Module 2

Design factors for the

pavement design
 Design Factors
Magnitude of wheel load:
• The thickness of flexible pavement depends upon
the various factors associated with wheel load.
• Factor of wheel load – Maximum wheel load
- Contact pressure
- Wheel load configuration – dual or multiple
- Repetition of load
Estimation of the total traffic volume consisting of all
the categories of vehicle that are expected to flow
on any stretch of road at planning stage itself in
order to decide the requirements of number of
lanes, total width of carriage way.
 Design Factors
• The wheel load from a rubber tyre is distributed on a
large area depending on tyre pressure.
• The tyre pressure on commercial vehicles vary from
0.5-0.7MN/m2.
• The spacing of axle has also an important effect on
the stresses induced.
• The standard axle load most generally used is 80KN.
• The design traffic is considered in terms of
cumulative number of standard axles (in the lane
carrying maximum traffic) to be carried during the
design life of pavement using
• Ns= 365*A*VDF(1+r)n-1/r
 Current Indian Practice on traffic
distribution
• Single lane roads (3.75m)
- Number of commercial vehicles per day in both
directions multiplied by 2. – should be only both
directions
• Intermediate width roads 5.5m.
- Number of commercial vehicles per day in both
directions multiplied by 1.5- should be only both
directions.
• Two lane single carriage way roads.- should be
based on 75% of the total number of commercial
vehicles in both directions.
 Current Indian Practice on traffic
distribution
• Four lane single carriage way roads : The design
should be based on 40% of the total number of
commercial vehicles in both directions.
• Dual carriage roads: The design for 2 lane
carriageway roads should be based on 75% of
number of commercial vehicles in each direction.
The distribution factor reduced to 20% for each
additional lane.
- Traffic in each direction is generally assumed to
be half the sum in both directions in both
directions.
 Maximum Wheel load
• For highways the maximum legal axle load is
specified by IRC is 8170kg with maximum
equivalent single load of 4085kg.
• Total load influences the thickness requirement
of road pavement.
• Tyre pressure influences the quality of surface
course.
• The magnitude of the vertical pressure at any
depth of soil subgrade mass depends upon the
surface pressure as well as on the total load.
 Traffic growth rate
• Traffic growth rates should be estimated by
studying the past trends of traffic growth, and by
establishing econometric models, as per the
procedure outlined in IRC:108 “Guidelines for
traffic prediction on rural highways”.
• If adequate data is not available, it is
recommended that an average annual growth
rate of 7.5 percent may be adopted.
 Design Life
• For the design of pavement, the design life is
defined in terms of the cumulative number of
standard axles that can be carried before
strengthening of pavement is necessary.
• It is recommended that pavements for National
Highways (NH) and State Highways (SH) should be
design for a life of 15 years.
• Expressways and Urban roads nay be designed for
a longer life of 20 years. For other categories of
roads, a design life of 10 to 15 years may be
adopted.
 Vehicle Damage Factor
• The vehicle damage factor (VDF) is a multiplier for
converting the number of commercial vehicles of
different axle loads and axle configurations to the
number of standard axle-load repetitions.
• It is defined as equivalent number of standard
axles per commercial vehicle.
• The VDF varies with the axle configuration, axle
loading, terrain, type of road, and from region to
region.
• The axle load equivalency factors are used to
convert different axle load repetitions into
equivalent standard axle load repetitions.
Vehicle Damage Factor
Distribution of Commercial traffic over
the carriageway
 Repetition of loads
• The deformation of pavement or subgrade due to a
single application of wheel load may be small.
• Due to repeated application of the load there would
be increased magnitude of plastic and elastic
deformation.
• Accumulated unrecovered deformation even in
permanent failure.
• It is required to carryout surveys for accounting the
factor of repetition for wheel loads in the design of
pavement.
• Collected data has to be converted constant
equivalent wheel loads.
 Repetition of loads
• Equivalent wheel load is a single load equivalent
to the repeated application of any particular
wheel load on a pavement which requires the
same thickness and strength of pavements.
• If the pavement structure fails with N1 number
of repetitions of P1kg load, similarly if N2
number of repetitions of P2 kg load can also
cause failure of the same pavement structure.
• Then P1N1 and P2N2 are considered equivalent.
• McLeod has given procedure for evolving
equivalent load factors for designing flexible
pavements.
 Repetition of loads
• McLeod assumes that pavement thickness which
are designed for a given wheel load would support
one million repetition of such load during the life
of pavement.
• For one load application the pavement thickness
so required is only ¼ th the pavement thickness
designed of 106 load repetition.
• For equivalent load factors the plot similar to
McLeod considered. Fig given below.
• One fourth the design thickness were plotted for
various wheel load on vertical axis against one
load application and total thickness were plotted
6
 Repetition of loads
• The respective repetitions are then read
from fig for different load conditions at
pavement thickness of 25cm.( Average
thickness of highway for ordinary soil
subgrade).
• If wheel load of 2268kg and failure number
of repetitions for 25cm thick pavement a,
the number of repetition for higher wheel
load from fig .
 Repetition of loads
• The number of repetition for 2268 and
2722kg respectively 105000 and 50000

• 2722 considered equivalent to

105000/50000=2.1times the load value of
2268.

• Equivalent load factors are employed to

convert daily traffic count for each category
of wheel load for design purpose.
 Strength Characteristics of pavement
Materials
• For design purposes, it is required that the
various pavement materials are assigned
strength parameters.
• The general strength values are evaluated
• -California Bearing Ratio (CBR) Value.
• -Elastic Modulii
• CBR: There are design methods which employ
CBR strength values of materials used in
different pavement layers.
 Strength Characteristics of pavement
Materials
• Elastic Modulii
• Depending on design methods the elastic
modulii of different pavement materials are
evaluated.
• Elastic modulii values are evaluated by plate
bearing tests.
• Subgrade modulus
• EM of Base course and sub base
• Boussinesq’s and Burmister theory
 Climatic Variations
• Variation in moisture condition
• Frost action
• Variation in temperature
• The pavement performance is very affected by
the variations in moisture and frost.
• This is mainly variations in stability and the
volume of the subgrade soil due to miisture and
frost.
• Variation in temperature generally affects the
pavement materials like bitumenous mixes and
cement concrete.
 Variation in moisture content
• It mainly depending on climatic conditions
soil type ground water level and its
variation, drainage conditions type of
pavement and shoulders.
• The surface water during rain may enter the
sub grade either through the pavement
edges or through pavement itself if it is
porous.
• The stability of most of the sub grade soils
are decreased under adverse moisture
conditions
 Variation in moisture content
• Variation in water moisture may cause
shrinkage or swelling of sub grade.
• A moisture content of subgrade below
centre may differ from edges, there can be
differential rise or fall of the pavement
edges with respect to the centre due to
swelling and shrinkage of the subgrade soil.
• This effect may cause considerable damages
to the pavements.
Frost Action
 Equivalent single wheel load
• To carry maximum load with in the
specified limit and to carry greater load,
dual wheel, or dual tandem assembly is
often used.
• Equivalent single wheel load (ESWL) is the
single wheel load having the same contact
pressure, which produces same value of
maximum stress, deflection, tensile stress
or contact pressure at the desired depth.
 Equivalent single wheel load
• The procedure of finding the ESWL for
equal stress criteria is provided below.
• This is a semi-rational method, known as
Boyd and Foster method, based on the
following assumptions:
• equalancy concept is based on equal
stress;
• contact area is circular;
• influence angle is 45o; and
• soil medium is elastic, homogeneous, and
isotropic half space.
Equivalent single wheel load
 Equivalent single wheel load
• Example 1
• Find ESWL at depths of 5cm, 20cm and 40cm for
a dual wheel carrying 2044 kg each. The center to
center tyre spacing is 20cm and distance between
the walls of the two tyres is 10cm.
 Design of Flexible Pavement
• 1. California Bearing ratio Method
• In 1928 California Division of Highway in
USA developed CBR method for pavement
design.
• CBR tests were carried out by California
state highway department on existing
pavement layers including subgrade, sub
base, base course.
• Based on the test data empirical design
chart was developed correlating the CBR
value and pavement thickness.
 CBR method
• The basic principle of CBR method of flexible
pavement design is based on the concept that
total thickness of flexible pavement required
mainly depends upon 2factors namely
• CBR value of the soil subgrade over which the
pavement is to be laid.
• Magnitude of the wheel load or intensity of
traffic loads expected.
• A weaker soil subgrade with lower CBR value
will need a flexible pavement of higher
thickness.
 CBR method
• The basis of the design chart is that a material
with a given CBR pavement layer to protect the
subgrade.
• A higher load needs thicker pavement layer to
protect sub grade.
• Design curves correlating the CBR value with total
pavement thickness cover were developed by
California state highway department for wheel
loads of 3175kg and 5443kg representing light
and heavy traffic .
• Later the design curve for 4082kg wheel load was
obtained by interpolation for medium traffic.
Design Chart California state highway dept
 CBR method
• There is relationship between pavement
thickness, wheel load, tyre pressure and CBR
value within range of 10-12percent.