2.0 Road Pavement Lecture Version
2.0 Road Pavement Lecture Version
ENGINEERING II
(BCE IV/I)
FLEXIBLE PAVEMENT
RIGID PAVEMENT
Syllabus: Overall
1.Traffic Engineering
2. Highway Pavement
3. Road Construction Technology
4. Highway Maintenance, Repair and Rehabilitation
5. Introduction to Bridge and Tunnel
Engineering
(16)
2.1
2.1.1
What is Pavement?
A pavement is a Relatively
Stable Layer Constructed
over a Natural Soil (i) for the purpose of
Supporting
and
Distributing the Wheel
Loads so that the bearing
capacity of the underlying
soil is not exceeded, and
(ii) for providing an Adequate
Wearing Surface.
A pavement is a multilayered structure.
The
layers
are
placed
horizontal one over other.
2.1.4
Types of Pavements
Composite Pavement
1. Flexible Pavement
So
named
because
the
pavement
structure
Deflects or Flexes under
Loading.
Pavements having Very Little
Resistance to Deformation
under the Wheel Loads.
Which have Very Low Flexural
Strength and is Flexible in the
Structural Behaviour under
the Wheel Loads.
Dense-graded
Open-graded
Gap-graded
Rigid Pavement
So named because the
pavement
structure
deflects very little under
loading due to the high
modulus of elasticity of
the surface course.
Possesses considerable
flexural strength.
Has slab action and is
capable of transmitting
the wheel loads through
a wider area below.
Rigid Pavement
Doesnt get deformed to
the shape of the lower
surface as it can bridge
the minor variations of
lower layers.
Can take appreciable
tensile stresses .
Made
of
cement
concrete which may be
either plain, reinforced
or pre-stressed.
Stress Distribution in Rigid Pavement
2.Continuously Reinforced
Concrete Pavement (CRCP)
4. Pre-stressed Concrete
Pavement (PCP)
5. Post-tensioned Concrete
Pavement (PTCP)
Composite Pavement
Comprises of multiple, structurally significant
layers of different composition.
Consists of PCC as a bottom layer and bituminous
layer as a top layer.
Bottom layer (PCC) provides a strong base and
bituminous layer(top) provides a smooth and nonreflective surface.
Very expensive type of pavement so rarely used.
Eg. Brick -sandwitched Concrete Pavement (under
research in India), Asphalt concrete overlay over
a PCC
slab
Cement Concrete
Brick
,
Indian Practice
SURFACE/WEARING COURSE
BASE COURSE
SUB-BASE COURSE
SUBGRADE
British Practice
WEARING COURSE
BASE COURSE
ROAD BASE COURSE
SUB-BASE COURSE
SUBGRADE
SURFACING
American Practice
SURFACE COURSE
BINDER COURSE
BASE COURSE
SUB-BASE COURSE
SUBGRADE
1. Subgrade
2. Sub-base Course
3. Base Course
4. Wearing/Surface
Course
Subgrade
Soil beneath the pavement is called the subgrade.
Subgrade is a layer of natural soil prepared to receive the
other layers of the pavement.
Prformance of the pavement is affected by the characteristics
of the subgrade.
Desirable properties which the subgrade should possess are:
strength, drainage, ease of compaction, permanency of
compaction, and permanency of strength.
The strength of subgrade is increased by compaction or in
some cases by stabilization.
Function:
Subgrade is the foundation layer, the structure
which must ultimately support all the loads which
come on to the pavement and then dispersed to the
earth mass below.
Sub-base Course
A sub-base is a layer of material between the base and
subgrade.
Base course and sub-bases are used under the pavement
primarily to increase the load supporting capacity of the
pavement distributing the load through a finite thickness
of pavement.
A sub-base material can be of a lower quality materials
such as burnt clinkers, natural aggregates or slag than
the base course.
The sub-base should be laid as soon as possible after
final stripping to formation level, to prevent damage from
rain or sun baking which could cause surface cracks.
Base Course
Layer of granular material which lies immediately
below the wearing surface of the pavement which
is the main spreading layer of the pavement.
Base course is the layer of material immediately
beneath the surface or binder course. It may be
composed of crushed stone, crushed slag, or
other untreated or stabilized materials.
The base course lies close to the pavement
surface and hence it must possess high
resistance to deformation in order to withstand
the high pressures imposed upon it. So, it is of
superior quality materials.
Functions:
This course receives the impact of the traffic
through the wearing course.
The loads are transferred to the sub-base and
subgrade through it.
Surface/Wearing Course
The wearing or surface course is the top course of
a pavement with which the wheels of vehicles are
in actual contact.
This is the layer in direct contact with traffic
loads.
Functions:
To distribute the load to the base.
To water-proof the base against the surface water.
To provide smooth riding surface, dust preventive
surface.
RIGID PAVEMENT
RIGID PAVEMENT
4. Doesnt have healing
properties.
5. Temperature
variations
produce
heavy
temperature
stresses.
6. Strength of rigid layer
is rather by bending
action.
Comparison Between
CRITERIA
FLEXIBLE PAVEMENT
RIGID PAVEMENT
1.Design
Precision
LOWflexible pavements
designs are mainly
Empirical.
MORErigid pavements
are designed using
precise structural
analysis.
2.Design Life
10 ~ 20 years
About 40 years
4.Initial Cost
LOW
HIGH
5.Stage
Construction
POSSIBLEintial
minimum thickness can
be provided and
additional overlays are
provided in keeping with
the traffic growth
Comparison Between
CRITERIA
FLEXIBLE PAVEMENT
RIGID PAVEMENT
6. Availability of
Material
Bitumen scarce
resource and imported
Cement can be
produce in the country
7. Surface
Characteristics
Relatively LOW
GOOD produces
pavement surfaces
free from rutting,
potholes and
corrugations with good
riding quality
8. Penetration of
Water
NOT IMPERVIOUS
SURFACE water
enters through pores
and cracks
PRACTICALLY
IMPERVIOUS except at
joints where mud
pumping can takes
place
9.Utility Location
POSSIBLE public
IMPOSSIBLE
utilities such as water
supply pipes, telephone
cables sewer lines, etc
can be buried by
Comparison Between
CRITERIA
FLEXIBLE PAVEMENT
RIGID PAVEMENT
11. Traffic
Dislocation
LONGER Needs 28
days to cure and set
the concrete to gain its
strength
12. Environmental
Considerations
During Construction
MORE HAZARDOUS
by burning bitumen
NO HAZARDOUS
NOT ECONOMICAL
FAR MORE
ECONOMICAL
Rigid Pavements
ADVANTAGES
1.HIGH STRENGTH
compressive, abrasion,
compression-tension
2. GOOD STABILITY water,
heat stability, strength
increases with time
3. DURABILITY20~40 years
4. LOW MAINTENENACE
COSTlarge economic gain,
big investment but long design
period therefore maintenance
cost per year is LOW
5. SUITABILE FOR NIGHT
DRIVING
DISADVANTAGES
1.NECESSITY OF CEMENT AND
WATER ID LARGEfor 20 cm
depth, 7 m wide cement
concrete pavement for every 1
km road needs 400~500 ton
cement and 25 ton water
2.HAVE JOINTS difficult to
construct and maintain, cause
vibration on vehicle
3. DIFFICULT TO REPAIR
repairing work influences the
traffic movement largely
4.PAVEMENT IS QUITE LATELY
AVAILABLE FOR TRAFFIC
OPERATIONS needs 15~20
days
A) Tire/Wheel/Axle Loads
Wheel load which determines the depth of the
pavement required to ensure that the sub grade
soil is not failed.
Wheel configurations affect the stress distribution
and deflection within a pavement.
Many commercial vehicles have dual rear wheels
which ensure that the contact pressure is within
the limits.
Axle Load
The total weight felt by the roadway for all wheels
connected to a given axle.
In another way, it is the fraction of total vehicle
weight resting on a given axle.
Single Axle
Load - The total
load transmitted by all
wheels of a single axle
extending the full
width of the vehicle.
Tandem Axles
Tridem Axles
Quad Axles
Moving Loads
The damage to the pavement is much higher if
the vehicle is moving at creep speed.
Many studies show that when the speed is
increased from 2 km/hr to 24 km/hr, the stresses
and deflection reduced by 40 per cent.
Contact Area
The tire pressure is an important factor, as it determines
the contact area and the contact pressure between the
wheel and the pavement surface.
Even though the shape of the contact area is elliptical, for
sake of simplicity in analysis, a circular area is often
considered.
If the effect of the tire wall is ignored, the contact pressure
between the tire and pavement must be equal to the tire
pressure.
For low-pressure tires, contact pressures under the tire wall
may be greater than at the center of the tire.
For high-pressure tires the reverse is true.
For most problem however, the assumption is made that
contact pressures are uniform over the imprint area.
Traffic Distribution
Along with load type and repetitions, the load
distributions across a particular pavement must be
estimated.
For instance, on a 6-lane highway (3 lanes in each
direction) the total number of loads is probably not
distributed exactly equally in both directions.
Often one direction carries more loads than the other.
Furthermore, within that one direction, not all lanes
carry the same loading.
Typically, the outer most lane carries the most trucks
and therefore is subjected to the heaviest loading.
Therefore, pavement structural design should account
for these types of unequal load distribution.
Vehicle Speed
Speed is directly related to duration of loading.
The greater the speed, larger the modulus of
elasticity and smaller the strains on the pavement.
So higher speed of the vehicles is DESIREABLE.
In general, slower speeds and stop conditions
allow a particular load to be applied to a given
pavement area for a longer period of time
resulting in greater damage.
At bus stops (where heavy buses stop and sit
while
loading/unloading
passengers)
and
intersection approaches (where traffic stops and
waits to pass through the intersection)
2. Soil Factors
Soil under the pavement foundation is seldom
homogeneous.
Large variations may occur in its properties.
To predict the behavior of the soil under different
conditions, it is essential to carry out certain tests.
The soil strength varies with type of the soil, bulk density,
moisture content, permeability, internal structure of the
soil etc.
It also depends upon the method of application of load on
the soil.
We know that the soil strength increase with increase
density and decreasing moisture content.
As the elastic properties of soil are very low, in the design
of flexible pavement, the supporting capacity of sub grade
is very important factor.
3. Environmental Factors
Environmental factors affect the performance of
the pavement materials and cause various
damages.
Environmental factors that affect pavement are :
1. Temperature Variations
2. Frost Action and
3. Moisture/Precipitation/Rainfall
Temperature Variations
Temperature affects the resilient modulus of
asphalt layers, while it induces curling of concrete
slab.
Frost Action
Frost heave causes differential settlements and
pavement roughness.
Moisture/Precipitation/Rainfall
The precipitation from rain and snow affects the
quantity of surface water infiltrating into the sub
grade and the depth of ground water table.
4. Failure Criteria
1. Fatigue Cracking
2. Rutting Failure
Where,
P = wheel load,
S = center to center distance between the two wheels,
d = clear distance between two wheels, and
z = desired depth
Numerical Example 1
Find ESWL at depths of 5 cm, 20 cm and 40 cm
for a dual wheel carrying 2044 kg each. The
center to center tyre spacing is 20 cm and
distance between the walls of the two tyres is 10
cm.
Solution:
1) For desired depth z = 40 cm, which is twice the
tyre spacing,
ESWL = 2P = 22044 = 4088 kN
2) For z = 5cm, which is half the distance between
the walls of the tyre,
ESWL = P = 2044kN
2) For z = 20 cm,
Therefore, ESWL
Unladen = empty
where,
Nf = number of load repetition for a certain percentage of
cracking,
t = tensile strain at the bottom of the binder course,
E = modulus of elasticity, and
f1; f2; f3 = constants
Where,
Nd = permissible design rut depth (say 20mm),
c = compressive strain at the top of the subgrade, and
f4; f5 = constants.
Once we have the EALF, then we can get the ESAL as given
below.
where,,
m = number of axle load groups,
Fi = EALF for ith axle load group, and
ni = number of passes of ith axle load group during the design
period.
Numerical Example 1
Find the equivalent axle load. If the number of
load repetition expected by 80 KN standard axle
is 1000, 160 KN is 100 and 40 KN is 10000.
Solution:
Refer the Table. The ESAL is given as Fini = 3225
kN
Numerical Example 2
Find the equivalent standard axle load if the
equivalence criteria is rutting if the number of
load repetition expected by 120 kN axle is 1000,
160 kN is 100, and 40 kN is 10,000. Assume 80
kN as standard axle load and he rutting model is
where f4 = 4.2 and f5 = 4.5.
Solution:
Refer the Table. The ESAL is given as Fini =
8904.94 kN.
Numerical Example 3
Find the equivalent axle load using fatigue cracking
as failure
criteria according to IRC if the number of load
repetition
expected by 60kN standard axle is 1000, 120kN is
200 and 40 kN
is 10000.
Solution:
Refer the Table. The ESAL is given as Fini =
6030.81 kN
1.