Chap 4

Typical Flexible Pavement Structure
Typical Flexible Pavement Structure

Subgrade performance generally depends on:
1. Load bearing capacity

2. Moisture content
3. Shrinkage and/or swelling
Remedies for poor subgrade conditions:
1. Remove and replace
2. Stabilization
3. Additional base layers
Investigation of subgrade soils
• Along with traffic and economic criteria, the design

pavement is based on the
• Surface and subsoils conditions, and
• The characteristics and quality of construction materials used.
• Road study and design may be divided into three
stages, namely:
– Feasibility study,
– Preliminary design, and
– Final design
• During the feasibility study,
 the road alignment is approximately defined on existing aerial
photographs or existing maps.
• The preliminary design includes:
 definition of the typical X-sections and longitudinal profiles,
 preliminary mass diagrams,
 Pavement design, and
 Cost estimates
• During the final design,
 all the elements of the design are improved and refined,
 checked and quantified, and construction contract documents are
finalized.
Feasibility studies
• Typical content of a feasibility study is briefly

summarized as follows:
– General economic study and basic assumptions
– Traffic studies, vehicle operating costs.
– Visual survey
– Collection of general and technical documentation
– Preliminary definition of the road alignment
– Preliminary cost estimate
– Recommendations regarding economic and technical
feasibility
• The feasibility study should be conducted in two
steps:
• in the office first, then on site.
• All existing reports,

• topographical, geological, soil maps, and aerial photographs etc
….need to be collected, reviewed and compiled.
• This helps in proper planning of the field

investigations and avoids duplications.
• This also allows an identification of existing and new

sources for road building materials
 availability of road construction materials is collected
at this stage so that
 feasible options for pavement construction may be
formulated.
 Collection of information derived from nearby or

adjacent past road construction projects or
 Reconnaissance , and an assessment of the conditions
of performance of existing road works.
Sampling
Earth works and Subgrade Soils
• Common investigations include

• 1. test pits: disturbed/undisturbed soil sampling, (direct inspection and register
of soil profiles).
• 2. hand auger . enable inspection of disturbed and mixed samples of soil
• 3. Boring test holes /sampling with drillings:
• 4. Geophysical methods
• Investigations include, in particular for Existing roads,

• Data on moisture content and Strength of subgrade soil.
• In the laboratory, moisture-density-CBR correlations are established.

• The use of excavated materials for embankments is assessed and the
need for side borrow materials established.
Sampling Frequency (ERA)
Notes:
1.The frequency of sampling is cumulative, i.e. the frequency indicated in
the final stage is a cumulative total of both the preliminary stage and final
stage sampling.
2.If major emphasis is on the preliminary stage, the frequency of sampling
shall be as indicated for the final stage.
3.The sampling should insure at least two tests per each soil group along
the alignment.
Laboratory tests
Soil Moisture-Density Relationships
 Determine optimum water content of Soil

 Find maximum dry density
 Check soil moisture sensitivity
Two Main Soil Moisture-Density Tests
 AASHTO T99 – Standard Proctor Test

 Most state highway agencies
 ASTM D-698
 AASHTO T180 – Modified Proctor Test
 Airports
 ASTM D-1557
Proctor Curve
 Typical Moisture- Density Curves for Different
Soil Types
California Bearing Ratio (CBR)
AASHTO T193 ASTM D1883
 Developed by California Division of Highways in

1930
 Measures the resistance of the soil to penetration
 Compare to penetration of a standard, well-graded

crushed stone
CBR Sample Size
CBR Test Procedure
 Constant displacement loading

 Penetrate piston into soil at 1.3 mm/min.
 Compare Soak vs. Unsoaked
 Measure swell in soaked specimen
CBR Test Setup
CBR Calculation
• where:
– x = material resistance or the unit load on the piston
(pressure) for 2.54 mm (0.1") or 5.08 mm (0.2") of
penetration
– y = standard unit load (pressure) for well graded
crushed stone
• for 2.54 mm (0.1") penetration y= 6.9 MPa (1000 psi)
• for 5.08 mm (0.2") penetration y= 10.3 MPa (1500 psi)
Corrected CBR
Typical CBR Ranges
Factors Influencing CBR Results
1. Soil Type
2. Moisture content
3. Density
Example
mm kN
0.635 0.50
1.27 0.89
2.54 1.33
5.08 1.69
7.62 1.93
10.16 2.04
12.7 2.09
Resilient Modulus
• The Resilient Modulus (MR) is a subgrade

material stiffness test. A material's resilient
modulus is actually an estimate of its modulus of
elasticity (E).
• While the modulus of elasticity is stress divided
by strain for a slowly applied load,load resilient
modulus is stress divided by strain for rapidly
applied loads – like those experienced by
pavements.
Triaxial Compression Test
 Evaluates the strength of a soil

 Test several samples under various confining
pressures
 Develop material stress-strain curves
 Inputs for stress-strain modeling
 Compaction:
 Static, dynamic, or vibratory
 Constant deflection rate 1.27 mm/minute
 Measure load and deflection
Basic outline of the triaxial test
procedure:
The specimen is a cylindrical sample
normally 100 mm (4 in.) in diameter by
200 mm (8 in.) high. The sample is
generally compacted in the laboratory;
however, undisturbed samples are best
if available (which is rare).
The specimen is enclosed vertically by
a thin "rubber" membrane and on both
ends by rigid surfaces as shown in the
Figure.
Triaxial test procedure
(cont’d.):
The resulting strains are
calculated over a gauge length,
which is designated by "L".
Basically, the initial condition of
the sample is unloaded (no
induced stress).
When the deviator stress is

applied, the sample deforms,
changing in length. This change
in sample length is directly
proportional to the stiffness.
Field Strength Tests
 Plate Loading Test

 Modulus of subgrade reation or k-value
 Nondestructive Testing (NDT)
 Falling Weight Deflectometer
 Wave propagation techniques
Modulus of Subgrade Reaction
k or k-value: soil spring constant or modulus of subgrade reaction

NDT Types
Falling Weight Deflectometer
(FWD)
Basic Idea of FWD
FWD Deflection Basin
Summary of Primary Soil Properties
• Physical Properties
– Soil Classification
– Clay Content
– Moisture-Density Relationships
• Engineering Properties
– Resilient Modulus (MR)
– Modulus of Subgrade Reaction (k)
– Poisson’s Ratio (μ)
• Empirical Design Properties
– CBR
Soil Classifications
 AASHTO Classification System

 Unified Classification System (UCS)
 Other systems
 Pedological Classifications - county soil groups
 FAA Classification System
 United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Classification System
Classification of the subgrade soils
 A category of soil should include the same type
having fairly consistent geotechnical characteristics
 Grading
 Atterberg Limits
 Compaction and
 Particularly CBR.
Summary of soil characteristics as a pavement material
(from NCHRP 1-37A Pavement Design Guide)
Summary of soil characteristics as a pavement material (cont’d)
Slope failure beneath road pavement
 if the load is small compared to the strength of the
material and is repeated for a large number of
times, the deformation under each load repetition is
nearly completely recoverable (and proportional to
the load) and can be considered elastic .

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Typical Flexible Pavement Structure

Typical Flexible Pavement Structure

1. Load bearing capacity

• Along with traffic and economic criteria, the design

• Typical content of a feasibility study is briefly

• All existing reports,

• This helps in proper planning of the field

• This also allows an identification of existing and new

 Collection of information derived from nearby or

• Common investigations include

• Investigations include, in particular for Existing roads,

• In the laboratory, moisture-density-CBR correlations are established.

 Determine optimum water content of Soil

 AASHTO T99 – Standard Proctor Test

 Developed by California Division of Highways in

 Measures the resistance of the soil to penetration

 Compare to penetration of a standard, well-graded

 Constant displacement loading

• The Resilient Modulus (MR) is a subgrade

 Evaluates the strength of a soil

When the deviator stress is

 Plate Loading Test

k or k-value: soil spring constant or modulus of subgrade reaction

 AASHTO Classification System

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