Pavement Design

CEE 320
Anne Goodchild
A highway pavement is a structure consisting of
superimposed layers of processed materials above the
natural soil sub-grade, whose primary function is to
distribute the applied vehicle loads to the sub-grade. The
pavement structure should be able to provide a surface
of acceptable riding quality, adequate skid resistance,
favorable light reflecting characteristics, and low noise
pollution.
The ultimate aim is to ensure that the transmitted stresses
due to wheel load are sufficiently reduced, so that they will
not exceed bearing capacity of the subgrade

Two types of pavements:

1. flexible pavements
2. rigid pavements.
Requirements of a pavement

An ideal pavement should meet the following

requirements:
• Sufficient thickness to distribute the wheel load
stresses to a safe value on the sub-grade soil
• Structurally strong to withstand all types of
stresses imposed upon it
• Adequate coefficient of friction to prevent
skidding of vehicles
• Smooth surface to provide comfort to road users
even at high speed
Requirements of a pavement

An ideal pavement should meet the following

requirements:
• Produce least noise from moving vehicles
• Dust proof surface so that traffic safety is not
impaired by reducing visibility
• Impervious surface, so that sub-grade soil is well
protected
• Long design life with low maintenance cost.
Types of pavements

The pavements can be classified based on the structural performance

into two, flexible pavements and rigid pavements. In flexible
pavements, wheel loads are transferred by grain-to-grain contact of
the aggregate through the granular structure. The flexible pavement,
having less flexural strength, acts like a flexible sheet
Types of pavements

• On the contrary, in rigid pavements, wheel loads are transferred to

sub-grade soil by flexural strength of the pavement and the
pavement acts like a rigid plate (e.g. cement concrete roads). In
addition to these, composite pavements are also available. A thin
layer of flexible pavement over rigid pavement is an ideal pavement
with most desirable characteristics. However, such pavements are
rarely used in new construction because of high cost and complex
analysis required.
Types of pavements
Flexible pavements
Flexible pavements will transmit wheel load stresses to the lower
layers by grain-to-grain transfer through the points of contact in the
granular structure. The wheel load acting on the pavement will be
distributed to a wider area, and the stress decreases with the depth.
Taking advantage of this stress distribution characteristic, flexible
pavements normally has many layers. Hence, the design of flexible
pavement uses the concept of layered system.
Based on this, flexible pavement may be constructed in a number of
layers and the top layer has to be of best quality to sustain maximum
compressive stress, in addition to wear and tear.
Flexible pavements
The lower layers will experience lesser magnitude of stress and low
quality material can be used. Flexible pavements are constructed using
bituminous materials. These can be either in the form of surface
treatments (such as bituminous surface treatments generally found on
low volume roads) or, asphalt concrete surface courses (generally used
on high volume roads such as national highways). Flexible pavement
layers reflect the deformation of the lower layers on to the surface
layer (e.g., if there is any undulation in sub-grade then it will be
transferred to the surface layer). In the case of flexible pavement, the
design is based on overall performance of flexible pavement, and the
stresses produced should be kept well below the allowable stresses of
each pavement layer.
Typical layers of a flexible pavement
Typical layers of a flexible pavement
Typical layers of a conventional flexible pavement includes seal coat, surface
course, tack coat, binder course, prime coat, base course, sub-base course,
compacted sub-grade, and natural sub-grade .

Seal Coat: Seal coat is a thin surface treatment used to water-proof the
surface and to provide skid resistance.

Tack Coat: Tack coat is a very light application of asphalt, usually asphalt
emulsion diluted with water. It provides proper bonding between two layer of
binder course and must be thin, uniformly cover the entire surface, and set very
fast.

Prime Coat: Prime coat is an application of low viscous cutback bitumen to an

absorbent surface like granular bases on which binder layer is placed. It
provides bonding between two layers. Unlike tack coat, prime coat penetrates
into the layer below, plugs the voids, and forms a water tight surface.
Typical layers of a flexible pavement

Surface course:
Surface course is the layer directly in contact with traffic loads and generally
contains superior quality materials. They are usually constructed with dense
graded asphalt concrete(AC). The functions and requirements of this layer
are:

• It provides characteristics such as friction, smoothness, drainage, etc.

Also it will prevent the entrance of excessive quantities of surface water
into the underlying base, sub-base and sub-grade,

• It must be tough to resist the distortion under traffic and provide a

smooth and skid- resistant riding surface,

• It must be water proof to protect the entire base and sub-grade from
the weakening effect of water.
Binder course:
This layer provides the bulk of the asphalt concrete structure. It's chief purpose is
to distribute load to the base course The binder course generally consists of
aggregates having less asphalt and doesn't require quality as high as the surface
course, so replacing a part of the surface course by the binder course results in
more economical design.

Base course:
The base course is the layer of material immediately beneath the surface of
binder course and it provides additional load distribution and contributes to the
sub-surface drainage It may be composed of crushed stone, crushed slag, and
other untreated or stabilized materials.
Sub-Base course:
The sub-base course is the layer of material beneath the base course and the
primary functions are to provide structural support, improve drainage, and reduce
the intrusion of fines from the sub-grade in the pavement structure If the base
course is open graded, then the sub-base course with more fines can serve as a
filler between sub-grade and the base course A sub-base course is not always
needed or used. For example, a pavement constructed over a high quality, stiff
sub-grade may not need the additional features offered by a sub-base course. In
such situations, sub-base course may not be provided.

Sub-grade:
The top soil or sub-grade is a layer of natural soil prepared to receive the stresses
from the layers above. It is essential that at no time soil sub-grade is
overstressed. It should be compacted to the desirable density, near the optimum
moisture content.
Failure of flexible pavements
The major flexible pavement failures are fatigue cracking, rutting, and thermal
cracking.

The fatigue cracking of flexible pavement is due to horizontal tensile strain

at the bottom of the asphaltic concrete. The failure criterion relates allowable
number of load repetitions to tensile strain and this relation can be determined
in the laboratory fatigue test on asphaltic concrete specimens.
Failure of flexible pavements
Rutting occurs only on flexible pavements as indicated by permanent
deformation or rut depth along wheel load path. Two design methods have
been used to control rutting: one to limit the vertical compressive strain on the
top of subgrade and other to limit rutting to a tolerable amount (12 mm
normally).
Failure of flexible pavements
Thermal cracking includes both low-temperature cracking and thermal
fatigue cracking.
Rigid pavements
Rigid pavements have sufficient flexural strength to transmit the wheel load
stresses to a wider area below. A typical cross section of the rigid pavement is
shown in the figure below.

Compared to flexible pavement, rigid pavements are placed either directly on the
prepared sub-grade or on a single layer of granular or stabilized material. Since
there is only one layer of material between the concrete and the sub-grade, this
layer can be called as base or sub-base course.
Rigid pavements
In rigid pavement, load is distributed by the slab action, and the pavement
behaves like an elastic plate resting on a viscous medium. Rigid pavements are
constructed by Portland cement concrete (PCC) and should be analyzed by plate
theory instead of layer theory, assuming an elastic plate resting on
viscous foundation.

Plate theory is a simplified version of layer theory that assumes the concrete slab
as a medium thick plate which is plane before loading and to remain plane after
loading. Bending of the slab due to wheel load and temperature variation and the
resulting tensile and flexural stress.
Types of Rigid Pavements

Rigid pavements can be classified into four types:

a. Jointed plain concrete pavement (JPCP),

b. Jointed reinforced concrete pavement (JRCP),
c. Continuous reinforced concrete pavement (CRCP),
d. Pre-stressed concrete pavement (PCP).
Types of Rigid Pavements
Jointed Plain Concrete Pavement:
are plain cement concrete pavements constructed with closely spaced
contraction joints. Dowel bars or aggregate interlocks are normally used for
load transfer across joints. They normally has a joint spacing of 5 to 10m.

Jointed Reinforced Concrete Pavement:

Although reinforcements do not improve the structural capacity significantly,
they can drastically increase the joint spacing to 10 to 30m. Dowel bars are
required for load transfer. Reinforcements help to keep the slab together even
after cracks.
Types of Rigid Pavements
Jointed Plain Concrete Pavement:
are plain cement concrete pavements constructed with closely spaced
contraction joints. Dowel bars or aggregate interlocks are normally used for
load transfer across joints. They normally has a joint spacing of 5 to 10m.

Jointed Reinforced Concrete Pavement:

Although reinforcements do not improve the structural capacity significantly,
they can drastically increase the joint spacing to 10 to 30m. Dowel bars are
required for load transfer. Reinforcements help to keep the slab together even
after cracks.

Continuous Reinforced Concrete Pavement: Complete elimination of joints

are achieved by reinforcement.
Types of Rigid Pavement
• Jointed Plain Concrete Pavement (JPCP)

Joints accommodate shrinkage during drying.

Failure criteria of rigid pavements

Traditionally fatigue cracking has been considered as the major, or only

criterion for rigid pavement design. The allowable number of load repetitions to
cause fatigue cracking depends on the stress ratio between flexural tensile
stress and concrete modulus of rupture. Of late, pumping is identified as an
important failure criterion.

Pumping is the ejection of soil slurry through the joints and cracks of cement
concrete pavement, caused during the downward movement of slab under the
heavy wheel loads. Other major types of distress in rigid pavements include
faulting, spalling, and deterioration.
1. RIGID PAVEMENTS (Olders Theory)
2. FLEXIBLE PAVEMENTS
3. THICKNESS OF PAVEMENT USING
MCLEODS METHOD
4. THICKNESS OF PAVEMENT USING U.S.
CORPS OF ENGINEERS
5. THICKNESS BY EXPANSION PRESSURE
METHOD:

6. STIFFNESS FACTOR OF PAVEMENT

7. BULK SPECIFIC GRAVITY OF A CORE OF
COMPACTED ASPHALT CONCRETE
PAVEMENT
8. ABSOLUTE SPECIFIC GRAVITY OF
COMPOSITE AGGREGATES

G = absolute sp. Gr. Of composite aggregates

Pc = percentages of coarse material by weight
Gc = sp. gr. of coarse material
Pf = percentage of fine materials by weight
Gf = sp. gr. Of fine materials
11. PERCENTAGE OF VOIDS

V= percentage of voids
G= theoretical or absolute specific gravity
d= bulk specific gravity
12. BULK SPECIFIC GRAVITY OF TOTAL
AGGREGATE

Gsb = bulk specific gravity of total aggregate

P1 = percentage of total weight of coarse aggregate
P2 = percentage of total weight of fine aggregate
d1 = bulk specific gravity of coarse aggregate
d2 = bulk specific gravity of fine aggregate
13. EFFECTIVE SPECIFIC GRAVITY OF
AGGREGATE

Gse = effective specific gravity of aggregate

Pmm = total loose mixture
Gmm = maximum specific gravity of paving mixture
Pb = asphalt (percentage by total weight)
Gb = specific gravity of asphalt
14. ASPHALT ABSORPTION
15. EFFECTIVE ASPHALT CONTENT
16. AIR VOIDS IN A PAVEMENT MIXTURE

VA = air voids
Gmm = bulk specific gravity of paving mixture
Gmb = bulk specific gravity of compacted mix
17. PERCENTAGE OF VOIDS IN MINERAL
AGGREGATES

VMA = percentage of voids in mineral aggregates

Gmb = bulk specific gravity of compacted mix
Gsb = bulk specific gravity of aggregates
Ps = sum of % weight of fine and coarse aggregates
Problem 1:
A rigid pavement is to be used to carry a wheel load of 53.5 kN, design
the thickness of the pavement. The allowable tensile stress of concrete
is 1.38 Mpa. Sufficient dowels are used across the joints.
Problem 2:
A flexible pavement carries a static wheel load of 53.5 kN. The circular
contact area of the tire is 85806 mm2 and the transmitted load is
distributed across a wide area of the subgrade at an angle of 45°. The
subgrade bearing value of 0.14 Mpa. Design the thickness of pavement
and that of the base.
Problem 3:
Determine the pavement thickness in cm using an expansion pressure of
0.15 kg/cm2 and a pavement density of 0.0025 kg/cm3. Use the
expansion pressure method.
Problem 4:
A cement concrete pavement has a thickness of 18 cm and has two lanes
of 7 meters with a longitudinal joint. Design the spacing of the tie bar
and the length of bar.

Allowable working stress of steel in tension = 1600 kg/cm2

Unit weight of concrete = 2400 kg/m3
Coefficient of Friction b/n pavement & subgrade = 1.5
Allowable bond stress in concrete = 24 kg/cm2

Use 16mm diameter steel bars

Modulus of Subgrade Reaction
The modulus of subgrade reaction (k) is used as a primary input for rigid
pavement design. It estimates the support of the layers below a rigid
pavement surface course (the PCC slab). The k-value can be determined by
field tests or by correlation with other tests. There is no direct laboratory
procedure for determining k-value.

The value of k is in terms of MPa/m (pounds per square inch per inch of
deflection, or pounds per cubic inch – pci) and ranges from about 13.5 MPa/m
(50 pci) for weak support, to over 270 MPa/m (1000 pci) for strong
support. Typically, the modulus of subgrade reaction is estimated from other
strength/stiffness tests, however, in situ values can be measured using the
plate bearing test.
The reactive pressure to resist a load is thus proportional to the spring deflection
(which is a representation of slab deflection) and k (Figure 2):
California Bearing Ratio
The California Bearing Ratio (CBR) test is a simple strength test that
compares the bearing capacity of a material with that of a well-graded
crushed stone (thus, a high quality crushed stone material should have a
CBR @ 100%). It is primarily intended for, but not limited to, evaluating the
strength of cohesive materials having maximum particle sizes less than 19
mm (0.75 in.) (AASHTO, 2000[1]). It was developed by the California Division
of Highways around 1930 and was subsequently adopted by numerous
states, counties, U.S. federal agencies and internationally. As a result, most
agency and commercial geotechnical laboratories in the U.S. are equipped to
perform CBR tests.
The basic CBR test involves applying load to a small penetration piston at a rate
of 1.3 mm (0.05″) per minute and recording the total load at penetrations
ranging from 0.64 mm (0.025 in.) up to 7.62 mm (0.300 in.). Figure 1 is a sketch
of a typical CBR sample.
Shrinkage Factor of Compacted Subgrade

SF = shrinkage factor
e1 = void ratio of undisturbed sample
e2 = void ratio of compacted sample
Problem :
Compute the modulus of subgrade reaction if a force of 22,250 N is
applied under a circular plate having a radius of 230 mm in produces a
deflection of 3 mm under the plate.
Problem :
The soil sample was obtained from the project site and the CBR test was
conducted at field density. The sample with the same subgrade imposed
upon it is then subjected to a penetration test by a piston plunger 5 cm
diameter moving at a certain speed. The CBR value of a standard
crushed rock for 2.5 mm penetration is 70.45 kg/cm2. compute the CBR
of the soil sample when subjected to a load 55.33 kg it produces a
penetration of 2.5 mm.
Problem :
From the result of Proctor Compaction test after the completion of
grading operations it indicates that the materials compacted on the
roadway will have a void ratio 0.52. The undisturbed sample of the
material taken from the borrow pit has a void ratio of 0.72. What
shrinkage factor should be used in computing borrow and embankment
quantities.
Absolute Specific Gravity of Asphalt Mixture

G = absolute sp. gr. of composite aggregates

Ps = percentage of sand material by weight
Gs = sp. gr. of sand material
Pf = percentage of fine materials by weight
Gf = sp. gr. of fine materials
Pa = percentage of asphalt cement by weight
Ga = sp. gr. of asphalt cement
Bulk Specific Gravity of Asphalt Mixture

d = bulk specific gravity

wa = weight of specimen in air
ww = weight of specimen in water
Porosity of Asphalt Mixture

n= porosity
G= absolute gravity
d= bulk specific gravity
Problem :
A sheet asphalt mixture is made using the following percentage by
weight of the total mix.
Materials sp. gr. Percent by Weight
Sand 2.60 78
Filler 2.70 14
Asphalt Cement 1.02 8

a. Compute the absolute specific gravity of the compacted specimen.

b. If the test specimen weighs 1130 gr in air and was found to weigh
635 gr when suspended in water, compute the bulk sp. Gr. Of the
compacted specimen.
c. Compute the porosity of the compacted specimen.
Bulk Specific Gravity of Core Sample
Problem :
A core of compacted asphalt concrete pavement was tested for specific
gravity. The following weights are obtained.
Weight of dry specimen in air = 2007.5 grams
Weight of specimen plus paraffin coating in air = 2036.5 grams
Weight of specimen plus paraffin coating in air = 1135.0 grams
Bulk specific gravity of the paraffin = 0.903

Determine the bulk specific gravity of the asphalt core specimen.

Percentage of Voids for Molded Asphalt
Specimen
Problem :
The following data of a particular asphalt concrete mixture. Compute
the percentage of voids in the laboratory molded specimen.

Materials sp. gr. % by Weight

Limestone Dust 2.80 17.0
Sand 2.10 73.0
Asphalt Cement 1.02 10

A cylindrical specimen of the mixture was molded in the laboratory and

weighed in air and water as follows:

Weight of dry specimen in air = 110 grams

Weight of saturated surface-dry specimen in air = 114 grams
Weight of saturated specimen in water = 60 grams
Effective Specific Gravity of Aggregate
Problem :
From the given data shown in the table for a mix design for asphalt
concrete.

Materials bulk sp. gr. Sp. Gr. % by Weight

Asphalt Cement 1.03 5.3
Find Aggregates 2.689 47.3
Coarse Aggregates 2.716 47.4

Max. specific gravity of paving mixture = 2.535

Bulk specific gravity of compacted mixture = 2.442

Compute the effective specific gravity of aggregate.

Asphalt Absorption
Problem :
A tabulation shown are materials and its properties which are used in a
compacted paving mixture.

Materials bulk sp. gr. Sp. Gr. % by Weight

Asphalt Cement 1.2 7.8
Find Aggregates 2.72 46.0
Coarse Aggregates 2.69 46.2

Compute the asphalt absorption of the aggregate expressed as a

percentage by weight of aggregate. Max sp. Gr of paving mixture Gmm =
2.54.
Effective Asphalt Content
Problem :
Compute the effective asphalt content of a paving mixture which are as
follows:

Materials bulk sp. gr. Sp. Gr. % by Weight

Asphalt Cement 1.03 5.3
Find Aggregates 2.689 47.3
Coarse Aggregates 2.716 47.4

Max sp. Gr of paving mixture Gmm = 2.535.