Chapter One

INTRDUCTION

1.1 General

technology develops and new equipment emerges for site investigation, material testing
and traffic data collection, and new data become available. In the early stage, pavement
design was carried out by a rule-of-thumb procedure based on entirely past experience.
Through the observation of performances of the already constructed roads, highway
engineers became aware that pavement performance is dependent on the subgrade soils.
Pavements constructed over plastic soils showed higher distress than those constructed
over granular deposits. With the knowledge of soil mechanics, pavement design was made
with soil classification.
With the increase in traffic and usage and development of heavy transport means, the
deterioration of pavements due to heavy trucks and aircrafts necessitated a more rational
approach of design. This led to full-scale and laboratory experiments in different countries
at different capacities. The well-known research investigations are those conducted in the
United Sates of America. The results of these and other full-scale and laboratory
experiments conducted under varying soil, climatic, and loading conditions in different
countries have given rise to our understanding and development of the existing design
methods. Although principles of pavement design are common to all problems and
localities, different highway agencies in different countries use different design manuals
prepared to suite their local conditions and available materials of construction.

1.2 Overview of Pavement Structures

A pavement structure is a layer structure which supports the vehicle load on its surface and
transfers and spreads the load to the subgrade without exceeding either the strength of the
subgrade or the internal strength of the pavement itself. The basic idea in building a
pavement for all-weather use by vehicles is to prepare a suitable subgrade, provide
necessary drainage, and construct a pavement that will:

Have sufficient total thickness and internal strength to carry expected traffic
loads, and distribute them over the subgrade soil without overstressing;

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 vehicle
loads and weather.

For a very low traffic where the soil can be trafficable and when there is economic
limitation, the natural subgrade soil can be made to carry the traffic load after clearing and
shaping. Such earth roads give seasonal services and require reshaping after seasonal
changes. Better than earth roads, gravel surfaced roads are also constructed by spreading
gravel over the subgrade, shaping and compacting to avoid excessive strain at the subgrade
level and to give services usually in all seasons. In the case of gravel-surfaced roads,
reshaping is necessary, but not as frequent as in earth roads. Gravel roads follow selected
routes and designed to carry low to medium traffic and serve as stage construction. The
surface material should be kept to a certain standard such as grading and plasticity.

1.2.1

Flexible Pavements

A flexible pavement is one, which has low flexural strength, and the load is largely
transmitted to the subgrade soil through the lateral distribution of stresses with increasing
depth as shown in Figure 1-1. The pavement trickiness is designed such that the stresses on
the subgrade soil are kept within its bearing capacity and the subgrade is prevented from
excessive deformation. The strength and smoothness of flexible pavement structure
depends to a large extent on the deformation of the subgrade soil.
Generally, two types of construction have been used for flexible pavements: conventional
flexible pavement, and full-depth asphalt pavement. A third type, known as contained rock
asphalt mat (CRAM) construction is still in the experimental stage and has not been widely
accepted for practical use.

Figure 1-1. Stress distribution through flexible pavement structure

1.2.1.1 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 1.2 shows
the cross section of a conventional flexible pavement. Starting from the top, a conventional
flexible pavement normally consists of surface course, base 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
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mixed with binder, or stabilized materials. It is the main structural part of the pavement
and provides a level surface 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.
1.2.1.2

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. Figure 1.3 shows the typical cross section for a full-depth asphalt pavement.

1.2.2

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 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.
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 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 opengraded 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 densegraded 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.

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 nonreflective 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.

1.2.3

Comparison of Rigid and Flexible Pavements

The following main differences between rigid and flexible pavements can be cited:

1.2.4

i)

The manner in which vehicle loads are transmitted to the subgrade soil,

ii)

Design precision,

iii)

Design life,

iv)

Maintenance requirements,

v)

Initial cost,

vi)

Suitability for stage construction,

vii)

Surface characteristics,

viii)

Permeability, and

ix)

Traffic dislocation during construction.

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.

(1)

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 that that on
highway pavements.

(2)

The arrangement and spacing of wheel loads on airport and highway pavements are
different.

(3)

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.

(4)

Vehicle loads are applied near to the edge of highway pavements but far away from
the outside edge of airport pavements.

(5)

Unlike highway pavements, airfield pavements are subjected to an impact loading.

(6)

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.

1.3 Basic Design Factors

Design factors can be divided into four broad categories: traffic loading, environment,
materials, and failure criteria. In this section, the factors in each category will be described
and how these factors are considered in the design process will briefly be discussed.

1.3.1

Traffic Loading

The loading applied by traffic is one of the major factors affecting the design and
performance of pavements. It is fundamental to estimate the structural wear produced by
traffic quantitatively both for the purposes of pavement design and maintenance and for
making comparisons of the structural effects of different traffic loading conditions. The
configuration, magnitude, and repetitions of axle loads are important aspects of traffic
loading that are considered in the analysis and design of pavements.

The principal function of pavement structure is to protect the subgrade from the loading
imposed by traffic. The primary loading factors that are important in the structural analysis
and design of pavements are the magnitude, configuration, and repetition of traffic loading.
The magnitude of maximum loading is commonly controlled by legal load limits. Traffic
surveys and loadometer studies are often used to establish the relative magnitude and
occurrence of the various loadings to which a pavement is subjected. Prediction or
estimation of the total traffic that will use a pavement during its design life is a very
difficult but obviously important task.

Traffic Loading
Axle-loads and configurations
Axle loads affect primarily the stresses and strains developed in the lower layers of the
pavement. Although much publicity is given to the physical size and gross weight of
vehicles, it is the individual wheel or axle-load that is critical in pavement design and
performance. Vehicle size and weight may have a devastating effect on the environment
but will not necessarily increase pavement wear. Heavier loads are usually carried on a
larger numbers of axles or wheels thereby maintaining or even reducing the individual
wheel or axle loads, although their number may be increased. Most countries limit, by law,
the maximum axle-load of vehicles that may use the roads without special permission.
Some of these limits are:
Country

France
Germany
Italy
United
Kingdom
EU proposal

Gross vehicle weight

(tonnes)

Maximum Axle load limit

(tonnes)

38.0
38.0
44.0
38.0

12.0
10.0
12.0
10. 2

44.0

11.0

It has been found difficult to enforce such limits and considerable effort is being directed
to the development of:

An on-board axle-load indicator, at reasonable cost, which could work in a

similar way to the tachograph; and

A relatively cheap axle-load measuring sensor to monitor the magnitude of

dynamic axle-loads at the roadside.

Small vehicles use single axles with single wheels. Larger vehicles mostly have either dual
wheels or single wheels with 'super-single' tyres at each end of the non-steer single axles;
still larger vehicles may have tandem or multiple axles arrangements in which the
successive axles are closely adjacent to one another. The larger aircraft use quite
complicated wheel arrangements because the total weight of the aircraft has usually to be
transmitted through two undercarriage legs, and many wheels are necessary to obtain a
reasonably low individual wheel load.
The spacing and configuration of wheels and axles vary with the purpose of the motor
vehicle. The arrangement of wheels and axles affect the stress distribution and deflection
within and below the pavement structure. Unless an equivalent single-axle or single-wheel
load is used, the consideration of multiple axles or multiple wheels is not a simple matter.
Rholdes (1996) cites literatures to substantiate the effect of multiple-axle and multiplewheel loads. The AASHO Road Test showed that an 80 kN single axle-load produced
about the same level of pavement wear as a 142 kN tandem axle-load. More recently, it has
also been shown by Atkinson and Blackman that a single wheel load would cause 2.5 times
as much fatigue wear per wheel pass as a dual wheel applying the same total load.
The design may, thus, be unsafe if the tandem and tridem axles are treated as a group and
considered as one repetition. The design is too conservative if each axle is treated
independently and considered as one repetition. Similarly, if the pavement is to be
designed for a fixed traffic, the case for airport pavements or highway pavements with
heavy wheel loads but light traffic volume, multiple wheels must be converted to an
equivalent single wheel load. Methods for analyzing multiple-axle and multiple-wheel
loads are presented in Section.

Tyre pressure
For most problems, the wheel load is assumed to be uniformly distributed over the contact
area. If a given load is applied via a number of different tyre pressures, the structural
effects in the upper layers are affected, whereas those deeper in the pavement are relatively
unaffected. This is due primarily to the area of the tyre pavement surface contact patch
varying with tyre pressure. As indicated in Figure 1- 1, the contact pressure is greater than
the tyre pressure for low-pressure tyres, because the wall of tyres is in compression and the
sum of vertical forces due to wall and tyre pressure must be equal to the force due to the
contact pressure; the contact pressure is smaller than the tyre pressure for high pressure
tyres. However, in pavement design, the contact pressure is generally assumed to be equal
to the tyre pressure. Because, heavier axle loads have higher tyre pressures and more
destructive effects on pavements, the use of tyre pressure as the contact pressure is
therefore on the safe side.

Figure 1- 1. Relationship between contact pressure and tyre pressure

As will be seen in the coming sections, it is only the commercial vehicle that is important
in structural pavement design and a typical tyre pressure would be 0.5 MN/m2. Aircraft
tyres use pressures up to nearly 3.0 MN/m2 which can cause serious problems in the design
of the materials employed in the upper layers of the pavement.
The approximate shape of contact area for each tyre, which is composed of a rectangle and
two semicircles with the dimensions shown Figure 1- 2a. Based on the finite element

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analysis of rigid pavements, a rectangular contact area is also assumed with a length of
0.8712L and a width of 0.6L, which has the same area of 0.5227L2, as shown Figure 1- 2b.

a) Actual contact area

b) Equivalent contact area

Figure 1- 2. Dimensions of tyre contact area

These contact areas are not axisymmetric and cannot be used with the layered theory.
When the layered theory is used for flexible pavement design, it is assumed that each tyre
has a circular contact area. This assumption is not correct, but the error incurred is believed
to be small. To simplify the analysis of flexible pavements, a single circle with the same
contact area as the duals is frequently used to represent a set of dual tyres, instead of using
two circular areas. This practice usually results in a more conservative design, but may
become unconservative for thin asphalt surface.

Number of repetitions
A succession of loads has a cumulative effect on the behaviour of pavements. It is
therefore necessary to design the pavement for a specified number of years and to estimate
the total number and magnitude of loads that will be applied during the periods specified.
A widely accepted procedure of considering traffic load is the use of equivalent factor and
convert each load into an equivalent 80 kN single axle load. The equivalency between two
different loads depends on the failure criteria used. Equivalent factor based on permanent
deformation may be different from those based on fatigue cracking. Generally, an
empirical approximation of a single equivalent factor is used for practical purposes.

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Speed of traffic loading

Another factor related to traffic loading is the speed of traveling vehicles. Studies showed
that the stresses and deflections tend to decrease as the vehicle speed increases. Speed is
directly used as the duration of loading on pavements. Generally, the greater the speed, the
larger the modulus, and the smaller the strains in the pavement. Because of this, for a given
volume of traffic, greater thickness and quality of paving materials are required for
pavements in urban areas than those in rural areas. Similarly, such requirements are
considered for up hill roads and bus stops.

1.3.2

Environment

The environmental factors that influence pavement design include temperature, and
precipitation. Different standards of pavement design consider the effects of these factors
in various ways.
1.3.2.1 Temperature
The effect of temperature on asphalt pavements is different from that on concrete
pavements. Temperature affects the resilient modulus of bituminous layers and creates
thermal stresses in cement concrete slabs. In cold climates, the resilient modulus of
unstabilised materials also varies with freeze-thaw cycles.
The elastic and viscoelastic properties of bituminous materials are affected significantly by
pavement temperature. When the temperature is low, the bituminous layer becomes rigid
and has less fatigue life. The stiffness is also influenced by the condition of the mix and
the hardness of the binder used. To minimize thermal contraction cracking at low
temperature, a relatively soft binder and high binder content would be used, whereas for
hot conditions the hardness of the binder would be increased and the binder content
reduced to minimize plastic flow in the material.
The warping stresses in rigid pavements are generated principally by temperature changes.
Warping stresses some times of the year or the day are additive to the traffic stresses and
can influence the slab thickness requirements. Shortening the slab length reduces the effect
of these stresses.
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Another effect of temperature on pavement design in cold climate is the frost penetration,
which results in a frost heave, and stronger subgrade in the winter but a much weaker
subgrade in the spring. Frost heave causes differential settlements and pavement
roughness. The most detrimental effect of frost penetration occurs during the spring period
when the ice melts and the subgrade is in a saturated condition. It is desirable to protect the
subgrade by using non-frost-susceptible materials or the design should take into account
the weakening of the subgrade.
1.3.2.2 Precipitation
Precipitation is important in the design, construction, and performance of reads in three
main aspects:

The construction of earth works

Strength of pavement structure

Surface water drainage

The construction of earthworks. The specification of earthworks is normally defined either

directly or in terms of a standard compaction test. The design engineer should ensure that
the contractor meets the requirements of such specification. Such requirements in areas
where there are considerable dry months, such as in arid regions, transporting water can
considerably increase the construction cost. In contrary, there are areas where excess
rainfall over evaporation falls and cause difficulty for earthworks, and attaining the
specification will only be possible in few dry months.
Strength of pavement structure. The natural moisture content of the soil determines the
subgrade strength to be used in the design of the pavement structure. It is the responsibility
of the design engineer to estimate the natural moisture content and the corresponding
strength of the subgrade and ensure that this moisture content is maintained through out the
service life of the pavement structure. Further more, if the surface of a pavement is not
impervious, water in the form of rainfall percolates easily and can degrade the structural
performance of each layer of the pavement structure.

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Surface water drainage. The maximum intensity of rainfall is required for the design of the
surface water drainage system of the road. This may include from open side ditches to
crossing structures like bridges. Minimum grades of roads are also decided based on the
criterion of pavement drainage. The link between rainfall and surface drainage is also
important in the design and construction of roads.

1.3.3

Materials

Pavement materials include soils, aggregates, bituminous binders, and cement. The
properties of these materials under traffic loading in a given environmental conditions is
fundamental for the proper design of pavement structures. Moreover, if economically
constructed facilities are to be obtained, locally available materials are to be used
efficiently.
The materials used in the construction of a highway are of interest to the highway engineer
to many other branches of Civil Engineering where the engineer need not to be very deeply
concerned with the properties of the materials being used.
Site investigation, aggregates, binders, and mixtures. The properties of these materials is
essential whether we use empirical or mechanistic methods of design.

1.3.4

Performance and Failure Criteria

Pavements are normally designed and constructed to provide, during the design life, a
riding quality acceptable for both private and commercial vehicles with acceptable
maintenance. The assumption is often made that road pavements begin to deteriorate as
soon as they are open to traffic, particularly, when they are underdesigned. But, where the
design life is of the order of 20 years or more, there should no visible deformation for the
first five years.
Fatigue cracking, rutting, and thermal cracking are the three principal types of distress
generally considered for flexible pavement design. The fatigue cracking of flexible
pavements is due to the horizontal tensile strains at the bottom of bituminous layer. Rutting
is a permanent deformation that occurs on flexible pavements along the wheel path.

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Thermal cracking includes low-temperature and thermal fatigue cracking. Lowtemperature cracking is usually associated with flexible pavements in cold regions where
temperature fall below 23oC. Thermal fatigue cracking can occur in much milder regions
if an excessive hard bituminous binder is used or the binder becomes hardened duet
ageing.
Different methods of pavement design consider these pavement failures as design criteria,
but differently. In the AASHTO method of pavement design, a rating system known as the
present serviceability index (PSI) is used to account for performance of pavements. Others,
such as the Asphalt Institute and Shell relate the allowable number of load repetitions to
control fatigue cracking and permanent deformation. Several models are also available to
estimate cumulative damage of thermal cracking for a specified time after construction.
Fatigue cracking, pumping and other distresses such as faulting and joint deterioration are
recognised failures in rigid pavements. Fatigue cracking is most likely caused by the edge
stress at the midslab. It has long been considered the major criterion for rigid pavement
design. Although permanent deformation is not considered in rigid pavements design, the
resilient deformation under repeated wheel loads cause pumping. The resulting corner
deflection has been used as a criterion in addition to the fatigue.

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