen and, as a result of this and other factors, a load-
penetration curve with a shape similar to that of curve for Test 2 in Error! Reference source not
found. may be obtained instead of the more normal shaped curve illustrated by the curve for Test 1.
When this happens the curve must be corrected by drawing a tangent at the point of greatest slope and
then transposing the axis of load so that zero penetration is taken as the point where the tangent cuts
the axis of penetration (as illustrated in Error! Reference source not found.).

The CBR is then determined by reading off from the curve the load that causes a penetration of 2.54
mm and dividing this value by the standard load (13.34kN) required to produce the same penetration in
the standard crushed stone as

Unit load for 2.54 mm penetration in test specimen

CBR = × 100 (4.5)
Unit load for 2.54 mm penetration in sandard crushed roack

Similarly, the CBR at 5.08 mm penetration is obtained by dividing the load causing a penetration of 5.08
mm with the standard load of 20kN required to produce the same penetration in standard crushed
stone. The CBR corresponding to 2.54mm penetration is normally greater than that at 5.08mm pen.,
and is accepted as the CBR of the soil (provided that it is greater than that obtained at 5.08mm
penetration). AASHTO T193 test procedure stipulates that, if the CBR at 5.08 mm pen. is greater than
that at 2.54mm pen., the entire test should be repeated on a fresh sample. If the 5.08 mm pen. CBR in
the repeat test is still greater, then it is accepted as the CBR of the soil.

73
 Figure 4.5: Typical Load – Penetration Curve

Apparatus is also available to carry out in situ CBR tests in the field on exposed subgrades, subbases,
and bases. Such testes can be useful in investigating pavement failures and also in examining existing
roads in good condition. Accompanied by measurements of field densities and moisture conditions,
such testing provides a useful means of building up knowledge of appropriate pavement design criteria
for local soils under the locally prevailing climatic conditions.

Design Subgrade CBR: The strength of subgrade soils is dependent on the type of soil, density, and
moisture content. Hence to determine the subgrade strength, which would be used for design of the
road pavement structure, it is apparent to ascertain the density-moisture content-strength relationship
specific to the subgrade soils encountered along the project road. The design CBR of the subgrade soil,
therefore, should be evaluated at the moisture content and density representative to the subgrade
condition during the service time of the pavement structure. For wet or moderate climatic zones and

74
where the ground water influences the subgrade moisture content, the CBR test is carried out after 4
days of soaking.

A road section for which a pavement design is undertaken should be subdivided into subgrade areas
where the subgrade CBR can be reasonably expected to be uniform, i.e. without significant variations.
Identification of sections deemed to have homogenous subgrade conditions is carried out by desk studies
on the basis of geology, pedology, drainage conditions and topography, and considering soil categories
which have fairly consistent geotechnical characteristics (e.g. grading, plasticity, CBR). Usually, the
number of soil categories and the number of uniform subgrade areas will not exceed 4 or 5 for a given
road project. The design subgrade CBR for homogenous section is usually taken as the 90 %-ile value of
the CBR test results as shown in Figure Error! No text of specified style in document.-4.

Figure Error! No text of specified style in document.-4: Design CBR as the 90 % -ile value

4.3.5 Resilient Modulus Test

The resilient modulus has recently been accepted as the most representative test for soils and
aggregates under highway loading conditions. Stress in pavements is due to repeated moving wheel
loads, and hence this test simulates the soil under a series of load applications. The resilient modulus,
MR, is the elastic modulus obtained from repetitive load test that simulates the actual pavement loading.
It is calculated as the ratio of the imposed repeated deviator stress (σd) to the recoverable axial strain
εr.

75
 Accumulated
plastic strain

Figure 4-7: Strains under repeated loads.

The above figure shows the straining of a specimen under a repeated load test. At the initial stage of
load applications, there is considerable permanent deformation, as indicated by the plastic strain. As
the number of repetitions increases, the plastic strain due to each load repetitions decreases. After 100
to 200 repetitions, the strain is practically all recoverable, as indicated by εr in the figure. A triaxial
device equipped for repetitive load condition is used to carry out resilient modulus test. The test may be
conducted on all types of unbounded pavement materials ranging from cohesive to stabilized materials.
However this test is not available in most cases and hence some recommendations are made to
correlate the CBR values with the resilient modulus. The asphalt Institute recommends the following
approximate relationships in their design method:

MR (MPa) = 10.35 X CBR value (4.6)

4.3.6 Other soil Tests

There are other tests likely to be used for soil surveys, design and control of construction depending on
the site conditions encountered and structures to be constructed. These include field and laboratory
tests such as those conducted to determine the shear strength, settlement, and permeability of soils.
These include tests required for special investigations relating to deep cuts, embankments over soft
and compressible soils, expansive soils and natural slopes (Refer to ERA, Site Investigation Manual,
2001).
Procedures for these and those described above are defined in BS, ASTM, AASHTO and other
equivalent standards.

76
4.4 Soil Classification for Highway Use

The purpose of soil classification system is to group soils with similar properties or attributes. As a
means of obtaining general behavior, soils are systematically categorized on the basis of some
common characteristics obtained from visual inspection/description and laboratory tests. Various soil
classification systems are in use throughout the world in different areas of study. In highway
engineering, soils are classified by conducting relatively simple tests on disturbed samples to serve as
a means of identifying suitable materials and predicting the probable behavior when used as subgrade
or subbase material. The two most important soil characteristics used in classifying soils are their grain
size distribution and plasticity.

The most commonly used classification systems for highway purposes are the American Association of
State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Classification System and the Unified Soil
Classification System (USCS). These classification systems only help engineers to predict how the soil
will behave if used as a subgrade or subbase material, however, the information obtained should not be
regarded as a substitute for the detailed investigation of the soil properties.

4.4.1 AASHTO Classification System

The AASHTO Classification System is based on the Public Roads Classification System that was
developed from the results of extensive research conducted by the Bureau of Public Roads, now known
as the Federal Highway Administration of the United States. Several revisions have been made to the
system since it was first published. The system has been described by AASHTO as a means for
determining the relative quality of soils for use in embankments, subgrades, subbases, and bases.

In this system of classification, soils are categorized into seven groups, A-1 through A-7, with several
subgroups, as shown in Error! Not a valid bookmark self-reference.. The classification of a given soil is
based on its particle size distribution, LL, and PI. Soils are evaluated within each group by using an
empirical formula to determine the group index (GI) of the soils, given as

GI = (F - 35)[0.2 + 0.005(LL - 40)] + 0.01(F - 15)(PI - 10) (4.7)

where, GI = group index
F = % of soil particles passing 0.075 mm (No. 200) sieve in whole number based on material
passing 75 mm (3 in.) sieve,
LL = liquid limit expressed in whole number, and
PI = plasticity index expressed in whole number.

77
 Table Error! No text of specified style in document.-5: AASHTO soil classification system

The GI is determined to the nearest whole number. A value of zero should be recorded when a
negative value is obtained for the GI. Also, in determining the GI for A-2-6 and A-2-7 subgroups, the LL
part is not used, that is, only the second term of the equation is used. Classifying soils under the
AASHTO system is finding the correct group for the particle size distribution and atterberg limits of the
soil from the classification In this system of classification, soils are categorized into seven groups, A-1
through A-7, with several subgroups, as shown in Error! Not a valid bookmark self-reference.. The
classification of a given soil is based on its particle size distribution, LL, and PI. Soils are evaluated
within each group by using an empirical formula to determine the group index (GI) of the soils, given as

GI = (F - 35)[0.2 + 0.005(LL - 40)] + 0.01(F - 15)(PI - 10) (4.7)

where, GI = group index
F = % of soil particles passing 0.075 mm (No. 200) sieve in whole number based on material
passing 75 mm (3 in.) sieve,
LL = liquid limit expressed in whole number, and
PI = plasticity index expressed in whole number.
Table Error! No text of specified style in document.-5. The group is then designated using the GI
value. Granular soils fall into classes A-1 to A-3.

A-1 soils consist of well-graded granular materials, A-2 soils contain significant amounts of silts and
clays, and A-3 soils are clean but poorly graded sands. A-4 soils cover non-plastic or moderately plastic
soils, and A-5 contains similar material to Group A-4 but exhibits high LL. A-6 soils are typical plastic
clays exhibiting high volume change between wet and dry states. Group A-7 covers plastic clays,
having high values of LL and PI and show high volume change.

78
In general, according to the AASHTO system of classification, the suitability of a soil deposit for use in
highway construction can be summarized as follows.

1. Soils classified as A-1-a, A-1-b, A-2-4, A-2-5, and A-3 can be used satisfactorily as subgrade or

subbase material if properly drained. In addition, such soils must he properly compacted and

covered with an adequate thickness of pavement for the surface load to be carried.
2. Materials classified as A-2-6, A-2-7, A-4, A-5, A-6, A-7-5, and A-7-6 will require a layer of
subbase material if used as subgrade. If these are to be used as embankment materials, special
attention must be given to the design of the embankment.
3. Generally, as the GI of a soil increases its value as subgrade material decreases. For example,
a soil with a GI of 0 (an indication of a good subgrade material) will be better as a subgrade
material than one with GI of 20 (an indication of a poor subgrade material).

4.4.2 Unified Soil Classification System (USCS)

Originally developed by Casagrande during World War II for use in airfield construction, USCS has
been modified several times to obtain the current version. The fundamental premise used in the USCS
system is that, the engineering properties of any coarse-grained soil depend on its particle size
distribution, whereas those for a fine-grained soil depend on its plasticity. Thus, the system classifies
coarse-grained soils on the basis of grain size characteristics and fine-grained soils according to
plasticity characteristics.

In this system of classification, material that is retained in the 75 mm (3 in.) sieve is recorded, but only
that which passes is used for the classification of the sample. Soils are designated by letter symbols
with each letter having a particular meaning as defined as follows:

Coarse-grained soils. Soils with more than 50 percent of their particles being retained on the No. 200
sieve are classified as coarse-grained soils. The coarse-grained soils are subdivided into gravels (G) ⎯
soils having more than 50 percent of their particles larger than4.75 mm (i.e., retained on No. 4 sieve)
and sands (S) ⎯ those with more than 50 percent of their particles smaller than 4.75 mm (i.e., passed
through No. 4 sieve). The gravels and sands are further divided into four subgroups, each based on
grain size distribution and the nature of the fine particles in them as well graded (W), poorly graded (P),
silty (M), or clayey (C). Gravels can be described as either well-graded gravel (GW), poorly graded

79
gravel (GP), silty gravel (GM), or clayey gravels (GC), and sands can be described as well-graded sand
(SW), poorly graded sand (SP), silty sand (SM), or clayey sand (SC).

A gravel or sandy soil is described as well graded or poorly graded, depending on the values of two
shape parameters known as the coefficient of uniformity, Cu, and the coefficient of curvature, Cc given
as

D60
Cu =
D10

( D30 ) 2
and Cc = (4.8)
D10 × D60

where, D60 = grain diameter at 60% passing

D30 = grain diameter at 30% passing
D10 = grain diameter at 10% passing

Accordingly, gravels are described as well graded if Cu is above 4, and Cc is between 1 and 3. Sands
are also described as well graded if Cu is above 6, and Cc is between 1 and 3.

Moreover, coarse-grained soils with more than 12 percent fines (i.e., passes No. 200 sieve) are
classified as silty or clayey depending on their LL plots. Those soils with plots below the “A” line
(defined as below) or with a PI less than 4 are silty gravel (GM) or silty sand (SM), and those with plots
above the "A” line with a PI greater than 7 are classified as clayey gravels (GC) or clayey sands (SC).

Fine-grained soils. Soils with less than 50 percent of their particles retained on the No. 200 sieve are
classified as fine-grained soils. The fine-grained soils are subdivided into clays (C) or silt (M) based on
a plasticity chart plotted PI versus LL of the soil from which a dividing line known as the "A" line
separates the more clayey materials from the silty materials. The equation of the “A” line is

PI = 0.73(LL − 20 ) (4.9)

Soils that fall below the “A” line are silty soils, whereas those with plots above the "A” line are clayey
soils. Organic clays are an exception to this general rule since they plot below the "A" line. Organic
clays, however, generally behave similarly to soils of lower plasticity. The organic, silty, and clayey soils
are further divided into two groups, one having a relatively low LL (L) and the other having a relatively
high LL (H). The dividing line between high LL soils and low LL soils is arbitrarily set at 50 percent.
Fine-grained soils are, thus, further classified as either silt with low plasticity (ML), silt with high

80
plasticity (MH), clays with high plasticity (CH), clays with low plasticity (CL), or organic with high
plasticity (OH).

Table 4- 6: Unified Soil Classification System

81
82
5. PAVEMNET MATERIALS - UNBOUND GRANULAR MATERIALS

5.1 Introduction

Pavement design requires the efficient use of locally available materials if economically
constructed roads are to be built.

Pavement materials include:

Granular materials (aggregates) – which includes crushed rock aggregates obtained from hard
rock sources, natural (pit-run) gravels, gravel-sand-soil mixtures either as dug or semi-processed
(i.e. screening, crushing of oversized stones, mixing with other materials (mechanical
stabilization) and other artificial or modified materials

Binders – surfacing binders such as bitumen and cement; binders used for stabilizing or
modifying the properties of subgrade/subbase/base such as lime, cement, foam bitumen, etc.

Granular materials (aggregates) make up the bulk (by volume and weight) of the pavement
structure and are used in different layers of pavement structure. They may be used alone or in
combination with various types of cementing materials. They provide a number of functions
depending on the layer in which they are used. In general, they have to be stable and hard to
carry the loads by traffic and construction equipment without failure, excessive deformation and
other undue effects, they have to be able to resist wear due to abrasion by traffic and they have
to be durable to resist undue environmental effects (like freezing and thawing, moisture
variations (wetting and drying). The manner in which they do so depends on the inherent
properties and qualities of the individual particles and on the means by which they are held
together (i.e. interlocking, binders, or both).

In Gravel Roads, soil-aggregates form the entire pavement structure; have to be well graded to
furnish adequate stability (strength and stiffness) to carry traffic stresses, should possess
adequate amount of fines and plasticity of fines to bind the coarse aggregates.

Subbase aggregates in flexible pavements are specified mainly by their gradation:- to furnish
adequate load-bearing capacity to carry construction traffic and further reduce traffic stresses on
subgrade, prevent the intrusion of fine particles (filtration as required), improve the subsurface
drainage characteristics of the roadway, etc.

82
Base layer aggregates should have such properties and be graded in such a manner that they have
high stability (strength and stiffness), which is the factor of primary importance. Base layers may
also be used for subsurface drainage.

Base/Subbase Aggregates, under rigid pavements, are not specified mainly by their the load-
bearing capacity, but emphasis is also placed on achieving a gradation which will prevent
pumping of the subgrade or intrusion of frost-susceptible materials while at the same time
improving the subsurface drainage characteristics of the roadway.

In high-quality bituminous road surfacing, aggregates comprise of up to about 95 per cent of the
weight of the surfacing. The surfacing aggregates should have adequate stability (as they are
primarily responsible for any load-carrying capacity which the surfacing may have); must be
resistant to abrasion and durable (resistant to adverse weather conditions). Although there are
very many types of bituminous surfacing, in general, the ideal aggregates should have adequate
strength and toughness, ability to crush into chunky particles, free from dust, unduly thin and
elongated particles, and hydrophilic (water loving) characteristics, and should have particle size
and gradation appropriate to the type of construction. These criteria are also important for
concrete, particularly those relating to particle shape and size distribution, since they affect water
requirements and workability of concrete mixes as well as other important concrete properties.

A wide range of materials can be used as unbound base and subbase courses including crushed
quarried rock, crushed and screened, mechanically stabilized, modified or naturally occurring “as
dug” or “pit run” gravels. Their suitability for use depends primarily on the design traffic level of
the pavement and climate. However, such materials must have a particle size distribution and
particle shape which provide high mechanical stability and should contain sufficient fines
(amount of material passing the 0.425 mm sieve) to produce a dense material when compacted.
The use of locally available materials is encouraged, particularly at low traffic volumes. Their
use should be based on the results of performance studies and should incorporate any special
design features which ensure their satisfactory performance.

83
5.2 Sources of Aggregates

Sources of aggregates for use in pavement works include:

Hard rock sources (crushed quarried rock) – hard sound bed rock exposures that need
blasting and crushing

Naturally occurring gravels – which includes alluvial deposits, and highly weathered and
fractured residual formations (rippable or can be worked using earth moving machinery such as
Dozers). These may be used as is (pit-run) or may need further processing to be suitable for use
such as crushing over sized stones and screening and/or other modifications such as mechanical
stabilization.

The principal sources of road aggregates in Ethiopia include natural sand and gravel deposits,
and crushed rock. Pulverized concrete and asphalt pavements and other recycled and waste
materials are not used, but could be the future source of pavement materials.

Crushed aggregates - Hard rocks are important sources of aggregates. There are different types
of rocks, all composed of grains of crystalline minerals held together in a variety of ways. The
Property of a rock depends upon the properties of its constituent minerals and nature of bond
between them (i.e. composition, grain size and texture of the rock) which in turn depends on its
mode of origin. Geologists classify rocks into three major types according to their mode of
origin/formation. These are Igneous, Sedimentary, and Metamorphic rocks.

Igneous rocks are formed from the cooling of molten material (magma). Some
classifications/definitions related to igneous rocks are given below:

Extrusive (volcanic) igneous rocks (Basalts, Rhyolite, Trachyte) – which formed on or near the
surface of the earth’s crust due to rapid cooling of magma and hence rocks are fine grained
(glassy or vitreous/like a glass (without crystal) or partly vitreous and partly crystalline (with
small grain sizes)).

Intrusive (Plutonic) igneous rocks (Granite, Gabbro) – formed by the cooling of magma below
the earth’s surface, and hence are crystalline (the crystals may be big enough to be visible by the
naked eye).

Acidic Rocks – igneous rocks with high silica (Sio2) content > 63%. (granite, rhyolite)

84
Intermediate rocks – igneous rocks with intermediate silica content, Sio2 between 52% - 62%.
(andesite, diorite)

Basic rocks – igneous rocks with low silica content, Sio2 between 45 – 52%. (Basalt, gabbro).

Generally speaking, igneous rocks with medium grain sized particles are preferable as source for
aggregates. Coarse grained rocks (grain size >1.25mm) are liable to be brittle and to break down
under compacting roller (not tough). While rocks with too fine grain sizes (<0.125mm) and if
especially vesicular, the aggregates are liable to be brittle and splittery (flaky/elongated shapes).
Acidic rocks tend to be –vely charged and aggregates containing large amounts of feldspar and
quartz in large crystals do not bind well with bitumen (bitumen has a slight –ve charge). Basic
rocks bind well with bitumen. Most common igneous rocks used for production of aggregate are
basalt and granite which are both strong and resistant to wear. But one may need to check the
bonding property of granitic aggregates with bitumen, which may need anti-stripping agent.

Sedimentary rocks are formed from the solidification of chemical or mineral sediments deposited
under ancient seas. They are usually layered since the original material was deposited in this
manner. Sedimentary rocks may be siliceous rocks – formed from disintegrated rock sediments
transported by wind or water, re-deposited as sediments, then consolidated or cemented in to a
new rock type (e.g. conglomerate (consolidated gravel), sand stone (consolidated sand), shales
(consolidated mud/clay, rich in organic matter: silt stone or clay stone). Calcareous rocks – rocks
formed by chemical deposition of organic remains in water (Gypsum, chalk, Limestone).
Indurated sediementary rocks (Fine grained well cemented sand stones, limestones) are used as
aggregate sources. However, they are not entirely satisfactory as high quality aggregates due to
their variable cementation (hence variable strength and durability), their tendency to polish (not
suitable for surfacing aggregates) and risk of alkali aggregate reaction (concrete aggregates).

Metamorphic rocks are igneous or sedimentary rocks that have been changed (metamorphosed)
due to intense heat and pressure into new rocks by the recrystallization of their constituents (e.g.
Quartzite, Gneiss, Schist, Slate, marble, etc.). Schist and slate are highly foliated rocks which are
not desirable as they are fissile and liable to be crushed when compacted with rollers. Quartzite
and gneisses can furnished good aggregates.

The properties of aggregates produced in quarries from bedrock depend on the type of bedrock.
Igneous and metamorphic rocks are usually very hard and make excellent aggregates for most
purposes. Limestone and dolomite are quite common sedimentary rocks. They are softer than

85
igneous rocks, but are still acceptable as aggregates for most purposes. Shale, being composed of
clay grains, is very weak and disintegrates easily when exposed to the weather and is a poor
aggregate material.

Natural sand and gravel pits have been used extensively as sources of road aggregates. Sand or
gravel pit is first stripped of topsoil, vegetation, and other unsuitable material from the surface of
the deposit to obtain pit run materials. The material obtained is loose, and is usually excavated
with power shovels or front-end loaders. Often it is crushed, especially if there are cobbles or
boulders in the deposit. The smaller sizes go through the crusher without change, whereas larger
particles are broken down to the desired size. Crushed gravel, as this is called, is a high-quality
aggregate used for many purposes. Sand or gravel deposits might be composed of many different
types of mineral particles-such as limestone, sandstone, and granite--depending on the original
bedrock source of the particles.

Recycled material - the use of pulverized concrete from pavements, sidewalks, and buildings
being demolished is growing in other countries both due to the increased cost of natural
aggregates and the desire to recycle rather than landfill these materials. Recycled concrete is
crushed, processed, and used as base material and in concrete and asphalt paving mixtures.
Asphalt pavements can be recycled and reused in pavements. Pulverized asphalt mixtures are
also used as aggregates in base courses, but the proportion may be limited to about 30-50% as
the strength of the layer can be reduced due to the lubricating effect of the asphalt film on the
particles.

Aggregates produced from bedrock are obtained from quarries. Aggregate production involves
extraction (blasting and breaking to pieces), crushing (reduction to size using
compression/impact crushers) and screening. After stripping and opening the quarry, holes are
drilled from the surface. Then dynamite is placed and detonated in these holes to break the rock
into sizes that can be transported. The rock is then fed to crushers which reduce it (crush it) to
the required sizes in various types of rock crushers. The aggregates are then screened to the
various required sizes.

86
5.3 Aggregate tests

Aggregates are obtained from different sources and consequently differ considerably in their
constitutions; inevitably they differ also with regard to their engineering properties. The
properties of aggregate that are important for road construction include its cleanliness
(contamination with dust and other deleterious materials), particle size and shape, gradation,
toughness - resistance to crushing, abradability - wearing/abrasion resistance,
durability/soundness, specific gravity and water absorption, surface texture, tendency to polish,
bonding property with bitumen. Aggregate tests are necessary to determine the suitability of the
material for a specific use and to make sure that the required properties are consistently within
specification limits. The following sub-sections discuss important tests of aggregates and their
significance of application; detailed test procedures can be found in standard material testing
manuals.

Particle Size and Shape

Gradation test: Gradation is the characteristic of aggregates on which perhaps the greatest stress
is placed in specifications for highway bases, cement concretes, and asphalt mixes. Hence,
gradation test, also called sieve analysis, screen analysis or mechanical analysis, is the most
common test performed on aggregates to evaluate the suitability of the aggregate materials with
respect to their grain size distribution for a specific use. Gradation is determined by separating
the aggregates into portions, which are retained on a number of sieves or screens having
specified openings, which are suitably graded from coarse to fine. The results obtained may be
expressed either as total percentage passing or retained on each sieve or as the percentages
retained between successive sieves.

The theoretical maximum density of aggregates is obtained when the grain size distribution
follow the Fuller maximum density equation of the form

n
⎛d⎞
p = 100⎜ ⎟
⎝D⎠ (5.1)

in which, p is the percent passing sieve size "d", "D' represents the maximum aggregate size in
the material, and n is a constant which varies between 0.45 and 0.5 for maximum density. The
assumption in this relationship is that the voids between the larger particles are filled with still
smaller particles, until the smallest voids are filled with a small amount of fines. Strength, or

87
resistance to shear failure, in road bases and other aggregate layers that carry load is increased
greatly if the mixture is dense graded. The larger particles are in contact with each other,
developing frictional resistance to shearing failure, and tightly bound together due to the
interlocking effect of the smaller particles. When aggregate particles are to be bound together by
cement or bitumen, a variation in the grading of an aggregate will result in a change in the
amount of binder required to produce a material of given stability and quality. Proper aggregate
grading contributes to the uniformity, workability and plasticity of the material as it is mixed.

Often the fines content must be limited, because they are relatively weak, and require an
excessive amount of binder to cover them. If fines are present as dust on larger particles, they
weaken the bond between the cement and those particles. Fines in highway bases may lead to
drainage and frost- heaving problems. Also, excessive amounts of fines may result in weak
mixtures, as the large particles are not in contact with each other. The strength of the mixture
would then depend only on friction between the small particles, which is much less than between
large particles. In practice, the required gradation is not found naturally, particularly, if the
aggregates are pit-run materials. In such cases, combining two or more aggregates of different
sources satisfies the gradation requirement for a specific use.

Aggregate Crushing Value (ACV) Test. Aggregate crushing test evaluates the resistance of
aggregates against the gradually applied load. The test is used to evaluate the crushing strength
of available supplies of rock, and in construction, to make sure that minimum specified values
are maintained. The test is undertaken using a metal plunger to apply gradually a standard load
of 400kN to a sample of the aggregate (10 – 14 mm) contained in a standard test mould. The
amount of material passing 2.36 mm sieve in percentage of the total weight of the sample is
referred to as the Aggregate Crushing value (ACV). Over the range of normal road making
aggregates, ACVs vary from 5 percent for hard aggregates to 30 percent for weaker aggregates.
For weaker aggregates than this, the same apparatus is used to evaluate the Ten Percent Fines
value i.e. the load which produces 10 percent of fines passing 2.36 mm sieve. The value is
obtained by interpolating of the percentage of fines produced over a range of test loads.

Aggregate Impact Test. This test is a means of evaluating the resistance of aggregates to sudden
impact loading. It is carried out by filling a steel test mould with a sample of aggregate (10 – 14
mm) and then the impact load applied is by dropping hammer at a height of 380 mm. The
Aggregate Impact Value (AIV) is the percentage of fines passing 2.36 mm sieve after 15 blows.
This test produces results that are normally about 105 per cent of the ACV and it can be used for

88
the same purposes. Both tests give results which are sufficiently repeatable and reproducible for
contract specifications.

Abrasion Test. Abrasion test is the test used to know how the aggregate is sufficiently hard to
resist the abrasive effect of traffic over its service life. The most widely used abrasion test is the
Los Angeles Abrasion Test which involves the use of a steel drum, revolving on horizontal axis,
into which the test sample of chippings is loaded together with steel balls of 46.8 mm diameter.
The Los Angeles Abrasion Value (LAV) is the percentage of fines passing the 1.7 mm sieve
after a specified number of revolutions of the drum at specified speed. The drum is fitted with
internal baffles causing the aggregate and the steel balls to be lifted and then fall as the drum
revolves. The test therefore gives an indication of the impact strength in combination with the
abrasion resistance of the aggregate. For bituminous surface dressings, chippings with an ACV
less than 30 are desirable and the stronger they are the more durable will be the dressings. With
premixed bituminous materials and with crushed stone bases, high mechanical strength, though
useful, is not always of paramount importance. The repeatability and reproducibility of this test
are satisfactory and appropriate for use in contract specifications.

Soundness Test. This test procedure is useful in both survey and design for the evaluation of
aggregates to resist disintegration due to weathering. A sample of aggregate is saturated in a
solution of magnesium sulphate or sodium sulphate, and then removed and dried in an oven.
This process is repeated for five cycles. On completion, the percentage lost gives the durability
of the material. The test is not suitable for providing a single criterion for the susceptibility of
aggregates to rapid weathering but it may find a place as part of the evaluation procedure of
aggregates suspected of containing minerals that are weakened by chemical alteration.

Specific Gravity and Water Absorption. The tests are likely to be used both in surveys of
aggregate resources and in design, particularly in the interpretation of compaction tests and in
the design of bituminous mixtures. They may also be used as part of quality control during
construction, particularly when the survey has indicated that aggregate from the chosen source is
subject to variations in density. The test procedure is simple and the tests are repeatable and
reproducible.

Most rocks absorb less than one per cent by weight of water and, up to this level, water
absorption is of no great consequence. However, some rocks can absorb up to 4 percent of water.
This suggests that the rock may be of low mechanical strength and will be difficult to dry and

89
heat during processing to make bituminous mixtures. Inadequate drying will cause difficulty in
securing good adhesion between bitumen and stone, and in hot process mixtures, where the stone
must be heated to about 180oC, it causes a large waste of energy.

In the tests, a 4 kilogram sample of the crushed rock of specific nominal size chippings is soaked
in distilled water for 24 hours, weighed in water (WW), surface dried and weighed in air (WS). It
is then oven dried at 105oC for 24 hours and weighed again in air (WD). The specific gravity and
the water absorption are then obtained as follows:

WD WS − WD
Specific gravity = Water absorption (%) = × 100 (5.2)
WD − Ww WD

Shape Tests. Three mechanical measures of particle shape which may be included in the
specifications for aggregates for road construction, are the flakiness index, elongation index and
angularity number. The flakiness index of an aggregate is the percentage by weight of particles
whose least thickness is less than three-fifths of their mean dimension. The mean dimension, as
used in each instance, is the average of two adjacent sieve aperture sizes between which the
particle being measured is retained by sieving. The elongation index of an aggregate is the
percentage by weight of particles whose greatest length is greater than 1.8 times their mean
dimension. The angularity number of an aggregate is the amount, to the nearest whole number,
by which the percentage of voids exceeds 33 when an aggregate is compacted in a specified
manner in a standardized metal cylinder.

Use of the shape tests in specifications is based on the view that the shapes of the particles
influence both the strength of aggregate particles and internal friction that can be developed in
the aggregate mass. Since, other factors being equal, an aggregate composed of smooth rounded
particles of a certain gradation will contain less voids than one of the same grading but
composed of angular particles, the angularity of an aggregate can be reflected in terms of the
volume of contained voids when the aggregate is compacted. Measurements show that the
angularity number may range from zero for a material of highly rounded beach-gravel particles
to 10 or more for newly crushed rock aggregate.

90
5.1.1. Blending aggregates

To meet the gradation requirements of aggregates for particular uses in pavement construction, it
is often necessary to blend two or more aggregates together. Charts and diagrams are available to
do this blending, but the trial-and-error method is simpler and just about as fast as more complex
methods. Consider two aggregates graded and designated as aggregate A and B, and let the
specification limit be as given in Table 5-1. The use of the trail-and-error method for blending
is then illustrated as follows:

Table 5-1: Aggregate gradation to be combined to meet specification limits

% Passing

Sieve Aggregate A Aggregate B Specification Mid-point Combined aggregate

12.5 mm 100 100 90-100 95 100

No. 10 0 100 40-55 48 48

No. 200 0 14 5-10 8 7

It is clear in Table 5-1 that all the material passing a No.10 sieve must come from aggregate B,
i.e., approximately 48% which leaves 52 % for aggregate A. Or consider the retained percentage
on No.10 sieve for alternative solution. All materials retained on No.10 must come from
aggregate A, which is 52 % require in the specification, i.e. 52 % from A and 48% from B. In
both cases, the proportion which best fits the specification limits can be satisfied. The following
equation may be written to apply the procedure to any given sieve:

aA + bB = T (5.3)

where, A and B are percentages from aggregates A and B to be blended for satisfying the
specification limits. a and b are the respective sieve analysis values for a given sieve X,
expressed as a decimal fraction, and T is the sieve analysis value in the blended aggregate. The
equation can be used for gradation expressions

91
 1. Percentage retained on a given sieve,
2. Percentage passing on a given sieve, and
3. Percentage retained on two or more sieves.

The result of this equation is used to proportion the 1st trial blend for the trial-and-error method.
The second and the subsequent blends are proportioned by observation until the specification is
satisfied. In the above illustration, the equation can be written for the No.10 sieve, % passing, as:

a p Ap + b p B p = T p
(5.4)

in which the subscript p indicates the percentage passing. The known variables here are ap = 0,
bp = 1, and Tp = 48%, which implies that B = 48%. For percent retained, the equation can be
written as:

a r Ar + br Br = Tr (5.5)

in which the subscript r indicates the percentage retained. The known variables here are ar = 1,
br = 0, and Tr = 52%, which implies that A = 52%.

92
Example: Three aggregates are to be blended to meet a specification. The aggregates,
gradations, and the specification are given in Table 5-2.

Table 5-2: Aggregate gradation and specification for the example

Sieve size Aggregate Aggregate Aggregate Specification Spec. Combined

A B C Mid-point gradation

(1st trial)

Passing 12.5 mm 100 100 100 100

9.5 mm 62 100 72-88 80 79

4.75 mm 8 100 78 45-65 55 46

2.36 mm 2 91 52 30-60 45 34

1.18 mm 0 73 36 25-55 40 25

600 μm 51 29 16-40 28 18

300 μm 24 24 8-25 16.5 11

150 μm 4 20 4-12 8 6

75 μm 1 18 3-6 4.5 5

Solution:

Most of coarse aggregate will come from aggregate A and most of the fines will be obtained
from aggregate C. To obtain a mixture that is approximately in the middle of the specification,
we first use the equation and continue with more trials. The equation can be written to blend
aggregate A, B, and C for retained on 9.5 mm sieve and passing 75 μm sieve as follows:

aA + bB + cC = T (5.3)

For retained materials on 9.5 mm sieve, the known variables are ar = 0.38, br = 0, cr = 0 and Tr =
20%, which implies that A = 53%. Similarly, for passing 75 μm, the known variables are ap = 0,
bp = 0, cp = 0.18 and Tp = 4.5%, which results C = 25%, and B = 100 – 53 – 25 = 22. The first
trial blend as seen in Table 5-2 is within the specification limit, but on the coarse side. Reducing
the contribution of aggregate A and increasing B, or C or both for the second and the subsequent
trials can result in a blend more close to the middle of the specification.

93
5.4 Unbound Base and Subbase Materials (ERA Pavement Design Manual Requirements)

Unbound base and subbase courses in pavement structures are granular materials from sand or
gravel deposits or crushed rock from quarries without admixtures. The required properties of
these materials vary with the type of pavement and the depth of the material in the pavement
structure.

Different standard methods of design specify materials of construction differently considering

the traffic load, locally available materials, and environmental conditions. The following
describes the requirements set for different unbound pavement materials for base and subbase
courses as specified in ERA pavement design manual (2002).

1.1.1 Base course

Graded crushed aggregate: This material is produced by crushing fresh, quarried rock usually
termed a 'crusher-run', or alternatively the material may be separated by screening and
recombined to produce a desired particle size distribution, as per the specifications. The rock
used for crushed aggregates should be hard and durable. Laboratory and field experiences have
shown that crushed particles have, in general, more stability than rounded materials due to
primarily to added grain interlock. In addition, crushed materials possess high coefficient of
permeability. Alternate gradation limits, depending on the local conditions for a particular
project, are shown in Table 5-3. After crushing, the material should be angular in shape with a
Flakiness Index of less than 35%, and preferably of less than 30%. In constructing a crushed
stone base course, the aim should be to achieve maximum impermeability compatible with good
compaction and high stability under traffic.

94
Table 5-3: Grading limits for graded crushed stone base course materials

Test sieve (mm) Percentage by mass of total aggregate passing test sieve
Nominal maximum particle size
37.5 mm 28 mm 20 mm
50 100 - -
37.5 95 – 100 100 -
28 - - 100
20 60 – 80 70 - 85 90 – 100
10 40 – 60 50 - 65 60 – 75
5 25 - 40 35 - 55 40 – 60
2.36 15 – 30 25 - 40 30 – 45
0.425 7 – 19 12 - 24 13 – 27
0.075 1 5 – 12 5 - 12 5 – 12
Note 1. For paver-laid materials a lower fines content may be accepted.

To ensure that the materials are sufficiently durable, they should satisfy the criteria given in
Table 5-4.These are a minimum Ten Per Cent Fines Value (TFV) and limits on the maximum
loss in strength following a period of 24 hours of soaking in water. Alternatively, if requirements
expressed in terms of the results of the Aggregate Crushing Value (ACV) are used, the ACV
should preferably be less than 25 and in any case less than 29. Other simpler tests e.g. the
Aggregate Impact Test may be used in quality control testing provided a relationship between
the results of the chosen test and the TFV has been determined. Unique relationships do not exist
between the results of the various tests but good correlations can be established for individual
material types and these need to be determined locally.

The in situ dry density of the placed material should be a minimum of 98% of the maximum dry
density obtained in the Heavy Compaction. The compacted thickness of each layer should not
exceed 200 mm. Crushed stone base materials described above should have CBR values well in
excess of 100 per cent, and fines passing 0.425 mm sieve should be nonplastic.

95
Table 5-4: Mechanical strength requirements for crushed stone base defined by TFV

Typical annual rainfall Minimum 10% Minimum ratio

(Mm) fines values (kN) wet/dry Test (%)
>500 110 75
<500 110 60

Requirements for natural gravels and weathered rocks: A wide range of materials including
lateritic, calcareous and quartzitic gravels, river gravels, boulders and other transported gravels,
or granular materials resulting from the weathering of rocks can be used successfully as base
course materials. Table 5-5 contains three recommended particle size distributions for suitable
materials corresponding to maximum nominal sizes of 37.5 mm, 20 mm and 10 mm. When the
traffic is in excess of 1.5x106 ESA, only the two larger sizes should be considered.

Table 5-5: Recommended particle size distributions for base course material
Test sieve (mm) Percentage by mass of total aggregate passing test sieve
Nominal maximum particle size
37.5 mm 20 mm 10 mm
50 100 - -
37.5 80 – 100 100 -
20 60 – 80 80 – 100 100
10 45 – 65 55 – 80 80 – 100
5 30 – 50 40 – 60 50 – 70
2.36 20 – 40 30 – 50 35 – 50
0.425 10 – 25 12 – 27 12 – 30
0.075 5 – 15 5 – 15 5 – 15

For materials whose stability decreases with breakdown, an aggregate hardness based on a
minimum soaked TFV of 50 kN may be specified. The fines of these materials should preferably
be nonplastic but should normally never exceed a PI of 6. If the PI approaches the upper limit of
6, it is desirable that the fines content be restricted to the lower end of the range. To ensure this,
a maximum Plasticity Product (PP) of 60 is recommended or alternatively a maximum Plasticity
Modulus (PM) of 90 where:

96
 PP = PI x (percentage passing the 0.075 mm sieve)
PM = PI x (percentage passing the 0.425 mm sieve)

When used as a base course, the material should be compacted to a density equal to or greater
than 98 per cent of the maximum dry density achieved in the Heavy Compaction. When
compacted to this density in the laboratory, the material should have a minimum CBR of 80%
after four days immersion in water.

In low rainfall areas, typically with a mean annual rainfall of less than 500 mm, and where
evaporation is high, moisture conditions beneath a well sealed surface are unlikely to rise above
the optimum moisture content. In such conditions, high strengths (CBR>80 %) are likely to
develop even when natural gravels containing a substantial amount of plastic fines are used. In
these situations, for traffic loading within 0.7 million equivalent standard axles, the maximum
allowable PI can be increased to 12 and the minimum soaked CBR criterion reduced to 60% at
the expected field density.

Rocks such as basalts, dolerites, and granular materials derived from their weathering,
transportation or other alteration release undesirable plastic fines during construction or in
service. The release of these minerals may lead to a consequent loss in bearing capacity and this
is likely to worsen if water enters the pavement and lead to rapid and premature failure. The state
of decomposition also affects their long-term durability when stabilized with lime or cement.
When weathering is suspected, petrographic analysis to detect secondary (clay) minerals and
soundness tests using sodium or magnesium sulphate should be carried to evaluate the durability
of the materials. Indicative limits based on these tests are (a) a maximum secondary mineral
content of 20%, (b) a maximum loss of 12 or 20% after 5 cycles in the sodium or magnesium
sulphate tests respectively.

Naturally occurring gravels which do not normally meet the normal specifications for base
course materials have occasionally been used successfully. They include lateritic, calcareous and
volcanic gravels. In general their use should be confined to the lower traffic roads. Laterite
gravels with plasticity index in the range of 6-12 and plasticity modulus in the range of 150-250
is recommended for use as base course material for of traffic volume up to 1.5 million equivalent
standard axles. The values towards higher range are valid for semi-arid and arid areas of
Ethiopia, i.e. with annual rainfall less than 500 mm. Cinder gravels can also be used as base
course materials in lightly trafficked (below 0.7x106 ESA) surface dressed roads.

97
1.1.2 Sub-base course materials

The sub-base is an important load spreading layer which enables traffic stresses to be reduced to
acceptable levels on the subgrade. It also acts as a working platform for the construction of the
upper pavement layers separating the subgrade and base course. Under special circumstances, it
may serve as a filter or as a drainage layer. The selection of sub-base materials depends on the
design function of the layer and the anticipated moisture regime, both in service and at
construction.

Bearing capacity: A minimum CBR of 30 per cent is required at the highest anticipated
moisture content when compacted to the specified field density, usually a minimum of 95 per
cent of the MDD achieved in the Heavy Compaction. Under conditions of good drainage and
when the water table is not near the ground surface the field moisture content under a sealed
pavement will be equal to or less than the optimum moisture (Light Compaction). In such
conditions, the sub-base material should be tested in the laboratory in an unsaturated state. If
saturation of the sub-base is likely, the bearing capacity should be determined on samples soaked
in water for a period of four days. Materials which meet the recommendations of Table 5-6 and
Table 5-7 will usually be found to have adequate bearing capacity.

Use as a construction platform: In many circumstances the requirements of a sub-base are

governed by its ability to support construction traffic without excessive deformation or ravelling.
A high quality sub-base is therefore required where loading or climatic conditions during
construction are severe. Suitable material should possess properties similar to those of a good
surfacing material for unpaved roads. The material should be well graded and have a plasticity
index at the lower end of the appropriate range for an ideal unpaved road wearing course under
the prevailing climatic conditions. These considerations form the basis of the criteria given in
Table 5-6 and Table 5-7. Material meeting the requirements for severe conditions will
usually be of higher quality than the standard sub-base material.

In the construction of low-volume roads, where cost savings at construction are particularly
important, local experience is often invaluable and a wider range of materials may often be
found to be acceptable. In Ethiopia, laterite is one of the widely available materials and can be
used as a sub-base material. Laterite meeting the gradation requirements of Table 5-7 can
be used for traffic levels up to 3x106 ESA provided the following criteria is satisfied:

98
 Plasticity Index (%) < 25
Plasticity Modulus (PM) < 500
CBR (%) > 30

Table 5-6: Recommended plasticity characteristics for granular sub-bases

Climate Typical Annual Liquid Plasticity Linear
Rainfall Limit Index Shrinkage
Moist tropical and wet >500mm <35 <6 <3
tropical
Seasonally wet trop >500mm <45 <12 <6
Arid and semi-arid <500mm <55 <20 <10

Table 5-7: Typical particle size distribution for sub-bases

Test Sieve (mm) Percentage by mass of total aggregate
passing test sieve (%)
50 100
37.5 80 – 100
20 60 – 100
5 30 – 100
1.18 17 – 75
0.3 9 – 50
0.075 5 – 25

Filter or separating layer: This may be required to protect a drainage layer from blockage by a
finer material or to prevent migration of fines and the mixing of two layers. The two functions
are similar except that for use as a filter the material needs to be capable of allowing drainage to
take place and therefore the amount of material passing the 0.075 mm sieve must be restricted.

The following criteria should be used to evaluate a subbase as a separating or filter layer:

a) The ratio D15(coarse layer) should be less than 5

D85(fine layer)

where D15 is the sieve size through which 15% by weight of the material passes and D85 is the
sieve size through which 85% passes.

b) The ratio D50 (coarse layer) should be less than 25

D50 (fine layer)

99
For a filter to possess the required drainage characteristics a further requirement is:

c) The ratio D15 (coarse layer) should lie between 5 and 40

D15 (fine layer)

These criteria may be applied to the materials at both the base course/sub-base and the sub-
base/subgrade interfaces.

1.1.3 Selected subgrade materials and capping layers

These materials are often required to provide sufficient cover on weak subgrades. They are used
in the lower pavement layers as a substitute for a thick sub-base to reduce costs, and a cost
comparison should be conducted to assess their cost effectiveness.

The requirements are less strict than for sub-bases. A minimum CBR of 15 per cent is specified
at the highest anticipated moisture content measured on samples compacted in the laboratory at
the specified field density. This density is usually specified as a minimum of 95 per cent of the
MDD in the Heavy Compaction. Recommended gradings or plasticity criteria are not given for
these materials. However, it is desirable to select reasonably homogeneous materials since
overall pavement behaviour is often enhanced by this. The selection of materials which show the
least change in bearing capacity from dry to wet is also beneficial.

1.1.4 Gravel surface roads

Gravel surface roads are generally roads which are constructed and maintained at low cost using locally
available materials in the near vicinity of the site. Coarse well graded gravel is a very satisfactory
material for constructing cheap all-weather roads. This type of construction is designed for AADT
between 350 and 400 and when the weight of the individual vehicle is in the order of 10 ton. Beyond
these, they often become not economical. At higher traffic the following problems such as surface pitting,
the formation of transverse corrugation, high cost of replacing or grading, and dust may occur.

The general soil-aggregate mixture used for constructing gravel roads should be stable (support
the loads without detrimental deformation which is the function of particle size distribution and
particle shape, density, and internal friction and cohesion), abrasion resistant, should shed a large

100
portion of the rain which falls on the surface, posses capillarity properties to replace the moisture
lost by surface evaporation, and low-cost.

Type 1 (Table 5-8) is recommended for gravel wearing course material in the new construction
of roads having an AADT greater than 50 and for all routine and periodic maintenance activities.
According to the Tanzanian Design Manual (1999), gravel wearing course for major roads
require a minimum CBR of 25 %. Type 4 materials may be used in the new construction of roads
having an AADT less than 50. Minor gravel roads (AADTdesign less than 20) which are normally
community roads are usually unsurfaced (earth roads) and constructed by labor-based methods.
However, for subgrade CBR values less than 5% and longitudinal gradients of greater than 6%, a
gravel wearing course is recommended. Materials for gravel wearing course shall comply with
the requirements for Type 4 material for new construction and Type 1 for maintenance activities.
The CBR requirements may be reduced to 20% if other suitable material is not locally available.

Table 5-8: Gradation requirements for gravel wear course (ERA, 2001)
Test Sieve Percent(%) by mass of total aggregate passing test sieve
Size(mm)
Type 1 Type 2 Type 3 Type 4 Type 5 Type 6

50 - - - 100 - -
37.5 100 - 100 80-100 - -
28 - 100 95 - - - -
100
20 80 - 100 95 - 100 85-100 60-80 100 -
14 - 80-100 65 - - - -
100
10 55 - 100 65 - 100 55 - 45-65 80 - 100 100
100
5 40 - 60 45 - 85 35-90 30-50 60 -85 80-100
2.36 30 - 50 - - 20-40 45-70 50-80
2 - 30 - 65 22-75 - - -
1 - 25-55 18-60 - - -
0.425 15 - 30 18 - 45 15-50 10-25 25-45 25-45
0.075 5 - 15 12-32 10-40 5-15 10-25 10-25

101
Type 1: The grading of the gravel after placing and compaction shall be a smooth curve within
and approximately parallel to the envelopes detailed in Table 5-8. The material shall have a LAV
of not more than 50 at 500 revolutions. The material shall be compacted to a minimum in-situ
density of 95% of the maximum dry density. The plasticity index should be not greater than 15
and not less than 8 for wet climatic zones and should be not greater than 20 and not less than 10
for dry climatic zones. The linear Shrinkage should be in a range of 3-10%.

Type 2 & 3: These materials may be more rounded particles fulfilling the following: the
Plasticity Index lies in a range of 5-12% in wet areas, and in any case less than 16% in other
areas, a minimum crushing under traffic in percentage by weight of particles with at least one
fractured face of 40%, the CBR should be in excess of 20 after 4 days of soaking at 95% of
maximum dry density under Heavy Compaction. For very low traffic, the requirement may be
relaxed to a CBR of 15.

Type 4: This material gradation allows for larger size material and corresponds to the gradation
of a base course material. The use of this gradation of materials is subject to the local experience
and shall be used with PIs in a range of 10-20.

Type 5 & 6: These materials gradations are recommended for smaller size particles. They may
be used if sanctioned by experience with plasticity characteristics as for material Type 1.

102
 6. STABILIZED PAVEMENT MATERIALS

The term ‘soil stabilisation’ may be defined as the alteration of the properties of an existing soil
either by blending (mixing) two or more materials and improving particle size distribution or by
the use of stabilizing additives to meet the specified engineering properties. Quite often soils are
stabilized for road construction in most parts of the world for the following one or more
objectives:
• Improve the strength (stability and bearing capacity) for subgrade, subbase, base, and
low-cost road surfaces,
• Improve the volume stability – undesirable properties such as swelling, shrinkage,
high plasticity characteristics, and difficulty in compaction, etc. caused by change in
moisture,
• Improve durability – increase the resistance to erosion, weathering or traffic, and
• Improve high permeability, poor workability, dust nuisance, frost susceptibility, etc.

Due to their mineralogical composition, soils may be rather complex materials. Stabilization is
therefore not a straightforward application of a given stabilizing agent; a number of aspects
should be taken into account in the selection of the proper stabilization technique. The factors
that should be considered include physical and chemical composition of the soil to be stabilized,
availability and economical feasibility of stabilising agents, ease of application, site constraints,
climate, curing time, and safety. Such factors should be taken into account in order to select the
proper type of stabilisation.

Basically four techniques of soil stabilization are commonly practiced in pavement construction.
These are: -
ƒ Mechanical stabilization,
ƒ Cement stabilization,
ƒ Lime stabilization, and
ƒ Bitumen stabilization.

Mechanical stabilization is a method by which a soil or gravel is mixed with the original soil in
order to improve the grading and mechanical characteristics of the soil. Other methods of
stabilization use additives such as cement, lime and bitumen to improve strength, workability or
waterproofing.

103
Portland cement has been used with great success to improve existing gravel roads, as well as to
stabilize natural soils. It can be used for base courses and subbases of all types. It can be used in
granular soils, silty soils, and lean clays, but it cannot be used in organic materials. Since soil
cement shows strength gains over that of the natural material, it is very often used for base-
course construction. Another cementing agent, which is often used, is lime. Lime increases soil
strength primarily by pozzolanic action, which is the formation of cementatious silicates and
aluminates. It is the most effective agent to stabilize clayey materials. Bituminous materials are
used as stabilizers to retard or completely stop moisture absorption by coating soil or aggregate
grains in the soil-aggregate mixture. Bituminous stabilization is best for semigranular soils. As
will be seen in the coming sections, the suitability of these methods depends on site constraints,
materials, climate, and economic feasibility.
The stabilizing process with admixture involves the addition of a stabilizing agent to the soil,
mixing with sufficient water to achieve the optimum moisture content, compaction of the
mixture, and final curing to ensure that the strength potential is developed.

6.1. Mechanical Stabilization

As has been mentioned before, mechanical stabilization is an improvement of an available

material by blending it with one or more materials in order to improve the particle size
distribution and plasticity characteristics. Typical materials used for mechanical stabilization
include river deposited sand, natural gravel, silty sands, sand clays, silt clays, crushed run quarry
products and waste quarry products, volcanic cinders and scoria, poorly graded laterites and
beach sands, etc. Materials produced by blending have properties similar to conventional
unbounded materials and can be evaluated by ordinary methods.

The principal properties affecting the stability of compacted base or sub-base materials are
internal friction and cohesion. Internal friction is chiefly dependent on the characteristics of the
coarser soil particles, i.e. gravel, sand and silt sizes. The cohesion, shrinkage, swelling and
compressibility are mainly associated with the quantity and nature of the clay fraction as
indicated by plastic properties.

Preliminary mix design of mechanical stabilization is based on particle size distribution and
plastic properties. It is desirable also that strength tests (CBR, etc.) be carried out to verify that
the required improvement has been achieved. When unconventional materials are used, more

104
detailed testing and investigation will often be needed and may include the modification of the
accepted design or specification criteria.

Particle Size Distribution: While maximum frictional strength does not necessarily coincide
with maximum density, the achievement of a high density will generally provide a high
frictional strength. A particle size distribution that results maximum dry density, obtained with
the closest packing and minimum voids, has been shown experimentally to follow Fuller’s
equation with the value of the exponent 'n' usually 0.45 to 0.50 for most soils. However, with
some materials, e.g. gravel-sand-clays, high densities can be achieved with ‘n’ values as low as
0.33. For materials with a maximum size of 19 mm, the amount of fines passing the 75 μm sieve
will be 6 and 8 percent for ‘n’ values of 0.5 and 0.45 respectively. In certain cases higher
percentages of material passing the 75 μm sieve may provide the best performance.

When the pavement design relies on a relatively low permeability in the pavement courses, the
materials used should be of particle size distribution within the limits established by substituting
values of 0.50 and 0.33 for ‘n’ in the above equation. These limits are sufficiently wide to allow
for variations that will inevitably occur in field mixing. However, if plant mixing is undertaken,
more restrictive limits may be set. Where the value of the exponent ‘n’ is less than 0.33, the
fines content of the material may be excessive. A high fine content will result in reduced
permeability, but may lead to the development of pore pressures and consequent instability
during compaction or in service. Where ‘n’ is greater than 0.5, the material tends to be harsh,
and may be prone to segregation and ravelling and therefore more difficult to work.

Liquid Limit and Plasticity Index: The plasticity limits indicated in Chapter 5 for different
layers of pavement structure can generally be used as satisfactory design criteria for mechanical
stabilized materials. Moreover, Plastic Index and Linear Shrinkage of a material passing 0.425
mm are normally related to one another. The permissible values of shrinkage may be determined
by test or estimated from the permissible values of PI. Typical values are 2 % for sealed and 3 %
for unsealed pavements.

When the percentage of soil binder is low, as a rough rule, the Plasticity Modulus (PI x the
percentage passing the 425 mm sieve relative to the whole material) should not exceed 200 for
gravel to receive bituminous surface treatment. In arid climates, consideration could be given to
relax the PM to about 400, provided road formations are well drained. Slightly wider limits of
Plasticity Index may prove satisfactory with some ironstone gravels and limestone rubbles, if the

105
soil binder has some natural setting properties. This should not, however, be taken as a general
rule - each case should be treated on its merits and caution should be exercised in dealing with
new and unfamiliar materials. In the case of major works it is advisable to construct trial
sections of pavement for evaluation at least two years before embarking upon their large-scale
use.

Figure 6-1: General properties of mechanically stabilised gradings

Strength Tests: Stabilized materials may be assessed by strength tests suitable for this purpose
at the density and moisture conditions prevailing in the pavement during the service life. It is
important, in the testing of a potential base material, to be able to predict its moisture condition.
By this means, the failure envelopes at moisture conditions bracketing the equilibrium moisture
conditions and at the required density anticipated in the proposed pavement may be derived. The
equilibrium moisture conditions to be expected in a pavement may be obtained by examining
existing roads constructed from materials similar to those being investigated and assembling
such information for future use.

One of the most commonly used strength tests is the laboratory CBR test. The values given in
Table 6-1 have generally been found to be applicable. A 4-day soaking of compacted specimens
before testing is generally used. Conditions adopted for the test may be altered in respect of the
degree of compaction and moisture content, to simulate the worst conditions expected in service.

106
In some circumstances, conditioning the specimens by soaking for 4 days might be too
conservative, and in other cases a period longer than 4 days might be more appropriate for
relatively impermeable materials. In this case the adoption of a minimum CBR value different to
those tabulated above should be considered.

The selection of suitable criteria should take account of local experience, especially that related
to the performance of local materials. Design of stabilised mixtures involves characterising the
individual materials, proportioning them to fit the selected criteria, and making up a trial mixture
to check that the preferred proportions do provide the desired qualities. In addition to adequate
investigation and design, good construction and control testing techniques are essential if a
satisfactory road pavement is to result. This involves careful proportioning and thorough mixing
of the constituent materials to produce a uniform unsegregated final product which can be
compacted and finished in accordance with the specification.

Table 6-1: California bearing ratio limits for mechanical stabilised base materials
Pavement Minimum CBR values
High class, high traffic volume 100
Rural roads, wet areas 80
Rural roads, dry areas 60

6.2. Cement Stabilization

Cement is an effective stabilizing agent applicable to a wide range of soils and situations. It has
two important effects on soil behaviours:
• Reduces the moisture susceptibility of soils ⎯ cement binds the particles greatly and
reduces moisture induced volume change (shrinkage and swell) and it also improve
strength stability under variable moisture, and
• Develop inter-particle bonds in granular materials ⎯ increased tensile strength and
elastic modulus.

Soil properties progressively change with increasing cement contents. For practical reasons, two
categories of cement stabilised materials have been identified.

107
Cement modified materials ⎯ cement is used to reduce plasticity, volume-change, etc, and the
inter-particle bonds are not significantly developed. Such materials are evaluated in the same
manner as conventional unbound flexible pavement materials.

Cement bound materials ⎯ cement is used to sufficiently enhance modulus and tensile strength.
Cement bound materials have practical application in stiffening the pavement.

There are no established criteria to distinguish between modified and bound materials, but an
arbitrary limit of indirect tensile strength of 80 kN or unconfined compressive strength of 800
kPa after seven days moist curing has been suggested.

A number of factors influence the quality of the cement-soil interactions. The most important
factors can be categorized into four groups:

Nature and type of soil: This include: clay content (max 5 %), plasticity of the soil (max LL of
45) , gradation, content of organic materials (max 2 %), sulphate content (max 0.25 % for
cohesive soils and 1 % for non-cohesive soils), and PH content. Soils with high clay content and
high plasticity are difficult to mix and high additive contents are required for an appreciable
change in properties. Pre-treatment with lime however is good method to allow the soil to be
cement-stabilized later on. Basically well graded material requires less cement content than
poorly graded one. The requirements with respect to the organic matter, PH, and sulphate
contents are in fact the same as those which are used for concrete.

Cement content: The cement required to stabilize soils effectively vary with the nature and type
of soils. The criteria used are the compressive strength (about 1.7 MPa) after seven days. The
quantity required for gravely soils is generally much less than required for silty and clayey soils.
Generally, a soil is regarded to be suited for cement-stabilised if, the soil has a maximum grain
size less than 75 mm, percents passing and retained 0.075 mm sieve is less than 35 %, and
greater than 55 % respectively, and liquid and plastic limits less than 50 and 25 respectively.
Based on vast experiences on cement stabilization, the general guidelines shown in Table
6-2 have been provided regarding the amounts of cement that are needed to stabilize a soil.

108
 Table 6-2: General guidelines on cement requirement to stabilise soil

Amount of cement (%)

Soil type By weight By volume

A-1-a 3-5 5-7

A-1-b 5-8 7-9

A-2 5-9 7-10

A-3 7-11 8-12

A-4 7-12 8-13

A-5 8-13 8-13

A-6 9-15 10-14

A-7 10-16 10-14

Moisture content: Moisture is required for hydration of cement to take place, to improve the
workability, and facilitate the compaction of the soil-cement mixture. The soil-cement mixture
exhibit the same type of moisture-density relationship as an ordinary soil. Thus, for a given
compaction effort, there is an optimum moisture content at which the maximum density is
obtained. It is, however, seen that the highest compressive strength can be obtained with
specimens compacted slightly below the optimum for maximum density.

Pulverization, mixing, compaction, and curing conditions: Many procedures of construction

are available, but can be categorised into mixing in plant (in a travelling plant and stationary
plant for dry mixing), and in place mixing. The methods are principally the same except mixing
in the first is done in mixing plants and in the later is in-place. Regardless of the type of machine
used, the procedure of mix-in-place construction involves initial preparation of the subgrade,
pulverization of the soil, spreading of the soil, dry-mix the soil and the cement, adding water
and wet mix, compact and finish, and protect and cure (place a curing membrane to keep
moist).

The influence of the degree of mixing and compaction is self explaining. One should however
be aware of the fact that any delay in compaction after mixing will have a negative effect. As
with concrete, curing is an important factor influencing on the end result. The temperature

109
should be high enough and the stabilised material should be prevented from drying out in order
to obtain the best result.

Since cement stabilized materials constitute in most cases the main structural part of pavements,
much attention is given to their mechanical characteristics such as:

ƒ Tensile and compressive strength,

ƒ Deformation behaviour, and

ƒ Fatigue characteristics

Tensile and compressive strengths: After rapid strength gains in the first one to two days,
cement stabilised materials continue to gain strength, providing curing is sustained. The
compressive strength based on the unconfined compressive test increases with the cement
content in the mixture depending on the nature and types of soil as shown in Figure 6-2. It has
been used to determine the strength of stabilized materials, but has little direct application to
pavement design. CBR can be used to evaluate the strength of cement modified materials, but
not for bound materials. Tensile strength is important in the design of cement bound materials.
Density is also an important parameter which has a direct relationship with the UCS.

Figure 6-2: Effect of cement content on UCS and density of various stabilized soils

Curing temperature and curing time, compaction, and degree of pulverization are important
factors which affect the strength gained by cement stabilization. Curing time is meant the time
during which evaporation of moisture is prevented. The method of compaction is also important

110
for clayey soils. High degree of pulverization achieved in a shorter period of time leads to more
intensive reaction between soils and cement and results high strength.

Deformation behaviour: In order to make proper stress-strain analyses, information on the

elastic modulus of the materials should be known. It is well known that clays, sands, and gravels
show different elastic deformation behaviour under repetitive loading. The addition of cement
on these materials changes the elastic deformation properties, but not completely. The parent
material will have a great influence on the properties of the soil-cement mixture.

It has been shown that cemented clayey materials have a different behaviour in compression
(about 1.5 times of modulus) than in tension. However, a more or less linear behaviour is
observed up to 75 % of the failure load. Cemented clayey material also exhibits some degree of
permanent deformation under repeated loading and a certain amount of creep under steady
loads. Cemented sand and gravel exhibit a similar performance but permanent deformation and
creep are less than in cemented clayey soils. The less fines are present in the soil mixture the
more the cement-treated soil behave like concrete. Altogether, this means that the influence of
the parent soil is still noticeable in the performance of the stabilized material.

Fatigue characteristics: Cement stabilized materials cracks either due to hydration and drying
shrinkage and fatigue at the result of repeated tensile stresses (strains). Knowledge of fatigue
characteristics of cement-treated materials is essential for design purposes. It has been apparent
that the parent soil has a great influence on the fatigue characteristics of cement stabilized
materials. Although there seems a great variation, there is indeed something like a threshold
strain level under which no fatigue will occur.

Since durability and UCS are strongly related, the durability test is normally used in the soil-
cement mix design procedure. However, UCS test is also used as an additional test to the
durability test. Durability is defined as a loss in weight of a specimen after 12 freeze-thaw cycles
or 12 wet-dry cycles. The material loss is generated by brushing the samples after each cycle.

6.3. Lime stabilization

Lime is a broad term which is used to describe calcium oxide (CaO) – quick lime; calcium
hydroxide Ca(OH)2 – hydrated lime, and calcium carbonate (CaCO3) – carbonate of lime. Out of
these, calcium oxide and calcium hydroxide react with soil and calcium carbonate is of no value
for stabilization. In practice, various forms of quick lime and hydrated lime have been

111
successfully utilized as a soil stabilizing agent. The most commonly used products are hydrated
calcitic lime (Ca (OH2)), monohydrated dolomitic lime (Ca (OH2) MgO), calcitic quick lime
(CaO), dolomitic quick lime (CaO MgO). They are available as commercial and waste lime.
Lime can be applied as dry hydrated lime, quick lime or slurry lime.

As has been indicated above, lime is an effective stabilizing agent for clayey materials to
improve both workability and strength. Lime is not effective with cohesionless or low cohesion
materials without the addition of secondary (pozzolanic-fine materials which react with lime to
form cementitious compounds) additives. The cementitious products resulting from cement and
lime stabilization are with comparable behaviour and may follow fairly similar evaluation,
design, and construction considerations. The significant difference in the nature and rate of
cementitious reactions, however, is a basis for the choice between cement and lime.

The reaction between soil and lime are complex and still not completely understood. Basically
four different factors are involved in the soil-lime reaction which are: cation exchange,
flocculation, pozzolanic reaction, and carbonation. Cation exchange is an immediate reaction
and unlike pozzolanic reaction, it is not significantly dependent on temperature in which cations
such as sodium and hydrogen are replaced by calcium ions for which the clay mineral has a
greater affinity. It has been shown that the thickness of the water layer around the clay particles
decrease substantially as the result of cation exchanges. This condition in turn promotes the
development of flocculent structures. This means that plasticity, shrinkage and swelling and
other normal clay – water interactions are distinctly inhibited. The effects of lime on the
plasticity properties of soils are primarily due to cation exchange reactions. An immediate
reduction in plasticity results in an immediate increase in shear strength. The effect of lime on
clay minerals of high cation exchange capacity, such as montmorillonite clays, is therefore more
apparent than it is on clay minerals of low cation exchange capacity such as koalinite clays.

112
 Figure 6-3: Effect of time on the plasticity of lime stabilized clays

Chemically equivalent amounts of quick lime and hydrated lime have the same effect on
plasticity. However, quick lime has an additional drying effect since, the chemical reaction
between the lime and the water in the soil removes free water from the sol and the heat produced
by the reaction assists in drying.

The change in plasticity is accompanied by an immediate change in the strength of the soil as
measured by the CBR. Figure 6-4 shows how the effect of lime on the CBR value
increases with time as the pozzolanic reactions take effect. Siliceous and aluminous materials in
the soil react with lime to produce a gel of calcium silicates and aluminates. This gel cements
the soil particles together in a manner that is similar to that of hydrated cement. Minerals in the
soil that react with lime to produce a cementing compound are known as pozzolans. Lime-
cementing action in a soil is usually a slow process; depending on the type of pozzolans, it takes
considerably more time than required for hydration of Portland cement. This long term effect on
strength, causing continuing strength improvements with time, often called pozzolanic reactions.
The cementing action also depends on climatic conditions and a thorough compaction of the
mixture. High curing temperatures have a positive effect on the pozzolanic reactions.
Temperatures lower than 13 and 16oC retard the reaction; from this point of view it is obvious
that lime stabilization is especially popular in tropical countries.

113
Carbonation occurs when the hydrated lime reacts with the CO2 from the air. Carbonates
(CaCO3) add some strength but the carbonation reaction “eats” the lime and will therefore deter
pozzolanic reactions.

Figure 6-4: Effect of lime content and time on the CBR values of lime stabilised soil

Other factors that are of influence on the soil-lime reaction are:

• The presence of excessive quantities of organic carbon retards the lime-soil reaction,
• Moderately weathered and unweathered soils with high pH display good reactivity,
• Poorly drained soils exhibit a higher degree of lime-reactivity than better drained
soils,
• All calcareous soils react satisfactorily with lime, and
• A minimum amount of clay approximately 15 % is required to insure an adequate
source of silica and/or alumina for the lime-soil pozzolanic reaction.

114
The strength of lime stabilized materials is dependent on the amount of lime, the curing time,
curing temperature and compaction. In addition, the quality of water, type of stabilizing lime,
and uniformity of mixing are important factors affecting the quality of production as they are in
cement stabilization. Although lime modifies or bonds soil as in cement stabilization, the
tendency to form bound products is less with lime than it is with cement. Lime has more
tendencies to produce granular materials and consequently its major applications are in the
modification of clays, plastic sands, and plastic gravels.

Mix design procedures for lime stabilisation are the determination of the maximum amount of
lime that can be taken by the soil before free lime occurs (the lime content above which further
increases do not produce significant additional strength) or the lime requirement to attain a
specific strength levels. Characteristics related design procedures are related to the conditions
for which they have been developed. The usually used minimum strength requirements for mix
design are 0.69 MPa for subbase and 1.03 MPa for base courses. These minimum strengths are
related to the AASHTO coefficients of relative strength of 0.12 for subbase materials and 0.11
for base-course materials. When lime is used for subgrade improvements, the design lime
content may be designated as the lime content above which no further appreciable reduction in
PI occurs or a minimum lime content which produces an acceptable PI reduction. For field
construction, the lime content is increased 0.5 to 1.0 % to offset the effect of field variability.

6.4. Bituminous Stabilization

Bituminous stabilization is used with non-cohesive granular materials ⎯ where the bitumen
adds cohesive strength; and with cohesive materials ⎯ where the bitumen “waterproofs” the soil
thus reducing loss of strength with increase in moisture content. Both effects take place partly
from the formation of bitumen film around the soil particles which bonds them together and
prevents the absorption of water, and partly from simple blocking of the pores, preventing water
from entering the soil mass. Because more care is necessary in bituminous stabilization to
achieve satisfactory mixing, its use has not been as widespread as cement and lime
stabilizations.

Bituminous materials. The bituminous materials that are used for stabilization works are mostly
penetration grade bitumen and cutback bitumen and bitumen emulsion. The characteristics of
cutbacks depended on the particle size distribution of the soil, the temperature of application,
and the type of mix plant. The more viscous binders are normally used soils having only a small

115
proportion of material passing the 0.075 mm sieve and for plat mixes, while the lighter binders
are used for mix-in-place methods and with soils containing a larger proportion of fines.
Emulsions are generally suitable fro soil stabilization in climate where rapid drying conditions
occur, since this is equivalent to adding water to the soil as well as bituminous binder. I the
tropics, where the temperature is high the use of emulsions may be an advantage since it helps to
provide part of the optimum moisture content for compaction, thereby reducing the amount of
water necessary for this purpose.

Soil requirements. Bituminous materials are used for the stabilization of both cohesive and non-
cohesive granular soils. Sols which can readily pulverized by construction equipment are
satisfactory for bituminous stabilization. Cohesive soils usually have satisfactory bearing
capacity at low moisture content. The purpose of using bitumen as a stabilizer in such soils is to
waterproof them as a means to maintain them at low moisture contents and high bearing
capacities. In the non-cohesive granular materials, bitumen serves as a bonding or cementing
agent between particles. Depending on the particle size distribution and physical properties of
the available soil materials and the function of the stabilising bitumen, there are four types of
soil-bitumen mixtures in highway engineering:
1. Soil-bitumen: this is a mixture of cohesive soil and bitumen for waterproofing purposes.
The maximum grain size should preferably not greater than one-third of the compacted
layer. The best result has been obtained with soils that fall within the grain size limits
shown in Table 6-3. The bitumen requirements commonly range from 4-7% of the
dry weight of the soil.
2. Sand bitumen: sands such as beach, river, pit, or existing roadway sand may be
stabilized with bitumen if they are substantially free from vegetable matter, lumps or
balls of clay or adherent films of clay. Some times it may require admixture of filler
material to meet mechanical stability requirements. It is recommended that the sand
contain less than 12 % of 0.075 mm. however, in the case of windblown sands up to 25
% finer than 0.075 mm may be allowed provided that the portion of the sand passing the
No. 40 sieve has a field moisture less than 20 % and linear shrinkage less than 5 %. The
required amount of bitumen content ranges from 4-10 %, the optimum should be
determined by compaction, strength, and water resistance testing and should not exceed
the pore space of the compacted mineral mix.

116
 3. Waterproofed granular stabilization. This is a system in which a soil material
possessing good gradation of constituent particles from coarse to fine, and having high
potential density is waterproofed by uniform distribution of small amount (1-2 %) of
bitumen. Recommended gradations of the soil aggregate materials are shown in
Table 6-3.
4. Oiled earth. This is a soil surface, consisting of silt-clay material made water and
abrasion resistant by slow or medium curing bitumen cutbacks or emulsions.

Table 6-3: Characteristics of soils empirically found suitable for bitumen stabilization
Percent passing
Sieve size Waterproofed granular stabilization
Soil-bitumen Sand-bitumen A B C
1.5 inch 100
1 inch 80-100 100
0.75 inch 65-85 80-100 100
No.4 > 50 100 40-65 50-75 80-100
No.10 25-50 40-60 60-80
No.40 35-100 15-30 20-35 30-50
No.100 10-20 13-23 20-35
No.200 10-50 <12;<251 8-12 10-16 13-30
Plasticity characteristics
LL <40
PI <18 <10;<15 <10;<15 <10;<152
Field moisture <201
Linear shrinkage <51
1
lower value for wide and higher values for narrow gradation band sand
2
values between 10 and 15 permitted in certain cases

The mechanism of stabilization with bituminous materials consists of adding cohesive strength
and reducing the percolation of water; no chemical interaction is taking place. Waterproofing
occur by coating the surface of particles or aggregated lumps of particles or by blocking the
pores of the soil mass, and a strength comes from the presence of a continuous film of bitumen,
giving cohesion. There are two opposing effects – the thinner the film of bitumen the stronger
the material; however, thick films or filled pores are the most effective in preventing ingress of

117
water. Too much bitumen, however, causes loss of strength by lubricating the particles and
preventing interlock.

The mix design procedure for bituminous treatments of soils may be considered under four
headings: mix design for stability in non-cohesive material; mix design for waterproofing in
non-cohesive or cohesive materials; mix design for sand-bitumen mixes, and mix design for
oiled earth roads. For the first three types of mix, a series of tests should be made with varying
bitumen contents and grades using hot bitumen, cutback and emulsion, and the appropriate mix
is selected giving due weight to the need for stability or water resistance as required.
Compaction, compressive, and water absorption test are normally used to select the optimum
amount of bitumen content.

Many difficulties in construction and poor pavement performance may be attributed to a lack of
appreciation of this additive effect.

118
7. BITUMIN-BOUND MATERIALS

7.1 Introduction

Binders used in pavement construction are mainly of two types: cement and bitumen. Cement is
the most commonly used cementing agent in the concrete building industry. In road construction,
it is used as a binder for rigid pavement structures and a stabilizing agent. Bituminous material (or
bitumen), also known as asphalt cement in the US, is a viscous liquid or solid material, black or
dark brown in colour, having adhesive properties, consisting essentially of hydrocarbons which are
soluble in carbon disulphate. They are usually fairly hard at normal temperatures. When heated,
they soften and flow. When mixed with aggregates in their fluid state, and then allowed to cool,
they solidify and bind the aggregates together, forming a pavement surface. They are used on all
types of roadway – from multiple layers of asphalt concrete on the highest class of highways to
thin, dust-control layers on seldom-used roads. Because enough coverage on properties, mix
design, and quality control of cement concrete is normally provided in other civil engineering
courses, this chapter focuses on bituminous binders.

7.2 Types of Bituminous Materials

Bituminous materials are derived from petroleum or occur in natural deposits in different parts of
the world. Based on their sources there are two main categories of bitumens, namely, those which
occur naturally and those which are by-products of the fractional distillation of petroleum at
refinery. Refinery bitumens are by far the greater proportion of road bitumen used all over the
world. Of the possible types falling into these categories, the ones that are used for highway
paving purposes are illustrated in Figure 7.1.
Bituminous Materials

Natural Bitumen Refinery Bitumen

Penetration grade Liquid bitumen

Lake asphalt Rock asphalt
bitumen

Cutbacks Emulsions

Slow curing Medium curing Rapid curing Anionic Cationic

cutback cutback cutback emulsion emulsion

Figure 7-1: Commonly used types of road bitumen

119
7.2.1 Natural Bitumen

Native or natural Bitumens relate to a wide variety of materials and refer to those bitumens that are
found in nature as native asphalts or rock asphalts associated with appreciable quantities of
mineral matter. Native asphalts are obtained from asphalt lakes in Trinidad and other Caribbean
areas, and were used in some of the earliest pavements in North America after softening with
petroleum fluxes. The properties depend on the insoluble materials (organic and inorganic) the
asphalt contains. Some natural asphalts are soft and adhesive; others are very hard and brittle.
Some exist on the surface of the earth in lakes or pools, while others occur at depth and must be
mined. Rock asphalts are natural rock deposits containing bituminous materials that have been
used for road surfaces in localities where they occur.

7.2.2 Refinery Bitumen

Bitumens artificially produced by the industrial refining of crude petroleum oils are known under a
number of names depending on the refining method used such as residual bitumens, straight-run
bitumens, steam-refined bitumens and ⎯ as is now most commonly accepted ⎯ refinery
bitumens. Petroleum crudes are complex mixtures of hydrocarbons differing in molecular weight
and consequently in boiling range. Before they can be used, crudes have to be separated, purified,
blended, and sometimes chemically or physically changed. Not all petroleum crudes contain a
sufficient quantity of bitumen to enable straight reduction to specification road bitumen. Those
which do are known as asphaltic-base crudes. Crudes which contain high proportions of simpler
paraffinic compounds, with little or no bituminous bodies present, are known as paraffinic-base
crudes. Some petroleum crudes exhibit characteristics of both the previous categories, and these
are known as mixed-base crudes.

The primary processing involved in the production of bitumen from petroleum is fractional
distillation. This is carried out in tall steel towers known as fractionating or distillation columns as
schematically shown in Figure 7.2. The inside of the column is divided at intervals by horizontal
steel trays with holes to allow vapour to rise up the column. In this process, part of the
hydrocarbon materials in the crude oil are vaporized by heating them above their boiling points
under pressure. The lightest fractions of the crude remain as a vapour and are taken from the top of
the distillation column, heavier fractions are taken off the column as side-streams with the heaviest
fractions remaining as a liquid and therefore left at the base of the column. The lightest fractions
produced by the crude distillation process include propane and butane which are gases under

120
atmospheric conditions. Moving down the column a slightly heavier product, naphtha, is produced
which is a feedstock for gasoline production and the chemical industry. Then there is kerosine,
which is used primarily for aviation fuel and to a lesser extent for domestic fuel. Heavier again is
gas oil, which is used as a fuel for diesel engines and central heating. The heaviest fraction taken
from the crude oil distillation process is long residue which is a complex mixture of high
molecular weight hydrocarbons. Such refining process is known as straight-run distillation, and the
residue is straight-run bitumen.

Figure 7-2: Flow chart of the manufacture of refinery bitumen

To remove high boiling temperature constituents such as those contained in the non-volatile oils,
refining is carried out, without changing them chemically by the use of reduced pressures and
steam injection in the fractionating column. This type of distillation is known as vacuum or steam
distillation, and bitumen produced by such means are said to be vacuum reduced or steam refined.

On the other hand, when the objective is primarily to increase the yield of fuels, the petroleum oil
undergoes cracking distillation. In general, cracking process consists in exposing the petroleum
crude to a temperature of 475-600oC at pressure varying from 3 to 75 atmospheres. This process

121
produces heavier residues as a consequence of forming the lighter materials. These residues are
known as "cracked oil" or "cracked asphalt". They are characterized by relatively high specific
gravity, low viscosity, and poor temperature susceptibility. They are generally regarded as less
durable or weather resistant than straight run materials.

In a few cases, a selective solvent, such as propane, is used to treat the topped crude to separate
paraffinic crude oils of high viscosity index for use in the manufacture of lubricating oils and
special products. This separation method is based on chemical type and molecular weight rather
than by boiling point as in the usual distillation. In the process, the paraffinic oils are dissolved by
the solvent and come afloat in the fractioner vessel. The residual asphalt, which is relatively
insoluble, is drawn off at the bottom.

These residual asphalts produced by the different methods of refining described above are of
various grades asphalt cement, depending upon the degree to which distillates are removed as
determined by the conditions of distillations. They are further processed by air-blowing, blending,
compounding, and admixing with other ingredients to make variety of asphalt products used in
paving, roofing, waterproofing, coating and sealing materials, and materials for industrial
applications.

7.2.3 Penetration Grade Bitumen

In the preparation of paving binders, it is common to blend two or more different asphaltic
residues to produce a material possessing desirable physical properties. Additive materials may
also be used to improve properties such as adhesion to solid surfaces and flowing characteristics.
By varying the ingredients and the amounts used, it is possible to exercise considerable control
over the properties of the finished asphalt. The major paving products are penetration grade
bitumens (also known as asphalt cements), cutback asphalts, and asphalt emulsions.

Penetration grade bitumen or asphalt cements are in consistency from semi-solid to semi-liquid at
room temperature. Such bitumen are graded according their viscosity (mainly used in the US) and
penetration. Penetration is the depth in 0.1 mm that a specified needle is able to penetrate the
samples when standard penetration tests are carried out. They are produced in various viscosity
grades, the most common being AC 2.5, AC 5, AC 10, AC 20, and AC 40. These roughly
correspond to penetration grades 200-300, 120-150, 85-100, 60-70, and 40-50, respectively. The
viscosity grades indicate the viscosity in hundreds of poises ± 20% measured at 60oC (140oF). For
example, AC 2.5 has a viscosity of 250 poises ± 50. AC 40 has a viscosity of 4000 poises ± 800.

122
The majority of penetration grade bitumens is used in road construction, the harder grades, 35 pen
to 100 pen, being used in asphalt where bitumen stiffness is of primary importance and the softer
grades, 100 pen to 450 pen, in macadams where the lubricating properties during application and
bonding of the aggregate in service are more important. During construction asphalt cements
require to be heated to varying degrees before mixing with hot or warm aggregates and the mixed
material must be laid while hot within a few hours of mixing.

7.2.4 Liquid Bitumen

Sometimes it is uneconomical or inconvenient to use hot asphalt in road construction. In such

situations, liquid binders are preferable to handle at relatively low temperatures and mixed with
aggregates either when cold or only warmed sufficiently to make them surface-dry. For the
suitability of such construction methods, asphalt cements are frequently modified by preparation as
liquid products. The two forms of liquid bitumen generally, are those which are prepared by
dissolving the asphalt cement in a suitable volatile solvent and known as cutback bitumen, and
those which are prepared by emulsifying the asphalt cement in an aqueous medium and called
bitumen emulsions.

Cutback Bitumen

Cutback bitumen are prepared by dissolving penetration grade bitumen in suitable volatile solvents
to reduce their viscosity to make them easier to use at ordinary temperatures. They are commonly
heated and then sprayed on aggregates. Upon curing by evaporation of the solvent, the cured-out
asphalt cement will be in approximately the same condition as before being taken into solution and
bind the aggregate particles together. The curing period depends on the volatility of solvents.

Cutback bitumen are grouped into three types based on the type of solvent, which governs the rates
of evaporation and curing, namely, slow-curing (SC), medium-curing (MC), and rapid-curing
(RC). Each type of cutback bitumen is subdivided into several grades characterized by their
viscosity limits. The viscosity is controlled by the quantity of cutback solvent to make the various
grades from very fluid to almost semi-solid at ambient temperatures.

Slow-Curing (SC) Cutbacks: Slow-curing asphalts can be obtained directly as slow-curing

straight-run asphalts through the distillation of crude petroleum or as slow-curing cutback asphalts
by "cutting back" asphalt cement with a heavy distillate such as diesel oil. They have lower
viscosities than asphalt cement and are very slow to harden. Slow-curing asphalts are usually

123
designated as SC-70, SC-250, SC-800, or SC-3000, where the numbers are related to the
approximate kinematic viscosity in centistokes at 60oC (140oF). They are used with dense-graded
aggregates and on soil-aggregate roads in warm climates to avoid dust.

Medium-Curing (MC) Cutbacks: Medium-curing asphalts are produced by fluxing, or cutting

back, the residual asphalt (usually 120-150 penetration) with light fuel oil or kerosene. The term
medium refers to the medium volatility of the kerosene-type dilutent used. Medium-curing cutback
asphalts harden faster than slow-curing liquid asphalts, although the consistencies of the different
grades are similar to those of the slow-curing asphalts. However, the MC-30 is a unique grade in
this series as it is very fluid and has no counterpart in the SC and RC series.

The fluidity of medium-curing asphalts depends on the amount of solvent in the material. MC-
3000, for example, may have only 20 percent of the solvent by volume, whereas MC-70 may have
up to 45 percent. These medium-curing asphalts can be used for the construction of pavement
bases, surfaces, and surface treatments.

Rapid-Curing (RC) Cutbacks: Rapid-curing cutback asphalts are produced by blending asphalt
cement with a petroleum distillate that will easily evaporate, thereby facilitating a quick change
from the liquid form at time of application to the consistency of the original asphalt cement.
Gasoline or naphtha generally is used as the solvent for this series of asphalts.

The grade of rapid-curing asphalt required dictates the amount of solvent to be added to the
residual asphalt cement. For example, RC-3000 requires about 15 percent of distillate, whereas
RC-70 requires about 40 percent. These grades of asphalt can be used for jobs similar to those for
which the MC series is used, but where there is a need for immediate cementing action or colder
climates.

Asphalt emulsions

Emulsified asphalts are produced by breaking asphalt cement, usually of 100-250 penetration
range, into minute particles and dispersing them in water with an emulsifier, These minute
particles have like electrical charges and therefore do not coalesce. They remain in suspension in
the liquid phase as long as the water does not evaporate or the emulsifier does not break. Asphalt
emulsions therefore consist of asphalt, which makes up about 55 percent to 70 percent by weight,
up to 3% emulsifying agent, water and in some cases may contain a stabilizer.

124
Two general types of emulsified asphalts are produced, depending on the type of emulsifier used:
cationic emulsions, in which the asphalt particles have a positive charge; and anionic, in which
they have a negative charge. Each of the above categories is further divided into three subgroups,
based on how rapidly the asphalt emulsion will return to the state of the original asphalt cement.
These subgroups are rapid setting (RS), medium-setting (MS), and slow setting (SS). A cationic
emulsion is identified by placing the letter "C" in front of the emulsion type; no letter is placed in
front of anionic and nonionic emulsions. For example, CRS-2 denotes a cationic emulsion, and
RS-2 denotes either anionic or nonionic emulsion.

The anionic and cationic asphalts generally are used in highway maintenance and construction.
Note, however, that since anionic emulsions contain negative charges, they are more effective in
adhering aggregates containing electropositive charges such as limestone, whereas cationic
emulsions are more effective with electronegative aggregates such as those containing a high
percentage of siliceous material. Cationic emulsions also work better with wet aggregates and in
colder weather. Bitumen emulsions break when sprayed or mixed with mineral aggregates in a
field construction process; the water is removed, and the asphalt remains as a film on the surface
of the aggregates. In contrast to cutback bitumens, bitumen emulsions can be applied to a damp
surface.

7.2.5 The Air-Blown Bitumen

The physical properties of the short residue are further modified by air-blowing. Air-blowing is a
process in which a soft asphaltic residue is heated to a high temperature in an oxidation tower
where air is forced through the residue either on a batch or a continuous basis. The process results
in a dehydrogenation and polymerization of the residue. The hard asphaltic material produced by
this process is known as oxidized or air-blown asphalt and is usually specified and designated by
both softening point and penetration tests. If proper precautions are not taken, the temperature can
rise to the point where the physical characteristics of the product are seriously affected. However,
by controlling the conditions in the process a large variety of blown asphalts can be produced.
Oxidised bitumens are used almost entirely for industrial applications, such as roofing, flooring,
mastics, pipe coatings, paints, etc, but their use in road construction is limited.

7.2.6 Road Tars

Tars are obtained from the destructive distillation of such organic materials as coal. Their
properties are significantly different from petroleum asphalts. In general, they are more susceptible

125
to weather conditions than are similar grades of asphalts, and they set more quickly when exposed
to the atmosphere. Tars are rarely used now for highway pavements.

7.3 Tests on Bituminous Materials

Several tests are conducted on bituminous materials to determine both their consistency and their
quality to ascertain whether materials used in highway construction meet the prescribed
specifications. Some of these specifications are provided in standards of AASHTO, ASTM, and
Asphalt Institute. Procedures for testing and selecting representative samples of asphalt have also
been standardized.

7.3.1 Consistency Tests

The consistency of bituminous materials is important in pavement construction because the

consistency at a specified temperature will indicate the grade of the material. It is important that
the temperature at which the consistency is determined be specified, since temperature
significantly affects the consistency of bituminous materials. As stated earlier, asphaltic materials
can exist in either liquid, semisolid, or solid states. This necessitates for more than one method for
determining consistency of asphaltic materials. The property generally used to describe the
consistency of asphaltic materials in the liquid state is the viscosity, which can be determined by
conducting either the Saybolt Furol viscosity test or the kinematic viscosity test. Tests used for
asphaltic materials in the semisolid and solid states include the penetration test and the float test.
The ring-and-ball softening point test may also be used for blown asphalt.

7.3.1.1 Saybolt Furol Viscosity Test

Saybolt Furol viscosity test is a test carried out by the Saybolt Furol Viscometer which has a
standard viscometer tube, 12.7 cm (5 in) long and about 2.54 cm (1 in) in diameter with an orifice
of specified shape and dimensions provided at the bottom of the tube. When testing, the orifice is
closed with a stopper, and the tube is filled with a quantity of the material to be tested. The
material in the tube is brought to the specified temperature by heating in a water bath and when the
prescribed temperature is reached the stopper is removed, and the time in seconds for exactly 60
milliliters of the asphaltic material to flow through the orifice is recorded. This time is the Saybolt
Furol viscosity in units of seconds at the specified temperature. Temperatures at which asphaltic
materials for highway construction are tested include 25oC (77oF), 50oC (122oF), and 60oC

126
(140oF). It is apparent that the higher the viscosity of the material, the longer it takes for a given
quantity to flow through the orifice.

7.3.1.2 Kinematic Viscosity Test

The test uses a capillary viscometer tube to measure the time it takes the asphalt sample to flow at
a specified temperature between timing marks on the tube. Three types of viscometer tubes,
namely Zeitfuch's cross-arm viscometer, Asphalt Institute vacuum viscometer, and Cannon-
Manning vacuum viscometer are used.

When the cross-arm viscometer is used, the test is started by placing the viscometer tube in a
thermostatically controlled constant temperature bath, and a sample of the material to be tested is
then preheated and poured into the large side of the viscometer tube until the filling line level is
reached. The temperature of the bath is then brought to 135oC (275oF), and some time is allowed
for the viscometer and the asphalt to reach a temperature of 135oC (275oF). Flow is then induced
by applying a slight pressure to the large opening or a partial vacuum to the efflux (small) opening
of the viscometer tube. This causes an initial flow of the asphalt over the siphon section just above
the filling line. Continuous flow is induced by the action of gravitational forces. The time it takes
for the material to flow between two timing marks is recorded. The kinematic viscosity of the
material in units of centistokes is obtained by multiplying the time in seconds by a calibration
factor for the viscometer used. The calibration of each viscometer is carried out by using standard
calibrating oils with known viscosity characteristics. The factor for each viscometer is usually
furnished by the manufacturer.

The test may also he conducted at a temperature of 60oC (140oF) using either the Asphalt Institute
vacuum viscometer or the Cannon-Manning vacuum viscometer. In this case, flow is induced by
applying a prescribed vacuum through a vacuum control device attached to a vacuum pump. The
product of the time interval and the calibration factor in this test gives the absolute viscosity of the
material in poises.

7.3.1.3 Penetration Test

The penetration test gives an empirical measurement of the consistency of a semi-solid asphaltic
material in terms of the depth a standard needle penetrates into that material under a prescribed
loading and time. It is the bases for classifying semi-solid bituminous materials into standard
grades.

127
 Figure 7-3: Standard penetration test

Figure 7-3 shows a schematic of the standard penetration test. A sample of the asphalt cement to
be tested is placed in a container, which in turn is placed in a temperature-controlled water bath.
The sample is then brought to the prescribed temperature of 25oC (77oF), and the standard needle,
loaded to a total weight of 100 gm, is left to penetrate the sample of asphalt for the prescribed time
of exactly 5 sec. The penetration is given as the diepth in units of 0.1 mm that the needle
penetrates the sample. For example, if the needle penetrates a depth of exactly 20 mm, the
penetration is of the material is said to be 200. When carried out at different temperature
penetration test can indicate temperature susceptibility of the binder.

7.3.1.4 Float Test

The float test is used to determine the consistency of semisolid asphalt materials that are more
viscous than grade 3000 or have penetration higher than 300, since these materials cannot be tested
conveniently using either the Saybolt Furol viscosity test or the penetration test.

Figure 7-4: Float test

The float test is conducted with the apparatus schematically shown in Figure 7-4. It consists of an
aluminum saucer (float), a brass collar that is open at both ends, and a water bath. The brass collar
is filled with a sample of the material to be tested and then is attached to the bottom of the float
and chilled to a temperature of 5oC (41oF) by immersing it in ice water. The temperature of the

128
water bath is brought to 50oC (122oF), and the collar (still attached to the float) is placed in the
water bath, which is kept at 50oC (122oF). The head gradually softens the sample of asphaltic
material in the collar until the water eventually forces its way through the plug into the aluminium
float. The time in seconds that expires between the instant the collar is placed in the water bath and
that at which the water forces its way through the bituminous plug is the float test value, and it is a
measure of consistency. It is apparent that the higher the float-test value, the stiffer the material.

7.3.1.5 Ring-and-Ball Softening Point Test

The ring-and-ball softening point test is used to measure the susceptibility of asphaltic maertails to
temperature changes by determining the temperature at which the material will be adequately
softened to allow a standard ball to sink through it. Figure 7-5 shows the apparatus commonly used
for this test. It consists principally of a small brass ring of 15.875 mm (5/8 in) inside diameter and
6.35 mm (1/4 in) high, a steel ball 9.525 mm (3/8 in) in diameter, and a water or glycerin bath. The
test is conducted by first placing a sample of the material to be tested in the brass ring, which is
cooled and immersed in the water or glycerin bath that is maintained at a temperature of 5oC
(41oF). The ring is immersed to a depth such that its bottom is exactly 2.54 mm (1 in) above the
bottom of the bath. The temperature of the bath is then gradually increased, causing the asphalt to
soften and permitting the ball to sink eventually to the bottom of the bath. The temperature in at
which the asphaltic material touches the bottom of the bath is recorded as the softening point.

Figure 7-4: Ring-and-ball softening point test

129
7.3.2 Durability Tests

When asphaltic materials are used in the construction of roadway pavements, they are subjected to
changes in temperature and other weather conditions over a period of time. These changes cause
natural weathering of the material, which may lead to loss of plasticity, cracking, abnormal surface
abrasion, and eventual failure of the pavement. This change, known as weathering, is caused by
chemical and physical reactions that take place in the material. One test used to evaluate the
susceptibility characteristics of asphaltic materials to changes in temperature and other
atmospheric factors is the thin-film oven test.

7.3.2.1 Thin-Film Oven Test (TFO)

This is a procedure that measures the changes that take place in an asphalt during the hot-mix
process by subjecting the asphaltic material to hardening conditions similar to those in a normal
hot-mix plant operation. The consistency of the material is determined before and after the TFO
procedure, using either the penetration test or a viscosity test, to estimate the amount of hardening
that will take place in the material when used to produce plant hot-mix.

The procedure is performed by pouring 50 cc of the material into a cylindrical flat-bottom pan, 14
cm (5.5 in) inside diameter and 1 cm (3/8 in) high. The pan containing the sample is then placed
on a rotating shelf in an oven and rotated for five hours at a temperature of 163oC (325oF). The
amount of penetration after the TFO test is then expressed as a percentage of that before the test to
determine percent of penetration retained. The minimum allowable percent of penetration retained
is usually specified for different grades of asphalt cement.

7.3.3 Rate of Curing

Tests for curing rates of cutbacks and emulsions are based on inherent factors, which can be
controlled. The test is conducted to determine the time required for a liquid asphaltic material to
increase in its consistency on the assumption that the external factors are held constant. Volatility
and quantity of solvent for cutbacks are commonly used to indicate the rate of curing. The curing
rates for both cutbacks and emulsions may be determined from the distillation test.

7.3.3.1 Distillation Test for Cutbacks

In the distillation test for cutbacks, the apparatus used consists principally of a flask in which the
material is heated, a condenser, and a graduated cylinder for collecting the condensed material. A

130
sample of 200 cc of the material to be tested is measured and poured into the flask. The material is
then brought to boiling point by heating it with the burner. The evaporated solvent is condensed
and collected in the graduated cylinder. The temperature in the flask is continuously monitored and
the amount of solvent collected in the graduated cylinder recorded when the temperature in the
flask reaches 190oC (374oF), 225oC (437oF), 260oC (500oF), and 316oC (600oF). The amount of
condensate collected at the different specified temperatures gives an indication of the volatility
characteristics of the solvent. The residual in the flask is the base asphaltic material used in
preparing the cutback.

7.3.3.2 Distillation Test for Emulsions

The distillation test for emulsions is similar to that described for cutbacks. A major difference,
however, is that the glass flask and Bunsen burner are replaced with an aluminum alloy still and a
ring burner. This equipment prevents potential problems that may arise from the foaming of the
emulsified asphalt as it is being heated to a maximum of 260oC (500oF). the results obtained from
the use of this method to recover the asphaltic residue and to determine the properties of the
asphalt base stock used in the emulsion may not always be accurate because of significant changes
in the properties of the asphalt due to concentration of inorganic salts, emulsifying agent, and
stabilizer. These changes, which are due mainly to the increase in temperature, do not occur in
field application of the emulsion since the temperature in the field is usually much less than that
used in the distillation test. The emulsion in the field, therefore, breaks either electrochemically or
by evaporation of the water. An alternative method to determine the properties of the asphalt after
it is cured on the pavement surface is to evaporate the water at subatmospheric pressure and lower
temperatures.

7.3.4 General Tests

Several other tests are routinely conducted on asphaltic materials used for pavement construction
either to obtain specific characteristics for design purposes (for example, specific gravity) or to
obtain additional information that aids in determining the quality of the material. Some of the more
common routine tests are described briefly hereunder.

7.3.4.1 Specific Gravity Test

The specific gravity of asphaltic materials is used mainly to determine the weight of a given
volume of material, or vice versa, to determine the amount of voids in compacted mixes and to

131
correct volumes measured at high temperatures. Specific gravity is defined as the ratio of the
weight of a given volume of the material to the weight of the same volume of water. The specific
gravity of bituminous materials, however, changes with temperature, which dictates that the
temperature at which the test is conducted should be indicated. For example, if the test is
conducted at 25oC (77oF) which is usually the case and the specific gravity is determined to be
1.41, this should be recorded as 1.41/25oC. Note that both the asphaltic material and the water
should be at the same temperature.

The test is normally conducted with the dry weight (W1) of the pycnometer and stopper is
obtained, and then the pycnometer is filled with distilled water at the prescribed temperature. The
weight (W2) of the water and pycnometer together is determined. If the material to be tested can
flow easily into the pycnometer, then the pycnometer must be completely filled with the material
at the specified temperature after pouring out the water. The weight W3 is then obtained. The
specific gravity of the asphaltic material is then given as

W3 − W1
Gb = (7.1)
W2 − W1

Where Gb is the specific gravity of the asphaltic material and W1, W2, and W3 are in grams. If the
asphaltic material cannot easily flow, a small sample of the material is heated gradually to
facilitate flow and then poured into the pycnometer and left to cool to the specified temperature.
The weight W4 of pycnometer and material is then obtained. Water is then poured into the
pycnometer to completely fill the remaining space not occupied by the material. The weight W5 of
the filled pycnometer is obtained. The specific gravity is then given as

W4 − W1
Gb = (7.2)
(W2 − W )1 − (W5 − W4 )

7.3.4.2 Ductility Test

Ductility is the distance in centimeters a standard sample of asphaltic material will stretch before
breaking when tested on standard ductility test equipment at 25oC (77oF). The result of this test
indicates the extent to which the material can he deformed without breaking. It also indicates the
temperature susceptibility of binders. Bitumens possessing high ductility are usually highly
susceptible to temperature while low ones are not.

132
The test is used mainly for semisolid or solid materials, which first are gently heated to facilitate
flow and then are poured into a standard mold to form a briquette of at least 1 cm2 in cross section.
The material is then allowed to cool to 25oC (77oF) in a water bath. The prepared sample is then
placed in the ductility machine and extended at a specified rate of speed until the thread of material
joining the two ends breaks. The distance (in centimeters) moved by the machine is the ductility of
the material.

7.3.4.3 Solubility Test

The solubility test is used to measure the amount of impurities in the asphaltic material. Since
asphalt is nearly 100 percent soluble in certain solvents, the portion of any asphaltic material that
will be effective in cementing aggregates together can be determined from the solubility test.
Insoluble materials include free carbon, salts, and other inorganic impurities. The test is conducted
by dissolving a known quantity of the material in a solvent, such as trichloroethylene, and then
filtering it through a Gooch Crucible. The material retained in the filter is dried and weighed. The
test results are given in terms of the percent of the asphaltic material that dissolved in the solvent.

7.3.4.4 Flash-Point Test

The flash point of an asphaltic material is the temperature at which its vapors will ignite
instantaneously in the presence of an open flame. Note that the flash point is normally lower than
the temperature at which the material will burn. The test can be conducted by using either the
Tagliabue open-cup apparatus or the Cleveland open-cup apparatus. The Cleveland open-cup test
is more suitable for materials with higher flash points, whereas the Tagliabue open-cup is more
suitable for materials with relatively low flash points, such as cutback asphalts. The test is
conducted by partly filling the cup with the asphaltic material and gradually increasing its
temperature at a specified rate. A small open flame is passed over the surface of the sample at
regular intervals as the temperature increases. The increase in temperature will cause evaporation
of volatile materials from the material being tested, until a sufficient quantity of volatile materials
is present to cause an instantaneous flash when the open flame is passed over the surface. The
minimum temperature at which this occurs is the flash point. It can be seen that this temperature
gives an indication of the temperature limit at which extreme care should be taken, particularly
when heating is done over open flames in open containers.

133
7.3.4.5 Loss-on-Heating Test

The loss-on-heating test is used to determine the amount of material that evaporates from a sample
of asphalt under a specified temperature and time. The result indicates whether an asphaltic
material has been contaminated with lighter materials. The test is conducted by pouring 50 g of the
material to be tested into a standard cylindrical tin and leaving it in an oven for 5 hr at a
temperature of 163oC (325oF). The weight of the material remaining in the tin is determined, and
the loss in weight is expressed as a percentage of the original weight. The penetration of the
sample may also he determined before and after the test to determine the loss of penetration due to
the evaporation of the volatile material. This loss in penetration may be used as an indication of
the weathering characteristics of the asphalt.

134
8. SURFACE DRESSING

8.1 Introduction

Surface dressing is a simple, highly effective and inexpensive road surface treatment if
adequate care is taken in the planning and execution of the work. The process is used
throughout the world for surfacing both medium and lightly trafficked roads, and also as
a maintenance treatment for roads of all kinds.

Surface dressing comprises a thin film of binder, generally bitumen or tar, which is
sprayed onto the road surface and then covered with a layer of stone chippings. The thin
film of binder acts as a waterproofing seal preventing the entry of surface water into the
road structure. The stone chippings protect this film of binder from damage by vehicle
tyres, and form a durable, skid-resistant and dust-free wearing surface. In some
circumstances the process may be repeated to provide double or triple layers of chippings.

Surface dressing is a very effective maintenance technique which is capable of greatly

extending the life of a structurally sound road pavement if the process is undertaken at
the optimum time. Under certain circumstances surface dressing may also retard the rate
of failure of a structurally inadequate road pavement by preventing the ingress of water
and thus preserving the inherent strength of the pavement layers and the subgrade.

In addition to its maintenance role, Surface dressing can provide an effective and
economical running surface for newly constructed road pavements. Existing roads with
bituminous surfacing, carrying in excess of 1000 vehicles/lane/day, have been
successfully surfaced with multiple surface dressings. For sealing new roadbases traffic
flows of up to 500 vehicles/lane/day are more appropriate, although this can be higher if
the roadbase is very stable or if a triple seal is used. A correctly designed and constructed
surface dressing should last at least 5 years before resealing with another surface dressing
becomes necessary. If traffic growth over a period of several years necessitates a more
substantial surfacing or increased pavement thickness, a bituminous overlay can be laid
over the original surface dressing when the need arises.

135
The success of a surface dressing depends primarily on the adhesion of the chippings to
the road surface, hence both the chippings and the road surface must be clean and free
from dust during the surface dressing process. Inappropriate specifications, poor
materials, and bad workmanship, can also drastically reduce the service life of a surface
dressing.

This Road Note is a general guide to the design and construction of surface dressings in
tropical and sub-tropical environments and draws attention to some of the more common
mistakes that are made. It provides a framework on which the engineer can base more
specific decisions made to suit particular local conditions thereby producing cost
effective results. It also contains brief descriptions of certain other types of surface
treatment.

8.2 Types of surface dressing

Surface dressings can be constructed in a number of ways to suit site conditions. The
common types of dressing are illustrated in Figure 1.

Single surface dressing

When applied as a maintenance operation to an existing bituminous road surface a single

surface dressing can fulfill the functions required of maintenance re-seal, namely
waterproofing the road surface, arresting deterioration, and restoring skid resistance. A
single surface dressing would not normally be used on a new roadbase because of the risk
that the film of bitumen will not give complete coverage. It is also particularly important
to minimise the need for future maintenance and a double dressing should be
considerably more durable than a single dressing. However, a 'racked-in' dressing may be
suitable for use on a new roadbase which has a tightly knit surface because of the heavier
applications of binder which is used with this type of single dressing.

136
Double surface dressing

Double surface dressings are robust and should be used when:

ƒ A new road base is surface dressed.
ƒ Extra 'cover' is required on an existing bituminous road surface because of its
condition (e.g. when the surface is slightly cracked or patched).
ƒ There is a requirement to maximise durability and minimise the frequency of
maintenance and resealing operations.
The quality of a double surface dressing will be greatly enhanced if traffic is allowed to
run on the first dressing for a minimum period of 2-3 weeks (and preferably longer)
before the second dressing is applied. This allows the chippings of the first dressing to
adopt a stable interlocking mosaic which provides a firm foundation for the second
dressing. However, traffic and animals may cause contamination of the surface with mud
or soil during this period and this must be thoroughly swept off before the second
dressing is applied. Such cleaning is sometimes difficult to achieve and the early
application of the second seal to prevent such contamination may give a better result.

137
Figure 1: Type of surface dressings

138
Sand may sometimes be used as an alternative to chippings for the second dressing.
Although it cannot contribute to the overall thickness of the surfacing, the combination of
binder and sand provides a useful grouting medium for the chippings of the first seal and
helps to hold them in place more firmly when they are poorly shaped. A slurry seal may
also be used for the same purpose.

Triple surface dressings

A triple surface dressing (not illustrated in Figure 1) may be used to advantage where a
new road is expected to carry high traffic volumes from the outset. The application of a
small chipping in the third seal will reduce noise generated by traffic and the additional
binder will ensure a longer maintenance-free service life.

Racked-in surface dressing

This system is recommended for use where traffic is particularly heavy or fast (TRL,
1996). A heavy single application of binder is made and a layer of large chippings is
spread to give approximately 90 per cent coverage. This is followed immediately by the
application of smaller chippings which should ‘lock-in' the larger aggregate and form a
stable mosaic. The amount of bitumen used is more than would be used with a single seal
but less than for a double seal. The main advantages of the racked-in surface dressing are:
ƒ Less risk of dislodged large chippings.
ƒ Early stability through good mechanical interlock.
ƒ Good surface texture.
Other types of surface dressing

'Sandwich' surface dressings are principally used on existing binder rich surfaces and
sometimes on gradients to reduce the tendency for the binder to flow down the slope.

'Pad coats' are used where the hardness of the existing road surface allows very little
embedment of the first layer of chippings, such as on a newly constructed cement

139
stabilized roadbase or a dense crushed rock base. A first layer of nominal 6mm chippings
will adhere well to the hard surface and will provide a 'key' for larger l0mm or l4mm
chippings in the second layer of the dressing.

8.3 Chippings for surface dressings

The selection of chipping sizes is based on the volume of commercial vehicles having
unladen weights of more than 1.5 tones and the hardness of the existing pavement.
Ideally, chippings used for surface dressing should be single sized, cubical in shape, clean
and free from dust, strong, durable, and not susceptible to polishing under the action of
traffic. In practice the chippings available usually fall short of this ideal but it is
recommended that chippings used for surface dressing should comply with the
requirements of BS 63: Part 2 (1987) for the nominal size of chipping selected by the
engineer. In this standard, some control of shape is ensured by the limits set for the
flakiness index for each nominal size (except 6mm).

Samples of the chippings should be tested for grading, flakiness index, aggregate
crushing value and, when appropriate, the polished stone value and aggregate abrasion
value. Sampling and testing should be in accordance with the methods described in
British Standard BS 812 (1985, 1989a, 1989b 1990a, 1990b).

Specifications for maximum aggregate crushing value (ACV) for surface dressing
chippings typically lie in the range 20 to 35. For lightly trafficked roads the higher value
is likely to be adequate but on more heavily trafficked roads a maximum ACV of 20 is
recommended.

The polished stone value (PSV) of the chippings is important if the primary purpose of
the surface dressing is to restore or enhance the skid resistance of the road surface. The
PSV required in a particular situation is related to the nature of the road site and the speed
and intensity of the traffic (Salt and Szatkowski, 1973). The resistance to skidding is also
dependent upon the macro texture of the surface which, in turn, is affected by the
durability of the exposed aggregate. This property is measured by the aggregate abrasion

140
value (AAV). Appendix gives recommended values of PSV and AAV for various road
and traffic conditions in Britain and provides an indication of the required aggregate
properties.

The nominal sizes of chippings normally used for surface dressing are 6, 10, 14 and 20
mm. Flaky chippings are those with a thickness (smallest dimension) less than 0.6 of their
nominal size. The proportion of flaky chippings clearly affects the average thickness of a
single layer of the chippings, and it is for this reason that Jackson (1963) introduced the
concept of the 'average least dimension' (ALD) of chippings.

In effect, the ALD is the average thickness of a single layer of chippings when they have
bedded down into their final interlocked positions. The amount of binder required to
retain a layer of chippings is thus related to the ALD of the chippings rather than to their
nominal size. This is discussed further in the next pages where guidance is given on the
selection of the appropriate nominal size of chipping and the effect of flakiness on
surface dressing design.

The most critical period for a surface dressing occurs immediately after the chippings
have been spread on the binder film. At this stage the chippings have yet to become an
interlocking mosaic and are held in place solely by the adhesion of the binder film. Dusty
chippings can seriously impede adhesion and can cause immediate failure of the dressing.

The effect of dust can sometimes be mitigated by dampening them prior to spreading
them on the road. The chippings dry out quickly in contact with the binder and, when a
cutback bitumen or emulsion is used, good adhesion develops more rapidly than when the
coating of dust is dry.

Most aggregates have a preferential attraction for water rather than for bitumen. Hence if
heavy rain occurs within the first few hours when adhesion has not fully developed, loss
of chippings under the action of traffic is possible. Where wet weather damage is
considered to be a severe risk, or the immersion tray test, which shows that the chippings

141
have poor affinity with bitumen, an adhesion agent should be used. An adhesion agent
can be added to the binder or, used in a dilute solution to pre-coat the chippings. However,
the additional cost of the adhesion agent will be wasted if proper care and attention is not
given to all other aspects of the surface dressing process.

Improved adhesion of chippings to the binder film can also be obtained by pre-treating
the chippings before Spreading. This is likely to be most beneficial if the available
chippings are very dusty or poorly shaped, or if traffic conditions are severe. There are
basically two ways of pretreating chippings:
ƒ Spraying the chippings with a light application of creosote, diesel oil, or
kerosene at ambient temperature (NAASRA, 1986). This can be conveniently
done as the chippings are transferred from stockpile to gritting lorries by a belt
conveyor or. Alternatively, they can be mixed in a simple concrete mixer.
ƒ Pre-coating the chippings with a thin coating of hard bitumen such that the
chippings do not stick together andcan flow freely.
Chippings which are pre-coated with bitumen enable the use of a harder grade of binder
for construction which can provide early strong adhesion and thus help to obtain high
quality dressings. The binder used for pre-coating need not necessarily be the same kind
as that used for the surface dressing; for example, tar-coated chippings adhere well to a
sprayed bitumen film. Pre-coating is usually undertaken in a hot-mix plant and the
hardness of the coating, and thus the tendency for the chippings to adhere to each other,
can be controlled by the mixing temperature and/or the duration of mixing; typical
coating temperature are about 1400C for bitumen binders and 1200C for tar binders.
Table 1 indicates the amount of binder recommended for lightly coating chippings.

142
Pre-coated chippings should not be used with emulsions because the breaking of the
emulsion will be adversely affected.

In some countries adhesion agents or pre-treated chippings are often used in an attempt to
counteract the adverse effect of some fundamental fault in the surface dressing operation.
If loss of chippings has occurred, it is advisable to check whether the viscosity of the
binder was appropriate for the ambient road temperature at the time of spraying. The
effectiveness of the chipping and traffic control operations should also be reviewed
before the use of an adhesion agent or pre-treated chippings is considered.

8.4 Bitumen’s
It is essential that good bonding is achieved between the surface dressing and the existing
road surface. This means that non-bituminous materials must be primed before surface
dressing is carried out.
Prime coats
Where a surface dressing is to be applied to a previously untreated road surface it is
essential that the surface should be dry, clean and as dust-free as possible. On granular,
cement or lime-stabilised surfaces a prime coat of bitumen ensures that these conditions
are met. The functions of a prime coat can be summarised as follows.
ƒ It assists in promoting and maintaining adhesion between the roadbase and a
surface dressing by pre-coating the roadbase and penetrating surface voids.
ƒ It helps to seal the surface pores in the roadbase thus reducing the absorption
of the first spray of binder of the surface dressing.

143
 ƒ It helps to strengthen the roadbase near its surface by binding the finer
particles of aggregate together.
ƒ If the application of the surface dressing is delayed for some reason it
provides the roadbase with a temporary protection against rainfall and light
traffic until the surfacing can be laid.
The depth of penetration of the prime should be between 3-l0mm and the quantity
sprayed should be such that the surface is dry within a few hours. The correct viscosity
and application rate are dependent primarily on the texture and density of the surface
being primed. The application rate is. However, likely to lie within the range 0.3-1.1
kg/m2 . Low viscosity cutbacks are necessary for dense cement or lime stabilized
surfaces, and higher viscosity cutbacks for untreated coarse-textured surfaces. It is
usually beneficial to spray the surface lightly with water before applying the prime coat
as this helps to suppress dust and allows the primer to spread more easily over the surface
and to penetrate. Bitumen emulsions are not suitable for priming as they tend to form a
skin on the surface.
Low viscosity, medium curing cutback bitumens such as MC-30, MC-70, or in rare
circumstances MC-250, can be used for prime coats (Asphalt Institute, 1983). The
relationship between grade and viscosity for cutback primes is shown in Table 2.

Table 2: Kinematic viscosities of current cutback binders

Bitumens for surface dressings

The correct choice of bitumen for surface dressing work is critical. The bitumen must
fulfil a number of important requirements. They must:
ƒ be capable of being sprayed;
ƒ 'wet' the surface of the road in a continuous film;

144
 ƒ not run off a cambered road or form pools of binder in local depressions;
ƒ 'wet' and adhere to the chippings at road temperature;
ƒ be strong enough to resist traffic forces and hold the chippings at the highest
prevailing ambient temperatures;
ƒ remain flexible at the lowest ambient temperature, neither cracking nor
becoming brittle enough to allow traffic to 'pick-off' the chippings; and
ƒ resist premature weathering and hardening.
Some of these requirements conflict. hence the optimum choice of binder involves a
careful compromise. For Example, the binder must be sufficiently fluid at road
temperature to 'wet' the chippings whilst being sufficiently viscous to retain the chippings
against the dislodging effect of vehicle tyres when traffic is first allowed to run on the
new dressing.

Figure 2 shows the permissible range of binder viscosity for successful surface dressing
at various roads about 250C and 500C, normally being in the upper half of this range
unless heavy rain is falling. For these temperatures the viscosity of the binder should lie
between approximately l04 and 7 x l05 centistokes. At the lower road temperatures
cutback grades of bitumen are most appropriate. Whilst at higher road temperatures
penetration grade bitumens can be used.

The temperature/viscosity relationships shown in Figure 2 do not apply to bitumen

emulsions. These have a relatively low viscosity and 'wet' the chippings readily, after
which the emulsion 'breaks', the water evaporates. and particles of high viscosity bitumen
adhere to the chippings and the road surface.

Depending upon availability and local conditions at the time of construction, the
following types of bitumen are either commonly used in the tropics or are becoming so:
ƒ Penetration grade.
ƒ Cutback.
ƒ Emulsion.
ƒ Modified bitumens.

145
Penetration grade bitumens
Penetration grade bitumens vary between 80/ 100 to approximately 700 penetration. The
softer penetration grade binders are usually produced at the refinery but can be made in
the field by blending appropriate amounts of kerosene, diesel, or a blend of kerosene and
diesel. With higher solvent contents the binder has too low a viscosity to be classed as
being of penetration grade and is then referred to as a cutback bitumen which, for surface
dressing work, is usually an MC or RC 3000 grade. In very rare circumstances a less
viscous grade such as MC or RC 800 may be used if the pavement temperature is below
150C for long periods of the year.
Bitumen emulsion
Cationic bitumen emulsion with a bitumen content of 70 to 75 per cent is recommended
for most surface dressing work. This type of binder can be applied through whirling spray
jets at a temperature between 70 and 850C and, once applied, it will break rapidly on
contact with chippings of most mineral types. The cationic emulsifier is normally an
antistripping agent and this ensures good initial bonding between chippings and the
bitumen.

When high rates of spray are required, the road is on a gradient, or has considerable
camber, the emulsion is likely to drain from the road or from high parts of the road
surface before 'break' occurs. In these cases it may be possible to obtain a satisfactory
result if the bitumen application is 'split', with a reduced initial rate of spray and a heavier
application after the chippings have been applied. If the intention was to construct a
single seal then the second application of binder will have to be covered with sand or
quarry fines to prevent the binder adhering to roller and vehicle wheels. If a double
dressing is being constructed then it should be possible to apply sufficient binder in the
second spray to give the required total rate of spray for the finished dressing.

146
 Figure 2: Surface temperature/choice of binder for surface dressings

If split application of the binder is used care must be taken with the following:
ƒ The rate of application of chippings must be correct so that there is a
minimum of excess chippings.

147
 ƒ The second application of binder must be applied before traffic is allowed
onto the dressing.
ƒ For a single seal it will be necessary to apply grit or sand after the second
application of binder.
Cutback bitumens
Except for very cold conditions, MC or RC 3000 grade cutback is normally the most fluid
binder used for surface dressings. This grade of cutback is basically an 80/100
penetration grade bitumen blended with approximately 12 to 17 per cent of cutter.

In some areas of the world the range of binders available to the engineer is restricted. In
this situation it may then be necessary to blend two grades together or to 'cut-back' a
supplied grade with diesel oil or kerosene in order to obtain a binder with the required
viscosity characteristics. Diesel oil, which is less volatile than kerosene and is generally
more easily available, is preferable to kerosene for blending purposes. Only relatively
small amounts of diesel oil or kerosene are required to modify penetration grade bitumen
such that its viscosity is suitable for surface dressing at road temperatures in the tropics.
For example Figure 3 shows that, for the road temperatures prevailing during trials in
Kenya, between 2 and 10 per cent of diesel oil were required to modify 80/100 pen
bitumen to produce binders with viscosities within the recommended range for use
(Figure 2). Figure 4 shows the temperature/viscosity relationships for five of the blends
made for these trials.

148
149
The blending process is not difficult but it must be undertaken with great care by staff
who are properly trained. A convenient method is to pump the required amount of cutter
(e.g. diesel oil) into the distributor whilst simultaneously pumping in hot bitumen. Before
pumping in the cutter, sufficient bitumen should be pumped into the distributor to enable
the cutter to discharge below the surface of the bitumen. Because of the fire risk, all the
burners must be extinguished and naked lights and smoking prohibited during this
operation. Polymer modified bitumens

Polymers can be used in surface dressing to modify penetration grade, cutback bitumens
and emulsions. Usually these modified binders are used at locations where the road
geometry, traffic characteristics or the environment, dictate that the road surface
experiences high stresses. Generally the purpose of the polymers is to reduce binder
temperature susceptibility so that variation in viscosity over the ambient temperature
range is as small as possible. Polymers can also improve the cohesive strength of the
binder so that it is more able to retain chippings when under stress from the action of
traffic. They also improve the early adhesive qualities of the binder allowing the road to
be reopened to traffic earlier than may be the case with conventional unmodified binders.
Other advantages claimed for modified binders are improved elasticity in bridging
hairline cracks and overall improved durability.

Examples of polymers that may be used to modify bitumens are proprietary thermoplastic
rubbers such as Styrene-Butadiene-Styrene (SBS), crumb rubber derived from waste car
tyres and also glove rubber from domestic gloves. Latex rubber may also be used to
modify emulsions. Binders of this type are best applied by distributors fitted with slotted
jets of a suitable size.

Rubber modified bitumen may consist, typically, of a blend of 80/100 penetration grade
bitumen and three per cent powdered rubber. Blending and digestion of the rubber with
the penetration grade bitumen should be carried out by experienced personnel prior to
loading into a distributor. This must be done in static tanks which incorporate integral
motor driven paddles. The blending temperature is approximately 2000C.

150
Cationic emulsion can be modified in purpose made plant by the addition of three per
cent latex rubber. One of the advantages of using emulsions is that they can be sprayed at
much lower temperatures than penetration grade bitumens, which reduces the risk of
partial degradation of the rubber which can occur at high spraying temperatures.

Bitumen modified with SBS exhibits thermoplastic qualities at high temperatures while
having a rubbery nature at lower ambient temperatures. With three per cent of SBS,
noticeable changes in binder viscosity and temperature susceptibility occur and good
early adhesion of the chippings is achieved. SBS can be obtained in a carrier bitumen in
blocks of approximately 20kg mass. The blocks can be blended, at a concentration
recommended by the manufacturer, with 80/100 penetration binder in a distributor. In this
procedure it is best to place half of the required polymer into the empty distributor, add
hot bitumen from a main storage tank and then circulate the binder in the distributor tank.
The remaining blocks are added after about 30 minutes and then about 2 hours is likely to
be required to complete blending and heating of the modified binder. Every effort should
be made to use the modified bitumen on the day it is blended.

Adhesion agents
Proprietary additives, known as adhesion agents. are available for adding to binders to
help to minimize the damage to surface dressings that may occur in wet weather with
some types of stone. When correctly used in the right proportions. These agents can
enhance adhesion between the binder film and the chippings even though they may be
wet. The effectiveness and the amount of an additive needed to provide satisfactory
adhesion of the binder to the chippings in the presence of free water must be determined
by tests such as the Immersion Tray Test which is described in Appendix C.

Fresh hydrated lime can also be used to enhance adhesion. It can be mixed with the
binder in the distributor before spraying (slotted jets are probably best suited for this) or
the chippings can be pre-coated with the lime just before use. by spraying with a lime
slurry. The amount of lime to be blended with the bitumen should be determined in
laboratory trials bitt approximately 12 per cent by mass of the bitumen will improve

151
bitumen-aggregate adhesion and it should also improve the resistance of the bitumen to
oxidative hardening (Dickinson,1984).

Cationic emulsions inherently contain an adhesion agent and lime should not be used
with this type of binder.

8.5 Design
The key stages in the surface dressing design procedure are illustrated in Figure 5.

Existing site conditions

Selection of a suitable surface dressing system for a road and the nominal size of
chippings to be used is based on the daily volume of commercial vehicles using each lane
of the road and the hardness of the existing pavement surface.

With time, the action of traffic on a surface dressing gradually forces the chippings into
the underlying surface,thus diminishing the surface texture. When the loss of surface
texture reaches an unacceptable level a reseal will be required to restore skid resistance.
The embedment process occurs more rapidly when the underlying road surface is softer,
or when the volume of traffic, particularly of commercial vehicles, is high. Accordingly,
larger chippings are required on soft surfaces or where traffic is heavy whilst small
chippings are best for hard surfaces. For example, on a very soft surface carrying 1000
commercial vehicles per lane per day, 20mm chippings are appropriate, whilst on a very
hard surface such as concrete, 6mm chippings would be the best choice.

152
 Figure 5: Outline procedures for design of surface dressings

Guidance on the selection of chipping size for single surface dressings, relating the
nominal size of chipping to the hardness of the underlying road surface and the weight of
traffic expressed in terms of the number of commercial vehicles carried per lane per day.
These recommendations are shown in Table 3.

153
Road surface hardness may be assessed by a simple penetration probe test (TRL. 1996).
Alternatively the hardness of the existing road surface may be made on the basis of
judgement with the help of the definitions given in Table 4.

Although the recommendations for the selection of chipping size were developed for
conditions in the United Kingdom they have been found to be applicable to roads in
tropical and sub-tropical countries.

Table 3 Recommended nominal size of chippings (mm)

If larger sized chippings are used than is recommended in Table 3 then the necessary
bitumen spray rate, required to hold the chippings in place, is likely to be underestimated
by the design procedure described in Section 5. This is likely to result in the 'whip-off' of
chippings by traffic early in the life of the dressing and also to have a significant effect on
the long term durability of low volume roads.

154
In selecting the nominal size of chippings for double surface dressings, the size of
chipping for the first layer should be selected on the basis of the hardness of the existing
surface and the traffic category as indicated in Table 3. The nominal size of chipping
selected for the second layer should preferably have an ALD of not more than half that of
the chippings used in the first layer. This will promote good interlock between the layers.

In the case of a hard existing surface, where very little embedment of the first layer of
chippings is possible, such as a newly constructed cement stabilized road base or a dense
crushed rock base, a 'pad coat' of 6mm chippings should be applied first followed by
l0mm or 14 mm chippings in the second layer. The first layer of small chippings will
adhere well to the hard surface and will provide a ‘key' for the larger stone of the second
dressing.

Selecting the binder

The selection of the appropriate binder for a surface dressing is usually constrained by the
range of binders available from suppliers, although it is possible for the user to modify
the viscosity of penetration grade and cutback binders to suit local conditions.

The factors to be taken into account in selecting an appropriate binder are:

ƒ The road surface temperature at the time the surface dressing is undertaken.
For penetration grade and cutback binders the viscosity of the binder should
be between 1 04 and 7x 105 centistokes at the road surface temperature (see
paragraphs 4.5 to 4.9).
ƒ The nature of the chippings. If dusty chippings are anticipated and no pre-
treatment is planned, the viscosity of the binder used should be towards the
lower end of the permissible range. if the binder selected is an emulsion it
should be borne in mind that anionic emulsions may not adhere well to certain
acidic aggregates such as granite and quartzite.
ƒ The characteristics of the road site. Fluid binders such as emulsions are not
suited to steep cross falls or gradients since they may drain off the road before
'breaking'. However, it may be possible to use a 'split application' of binder.

155
 ƒ The type of binder handling and spraying equipment available. The
equipment must be capable of maintaining an adequate quantity of the
selected binder at its appropriate spraying temperature and spraying it evenly
at the required rate of spread.
ƒ The available binders. There may be limited choice of binders but a balanced
choice should be made where possible. Factors which may influence the final
selection of a binder include cost, ease of use, flexibility with regard to
adjusting binder viscosity on site and any influence on the quality of the
finished dressing.
Consideration of these factors will usually narrow the choice of binder to one or two
options. The final selection will be determined by other factors such as the past
experience of the surface dressing team.
Choice of binder and timing of construction work
The choice of cutback grade or penetration grade bitumen for surface dressing work is
largely controlled by road temperatures at and shortly after the time of construction.
However, there are relative advantages and disadvantages associated with the use of
penetration grade binders or cutback bitumen.

MC 3000 cutback binder typically contains 12 to 17 per cent of cutter. Under warm road
conditions this makes the binder very tolerant of short delays in the application of
chippings and of the use of moderately dusty chippings. It is therefore a good material to
use for training new surface dressing teams and for use in areas where water for cleaning
chippings is scarce. However, a substantial percentage of the cutter, especially if it is
diesel, can remain in the seal for many months. If road temperatures increase soon after
construction, it is likely that MC3000 will be found to be 'tender' and that the seal can be
easily damaged. This should not be a problem for lightly trafficked roads and for new
roads that are not opened to general traffic for several days after the surface dressing is
constructed. If a road must be opened to fast high volume traffic within a few hours of
construction then there will be considerable advantage in using as high a viscosity binder
as conditions will permit. For instance, if the road temperature is 400C then for heavy
traffic the chart in Figure 2 would suggest that MC 3000 would be only just viscous

156
enough. 400/500 penetration grade bitumen would be on the limit of being too viscous,
however, it would be preferable to cut-back the bitumen to a 500/600 penetration grade
rather than use a MC3000 grade. If pre-coated chippings could be used then the use of a
400 penetration grade bitumen would be acceptable.

Penetration grade bitumens as hard as 80/100 are often used for surface dressing work
when road temperatures are high. With such a high viscosity bitumen it is very important
that the chippings are applied immediately after spraying and, to achieve this, the
chipping spreader must follow closely behind the distributor. The construction team must
be well organised and skilful. This type of binder will not be tolerant of delays in the
application of the chippings nor of the use of dusty chippings. In either situation, early
trafficking is very likely to dislodge chippings and seriously damage the seal.

The use of penetration grade binders in the range 80/100 to 400 is preferred to MC3000
wherever circumstances allow this. For high volume fast traffic, where very early
adhesion of the chippings is essential, consideration should be given to the use of pre-
coated chippings. This will allow the use of a more viscous binder for a given road
temperature and will ensure that a strong early bonding of the chippings is obtained. A
polymer modified or rubberised binder can also provide immediate strong adhesion.
Alternatively, emulsions will provide good 'wetting' and early adhesion provided rainfall
does not interfere with curing.

The most difficult situations occur when it is required to start work early in the day and
temperatures are considerably lower than they will be in the afternoon. It may appear to
be appropriate to use a cutback binder, such as MC3000, for the low road temperature but,
by the afternoon, the seal is likely to be too 'soft'. In these situations it better to use a
more viscous binder and keep the traffic off of the new seal until it has been rolled in the
afternoon.

157
Designing the surface dressing

Basis for the design method

Having selected the nominal size of chipping and the type of binder to be used, the next
step in the design of a surface dressing is to determine the rate of spread of the binder. In
this respect the recommendations given in Road Note 39 (TRL, 1996) for conditions in
the United Kingdom are not appropriate for most tropical or sub-tropical countries.
Differences in climate, uniformity of road surfaces, the quality of aggregates, traffic
characteristics and construction practice, necessitate a more general approach to the
determination of the rate of spread of the binder for application in tropical countries.

The method of surface dressing design put forward by Jackson (1963) is suitable for
general application and trials undertaken by the TRL in Kenya (Hitch, 1981) indicate that
with some minor modifications, it works well under a range of tropical and sub-tropical
conditions. Accordingly this method is recommended as a good basis on which to
develop national or regional standards for surface dressing design in tropical countries.

The Jackson method of design incorporates concepts first put forward by Hanson (1934)
which relatethe voids in a layer of chippings to the amount of binder necessary to hold
the chippings in place. Hanson calculated that in a loose single layer of chippings, such as
is spread for a surface dressing, the voids are initially about 50 per cent decreasing to
about 30 per cent after rolling and subsequently to 20 per cent by the action of traffic. For
bestresults, between 50 and 70 per cent of the voids in the compacted aggregate should be
filled with binder. Hence it is possible to calculate the amount of binder required to retain
a layer of regular, cubical chippings of any size. However, in practice chippings are
rarely the ideal cubical shape (especially when unsuitable crushing plant has been used)
and this is why the ALD concept was originally introduced.

158
Determining the average least dimension of chippings

The ALD of chippings is a function of both the average size of the chippings, as
determined by normal square mesh sieves, and the degree of flakiness. The ALD may be
determined in two ways.

Method A. A grading analysis is performed on a representative sample of the chippings

in accordance with British Standard 812:1985. The sieve size through which 50 percent
of the chippings pass is determined (i.e. the ‘median size'). The flakiness index is then
also determined in accordance with British Standard 812:1985. The ALD of the
chippings is then derived from the monograph shown in Figure 6.

Figure 6 : Determination of average least dimension

159
Method B. A representative sample of the chippings is carefully subdivided (in
accordance with British Standard 812:1985) to give approximately 200 chippings. The
least dimension of each chipping is measured manually and the mean value, or ALD, is
calculated.

Determining the overall weighting factor

The ALD of the chippings is used with an overall weighting factor to determine the basic
rate of spray of bitumen. The overall weighting factor F' is determined by adding together
four factors that represent: the level of traffic, the condition of the existing road surface,
the climate and the type of chipping that will be used. Factors appropriate to the site to be
surface dressed are selected from Table 5.
Table 5: Weighting factors for surface dressing design

160
For example, if flaky chippings (factor -2) are to be used at a road site carrying medium
to heavy traffic (factor- 1) and which has a very rich bituminous surface (factor -3) in a
wet tropical climate (factor +1) the overall weighting factor 'F' is : -2-1-3 + 1 = -5

The rating for the existing surface allows for the amount of binder which is required to
fill the surface voids and which is therefore not available to contribute to the binder film
that retains the chippings. If the existing surface of the road is rough, it should be rated as
'very lean bituminous' even if its overall colour is dark with bitumen. Similarly, when
determining the rate of spread of binder for the second layer of a double surface dressing,
the first layer should also be rated 'very lean bituminous'.

The Jackson method of determining the rate of spread of binder requires the estimation of
traffic in terms of numbers of vehicles only. However, if the proportion of commercial
vehicles in the traffic stream is high (say more than 20 per cent) the traffic factor selected
should be for the next higher category of traffic than is indicated by the simple volume
count.

Determining the basic bitumen spray rate

Using the ALD and 'F' values in equation 1 will give the required basic rate of spread of
binder.
R = 0.625+ (F*0.023) + [0.0375+ (F*0.0011)] ALD (1)
Where F = Overall weighting factor
ALD = the average least dimension of the chippings (mm)
R = Basic rate of spread of bitumen (Kg/m2)

Alternatively, the two values can be used in the design chart given in Figure 7. The
intercept between the appropriate factor line and the ALD line is located and the rate of
spread of the binder is then read off directly at the bottom of the chart. The basic rate of
spread of bitumen (R) is the mass of MC3000 binder per unit area on the road surface

161
immediately after spraying. The relative density of MC3000 can be assumed to be 1.0
and the spread rate can therefore also be expressed in 1/m2, however, calibration of a
distributor is easier to do by measuring spray rates in terms of mass.

Spray rate adjustment factors

Research in Kenya (Hitch, 1981) and elsewhere, has indicated that best results will be
obtained if the basic rate of spread of binder is adjusted to take account of traffic speed
and road gradient as follows.
ƒ For slow traffic or climbing grades with gradients steeper than 3 per cent, the
basic rate of spread of binder should be reduced by approximately 10 per cent.
ƒ For fast traffic or downgrades steeper than 3 per cent the basic rate of spread
of binder should be increased by approximately 10 per cent.

162
Figure 7 : Surface dressing design charts

163
The definition of traffic speed is not precise but is meant to differentiate between roads
with a high proportion of heavy vehicles and those carrying mainly cars traveling at
80km/h or more.

The basic rate of spread of binder must also be modified to allow for the type of binder
used. The following modifications are appropriate:
ƒ Penetration grade binders: decrease the rate of spread by 10 per cent.
ƒ Cutback binders: for MC/RC 3000 no modification is required. (In the rare
cases when cutbacks with lower viscosity are used the rate of spread should be
increased to allow for the additional percentage of cutter used).
ƒ Emulsion binders: multiply the rate of spread given in the chart by 90/bitumen
content of the emulsion (percent). This calculation includes a reduction of ten
percent for the residual penetration grade binder.
Suggested adjustment factors for different binders and different site conditions are given
in Table 6. The adjustment factors reflect the amount of cutter used in the base 80/100
penetration grade bitumen but must be regarded as approximate values.

The amount of cutter required for 'on-site' blending should be determined in the
laboratory by making viscosity tests on a range of blends of bitumen and cutter. Work at
TRL (Hitch and Stewart, 1987) has shown that MC3000 can be made in the field by
blending 90 penetration bitumen with 12 to 14 per cent by volume of a 3:1 mixture of
kerosene and diesel. It is suggested that if there is significantly more than 14 per cent of
cutter by volume then the spray rate should be adjusted to compensate for this. For
binders which have been cutback at the refinery, the cutter content should be obtained
from the manufacturer.

If a different grade of binder is required then the adjustment factor should reflect the
different amount of cutter used. For instance, a 200 penetration binder may have 3 per
cent cutter in it and therefore the spray rate is 103 per cent of the rate for a 80/100
penetration bitumen.

164
Table 6: Typical bitumen spray rate adjustment factors

Adjusting rates of spray for maximum durability

The spray rate which will be arrived at after applying the adjustment factors in Table 6
will provide very good surface texture and use an 'economic' quantity of binder. However,
because of the difficulties experienced in many countries in carrying out effective
maintenance, there is considerable merit in sacrificing some surface texture for increased
durability of the seal. For roads on flat terrain and carrying moderate to high speed traffic
it is possible to increase the spray rates obtained by applying the factors given in Table 6
by approximately 8 per cent. The heavier spray rate may result in the surface having a
'bitumen-rich' appearance in the wheel paths of roads carrying appreciable volumes of
traffic. However, the additional binder should not result in bleeding and it can still be
expected that more surface texture will be retained than is usual in an asphalt concrete
wearing course.

Surface dressing design for low volume roads

If a low volume road, carrying less than about 100 vehicles per day, is surface dressed it
is very important that the seal is designed to be as durable as possible to minimize the
need for subsequent maintenance.

A double surface dressing should be used on new road bases and the maximum durability
of the seal can be obtained by using the heaviest application of bitumen which does not
result in bleeding.

165
Where crushing facilities are put in place solely to produce chippings for a project, it will
be important to maximise use of the crusher output. This will require the use of different
combinations of chipping sizes and correspondingly different bitumen spray rates. The
normally recommended sizes of chippings for different road hardness and low
commercial traffic volumes are reproduced in Table 7.

It may be desirable to use chippings of a larger size than those recommended in Table 7
for reasons of economy. It is likely that the rate of application of bitumen determined in
the normal way will be too low to obtain good durability.
Table 7: Nominal size of chippings for different hardness of road surface

Low volumes of traffic are also unlikely to cause the chippings to be 'rotated' into a tight
matrix and this will result in the layer being of greater depth than the ALD of the
chippings, which is assumed in the design process. It should therefore be safe to increase
bitumen spray rates on low volume roads to compensate for the reduced embedment of
'oversize' chippings and the increased texture depth those results from less reorientation
of the chippings under light traffic.

Ideally the ALD of the two aggregate sizes used in a double surface dressing should
differ by at least a factor of two. If the ALD of the chippings in the second seal is more
than half the ALD of the chippings in the first seal then the texture depth will be further
increased and the capacity of the aggregate structure for bitumen will be increased.

It is suggested that on low volume roads the bitumen spray rates should be increased
above the basic rate of spread of bitumen by up to the percentages given in Table 8. It is

166
important that these increased spray rates are adjusted on the basis of trial sections and
local experience.

Spread rate of chippings

An estimate of the rate of application of the chippings assuming that the chippings have a
loose density of 1.35Mg/m3, can be obtained from the following equation: Chipping
application rate (kg/m2) = 1 .364*ALD or alternatively : The chippings should comply in
all respects with the requirements of BS 63:
Specification for single sized road stone and chippings (BSI, 1971), Samples of the
chippings to be used should be tested before the start of the work and subsequently as
new deliveries is received. The sampling and testing should be in accordance with the
methods described in BS 812 (BSI, 1975). The size of chippings should be chosen to suit
the amount of traffic and hardness of the existing road surface, as given in Tables above.
The quantity of chippings needed must be sufficient to cover the entire surface of the
binder film after rolling. The most reliable way of ensuring a complete cover is to lay a
slight excess of chippings. The rate at which chippings should be spread depends on their
size, shape and specific gravity, but rates can be estimated using Fig.7 The least
dimension of at least 200 chippings should be measured, and the 'Average Least
Dimension' (ALD) determined. The Average Least Dimension is then entered in Fig. 7 to
intersect line AB and the approximate rate of application of chippings can be read off.
This rate should only be used as a guide for supply purposes; the actual rate of spread
should be adjusted as required on site when the spreading characteristics of the chippings
can be observed.
Table 8: Suggested maximum increases in bitumen spray rate for low volume roads

167
The chipping application rate should be regarded as a rough guide only. It is useful in
estimating the quantity of chippings that is required for a surface dressing project before
crushing and stockpiling of the chippings is carried out. A better method of estimating the
approximate application rate of the chippings is to spread a single layer of chippings
taken from the stockpile on a tray of known area. The chippings are then weighed, the
process repeated ten times with fresh chippings, and the mean value calculated. An
additional ten per cent is allowed for whip off. Storage and handling losses must also be
allowed for when stockpiling chippings.

The precise chipping application rate must be determined by observing on site whether
any exposed binder remains after spreading the chippings, indicating too low a rate of
application of chippings, or whether chippings are resting on top of each other, indicating
too high an application rate. Best results are obtained when the chippings are tightly
packed together, one layer thick. To achieve this, a slight excess of chippings must be
applied. Some will be moved by the traffic and will tend to fill small areas where there
are insufficient chippings. Too great an excess of chippings will increase the risk of
whip-off and windscreen damage.

8.6. Plant and equipment Methods of distributing binder

The success of a surface dressing is very dependent on the binder being applied
uniformly at the correct rate of spread. The method adopted for distributing binder must
therefore;
ƒ Be capable of spreading the binder uniformly and at the predetermined rate of
spread; and
ƒ Be able to spray a large enough area in a working day to match the required
surface dressing programme.
The use of hand-held containers such as watering cans, perforated buckets etc, has a place
for minor works. Any type of binder from penetration grades to emulsion can be applied
in this way but uniform spreading of predetermined amounts cannot be achieved by this
method and hence it is not recommended for anything other than small-scale work. A

168
rather more controllable method of hand application is to use hand lances. if skillfully
used, they can produce an acceptably uniform rate of spread but it is very difficult to
achieve a specified rate of spread with them. They cannot therefore be recommended for
other than small-scale work and limited maintenance operations. The use of either of
these hand methods of binder application for larger scale work invariably results in waste
of valuable binder and a poor quality surface dressing which will have a short 'life'.

The spreading of binder on a larger scale requires the use of a bulk binder distributor,
which may be either a self propelled or a towed unit (British Standards BS 1707:1989,
and BS 3136:Part 2:1972)

There are two basic types of bulk binder distributors, the pressurised tank, and constant
rate of spread, constant volume, and constant pressure machines.

Constant volume distributors

These distributors are fitted with positive displacement pumps, the output of which can
be pre-set. All the binder delivered by the pump is fed to the spray-bar when spraying is
in progress and there is no by-pass arrangement for recirculating binder to the tank. For a
spray bar of given length and output, the rate of spread of binder on the road is inversely
proportional to the forward road speed of the distributor. On most constant volume
machines it is possible to preheat the spray bar by circulating hot binder to it before
spraying commences but this facility is not available on all machines.

Constant volume distributors can spray a wide range of types of binder and they are quite
common in tropical developing countries. Disadvantages of constant volume distributors
are;
ƒ Calibration involves three inter-related variables, i.e. the pump output, the
road speed and the spray bar width; hence the calibration procedures need to
be extensive if, for example, it is required to vary spray bar width to allow for
different lane widths. However, some constant volume machines have a

169
 limited but useful degree of automatic control of bitumen pump speed to
compensate for variation in road speed.
ƒ The relative mechanical complexity of the machines means that they are not
suitable for operation by partly skilled operators.
Most distributors manufactured in the USA are constant volume machines.
Constant pressure distributors
In these machines a pump of adequate capacity delivers binder to the spray bar at a pre-
set pressure. A relief valve regulates the pressure and permits binder to bypass the spray
bar and return to the tank. The pressure in the spray bar is not affected by the number of
jets in use, and hence re-calibration is not required when spray bar extensions are fitted or
the numbers of jets are reduced. As with constant volume machines, the rate of spread of
binder varies inversely with the road speed of the distributor.

Most distributors made in the UK are of the constant pressure type.

Principal components of binder distributors
Distributors spray the bitumen through a spray bar to which the binder is delivered by a
pump. or under pressure, from a heated insulated storage tank. Brief descriptions of these
principal components and general guidelines on their operation are given below.
Manufacturers’ instruction manuals give detailed operating instructions for each model of
distributor. These should be carefully followed and used to train operators so that they
fully understand the principles and the correct method of operation of their distributor.
Spray bars and spray jets
There are basically two types of spray jets, slotted jets and whirling spray jets. Slotted
jets are usually high output jets and are particularly suitable for spraying polymer
modified binders or for grouting. However, some manufacturers can supply jets with a
range of different slot widths or whirling spray jets for the same spray bar.
Whirling spray jets are of lower output and have the advantage for normal surface
dressing in that the forward speed of the distributor can be slower than when slotted jets
are used. This can enable the speed to be controlled more easily and for the chipping
operation to keep pace with the spraying. Higher bitumen temperatures are necessary

170
when spraying with whirling jets and suitable spraying temperatures for both types of jets
are given in Table 9.

The swirl chamber of whirling spray jets is enclosed in the spray bar so that the jets can
be pre-heated effectively by circulating hot binder through the spray bar prior to spraying.
The fine spray produced by whirling spray jets necessitates protecting the spray bar with
a hood and canvas curtains to prevent wind from deflecting the spray. This is not required
with slotted jets.
Table 9: Spraying temperatures for binders

1. Because of the flammable nature of the solvent used in RC-type cutbacks,

application temperatures should be restricted to the lower parts of the ranges
given above.
2. It is essential to extinguish flames and prohibit smoking when heating, pumping
or spraying all cutbacks. Fire extinguishers should always be readily at hand.

On constant pressure distributors a pressure gauge fitted to the spray bar registers the
spraying pressure during spraying (though not when re-circulating only), and on some
machines a temperature gauge is also fitted to the spray bar.

The uniformity of transverse distribution of a spray bar should be checked by the 'Depot
tray test' at least once a year. This test is specified fully in BS 1707:1989 (1989).
Attention should also be paid to maintaining the correct height of the spray bar above the

171
road. Whilst jets are positioned on the spray bar so that their sprays overlap to minimise
the effect of variations in spray bar height on the uniformity of transverse distribution of
binder. some adverse effects are likely if the spray bar is operated at an incorrect height.
Slotted jets are more critical than whirling spray jets in this respect.

Since the spray of the last jet at each end of a spray bar is not overlapped by an adjacent
spray the rate of spread of binder is less at the ends of a spray bar than along its length.
For this reason, adjacent spraying runs of a distributor are normally overlapped. Some
distributors are fitted with a larger jet at the end of the spray bar to compensate for this
effect. The alternative practice of turning the last jet of a slotted jet spray bar at right
angles is not recommended, nor is the practice of attempting to spray butt joints. This
invariably results in narrow unsprayed strips between adjacent paths of the distributor.

To ensure satisfactory performance of the spray bar, strainers and in-line filters in the
binder feed system must be cleaned regularly otherwise blocked jets will result. Before
commencing spraying, the spray bar and jets should be preheated by circulating hot
binder and then the jets should be operated for a few seconds, discharging on to waste
ground, to ensure they are operating freely.

If spraying is interrupted briefly. For example, to allow the chipping operation to catch up,
the spray bar should be kept hot by circulating binder, preferably with the distributor
standing off the road. When spraying is stopped for a longer period, such as at the end of
the day or when the tank is being re-filled, the binder pump should be opened to air and
the feed line to the spray bar, the spray bar itself, and the return line back to the tank
emptied. The return valve should then be closed and the jets blown out with air. If the
machine is being allowed to cool completely the binder pump should be flushed out with
diesel fuel. Most spray bars are fitted with a drain cock so that binder or flushing oil can
be drained off when required.

172
Binder pumps and air pumps
On most distributors the binder pump is driven by a separate engine, usually mounted
either at the rear of the tank or between the tank and the driving cab. The pump itself is
normally located inside the binder tank so that it is kept hot by the surrounding binder.
The engine drive to the pump is usually through a clutch and the same engine usually
drives a small air compressor which supplies air and fuel under pressure to the burners.

The binder tank should be emptied at the end of a day's work so that when the tank is
next filled with hot binder there is no cold binder around the pump to prevent it from
warming up quickly. If the binder system is notcleaned out as described above the pump
will not work until it has been cleared of cold bitumen. This should be done by turning
the engine crank manually as the bitumen in the distributor is heated and not by using the
engine.

On some distributors the pump drives are taken either from the main power transmission
of the vehicle or are driven by the main engine through a hydraulic system.
Tanks and burners
Most binder distributors have tanks with a capacity of between 500 and 16000 liters. The
tanks are invariably made of steel and are lagged to reduce heat loss. Baffles are fitted
internally to minimise surge. An inspection hatch fitted with a strainer basket provides
access at the top of the tank, and a dipstick or contents gauge indicates the level of the
binder.

Flues fitted with burners run through the tank to heat the binder and a thermometer is
fitted to indicate the temperature. The burners use either kerosene or diesel fuel which is
usually drawn from the main fuel tank of the vehicle. Vaporising burners require the
vaporising coil to be heated before they can operate, whilst atomising burners, which are
preferable. Can start up from cold. Fire extinguishers, suitable for fighting fires fuelled by
bitumen or solvents should be located in convenient positions. It is important that
professional advice is obtained on fire-fighting matters well before work commences.

173
The burners in a distributor should be used to make only relatively small adjustments to
the binder temperature. Wherever possible the main operation of heating the binder
should be done in pre-heaters and the binder transferred to the distributor at or above the
spraying temperature.

When heating binder in the tank it is necessary to ensure that the burner flues are fully
covered by the binder, preferably with a depth of at least 150mm of binder over the top of
the flues. On some distributors a danger level is indicated on the contents gauge. If this
precaution is not observed the burner flues may burn out, causing a fire or explosion.

Burners must not be operated when the distributor is spraying or moving or if any
blending is in progress. To prevent 'coking' of binder in the vicinity of the flues it is
recommended that the binder is circulated when the burners are lit. This will also speed
up the transfer of heat throughout the binder.

Distributor speed control and calibration

Most binder distributors are equipped with a 'fifth wheel' which operates a low range
speedometer. The speedometer is located in the driver's cab in a prominent position so
that a steady forward speed can be maintained relatively easily.

To spray binder at a specified rate of spread all that is necessary with constant pressure
machines is to read off the corresponding road speed from the 'Driver's chart' or
calibration chart which should be carried by every distributor.With constant volume
machines it is necessary to select from the chart both the pump output and the road speed
necessary to give the required rate of spread for the width of spray bar being used.

If the distributor has not previously been calibrated or if the calibration chart has been
lost either of the following two methods can be used to calibrate the machine.

Method A. This method is preferred for initial calibration. The distributor is loaded with
binder which is raised to the correct spraying temperature and circulated around the spray

174
bar to heat it. Static spraying is done into suitable containers to check the evenness of the
appearance of the binder spray.
Binder is then sprayed into weighed containers of suitable dimensions for an accurately
measured period of time and the mass of sprayed binder determined by weighing. The
mass of binder delivered per unit time is calculated and the rate of spread/speed of
distributor relationship is determined as described in Appendix G.

Method B. Four or five weighed metal trays of known area (0.lm square is a suitable
size) are placed in the path of the distributor as it makes a spraying run at a constant
speed. The trays are then picked up and weighed and the rate of spread of binder is
calculated. The process is repeated with different distributor speeds until the required rate
of spread/speed chart can be drawn up. This tray test should be repeated
periodically during surface dressing operations to check the consistency of the rate of
spread of bitumen.It will, of course, be necessary to complete the dressing by hand on the
areas where the trays were located.

Tar and bitumen binders have been found to have different outflow characteristics when
sprayed from whirling spray jets; hence, if both kinds of binder are likely to be used, it is
advisable to draw up a calibration chart for both binders for machines fitted with this type
of jet.

Chip spreaders

Chippings can be spread on the sprayed binder by hand and good results can be obtained
by this method with a well-trained and plentiful labour force. In general, however, better
results will be obtained when chippings are spread mechanically since this facilitates a
more even distribution and rapid application of the chippings after the binder has been
sprayed.

175
There are three main types of chip spreader;
1. Metering or non-metering 'tail-board' types.
2. Pushed metering chip spreaders.
3. Self-propelled metering or non metering chip spreaders.
Non-metering tail board chip spreaders are bolted in place of the tailgate of a normal
tipping lorry.They are the cheapest and simplest kind of mechanical chip spreader, having
very few moving parts. A serrated steel comb controls the flow of chippings and a rotary
gate with a helical edge controls the width of spread and the starting and stopping of the
flow. The 'Hornsey gritter' is a popular example of this type. The flow of chippings is
controlled by an operator who walks beside the tipper lorry, whilst it is driven in reverse
at walking speed with the tipper body partly raised. Since the rate of spread of the
chippings is dependent on gravity and the speed of the tipper lorry acting independently,
the skill of the lorry driver is crucial in ensuring an even distribution of the chippings.
Nevertheless good results can be obtained with these simple machines.

However, to reduce dependence on the skill of the tipper driver, metering devices are
available for tailboard chip spreaders that control the rate of discharge of the chippings by
delivering them over a roller which is driven from the road wheels of the lorry or from a
fifth wheel attached to the chip spreader. In this way variations in road speed of the tipper
produce corresponding variations in the rate of discharge of the chippings.

Pushed metering chip spreaders operate on a similar principle but the metering roll is
located at the base of a wheeled hopper which is pushed along the road by a reversing
tipper lorry. The roll is driven by the road wheels of the hopper and the chippings in the
hopper are replenished from the raised body of the tipper.

Self-propelled metering chip spreaders are the most effective machines available for
applying chippings. They have a hopper at the rear into which chippings are discharged
from the delivering tipper lorry which, during the transfer of the chippings, is towed
along in reverse by the chip spreader through a quick release mechanism. Conveyor belts
transfer the chippings to a transverse hopper at the front of the machine at the bottom of

176
which is the metering roll that delivers the chippings to the road. However, there are self
propelled models which do not meter the chippings but rely on gravity feed and these
machines require careful operation to ensure that a constant road speed is maintained.

It should be noted that none of these chip spreaders can deliver chippings at a pre-
determined rate of spread; they simply facilitate an even distribution of the chippings and
the operator must ensure that an adequate, but not excessive, rate of application is
maintained.

The number of tipper lorries must be sufficient to provide a steady supply of chippings at
a rate that allows the planned daily output of the surface dressing unit to be achieved.
Depending on the distance of the stockpile of chippings from the surface dressing site, a
minimum of four or five tippers is usually required plus one spare tipper for applying
chippings by hand to awkward shaped corners and other areas that may not have been
covered by the chip spreader.

Rollers and other equipment

The rolling of a surface dressing plays an important part in ensuring the retention of the
chippings by assisting in the initial orientation and bedding down of the chippings in the
binder. Traditionally, steel-wheeled rollers have been used but these tend to crush weaker
aggregates and to crack poorly shaped chippings.
Accordingly, if steel-wheeled rollers are used they should not exceed 8 tonnes in weight
and should only be used on chippings which are strong enough. Some steel-wheeled
rollers are fitted with rubber sleeves which makes them more suitable for surface dressing
work but, as for any roller of this type. they will bridge' depressions in the existing road
surface. In general. pneumatic tyred rollers are preferred because the tyres have a
kneading action which tends to manoeuvre the chippings into a tight mosaic without
splitting them and they do not ‘bridge' depressions.

In favourable conditions, adhesion should be well established within 30 minutes of

rolling after which considerable benefit can be obtained by allowing slowmoving traffic,

177
particularly heavy lorries, to traverse the dressing provided that traffic speed is kept
below 20 to 30km/hr. This is very important and the use of a lead vehicle to 'convoy'
traffic at slow speed is recommended.

Other important items of equipment required for surface dressing are mechanical brooms,
binder heaters, decanters and transporters, and front-end loaders. Mechanical brooms,
either towed or powered, are invaluable for obtaining a clean road surface prior to
spraying the binder. Whilst hand brooming is an alternative, it is difficult to obtain as
good results by this method, particularly when sweeping the surface of a newly
constructed roadbase from which all loose particles should be removed.

Binder heaters are required to raise bulk stocks of binder to the spraying temperature.
They should have sufficient capacity to supply. at the correct temperature, all the binder
required for the planned output of the surface dressing unit. Binder decanters fulfil the
same function when the binder is supplied in drums. Their capacity tends to be small
hence it is usually necessary to provide several decanters to supply the required quantity
of hot binder. When binder is supplied in bulk it is desirable to transport it from the bulk
supply point in binder transporters. It is not desirable to use distributors for this, nor
should the burners in a distributor be used for raising the binder from pumping
temperature, at which it is usually discharged at the supply point, to the spraying
temperature.

Front-end loaders are required primarily for handling chippings. They are essential for
loading tipping lorries quickly with chippings at the stockpile to ensure that a continuous
supply of chippings is delivered to the surface dressing site. Front-end loaders are, of
course, also useful for many general lifting duties such as lifting drums of binder onto
decanters. In addition to these major items of equipment a surface dressing unit requires a
variety of small equipment such as road signs, hand tools etc.

The routine maintenance and servicing of the mechanical equipment of a surface dressing
unit usually has to be undertaken in the field, often remote from a base maintenance

178
workshop. Machine operators do not normally have the skills to undertake running
repairs or adjustments to their machines, nor are they usually authorised to do such work.
There is thus a need to provide for a certain level of running repairs on site if long delays
are to be avoided whilst plant fitters and spares are supplied from a distant maintenance
workshop. The employment in the unit of a plant operator who is also trained filler is
therefore an advantage. Together with the provision on site of a basic set of spares and
the necessary tools.

8.7 The surface dressing process Planning

A typical sequence of events in the planning of a surface dressing operation is as follows:

1. Select lengths of road requiring surface dressing and detail the preliminary work
required on each road before the surface dressing can be carried out.
2. Implement the necessary preliminary work such as patching, heating and planing,
shoulder and edge repairs, drainage works, reinstatement of service trenches etc.
Allow as much time as possible for trafficking before commencement of surface
dressing operations.
3. Decide on the type of surface dressing, the binder to be used and nominal
chipping sizes, i.e. use the road surface hardness probe and make a preliminary
design, taking into account constraints on the supplies of binder and chippings
and limitations of plant and labour.
4. Ensure that the chippings will be of adequate quality with suitable ALD value(s).
Stockpile chippings at convenient points along the road to be surface dressed so
as to minimise haul distances during construction. Sample the chippings and
confirm their suitability, modify the surface dressing design if necessary.
5. Order the appropriate binder for the anticipated weather conditions, or make
provision for blending and adding adhesion agents as required.
6. Ensure that all the plant and equipment of the unit is in good working order.
7. Instruct the construction team of the details of the work programme.
8. Inform the police and other organizations likely to be affected by the surface
dressing operation.

179
 9. Inform the Materials Laboratory and arrange for the testing of aggregates and
binder and rate of spread checks during spraying.
The surface dressing operation
The following sequence of events normally comprises the complete surface dressing
operation:
1. Raising the temperature of the binder in the depot tanks is started early in the
morning so that the distributor can be loaded with bitumen. The temperature
should, preferably, be just above the ideal spraying temperature.
2. The supervisor arrives on site with traffic control equipment and supervises
the placing of warning signs, control barriers, traffic cones, etc.
3. The surface dressing unit arrives on site and the distributor is parked off the
road, preferably on a level site where the tank can be 'dipped' before and after
spraying. If the parking area is not level and alternative site must be located.
4. Whilst the binder temperature is adjusted using the burners; binder is
circulated through the spray bar, and the jets are checked for correct operation.
5. The calibrated 'dip-stick' supplied with the distributor is used to measure the
volume of binder in the tank at the start of the day's work.
6. The supervisor instructs the distributor crew on the spray rate required, the
corresponding road speed and the pump output, where this is necessary.
7. The chipping crew load the tipper lorries with chippings and the lorries line up
ready to follow the distributor at the location specified by the supervisor. The
rollers also prepare to follow the distributor after the chipping lorries.
8. The road is thoroughly swept and road furniture such as manhole covers,
reflective studs etc, is masked so as to prevent contamination with binder.
9. Cut-off sheets of paper or other material are placed at the beginning and end
of the spray run. The supervisor checks that the road is in fit condition for
spraying and that laboratory staff, if present, are ready to do tray tests.
10. The burners on the distributor are extinguished and the distributor is
positioned at the beginning of the spray run.
11. The driver adjusts the guide chain, the fifth wheel is lowered to the ground,
and the height of the spray bar is adjusted.

180
 12. The distributor then commences the spraying run, the cut-off sheets being
removed immediately the distributor passes to avoid contamination of the
wheels of the chip spreader or tipper lorries.
13. The chip spreader, tippers and the rollers should follow closely behind the
distributor. Spraying should he stopped if the chipping operation is delayed
for any reason. A strip of binder 150mm wide is left un-chipped at the edge of
the lane to allow for the overlap of the adjacent run of the distributor.
14. A tipper and crew should move slowly over the new dressing, spreading
chippings by hand shovels on areas where there is a deficiency of chippings.
15. The operation is then repeated on the adjacent pass (if any) and traffic is
allowed to move slowly over the new dressing.
16. The distributor then returns to the original level parking site and the volume of
binder remaining in the tank is checked with the 'dip-stick'. The supervisor
records the amount of binder used and, knowing the total area sprayed,
calculates the average rate-of-spread.
17. Speed control and other traffic warning signs are left in position along the
length of the new surface dressing.
18. At the completion of the day's work the distributor spray bar is cleaned, all
vehicles and plant refuelled and lubricated and the supervisor checks that the
bitumen heaters are loaded ready to supply the binder required for the next
day.
After-care
After-cares are an essential part of the surfacing process and consist of removing excess
chippings within 24 to 48 hours of the construction of a dressing. Some of the excess
chippings will have been thrown clear by passing vehicles but some loose chippings will
remain on the surface and these area hazard to windscreens and, hence, a source of public
complaint. They can be removed by brooming or by purposed-made suction cleaners.
Care must be taken with brooming to avoid damage to the new dressing and it is usually
best to do this work in the early morning when the surface dressing binder is still
relatively stiff. It is Important to stress that over-chipping can reduce the quality of a

181
dressing, make after-care a more time consuming process and also unnecessarily increase
costs.

8.8 Other surface treatments

Apart from surface dressing there are several other kinds of surface treatment that
complement surface dressings, five of which are described briefly below.

Slurry seals

A slurry seal is a mixture of fine aggregates, Portland cement filler, bitumen emulsion
and additional water (ASTM, D 3910, 1996; BS 434, Parts 1 and 2, 1984). when freshly
mixed they have a thick creamy consistency and can be spread to a thickness of 5 to 10
mm. This method of surfacing is not normally used for new construction because it is
more expensive than surface ressing, does not provide as good a surface texture, and is
not as durable as a properly designed and constructed surface dressing. Slurry mixes are
best made and spread by purpose made machines as shown in Figure 8.

Slurry seals are often used in combination with a surface dressing to make a 'Cape-seal'.
In this technique the slurry seal is applied on top of a single surface dressing to produce a
surface texture which is less harsh than a surface ressing alone and a surface which is
flexible and durable. However, the combination is more expensive than a double surface
dressing and requires careful control during construction.

Both anionic and cationic emulsions may be used in slurry seals but cationic emulsion is
normally used in Slurries containing acidic aggregates and its early breaking
characteristics are also advantageous when rainfall is likely to occur. Suitable
specifications for slurry seals and for a Cape-seal are given in Tables 10 and 11.

182
 Table 10: Aggregate particle size distribution for slurry Seals

The optimum mix design for the aggregate, filler, water and emulsion mixture should be
determined using ASTM D 3910-84 (1996).
Table 11 Typical coverage for a new 'Cape seal'

Figure 8 Slurry seal machine (diagrammatic)

183
Otta seal

An Otta seal is different to surface dressing in that a graded gravel or crushed aggregate
containing all sizes, including filler, is used instead of single sized-chippings. There is no
formal design procedure but recommendations based on case studies have been published
(Norwegian Public Roads Administration, 1999). An Otta seal may be applied in a single
or double layer. Evidence on the performance of these types of seal has shown them to
have been satisfactory for over 12 years on roads carrying up to 300 vehicles per day
(Overby, 1998).

The grading of the material is based on the level of traffic expected. Recommended
grading envelopes are given in Table 12. Generally for roads carrying light traffic (<100
vehicles per day), a 'coarse' grading should be chosen while a 'dense' grading should be
applied to one carrying greater than 100 vehicles per day.
Table 12: Otta seal aggregate grading requirements

The viscosities of binders used in construction should reflect the quality of aggregate
employed but normally cut back bitumen MC 800, MC 3000 or 150/200 penetration
grade bitumen is used depending upon the traffic volumes and type of aggregate cover.
Spray rates can not be calculated by design and must be chosen empirically.

184
Typically, spray rates (hot) for single seals are between 1.6 and 2 1/m2 but reference
must be made to the Design Guide (NPRA, 1999) so that necessary detailed adjustments
can be made.

It is because of the broad range of materials that may be used and the empirical nature of
the design of this type of seal that it is imperative that pre-construction trials be carried
out. This strategy will identify any special local conditions concerning the available
aggregates and binders to become apparent to enable the engineer to adjust the nominal
design.

An important aspect of Otta seal construction is the need for extensive rolling by
pneumatic rollers for two or three days after construction. The action of rolling ensures
the binder is forced upwards, coating the aggregate, and thereby initiating the process,
continued by subsequent trafficking, of forming a premix like appearance to the surface.

After care can take as long as twelve days and involve sweeping dislodged aggregate
back into the wheel paths for further compaction by traffic.

Sand seals
Where chippings for a surface dressing are unobtainable or are very costly to provide,
sand can be used as 'cover material' for a seal. Sand seals are less durable than surface
dressings; the surface tends to abrade away under traffic. Nevertheless a sand seal can
provide a satisfactory surfacing for lightly trafficked roads carrying less than 100 vehicles
per lane per day.

It is not possible to design a sand seal in the same sense that a surface dressing can be
designed. The particles of sand become submerged in the binder film, and the net result is
a thin layer of sand-binder mixture adhering to the road surface.

The sand should be a clean coarse sand, with a maximum size of 6mm, containing no
more than 15 per cent of material finer than 0.3 mm and a maximum of 2 per cent of

185
material finer than 0.1 5mm. The sand should be applied at a rate of 6 to 7 x 10-³ m3 /m2
(CSRA, 1986). The binder, which may be a cutback or an emulsion, should be spread at a
rate of approximately 1.0 to 1.2 kg/m2 depending on the type of surface being sealed.

Synthetic aggregate and resin treatments

These treatments are costly and are used only on relatively small areas, usually in urban
situations. Where high skidding resistance is required. The aggregate is normally a small.
Single-sized, calcined bauxite which has a high resistance to polishing under traffic. The
aggregate is held by a film of epoxy-resin binder (Denning, 1978). The process requires
special mixing and laying equipment and is normally undertaken by specialist contractors.

Applications of light bitumen sprays

There are two main uses for light sprays of bitumen:

ƒ A light film of binder which can be applied as the final spray on a new surface
dressing. The advantage of this procedure is that the risk of whip-off of
chippings under fast traffic is reduced. This is particularly useful where
management of traffic speed is difficult.
ƒ A light spray of binder can be used to extend the life of a bituminous
surfacing. This is particularly useful where a surfacing is showing signs of
bitumen ageing by fretting or cracking.
These applications may be referred to by different authorities as Fog Sprays or
Enrichment sprays.

Fog sprays
A light spray of bitumen emulsion is ideal for improving early retention of chippings in a
new dressing (CSRA, 1972). The road surface is usually dampened before spraying or, if
a low bitumen content emulsion (45 per cent) is available, this dampening can be omitted.
Complete breaking of the emulsion must occur before traffic is allowed onto the dressing
and it may be necessary to dust the surface with sand or crusher fines to prevent pick-up

186
by traffic. If emulsion is diluted with water, to obtain a 45 per cent bitumen content to
ensure the bitumen will flow around the chippings, then the suitability of the water must
be established by mixing small trial batches.

The spray rate for the diluted emulsion will depend upon the surface texture of the new
dressing but the best results will be achieved if the residual bitumen in the fog spray is
treated as part of the design spray rate for the surface dressing. The spray rate is likely to
be between 0.4 and 0.8 litre/m2. It is important to avoid over application of bitumen
which could result in poor skid resistance.

Enrichment sprays
Surfaces which are showing obvious signs of disintegration through bitumen ageing can
be enriched by applying stable grade anionic bitumen emulsion which has been diluted at
a rate of 1: 1 with water (CSRA, 1972). The rate of application will depend upon the
texture of the surfacing and this must be determined by trial sprays, however, it is likely
to be between 0.2 and 0.5 litres/m2 of residual bitumen. Great care must be taken to
avoid leaving a slippery surface and a light application of sand sized fines may be require
in some cases.

187
9. PAVEMENT DESIGN

9.1 GENERAL

This chapter gives recommendations for the structural design of bituminous surfaced
roads in tropical and subtropical climates. It is aimed at highway engineers responsible
for the design and construction of new road pavements and is appropriate for roads which
are required to carry up to 30 million cumulative equivalent standard axles in one
direction. The design of strengthening overlays is not covered nor is the design of earth,
gravel or concrete roads. Although this Note is appropriate for the structural design of
flexible roads in urban areas, some of the special requirements of urban roads, such as the
consideration of kerbing, sub-soil drainage, skid resistance, etc, are not covered. For the
structural design of more heavily trafficked roads, the recommendations of this Note may
be supplemented by those given in the guides for the design of bituminous pavements in
the. United Kingdom (Powell et al (1984)) but these are likely to require some form of
calibration or adaptation to take account of the conditions encountered in the tropics.

9.2 ROAD DETERIORATION

The purpose of structural design is to limit the stresses induced in the subgrade by traffic
to a safe level at which sub grade deformation is insignificant whilst at the same time
ensuring that the road pavement layers themselves do not deteriorate to any serious extent
within a specified period of time. By the nature of the materials used for construction, it
is impossible to design a road pavement which does not deteriorate in some way with
time and traffic, hence the aim of structural design is to limit the level of pavement
distress, measured primarily in terms of riding quality, rut depth and cracking, to
predetermined values. Generally these values are set so that a suitable remedial treatment
at the end of the design period is a strengthening overlay of some kind but this is not
necessarily so and roads can, in principle, be designed to reach a terminal condition at
which mayor rehabilitation or even complete reconstruction is necessary. However,
assessing appropriate remedial treatments for roads which have deteriorated beyond a
certain level is a difficult task. In most design methods it is assumed that adequate routine

188
and periodic maintenance is carved out during the design period of the road and that at
the end of the design period a relatively low level of deterioration has occurred
acceptable levels of surface condition have usually been based on the expectations of
road users. These expectations have been found to depend upon the class of road and the
volume of traffic such that the higher the geometric standard, and therefore the higher the
vehicle speeds, the lower the level of pavement distress which is acceptable. In defining
these levels, economic considerations were not considered because there was insufficient
knowledge of the cost trade-offs for an economic analysis to be carved out with sufficient
accuracy.

9.3 ECONOMIC CONSIDERATIONS

In recent years a number of important empirical studies have shown how the costs of
operating vehicles depend on the surface condition of the road. The studies have also
improved our knowledge of how the deterioration of roads depends on the nature of the
traffic, the properties of the road-making materials, the environment, and the maintenance
strategy adopted (Parsley and Robinson (1982), Paterson (1987), Chesher and Harrison
(1987), Watanatada et al (1987)). In some circumstances it is now possible to design a
road in such a way that provided maintenance and strengthening can be carried out at the
proper time, the total cost of the transport facility i e the sum of construction costs,
maintenance costs and road user costs, can be minimized. These techniques are expected
to become more widespread in the future. Also, with the introduction in many countries
of pavement management systems in which road condition is monitored on a regular
basis, additional information will be collected to allow road performance models to be
refined. Pavement structural design could then become an integral part of the
management system in which design could be modified according to the expected
maintenance inputs in such a way that the most economic strategies could be adopted.
Whilst these refinements lie in the future, the research has provided important guidance
on structural designs suitable for tropical and sub-tropical environments and has been
used, in part, in preparing this edition of Road Note 31. For the structures recommended
in this Note, the level of deterioration that is reached by the end of the design period has
been restricted to levels that experience has shown give rise to acceptable economic

189
designs under a wide range of conditions. It has been assumed that routine and periodic
maintenance activities are carried out to a reasonable, though not excessive, level In
particular, it has been assumed that periodic maintenance is done whenever the area of
road surface experiencing defects i e cracking, raveling, etc , exceeds 15 per cent. For
example, for a 10 year design period, one surface maintenance treatment is likely to be
required for the higher traffic levels whereas for a 15 year design period, one treatment is
likely to be required for the lower traffic levels and two for the higher. These are broad
guidelines only and the exact requirements will depend on local conditions.

9.4 EFFECTS OF CLIMATE

Research has shown how different types of road deteriorate and has demonstrated that
some of the most common modes of failure in the tropics are often different from those
encountered in temperate regions. In particular, climate related deterioration sometimes
dominates performance and the research has emphasized the overriding importance of the
design of bituminous surfacing materials to minimize this type of deterioration (Paterson
(1987), Smith et al (1990), Strauss et al (1984)). This topic is dealt with in Chapter 8.
Climate also affects the nature of the soils and rocks encountered in the tropics Soil-
forming processes are still very active and the surface rocks are often deeply weathered.
The soils themselves often display extreme or unusual properties which can pose
considerable problems for road designers. The recent publication 'Road building in the
tropics materials and methods' provides an introduction to these topics (Millard (1993)).

9.5 VARIABILITY IN MATERIAL

PROPERTIES AND ROADPERFORMANCE

Variability in material properties and construction control is generally much greater than
desired by the design engineer and must be taken into account explicitly in the design
process. Only a very small percentage of the area of the surface of a road needs to show
distress for the road to be considered unacceptable by road users. It is therefore the
weakest parts of the road or the extreme tail of the statistical distribution of 'strength'

190
which is important in design. In well controlled full-scale experiments this variability is
such that the ten per cent of the road which performs best will carry about six times more
traffic before reaching a defined terminal condition than the ten per cent which performs
least well. Under normal construction conditions this spread of performance becomes
even greater. Some of this variability can be explained through the measured variability
of those factors known to affect performance. Therefore, if the likely variability is known
beforehand, it is possible, in principle, for it to be taken into account in design. It is false
economy to minimize the extent of preliminary. Investigations to determine this
variability, in practice it is usually only the variability of subgrade strength that is
considered and all other factors are controlled by means of specifications i e by setting
minimum acceptable values for the key properties. But specifications need to be based on
easily measurable attributes of the materials and these may not correlate well with the
fundamental mechanical properties on which behavior depends. As a result, even when
the variability of subgrade strength and pavement material properties are taken into
account, there often remains a considerable variation in performance between nominally
identical pavements which cannot be fully explained. Optimum design therefore remains
partly dependent on knowledge of the performance of in-service roads and quantification
of the variability of the observed performance itself. Thus there is always likely to be
scope for improving designs based on local experience. Nevertheless, it is the task of the
designer to estimate likely variations in layer thicknesses and material strengths so that
realistic target values and tolerances can be set in the specifications to ensure that
satisfactory road performance can be guaranteed as far as is possible. The thickness and
strength values described in this chapter are essentially minimum values but practical
considerations require that they are interpreted as lower ten percentile values with 90 per
cent of all test results exceeding the values quoted. The random nature of variations in
thickness and strength which occur when each layer is constructed should ensure that
minor deficiencies in thickness or strength do not occur one on top of the other, or very
rarely so. The importance of good practice in quarrying, material handling and stock-
piling to ensure this randomness and also to minimize variations themselves cannot be
over emphasized.

191
9.6 UNCERTAINTY IN TRAFFIC FORECASTS

Pavement design also depends on the expected level of traffic.Axle load studies and
traffic counts are essential prerequisites for successful design but traffic forecasting
remains a difficult task and therefore sensitivity and risk analysis are recommended. This
topic is discussed in Chapter 3.

9.7 BASIS FOR THE DESIGN CATALOGUE

The pavement designs incorporated into the fourth edition of Road Note 31(TRL) are
based primarily on:
(a) The results of full-scale experiments where all factors affecting performance have
been accurately measured and their variability quantified.
(b) Studies of the performance of as-built existing road networks. Where direct
empirical evidence is lacking, designs have been interpolated or extrapolated from
empirical studies using road performance models (Parsley and Robinson (1982),
Paterson (1987), Rolt et al (1987)) and standard analytical, mechanistic methods
e.g Gerritsen and Koole (1987),
Powell et al (1984), Brunton et al (1987).In view of the statistical nature of pavement
design caused by the large uncertainties in traffic forecasting and the variability in
material properties, climate and road behavior, the design charts have been presented as a
catalogue of structures, each structure being applicable over a small range of traffic and
subgrade strength. Such a procedure makes the charts extremely easy to use but it is
important that the reader is thoroughly conversant with the notes applicable to each chart
throughout the text the component layers of a flexible pavement are referred to in the
following terms (see Figure1).Surfacing. This is the uppermost layer of the pavement and
will normally consist of a bituminous surface dressing or a layer of premixed bituminous
material. Where premixed materials are laid in two layers, these are known as the
wearing course and the base course (or binder course) as shown in Figure 1. Road base,
this is the main load-spreading layer of the pavement. It will normally consist of crushed
stone or gravel, or of gravelly soils, decomposed rock, sands and sand-clays stabilized

192
with cement, lime or bitumen. Sub-base. This is the secondary load-spreading layer
underlying the road base. It will normally consist of a material of lower quality than that
used in the road base such as unprocessed natural gravel, gravel-sand, or gravel-sand-clay.
This layer also serves as a separating layer preventing contamination of the road base by
the subgrade material and, under wet conditions; it has an important role to play in
protecting the subgrade from damage by construction traffic. Capping layer (selected or
improved subgrade). Where very weak soils are encountered, a capping layer is
sometimes necessary. This may consist of better quality subgrade material imported from
elsewhere or existing subgrade material improved by mechanical or chemical
stabilization. Subgrade. This is the upper layer of the natural soil which may be
undisturbed local material or may be soil excavated elsewhere and placed as fill. In either
case it is compacted during construction to give added strength.

9.8 THE DESIGN PROCESS

There are three main steps to be followed in designing a new road pavement. These are:
(i) Estimating the amount of traffic and the cumulative number of equivalent
standard axles that will use the road over the selected design life;
(ii) Assessing the strength of the subgrade soil over which the road is to be built;
(iii) Selecting the most economical combination of pavement materials and layer
thicknesses that will provide satisfactory service over the design life of the
pavement (It is usually necessary to assume that an appropriate level of
maintenance is also carried out). This Note considers each of these steps in
turn and puts special emphasis on five aspects of design that are of major
significance in designing roads in most tropical countries:
ƒ The influence of tropical climates on moisture conditions in road
subgrades.
ƒ The severe conditions imposed on exposed bituminous surfacing materials
by tropical climates and the implications of this for the design of such
surfacing.
ƒ The interrelationship between design and maintenance. If an appropriate
level of maintenance cannot be assumed. it is not possible to produce

193
 designs that will carry the anticipated traffic loading without high costs to
vehicle operators through increased road deterioration.
ƒ The high axle loads and tire pressures which are common in most
countries.
ƒ The influence of tropical climates on the nature of the soils and rocks used
in road building. The overall process of designing a road is illustrated in
Figure 2. Some of the information necessary to carry out the tasks may be
available from elsewhere e.g. a feasibility study or Ministry records, but
all existing data will need to be checked carefully to ensure that it is both
up-to-date and accurate. Likely problem areas are highlighted in the
relevant in this chapter.

Fig. 1 Definition of pavement layers

194
195
9.9 SURFACE TREATMENTS

9.9.1 PRIME AND TACK COATS

A prime coat is a thin layer of bitumen sprayed onto the surface of an existing layer,
usually of unbound or cement/lime bound material. Its purpose can be summarized as
follows:
ƒ It assists in promoting and maintaining adhesion between the road base and
the bituminous surfacing by pre-coating the surface of the road base and by
penetrating the voids near the surface.
ƒ It helps to seal the surface pores in the road base, thus reducing the absorption
of the first spray of bitumen of a surface dressing.
ƒ It helps to bind the finer particles of aggregate together in the surface of the
road base.
ƒ If the application of the surfacing is delayed for some reason, it provides the
road base with temporary protection against the detrimental effects of rainfall
and light traffic. Low viscosity, medium curing cutback bitumen’s such as
MC-30, MC-70, or in rare circumstances MC-250, can be used for prime coats
(alternatively low viscosity road tar can be used if this is available). The depth
of penetration should be about 3-10 mm and the quantity sprayed should be
such that the surface is dry within two days. The correct viscosity and
application rate are dependent primarily on the texture and density of the
surface being primed. The application rate is likely to lie within the range 0.3-
1 1 kg/m2. Low viscosity cutbacks are necessary for very dense cement or
lime-stabilized surfaces, and high viscosity cutbacks for untreated coarse-
textured surfaces. It is .usually helpful to spray the surface lightly with water
before applying the prime coat as this helps to suppress dust and allows the
primer to spread more easily over the surface and to penetrate. Bitumen
emulsions are not suitable for priming because they tend to form a skin on the
surface. The primary function of a tack coat is to act as a glue to assist
bonding of a new surface layer to a previously primed surface, bituminous

196
 road base, or base course that has been left exposed for some time. Tack coats
should be extremely thin and it is appropriate to use a dilute bitumen emulsion
spread to give less than 0.2 kg /M2 of residual bitumen with continuous cover.
When temperature conditions are satisfactory, it is possible to obtain a thin
layer by lightly spraying the undiluted emulsion with a hand lance and then
spreading it with a pneumatic tired roller to obtain complete coverage.

9.9.2. Type of surface

Embedment of the chippings under traffic is dependent upon the hardness of the layer to
be sealed and the size of the chippings. Assessment of layer hardness can be based on
descriptive definitions or measured using a simple penetration test probe. Details of
surface category, penetration values, and descriptive definitions are given in Table 9.1

9.9.3. Traffic categories

The volume of traffic is considered in terms of the number of commercial vehicles per
day in the lane under consideration. The traffic categories are defined in Table 9 2. It
should be noted that these differ from the traffic classes used in the selection of the
pavement structure in sub topic 9.4.

197
9.9.4. STRUCTURE CATALOGUE

The basis of the catalogue has been described in Section 1.7 and most of the information
necessary to use it is contained in the main chapters of this Road Note. The cells of the
catalogue are defined by ranges of traffic (Chapter 3) and subgrades strength (Chapter 4)
and all the materials are described in Chapters 5 to 8. A summary of requirements and
reference chapters relevant to each design chart is given in Table below. Although the
thicknesses of layers should follow the designs whenever possible, some limited
substitution of materials between sub-base and selected fill is allowable based on the
structural number principles outlined in the AASHTO guide for design of pavement
structures (AASHTO (1986)). Where substitution is allowed, a note is included with the
design chart. The charts are designed so that, wherever possible, the thickness of each lift
of material is obvious. Thus, all layers less than 200 mm will normally be constructed in
one lift and all layers thicker than 300 mm will be constructed in two lifts. Occasionally
layers are of intermediate thickness and the decision on lift thickness will depend on the
construction plant available and the ease with which the density in the lower levels of the
lift can be achieved. The thickness of each lift need not necessarily be identical and it is
often better to adjust the thickness according to the total thickness required and the
maximum particle size by using a combination of grading from Chapter 5.
In Charts 3, 4 and 7 where a semi-structural surface is defined, it is important that the
surfacing material should be flexible (Chapter 8) and the granular road base should be of
the highest quality, preferably GB1,A. In traffic classes T6, T7 and T8 only granular road
bases of type GB1 or GB2 should be used, GB3 is acceptable in the lower traffic classes.
For lime or cement stabilized materials, the charts already define the layers for which the
three categories of material may be used. The choice of chart will depend on a variety of
factors but should be based on minimizing total transport costs as discussed in Section 1
3 Factors that will need to be taken into account in a full evaluation include,
ƒ The likely level and timing of maintenance
ƒ The probable behavior of the structure
ƒ The experience and skill of the contractors and the availability of suitable
plant

198
 ƒ The cost of the different materials that might be used
ƒ other risk factors
It is not possible to give detailed guidance on these issues. The charts have been
developed on the basis of reasonable assumptions concerning the first three of these, as
described in the text, and therefore the initial choice should be based on the local costs of
the feasible options If any information is available concerning the likely behavior of the
structures under the local conditions, then a simple risk analysis can also be carried out to
select the most appropriate structure (e g Ellis (1975)). With more detailed information, it
should be possible to calibrate one of the road investment models such as HDM-111
(Watanatada et al (1987)) or RTIM-2 (Parsley and Robinson (1982)) and then to use the
model to calculate the whole life costs associated with each of the possible structures
thereby allowing the optimum choice to be made. For many roads, especially those that
are more lightly trafficked, local experience will dictate the most appropriate structures
and sophisticated analysis will not be warranted.

199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
10. DESIGN OF GRAVEL AND LOW STANDARD ROADS

10.1 General

Much of the information presented in this Section of the Pavement Design is based on the
"Pavement and Materials Design Manual" prepared by the United Republic of Tanzania
Ministry of Works 1999, and on relevant ERA and TRL publications. Available information
has been modified to provide a simple procedure to design gravel wearing courses and low
standard roads, which is appropriate to Ethiopian conditions. Gravel road pavements are
generally utilized for roads where design traffic flow Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT)
is less than 200. This Section sets out the standards for pavement design, and specifies the
materials which may be used for gravel roads.

10.2 Design Principles

10.2.1 STEPS TO BE CONSIDERED IN THE DESIGN PROCESS

1. Traffic (Baseline flow and forecast)
2. Material and geotechnical information (Field survey and material properties)
3. Subgrade (Classification, foundation for expansive soils and material strength)
4. Thickness design (Gravel wearing coarse thickness)
5. Materials design

10.2.2 ALL-WEATHER ACCESS

An essential consideration in the design of gravel roads is to ensure all-weather access. This
requirement places particular emphasis on the need for sufficient bearing capacity of the
pavement structure and provision of drainage and sufficient earthworks in flood or problem
soil areas (e.g. black cotton).

10.2.3 SURFACE PERFORMANCE

The performance of the gravel surface mainly depends on material quality, the location of the
road, and the volume of traffic using the road. Gravel roads passing through populated areas

211
in particular require materials that do not generate excessive dust in dry weather. Steep
gradients place particular demands on gravel wearing course materials; this must not become
slippery in wet weather or erode easily. Consideration should therefore be given to the type
of gravel wearing course material to be used in particular locations such as towns or steep
sections. Gravel loss rates of about 25-30mm thickness a year per 100 vehicles per day is
expected, depending on rainfall and materials properties (particularly plasticity).
Performance characteristics that will assist in identifying suitable material are shown in
Figure 11-1.

10.2.4 MAINTENANCE

The material requirements for the gravel wearing course include provision of a gravel surface
that is effectively maintainable. Adherence to the limits on oversize particles in the material
is of particular importance in this regard and will normally necessitate the use of crushing or
screening equipment during material production activities.
10.3 Design Method
The required gravel thickness shall be determined as follows:
1. Determine the minimum thickness necessary to avoid excessive compressive strain in
the subgrade (D1).
2. Determine the extra thickness needed to compensate for the gravel loss under traffic
during the period between regravelling operations (D2).
3. Determine the total gravel thickness required by adding the above two thicknesses
(D1+ D2).

10.3.1 MINIMUM THICKNESS REQUIRED

It is necessary to limit the compressive strain in the subgrade to prevent excessive permanent
deformation at the surface of the road .Figure 3 gives the minimum gravel thickness required
for each traffic category with the required thickness of improved subgrade materials for
upper and lower subgrade layers.

212
10.3.2 GRAVEL LOSS

According to TRL Laboratory Report 673, an estimate of the annual gravel loss is given by
the following equation:

GL = f T2 / ( T2 + 50) ( 4.2 + 0.092 T + 3.50 R2 + 1.88V)

Where
GL = the annual gravel loss measured in mm
T = the total traffic volume in the first year in both directions, measured in
thousands of vehicles
R = the average annual rainfall measured in m
V = the total (rise + fall) as a percentage of the length of the road
f = 0.94 to 1.29 for lateritic gravels
= 1.1 to 1.51 for quartizitic gravels
= 0.7 to 0.96 for volcanic gravels (weathered lava or tuff)
= 1.5 for coral gravels
= 1.38 for sandstone gravels

10.3.3 TOTAL THICKNESS REQUIRED

The wearing course of a new gravel road shall have a thickness D calculated from:

D = D1 + N. GL

Where D1 is the minimum thickness from Figure 11.3

N is the period between regravelling operations in years
GL is the annual gravel loss
Regravelling operations should be programmed to ensure that the actual gravel thickness
never falls below the minimum thickness D1.

213
10.4 Pavement and Materials

Depending on the CBRdesign of the sub grade, improved subgrade layers shall be
constructed as required, on which the gravel wearing course is placed.

10.5 Crossfall and Drainage

The crossfall of carriageway and shoulders for gravel roads shall be “ 4%” as indicated in
ERA’s Geometric Design Manual - 2002. This is to ensure that potholes do not develop by
rapidly removing surface water and to ensure that excessive crossfall does not cause erosion
of the surface. Provision of drainage is extremely important for the performance of gravel
roads.

10.6 Material Requirements

10.6.1 EXPERIENCE WITH LOCALMATERIALS

Knowledge of past performance of locally occurring materials for gravel roads is essential.
Material standards may be altered to take advantage of available gravel sources provided
they have proved to give satisfactory performance under similar conditions.

10.6.2 MARGINALMATERIALS
Figure 11-1 illustrates the performance characteristics to be expected of materials that do not
meet the requirements for gravel wearing course. Refinements and amendments of the
standard material specification may be necessary to overcome problem areas such as
towns (dust nuisance) or steep hills (slipperiness).

10.6.3 IMPROVED SUBGRADE LAYER

In General the use of improved subgrade layers has the following advantages:
ƒ Provision of extra protection under heavy axle loads;
ƒ Protection of underlying earthworks;
ƒ Provides running surface for construction traffic;
ƒ Assists compaction of upper pavement layers;

214
 ƒ Provides homogenous subgrade strength;
ƒ Acts as a drainage filter layer;
ƒ More economical use of available materials.

10.6.4 SUBGRADE CBR

All subgrade materials shall be brought to strength of at least a minimum CBR of 7% for
minor gravel roads and at least a minimum CBR 25 % for major gravel roads. The different
types of gravel roads are explained in Section 11.7.

10.6.5 TREATMENT OF EXPANSIVE FORMATIONS

The following treatment operations should be applied on Expansive Formations for higher
class roads of AADTdesign greater than 50:
i) Removal of Expansive Soil
a) Where the finished road level is designed to be less than 2 metres above
ground level, remove the expansive soil to a minimum depth of 600 mm
over the full width of the road, or
b) Where the finished road level is designed to be greater than 2 metres above
ground level, remove the expansive soil to a depth of 600 mm below the
ground level under the unsurfaced area of the road structure, or
c) Where the expansive soil does not exceed 1 meter in depth, remove it to its
full depth.
ii) Stockpile the excavated material on either side of the excavation for subsequent
spreading on the fill slopes so as to produce as flat a slope as possible.
iii) The excavation formed as directed in paragraph (i) should be backfilled with a
plastic non-expansive soil of CBR value 3 - 4 or better, and compacted to a
density of 95% modified AASHTO.
iv) After the excavated material has been replaced with non-expansive material in
150mm lifts to 95% modified AASHTO density, bring the road to finished level
in approved materials, with a side slope of 1:2, and ensure that pavement criteria

215
 are complied with; the previously stockpiled expansive soil excavated as directed
under (i) should then be spread over the slope.
v) Do not construct side drains unless they are absolutely essential to stop ponding;
where side drains are necessary, they should be as shallow as possible and located
as far from the toe of the fill as possible.
vi) Ideally, construction over expansive soil should be done when the in-situ moisture
content is at its highest, i.e. at the end of rainy season

The following treatment operations may be applied on Expansive Formations for light traffic
class roads of AADTdesign less than 50:
i) Remove 150mm of expansive topsoil and stockpile conveniently for subsequent
use on shoulder slopes
ii) Shape road bed and compact to 90% modified AASHTO
iii) The excavation formed as directed in paragraph (i) should be backfilled with a
plastic non-expansive soil of CBR value 3 - 4 or better, and compacted to a
density of 95% modified AASHTO in each 150mm layer; the subgrade material
may be plastic but non-expansive.

10.6.6 MATERIAL CHARACTERISTICS

Soils used for improved subgrade layers shall be non-expansive, non-dispersive and free
from any deleterious matter. They shall comply with the requirements shown inTable 10-1

216
10.7 Gravel Wearing Course

10.7.1 PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS OF GRAVEL WEARING COURSE

The materials for gravel wearing course should satisfy the following requirements that are
often somewhat conflicting:
a) They should have sufficient cohesion to prevent ravelling and corrugating (especially in
dry conditions)
b) The amount of fines (particularly plastic fines) should be limited to avoid a slippery
surface under wet conditions. Figure 10-1 shows the effect of the Shrinkage Product (SP) and
Grading Coefficient (GC) on the expected performance of gravel wearing course materials.
Excessive oversize material in the gravel wearing course affects the riding quality in service
and makes effective shaping of the surface difficult at the time of maintenance. For this
reason the following two types of gravel wearing course material are recommended. Type 1
gravel wearing course which is one of the best material alternatives which shall be used on
all roads which have AADTdesign greater than 50. Type 1 material shall also be used for all
routine and periodic maintenance activities for both major and minor gravel roads. Type 1 or
Type 4 gravel wearing course material may be used on new construction of roads having
AADTdesign less than 50. Other alternatives are also specified in this chapter.

217
10.7.2 GRAVEL WEARING COURSEMATERIAL SPECIFICATION
Selected material shall consist of hard durable angular particles of fragments of stone or
gravel. The material shall be free from vegetable matter and lumps or balls of clay.

Type 1 the grading of the gravel after placing and compaction shall be a smooth curve within
and approximately parallel to the envelopes detailed in Table 10-2.
The material shall have a percentage of wear of not more than 50 at 500 revolutions, as
determined by AASHTO T96.
The material shall be compacted to a minimum in-situ density of 95% of the maximum dry
density determined in accordance with the requirements of AASHTO T 180. The plasticity
index should be not greater than 15 and not less than 8 for wet climatic zones and should be
not greater than 20 and not less than 10 for dry climatic zones. The linear Shrinkage should
be in a range of 3-10%. Note that the above gradation and plasticity requirements are only to
be used with angular particles and that crushing and screening are likely to be required in
many instances for this purpose.

Type 2 & 3
These materials may be more rounded particles fulfilling the following:
a. The Plasticity Index lies in a range of 5-12% in wet areas, and in any case less
than 16% in other areas
b. The materials have the sanction of local experience .Use of more rounded
particles may allow the use of river gravel. Trials should nevertheless be
conducted to verify whether crushing occurs under traffic or whether crushing
should be considered prior to use. Subject to trials, a minimum percentage by
weight of particles with at least one fractured face of 40% may be considered.
This requirement may also be expressed in terms of crushing ratio.
Except for very low traffic (less than 15 vehicles per day), the CBR should be in excess of 20
after 4 days of soaking at 95% of maximum dry density under Heavy Compaction.
For very low traffic, the requirement may be relaxed to a CBR of 15.

218
Type 4
This material gradation allows for larger size material and corresponds to the gradation of a
base course material. The use of this gradation of materials is subject to the local
experience and shall be used with PIs in a range of 10-20.

Type 5 & 6
These materials gradations are recommended for smaller size particles. They may be
used if sanctioned by experience with plasticity characteristics as for material Type 1.

Table 10 - 2

10.7.3 MAJOR GRAVEL ROADS (AADTDESIGN =20 TO 200)

Major gravel roads are roads which have a design AADT greater than 20 and less than 200.
These will generally fall within the design category of DS5 to DS8 (See ERA Geometric
Design Manual -2002, Chapter 2. It is recommended to use a gravel wearing course material
of grading Type 1 in the new construction of roads having an AADT greater than 50 and for
all routine and periodic maintenance activities. Type 4 material may be used in the new
construction of roads having an AADT less than 50.

219
10.7.4 MINOR GRAVEL ROADS (AADTDESIGN <20)
Minor gravel roads are roads which have a design AADT (AADTdesign) less than 20. They
are normally community roads, which are constructed by labor-based methods. These roads
generally fall within the design category of DS9 to DS10 (Refer to ERA Geometric Design
Manual-2002). Usually these roads are unsurfaced (earth roads). However, for subgrade CBR
values less than 5% and longitudinal gradients of greater than 6%, a gravel wearing course is
recommended. Materials for gravel wearing course shall comply with the requirements for
Type 4 material for new construction and Type 1 for maintenance activities. The CBR
requirements may be reduced to 20% if other suitable material is not locally available.

10.8 Determination of CBRdesign

10.8.1 GENERAL
The CBRdesign is the CBR value of a homogenous section, for which the subgrade strength
is classified into S5, S4 or S2 for the purpose of pavement design. The procedure to
determine CBRdesign is shown in the flow chart in Figure 10-2. Figure 10-2: Flow Chart for
Design

10.8.2 HOMOGENOUS SECTIONS

Identification of sections deemed to have homogenous subgrade conditions is carried out by
desk studies of appropriate documents such as geological maps, followed by site
reconnaissance that includes excavation of inspection pits and initial indicator testing for
confirmation of the site observations. Due regard for localized areas that require individual
treatment is an essential part of the site reconnaissance. Demarcation of homogenous sections
shall be reviewed and changed as required when the CBR test results of the centerline soil
survey are available.

220
 Figure 10-2: Flow Chart for Design
10.8.2 HOMOGENOUS SECTIONS
Identification of sections deemed to have homogenous subgrade conditions is carried out by
desk studies of appropriate documents such as geological maps, followed by site
reconnaissance that includes excavation of inspection pits and initial indicator testing for
confirmation of the site observations. Due regard for localized areas that require individual
treatment is an essential part of the site reconnaissance. Demarcation of homogenous sections
shall be reviewed and changed as required when the CBR test results of the centerline soil
survey are available.

10.8.3 STATISTICAL ANALYSIS

The flow chart in Figure10 - 2 shows the procedure to determine CBRdesign. The
CBRdesign for cuttings is the lowest CBR value encountered for the homogenous
section.The CBRdesign for sections that do not require special assessment or are not within
cuttings are determined by the 90%-ile value of the CBR test results. The 90%-ile value for a
section of this type is the CBR value which 10% of the test results fall below. The following
example shows how this is calculated.

221
 1. CBR values are plotted in ascending order (number of tests on the "x
axis" and the CBR test result values on the "y axis");
2. Calculate d = 0.1 x (n-1), where n = number of tests; is measured
along the "x axis" and the CBRdesign is determined from the "y
axis".
10.8.4 LABORATORY TESTING
Each CBR value shall be determined by laboratory measurement carried out for a minimum
of three density values to give a CBR - Density relationship for the material. The CBR value
is determined at the normal field density specified for the respective operation (i.e. a
minimum in-situ density of 95% of the maximum dry density determined in accordance with
the requirements of AASHTO T 180).

10.9 Improved Subgrade and Pavement Design

10.9.1 MAJOR GRAVEL ROADS

Pavement and improved subgrade for major gravel roads shall be constructed in accordance
with Figure 10-3. This includes all design categories DS5, DS6, DS7 and DS8 as defined in
ERA Geometric Design Manual -2002.

10.9.2 MINOR GRAVEL ROADS

Pavement and improved subgrade for minor gravel roads shall also be constructed in
accordance with Figure 10-3. This includes design categories DS9 and DS10 as defined in
ERA Geometric Design Manual -2002. The desired properties of the gravel wearing course
material, GW, are given in Section 10.7. However, the CBR may be reduced to 20%, and the
LA abrasion value may be increased to 55% for minor roads, if better quality material is not
locally available.

222
Figure 10-3: Pavement and Improved Subgrade for Gravel Roads for ADDTs < 200

10.10 Climatic Zones

10.10.1 ZONES
For the purposes of gravel wearing course design, Ethiopia is divided into two climatic zones.
All places with elevations over 2,000 meters (average rainfall 80mm/month) are considered
to be wet zones and all places with elevations 2,000 meters or less (average rainfall
20mm/month) are considered to be dry zones. However, engineering judgment should be
made for individual projects as to which category the design falls.
10.10.2 ARID AREAS
It is acknowledged that, in many arid areas, rates of rainfall may be extremely high over short
durations. Pavement design techniques, unlike drainage design techniques, do not take this
into account as they are based on annual rates of rainfall.

223