Hawassa University IOT

School of Civil Engineering

Chapter One
Introduction
1.1 General

A pavement structure is a multilayered structure which supports the vehicle load on its surface and
transfers this load to the sub grade soil. The ultimate aim of pavement structure is to ensure that the
transmitted stresses are sufficiently reduced such that they will not exceed the supporting capacity of the
sub grade soil.

The basic idea in building a pavement for all-weather use by vehicles is to prepare a suitable sub grade,
provide necessary drainage and construct a pavement that will:

 Have sufficient total thickness and internal strength to carry expected traffic loads;
 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 weather.
The subgrade ultimately carries all traffic loads. Therefore, the structural function of a pavement is to
support a wheel load on the pavement surface, and transfer and spread that load to the subgrade without
exceeding either the strength of the subgrade or the internal strength of the pavement itself. Figure 1
shows wheel load, W, being transmitted to the pavement surface through the tire at an approximately
uniform vertical pressure, Po. The pavement then spreads the wheel load to the subgrade so that the
maximum pressure on the subgrade is only P1. By proper selection of pavement materials and with
adequate pavement thickness, P1 will be small enough to be easily supported by the subgrade. In its simple
form, Figure 1.1 illustrates a principle valid for the various pavement types discussed below, albeit with
variations in the magnitude and mechanism of stress distribution.

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Figure 1.1: Spread of Wheel-Load through Pavement Structure

1.2 Types of Roads

Stages of development in road construction start from a very single earth roads up to heavy layered
structural pavements. The types of pavements can be broadly classified as:
 Earth Roads,
 Gravel Surfaced Roads and
 Paved Roads

1.2.1 Earth Roads

The natural subgrade is made to carry the traffic load after clearing and grading. Give only seasonal
service and requires frequent grading and shaping. Because of dusting problem it serves for light traffic.

1.2.2 Gravel Surfaced Roads

The elements of gravel pavement are illustrated in Figure 1.2 and it is the simplest form of flexible paved
pavements. Gravel pavements should be designed to a minimum thickness required to avoid excessive
strain at the subgrade level. This in turn ensures that the subgrade is not subject to significant
deformations. At the same time, the gravel materials themselves should not deteriorate to such an extent as
to affect the riding quality and functionality of the pavement. These goals must be achieved throughout a
specific design period. Gravel wearing courses must also be designed for an additional thickness to
compensate for gravel loss under traffic during the period between re-gravelling operations. Such
thicknesses are dependent on the subgrade strength class and the traffic class.

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Typical defects which may affect gravel roads are dustiness, potholes, stoniness, corrugations, ruts, cracks,
raveling (formation of loose material), erosion, slipperiness, impassibility and loss of wearing course
material. Many of these have a direct effect on the road roughness and safety.

In design, the thickness requirements for the gravel wearing course will essentially drive from the
combined need to protect the subgrade and to periodically replace the lost materials.

The advantages of Gravel Surfaced Roads over Earth Roads are:

 They have gravel over the subgrade
 Give services in all seasons if it is designed and constructed well.
 Reshaping and grading is necessary but not as frequent as in Earth roads.
 Appropriate for low to medium traffic roads

Figure 1.2: Elements of a Gravel Pavement

1.2.3 Paved Roads

From the point of view of structural performance, paved roads can be classified as:
 Flexible pavements
 Rigid pavements
 Composite pavements
The classical definition of flexible pavements primarily includes those pavements that have a bituminous
(surface dressing or asphalt concrete) surface. By contrast, the classical rigid (or concrete) pavement is
made up of Portland cement concrete. The terms flexible and rigid are somewhat arbitrary and were
primarily established to differentiate between asphalt and Portland cement concrete pavements.

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The essential difference between the two types of pavements is the manner in which they distribute the
load over the subgrade. The rigid pavement, because of its rigidity and high modulus of elasticity, tends to
distribute the load over a relatively wide area of soil; thus, the slab itself supplies a major portion of the
structural capacity. The major factor considered in the design of rigid pavements is the structural strength
of the concrete, and a certain amount of variation in subgrade strength has little influence upon the
structural capacity of the pavement.

1.2.3.1 Flexible Pavements

A flexible pavement is one which has low flexural strength and thus the applied load is largely transmitted
to the subgrade through the lateral distribution of stresses with increasing depth. The pavement thickness
is designed such that stresses in subgrade soil are kept within its bearing power and the subgrade is
prevented from excessive deformations. The strength and deformation of flexible pavement largely
depend on the quality of the subgrade soil.

There are two types of construction used for flexible pavements.

 Conventional Flexible Pavements
 Full-depth Asphalt Pavements
a) 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 1.3 shows the cross section of a conventional flexible pavement.
Starting from the top, a conventional flexible pavement normally consists of surface course, base
course/Binder 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.
 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

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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.

Figure 1.3: Elements of a Flexible Pavement

To give satisfactory service, a flexible pavement must satisfy a number of structural criteria or
considerations; some of these are illustrated in Figure 1.4. Some of the important considerations are:
(1) The subgrade should be able to sustain traffic loading without excessive deformation; this is
controlled by the vertical compressive stress or strain at this level,
(2) Bituminous materials and cement-bound materials used in road base/base course/ design
should not crack under the influence of traffic; this is controlled by the horizontal tensile
stress or strain at the bottom of the road base,
(3) The road base is often considered the main structural layer of the pavement, required to
distribute the applied traffic loading so that the underlying materials are not overstressed. It

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must be able to sustain the stress and strain generated within itself without excessive or rapid
deterioration of any kind.
(4) In pavements containing a considerable thickness of bituminous materials, the internal
deformation of these materials must be limited; their deformation is a function of their creep
characteristics,
(5) The load spreading ability of granular sub base and capping layers must be adequate to
provide a satisfactory construction platform.
When some of the above criteria are not satisfied, distress or failure will occur. For instance, rutting may
be the result of excessive internal deformation within bituminous materials, or excessive deformation at
the subgrade level (or within granular layers above).

Figure 1.4: Critical Stresses and Strains in a Flexible Pavement

b) 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.

1.2.3.2 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

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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.
Some of typical applications rigid pavement are for high volume traffic lanes, freeway to freeway
connections, exit ramps with heavy traffic and etc.
Advantages of Rigid Pavement
 Good durability
 Long service life and
 Withstand repeated flooding and subsurface water without deterioration
Disadvantages of Rigid Pavement
 May lose non-skid surface with time
 Needs even sub-grade with uniform settling and
 May fault at transverse joints

Figure 1.5: Typical Rigid Pavement

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

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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.
 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.

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).

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 Jointed plain concrete pavements (JPCP) are plain concrete pavements constructed with closely
spaced contraction joints. The pavement consists in an unreinforced concrete slab cast in place
continuously and divided into bays of predetermined dimensions by the construction of joints. The
bays dimensions are made sufficiently short so as to ensure that they do not crack. Dowels or
aggregate interlocks may be used for load transfer across the joints.

Figure 1.6: Jointed plain concrete pavements (JPCP)

 Jointed reinforced concrete pavements(JRCP) 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 (CRCP) 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. The
expansion and contraction movements are prevented by a high level of sub-base restraint. The
frequent transverse cracks are held tightly closed by a large amount of continuous high tensile steel
longitudinal reinforcement.

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Figure 1.7:Continuous reinforced concrete pavements (CRCP)

 The prestressed concrete pavements (PCP): - 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 pre-application 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 pre-stressed concrete pavements have less probability of
cracking and fewer transverse joints and therefore result in less maintenance and longer pavement
life. Pre-stressed 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.

1.2.3.3 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 non-reflective 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.

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1.3 Comparison of Rigid and Flexible Pavements

 The manner in which they support vehicle loads and transmit to the subgrade. In case of rigid
pavement, a relatively thin pavement slab distributes the load over a wide area due to its high
rigidity. Localized low strength sub grade materials can be overcome due to this wider distribution
area.
 Rigid pavements must be designed and constructed precisely and a good quality of concrete must
be used; otherwise, they tend to be more troublesome and reconstruction or repair is more difficult.
 It is feasible to design rigid pavements for longer design lives, up to 60 years.
 Flexible pavements require more frequent maintenance, in every 2-4 years, while rigid pavements
require little.
 The initial investment of rigid pavement is often more costly.
 Flexible pavements are convenient for stage constructions.
 The main weakness of rigid pavement is glair, not comfortable, slippery, and noisy which are
mainly due to the development of friction between the wheel and the surface of the pavement;
while it is better in that no significant deformation of the pavement occurs due to traffic load, and
is very resistant to abrasion. Flexible pavements, as compared to the rigid one, have better surface
characteristics or quality, i.e. not noisy, slippery, and comfortable, because they undergo plastic
deformation; though the occurrence of bleeding or corrugation due to low compaction is high.
 Rigid pavements are more impervious than flexible pavements.
 The rigid pavements take relatively short time for construction since the curing time of concrete
might take up to 28 days; therefore, the duration of traffic dislocation at the time of the time of
construction will be less.
 Unlike with flexible pavements, rigid pavements do not suffer deterioration from weathering.
Neither their strength nor their stiffness is materially affected by temperature changes.
1.4 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.
 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 than that on highway pavements.
 The arrangement and spacing of wheel loads on airport and highway pavements are different.

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 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.
 Vehicle loads are applied near to the edge of highway pavements but far away from the outside
edge of airport pavements.
 Unlike highway pavements, airfield pavements are subjected to an impact loading.
 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.

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