8/2/2015

Design of Pavement Structure

(CE 705/14)
7th Semester UG
Civil Engineering Department
Indian Institute of Engineering Science and
Technology, Shibpur
July Dec 2015

Course Outcome
Course Outcome for Design of Pavement Structure (CE 705/14)
CO 1:
CO 2:
CO 3:
CO 4:

Development of concept of Pavement Structure

Perception on the basics of Pavement Design Parameters
Knowledge on stresses in flexible and rigid pavements
Learning methods of design flexible and rigid pavements

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Course Syllabus
Elective I: Design of Pavement Structure (CE 705/14)
Weekly contact: 3 - 0 0 (L T S)
Full Marks: 100
Pavement Structure Elements; Performance Criteria;
Characteristics of Traffic Load ; Estimation of Design Traffic;
Analysis of Stresses in Flexible and Rigid Pavement;
Design of Embankment and Subgrade; Design of Flexible and
Rigid Pavements by IRC, AASHTO and Other Methods.
Runway Pavement Design.

Course Teachers
Sudip K Roy
sudip@civil.iiests.ac.in , royksudip@gmail.com
9830233172

Sandip Chakraborty

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Books
Text Books
Pavement Design by R Srinivasa Kumar; Universities Press
Highway Engineering by S. K. Khanna & C E G Justo; Nem Chand & Bros.
Principles of Transportation Engineering by P. Chakroborty & A. Das; Prentice
Hall of India Pvt. Ltd.
Principles and Practice of Highway Engineering by L R Kadiyali; Khanna
Publishers
Reference Books
Traffic & Highway Engineering by N J Graber & L A Hoel; Brooks/Cole
Highway-Traffic Planning and Engineering by C A O Flaherty; Edward Arnold.
Principles of Pavement Design, by Yoder & Witczak; John Wiley and Sons.
Pavement Engineering Principles and Practice by R B Mallick & T Ei-Korchi; CRC
Press

Pavement Structure

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Definition of a Pavement
Pavement refers to the hard paved part of the road that

carries the vehicular traffic.

Though in some British literature the term pavement means

only footpath. Pavement is also known as carriageway or crust.

A highway pavement is a structure consisting of superimposed

layers of selected and processed materials which supports

applied traffic loads and distributes that load to the soil.

The pavement is a special type of structure where its major

part is kept below the surface but the top portion is exposed to
traffic and different environmental effects.

There are two basic functions of a pavement i) to support

the applied traffic load and ii) to enable the vehicles to move
over the surface smoothly and safely

Basic Performance of a Pavement

The wheel load is first imposed on the top surface.
The nature of loads are dynamic, repetitive and multi
dimensional.
Under the wheel load the pavement surface experiences
compressive and tensile stresses.
The load is to be transmitted to bottom layer.
Pavement design is concerned with developing the most
economical combination of pavement layers that will ensure
that stress and strains transmitted from top layers do not
exceed supportive capacity of each layer. The effects of the
major parameters that are to be considered in pavement
design are soil strength, traffic, sub-surface as well as outside
environment, and materials.

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Properties of Good Pavement

A good pavement structure should have the following
properties:
Adequate Stability: - Stability of a pavement means the ability
to resist the lateral deformation.
Adequate Durability: - Durability is the ability to retain stability
for long time in varying traffic and environmental conditions.
Adequate Load Distribution Ability: - This is the load carrying
mechanism of each layer of the pavement to distribute the
load to the lower layer.
Adequate Strength of the Soil: - The soil over which the
pavement to be built should have adequate strength to carry
the load that comes from the main pavement structure.

Properties of Good Pavement

Contd..

Good Pavement Surface: - the good surface should have the

following properties:
a) Smooth,
b) Skid resistant,
c) Easy drainage of rain water,
d) Good visibility and resistant to glare and light reflection,
e) low noise,
f) Protection to the underlying layers of the pavement from
abrasion, impact and disturbing forces of traffic and
environmental effect.
Primarily there are two types of pavements Flexible
pavement and Rigid pavement

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Flexible Pavement
A flexible pavement
Consists of multiple layers with best material at top and
gradual inferior layers at bottom.
Wearing Course
Binder Course
Base Course
Sub-base Course
Compacted Subgrade

Components of a Typical Flexible

Pavement

The top layer is impervious

in nature which is of
bituminous construction.
The bottom granular layers
are unbound

The pavement structure maintains intimate contact with the

soil layer.
Internationally now-a-days flexible pavement refers to any
pavement other than cement concrete one.

Flexible Pavement
The structural mechanics of flexible pavement is such that the
pressure is transmitted to the sub-grade through the lateral
distribution of the applied load depending upon depth.
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.
The pavement transmits wheel load stresses to the lower layers
by grain-to-grain transfer through the points of contact in the
granular structure.
The aggregate interlocking, particle friction and cohesion
distribute the load and contribute to the stability to the
pavement structure.
Flexible pavement layers reflect the deformation of the lower
layers on to the surface layer.

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Components of Flexible Pavement

Types of Flexible Pavements
Conventional layered flexible pavement,
Full - depth asphalt pavement, and
Granular Pavement

There are typically four layers in conventional layered flexible

pavement surfacing, base, sub base and subgrade. Subgrade
is the insitu or transported soil.
Subgrade: A flexible pavement is super imposed on the
subgrade, which is normally the in-situ soil. It may consist of
earthwork in embankment or in cutting and forms the
foundation soil of the pavement structure. The top surface of
the sub-grade is known as the formation. The loads on the
pavement are ultimately received by the sub-grade. The depth
of subgrade may vary between 600 mm and 1000 mm
depending upon type of pavement.

Components of Flexible Pavement

contd..

Sub-base: This layer is practically an extension of the base course.

When either due to heavy load or poor subgrade the thickness
required for the base becomes too large, a sub-base course of
relatively cheaper material is provided to help the base course of
smaller thickness to distribute the load so that the bearing capacity
of the subgrade is not exceeded. Since sub-base is a part of the total
thickness of the pavement the structural requirement is fulfilled at a
relatively lower cost. The sub-base course is generally made up of
locally available cheap material like natural soil, moorum, laterite,
cinder, fly ash, stabilized soil etc.
Base: The base course is the layer on which the surfacing course
rests. This, from a structural point of view, is the most important
layer. It distributes the applied surface loads and ensures that the
bearing capacity of the subgrade is not exceeded. This course is
generally constructed by stone aggregates, gravel or even by
bituminous mix for high quality roads.

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Components of Flexible Pavement

contd..

Surfacing: The upper most layer of a flexible pavement is called the

surfacing or surface course. The primary function of this layer is to
provide a safe and comfortable riding surface for the traffic. In
addition it protects the layers beneath from the effects of the
natural elements, as well as from the disintegrating effects caused
by vehicle skidding and braking on the roadway. For an ordinary
village road surface course may consist of mixtures of soil and
gravel whereas for roads of higher categories bituminous mixtures
are used. For very good quality pavement the surface course may
consists of two distinct sub layers known as wearing course and a
binder course. Asphaltic Concrete, Dense Bituminous Macadam,
Surface Dressing, Premix Carpet etc. are the examples of surface
course construction.

Components of Flexible Pavement

contd..

Surface course acts as a flexible layer.

Every application of wheel load causes elastic deflection on surface.
On wheel loading, the surface layer bends with elasticity into a
concave shape.
This bowl-like surface moves in the longitudinal direction under the
moving wheel.
Repetitive application of wheel loads causes unrecoverable i.e.
plastic deformation.
Plastic deformations occurs in the vertical and horizontal directions
due to vertical compressive and horizontal tensile stresses.
These deformations propagates in vertical direction to the
subsequent layers.
Due to effects of deflection in the surface layer, plastic deformation
may starts in the sub-grade layer and thus plastic deformation may
cause in the upper layers.

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Rigid Pavement
A rigid pavement on the other hand distributes load by beam and
slab actions. When the sub-grade deflects beneath a rigid
pavement the concrete slab is able to bridge over localized failures
and the areas of inadequate support by its structural capabilities.
A cement concrete pavement is the example of rigid pavement.
Rigid pavements can be classified into four types:
Jointed plain concrete pavement (JPCP),
Jointed reinforced concrete pavement (JRCP),
Continuous reinforced concrete pavement (CRCP), and
Pre-stressed concrete pavement (PCP).

Components of Rigid Pavement

Concrete Slab
Sub Base Course
Compacted Subgrade

Components of a Typical Rigid Pavement

Subgrade: Like in a flexible pavement the sub-grade is the in

situ soil over which the pavement structure is supported.

If the sub-grade soil can provide uniform support
throughout the life of the pavement then the slab may be
laid directly on the sub-grade without a sub-base.

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Components of Rigid Pavements

Sub-base: The function of a sub-base in a rigid pavement is not

so much to increase the structural stability of the pavement as

to counteract or correct unsatisfactory sub-grade condition
which could lead to non-uniform support to the slab. Sub-base
in rigid pavement is not a structural part of a pavement.
Concrete slab: The concrete slab in a rigid pavement is the
structural part of the pavement. Normally rigid pavement
consists of concrete slab directly placed over subgrade or on
subbase course laid over the subgrade.

Comparison of Flexible and Rigid Pavement

Characteristics
Design Life
Capital cost

Rigid Pavement
30-40 years
High

Maintenance Cost
Basic Design method
Stage Construction
Construction period

Low
Mechanistic
Not possible
Required 28 days before
opening to traffic
Main item cement is
indigenous
Smooth, non skidding,
discomfort at joints
Impervious except joints
Cause glare
To be provided after well
planning

Material
Surface type
Water penetration
Visibility
Utility maintenance
and repair

Flexible Pavement
10-20 years
Low [cost for High quality
bituminous road is not much
lower than RP]
High
Empirical
Possible
May be opened after rolling
Bitumen is imported, other
materials are locally available
Susceptible to quick
deterioration
Not fully impervious
Glare effect less
Well planning is not essential

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Composite Pavement
When a pavement is formed with layers of bitumen and cement
bound materials the structure is often referred to as a composite
pavement.
There may be several types of composite pavements like:
Old concrete pavement is overlaid with a bituminous layer
A granular layer below a bituminous wearing course may be treated
with cement or lime.
Granular base course or sub-base course may be topped by a
spreading bricks or pre-cast rectangular cement concrete blocks or
interlocking concrete blocks. These pavements are usually provided
in low volume roads and also in those corridor where water flows
over the pavement.

These pavements are also called as semi-flexible or semi-rigid

pavements.

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