Module-V

Prof. S. S Das
Department of Civil Engineering
VSSUT, Burla
Odisha , India
Pavement is the durable superimposed layers of processed materials
laid down on the natural soil sub-grade intended to sustain vehicular
load or foot traffic, such as a road or walkway. 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.

It is of four types
 Flexible pavement or bituminous pavement or black top pavement
 Rigid pavement or cement concrete pavement or white surface pavement
 Semi Rigid pavement
 Interlocking cement concrete block pavement
 COMPARISON OF FLEXIBLE PAVEMENT & RIGID PAVEMENT
FLEXIBLE PAVEMENT SEMI- RIGID PAVEMENT RIGID PAVEMENT
1. Have low flexural strength 1. Have more flexural strength 1. Have highest flexural strength
2. Load is transferred by grain to 2. Load may is transferred by 2. No such phenomenon of grain
grain contact grain to grain contact to grain load transfer exists
3. Surfacing cannot be laid directly 3. Surfacing can be directly laid on 3. Surfacing can be directly laid on
on the sub grade but a sub base The prepaired sub grade the sub grade
is needed 4. No thermal stresses are 4. Thermal stresses are induced
4. No thermal stresses are induced induced 5. expansion joints are needed
5. expansion joints are not needed 5. expansion joints are needed 6. Design life 20-30 years
6. Design life 10-15 years 6. Design life 15-20 years 7. Initial cost of construction is
7. Initial cost of construction is low 7. Initial cost of construction is high
8. Maintenance easy cost is high low 8. Difficult and less maintenance
9. Road can be used for traffic 8. Easy and less maintenance cost cost
within 24 hours 9. Road cannot be used until 14 9. Road cannot be used until 14
10. Damaged by Oils and days of curing days of curing
Certain Chemicals 10. No Damage by Oils and 10. No Damage by Oils and other
other chemicals chemicals
 Rigid
Pavement
 Flexible
pavement Rigid
pavement
 Requirements of a pavement
• 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.
• 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.
Distribution of pressure
 Types of flexible pavements
• Conventional layered flexible pavement
• Full - depth asphalt pavement
• Contained rock asphalt mat (CRAM).
• Conventional flexible pavements are layered systems with high quality
expensive materials are placed in the top where stresses are high, and low
quality cheap materials are placed in lower layers.
• Full - depth asphalt pavements are constructed by placing bituminous layers
directly on the soil sub-grade. This is more suitable when there is high traffic
and local materials are not available.
• Contained rock asphalt mats are constructed by placing dense/open graded
aggregate layers in between two asphalt layers.
c/s of flexible pavement

c/s of rigid pavement

c/s of flexible pavement

Load is transferred by grain to grain contact

 Typical layers of a flexible pavement
Seal Coat: Seal coat is a thin surface treatment used to water-
proof the surface and to provide skid resistance and to seal the
surfacing against the ingress of water.
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.it is generally
applied on impervious surface.
Prime Coat: Prime coat is an application of low viscous liquide
bituminous material over an existing porous or absorbent
pavement surface like WBM.
• Prime objective is to plug the capillary voids of the porous
surface and to bond the loose materials on the existing surface
like granular bases on which binder layer is placed. It provides
bonding between two layers.
Prime
coat
Seal coat
 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).
• 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 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.
 Typical layers of a flexible pavement
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 and other untreated or
stabilized materials.
• It may WBM or WMM
 Typical layers of a flexible pavement
• 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.
• It may WBM or WMM or GSB
• A sub-base course is not always needed or used. For example, a pavement
constructed over a high quality.
• 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.
 Types of Rigid Pavements

• Jointed plain concrete pavement (JPCP),

• Jointed reinforced concrete pavement (JRCP),
• Continuous reinforced concrete pavement (CRCP)
• Pre-stressed concrete pavement (PCP).
 Types of Rigid Pavements
• Jointed Plain Concrete Pavement: 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: reinforcements do not improve the

structural capacity significantly but 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.
 Rigid
pavement

Transverse
joint
Granular
materials
Types of Pavements
Wheel Load Distribution
Flexible Rigid
Components of Flexible Pavement
 Function and Significance of Subgrade Properties

• Basement soil of road bed.

• Important for structural
and pavement life.
• Should not deflect
excessively due to
dynamic loading.

• May be in fill or
embankment.
Design Of Flexible Pavement IRC-37:2018
 Flexible Pavement Design

IRC (37-2018)
Basic Principles
• Vertical stress or strain on sub-grade

• Tensile stress or strain on surface course

The principles and approach followed

Cracking in pavement can occur in three primary modes:

(a)bottom up cracking
• A strong subgrade is essential for giving firm support to the upper pavement layers. The elastic
modulus of the subgrade (required as input for analysis using linear elastic layered theory) is
recommended to be estimated from its CBR value using the empirical equations.
• Minimum effective CBR of 5% for roads with more than 450 commercial vehicles per day.
(b)top down cracking
(c)low temperature cracking
(a)bottom up cracking
• A strong subgrade is essential for giving firm support to the upper pavement layers. The elastic
modulus of the subgrade (required as input for analysis using linear elastic layered theory) is
recommended to be estimated from its CBR value using the empirical equations.
• Minimum effective CBR of 5% for roads with more than 450 commercial vehicles per day.
• Resilient (elastic) modulus of the granular material used in the sub-base and base layers requires
sophisticated equipment and skill for determination, it is estimated the modulus value of the
granular layer from a widely used empirical equation for which the elastic modulus value of the
supporting layer and the thickness of the granular layer are inputs.
• A resilient modulus value of 450 MPa is proposed for the crack relief layer of WMM placed over
Cemented base (CTB). In case of a granular base placed over cementitious sub-base (CTSB), the
recommended values are 300 MPa and 350 MPa for natural gravel and crushed rock respectively.
 Factors for design of pavements
• Design wheel load
 Static load on wheels
 Contact Pressure
 Load Repetition

• Subgrade soil
 Thickness of pavement required
 Stress- strain behavior under load
 Moisture variation
• Climatic factors:(rain fall)
• Pavement component materials
• Environment factors:(height of embankment and its detailed)
• Traffic Characteristics
• Required Cross sectional elements of the alignment
Pavement Responses Under Load

Axle
Load

Surface  SUR SUR

Base/Subbase  SUB
Subgrade Soil
 Axle Configurations
An axle is a central shaft for a rotating wheel or gear

Single Axle With Single Wheel Tandem Axle

(Legal Axle Load = 6t) (Legal Axle Load = 18t)

Single Axle With Dual Wheel

(Legal Axle Load = 10t)

Tridem Axle
(Legal Axle Load = 24t)
 Truck Configuration

5 Axle Truck – 40t

2 Axle Truck – 16t

LCV

3 Axle Truck – 24t 4 Axle Semi Articulated – 34t

 Standard Axle
Single axle with dual wheels carrying a load of
80 kN (8 tonnes) is defined as standard axle

80 kN

Standard Axle
 Evaluation Of Pavement Component Layers

Sub-grade
• To Receive Layers of Pavement Materials Placed over it
• Plate Bearing Test
• CBR Test
• Triaxial Compression
 Flexible Pavement Design Using CBR
Value Of Sub-grade Soil
 California State Highways Department Method
 Required data
 Design Traffic in terms of cumulative number of standard

axles(CSA)
 CBR value of subgarde
 Traffic Data

 Initial data in terms of number of commercial vehicles per day (CVPD).

 Traffic growth rate during design life in %
 Design life in number of years.
 Distribution of commercial vehicles over the carriage way
Traffic – In Terms Of CSA (8160 Kg) During
Design Life
• Initial Traffic
 In terms of Cumulative Vehicles/day
 Based on 7 days 24 hours Classified Traffic
• Traffic Growth Rate

 7.5 % may be Assumed

 Design Life

• National Highways – 15 Years

• Expressways and Urban Roads – 20 Years
• Other Category Roads – 10 – 15 Years
 Vehicle Damage Factor (VDF)
Multiplier to Convert No. of Commercial
Vehicles of Different Axle Loads and Axle Configurations
to the Number of Standard Axle Load Repetitions
indicate VDF Values

 Normally = (Axle Load/8.2)n, n = 4 - 5

 INDICATIVE VDF VALUES
Initial Terrain
Traffic in
terms of Plain/Rolling Hilly
CV/PD
0 – 150 1.5 0.5

150 – 1500 3.5 1.5

> 1500 4.5 2.5

 Distribution Of Traffic
Single Lane Roads:
 Total No. of Commercial Vehicles in both Directions
Two-lane Single Carriageway Roads:
 75% of total No. of Commercial Vehicles in both
Directions
Four-lane Single Carriageway Roads:
 40% of the total No. of Commercial Vehicles in both
Directions
Dual Carriageway Roads:
 for two lane dual carriage way75% of the No. of
Commercial Vehicles in each Direction
For three lane-60%
For four lane-45%
 Computation of Traffic for Use of Pavement
Thickness Design Chart
365 x A[(1+r)n – 1]
N = --------------------------- x D x F
r
N = Cumulative No. of standard axles to be catered for design in the terms of msa
D = Lane distribution factor
A = Initial traffic, in the year of completion of construction, in terms of number of
commercial vehicles per day
= p(1-r)˟
P = no. of commercial vehicle as per last count
X = no. of year between the last count and the year of completion of
construction
F = Vehicle Damage Factor
n = Design life in years
r = Annual growth rate of commercial
vehicles
 Subgrade
• Soak the Specimen in Water for FOUR days and
CBR to be Determined.

• Use of Expansive Clays NOT to be Used as Sub-grade

• Non-expansive Soil to be Preferred.

 Subgrade
• Subgrade to be Well Compacted to Utilize its Full Strength

• Top 500 mm to be Compacted to 100% of MDD (Modified

Proctor).

• Material Should Have a Dry Density of 1.75 gm/cc.

Steps involved in the Pavement Design
• Selecting a trial composition
• Bituminous mix design and the mix resilient modulus
• Selecting layer thickness
• Structural analysis of the selected pavement structure
• Computing the allowable strains/stresses
• Doing the iterations
• Check for cumulative fatigue damage
 Recommended Material Properties for Structural Layers
Material Type Elastic/Resilient Modulus (MPa) Poisson’s Ratio
Bituminous layer with VG40 or Modified Bitumen 3000 or tested value (whichever is less) 0.35
Bituminous layer with VG30 2000 or tested value (whichever is less) 0.35
Cement treated base 5000 0.25
Cold recycled base 800 0.35
Granular interlayer 450 0.35
Cement treated sub-base 600 0.25
Unbound granular layers MRGRAN = 0.2(h)0.45 * MRSUPPORT 0.35
Unbound granular base over CTSB sub-base 300 for natural gravel 0.35
350 for crushed aggregates 0.35
Subgrade MRS = 10.0 * CBR for CBR ≤ 5 % 0.35
MRS = 17.6 * (CBR)0.64 for CBR > 5 %

Where,
MRS = Resilient modulus of subgrade soil (in MPa)
h = thickness of granular layer in mm
MRGRAN = resilient modulus of the granular layer (MPa)
MRSUPPORT = (effective) resilient modulus of the supporting layer (MPa)
 Subgrade
• Subgrade to be Well Compacted to Utilize its Full
Strength

• Top 500 mm to be Compacted to 97% of MDD

(Modified Proctor).

• Material Should Have a Dry Density of 1.75 gm/cc.

Flexible pavement design chart (IRC) (for CSA< 10
msa)
Flexible Pavement Layers (IRC) (CSA< 10 msa)
 Thickness & composition (mm)

Flexible Pavement Layers (IRC) (CSA< 10 msa)

Flexible pavement design chart (IRC)
Flexible pavement layers (IRC)
Flexible pavement layers (IRC)
 Sub-base
• Material – Natural Sand, Moorum, Gravel, Laterite,
Kankar, Brick Metal, Crushed Stone, Crushed Slag,
Crushed Concrete

• GSB- Close Graded / Coarse Graded

• Parameters – Gradation, LL, PI, CBR

• Stability and Drainage Requirements

 Sub-base

• Min. CBR 20 % - Traffic up-to 2 msa

• Min. CBR 30 %- Traffic > 2 msa
• If GSB is Costly, Adopt WBM, WMM
• Min. Thickness – 150 mm - <10 msa
• Min. Thickness – 200 mm - >10 msa
 Sub-base

• Min. CBR – 2 %
• If CBR < 2% - Pavement Thickness for 2 % CBR +
Capping layer of 150 mm with Min. CBR 10% (in
addition to the Sub-Base)
• In case of Stage Construction – Thickness of GSB for Full
Design Life
 Base Course

• Unbound Granular Bases – WBM / WMM or any other

Granular Construction
• Min. Thickness – 225 mm – < 2 msa
• Min. Thickness – 250 mm - > 2 msa
• WBM – Min. 300 mm ( 4 layers – 75mm each)
 Example-1
• Design the pavement for construction of a new bypass
with the fallowing data:

 Two lane single carriage way

 Initial traffic in a year of completion of construction work (sum of both
directions) = 400 CVPD

 Traffic growth rate per annum = 7.5 percent

 Design life = 15 years

 Vehicle damage factor = 2.5

(standard axles per commercial vehicle)

 Design CBR value of sub-grade soil = 4 %

 Example-2
• Design the flexible pavement for Widening an existing
2-lane NH-5 To 4-lane divided Road
 4-lane divided carriageway
Initial traffic in a year of commencement of construction work (sum of both directions) =
5600CVPD

 Completion of construction work=2.5 years

 Design life= 10/15yrs

 Design CBR of sub-grade soil =5%

 Traffic growth rate = 8 %

Vehicle damage factor = 4.5 (Found out from axle road survey axles per CV on existing
road)
Rigid Pavement
Design of rigid pavement as per IRC-58:2015
• Stress acting on the rigid pavement are:
• Wheel load stress
 Interior loading

 Edge loading

 Corner loading

• Temperature stress
 Warping stress

 Frictional stress
Radius of relative stiffness:
1

 Eh 3 4
l
 2 
 12k 1    
• Where
• l= Radius of relative stiffness
• E= modulus of elasticity of cement concrete , kg/cm²
• µ= poisson’s ratio for concrete= 0.15
• h= slab thickness, cm
• K= modulus of subgrade reaction, kg/cm³
 Westergaard’s stress equation for wheel load
• Stress at the interior(si)
0.316 P   l   1.069 
si   4 log 10   
h2   
b 
• Stress at the edge (se)
0.572 P   l  
se   4 log 10  b   0.359 
h2    
• Stress at the corner (sc)
3P   a 2  
0.6

s c  2 1    
h  l 
 
 Where,
• P= design wheel load, kg
• l= Radius of relative stiffness
• E= modulus of elasticity of cement concrete ,
kg/cm²
• µ= poisson’s ratio for concrete= 0.15
• h= slab thickness, cm
• K= modulus of subgrade reaction, kg/cm³
• b= radius of equivalent distribution of pressure, cm
 b=a , if a/h ≥ 1.724
 b= √(1.6 a²+h²) - 0.675 h, when a/h < 1.724
• a= radius of load contact, cm
 Modified Westergaard’s stress equation for
wheel load
• Modified by ‘Teller’

  l   log b  0.4048 
se 
0.572P

1 0.54   4 log 10   10 
b
2
h  

• Modified by ‘Kelley’

3P   a 2 
1.2

s c  2 1    
h   l  
 
Warping stress(given by ‘Bradbury’)
• Stress at the interior(sti)
E et  c x   c y 
st i 
2  1   2 
• Stress at the edge (ste)
Cx Eet C Eet
st e  Or st e 
y

2 2
Whichever is higher
• Stress at the corner (stc)
E et a
st c 
31   l
 Where,

• E= modulus of elasticity of cement concrete , kg/cm²

• e= thermal coefficient of concrete per ºC
• t= temperature difference between the top and bottom of the slab in degree C
• µ= poisson’s ratio for concrete= 0.15
• Cx = Bradbury coefficient based on L/l in desire direction (IRC-58:2015)
• Cy = Bradbury coefficient based on B/l in right angle to the desire direction
(IRC-58:2015)
• L = length of slab, m
• B= width of slab, m
 Frictional stress
• Frictional stress(sf)

WLf
sf  4
210
• Where,
• sf = unit stress developed in CC pavement, kg/cm²
• W= unit wt. of concrete, (about 2400 kg/cm²)
• L= length of slab, m
• B= width of slab, m
 Example-1
• Calculate the stress at interior, edge and corner regions of a cement
concrete pavement using westergaard’s equation. Use the fallowing
data
 Wheel load, P=5100kg
 Modulus of elasticity of concrete, E=3.0x10ᶺ5 kg/cm²
 Pavement thickness, h=18cm
 Poisson’s ratio=0.15
 Modulus of subgrade reaction=6.0 kg/cm3
 Radius of contact area=15 cm

Example-2
• Compute the radius of relative stiffness of 15 cm thick cement
concrete slab from the fallowing data
• E=21000kg/cm2
• Poisson’s ratio=0.13
• K=3KG/cm2 or 7.5 kg/cm2
 Example-3
• Determine the warping stress at interior, edge and corner regions
in a 25 cm thick cement concrete pavement with transverse joint
at 9 m interval and longitudinal joint at 3.6 m intervals. The
modulus of subgrade reaction is 6.9 kg/cm² . Assume
temperature difference for day condition to be 0.6oc per cm of the
slab thickness. Assume radius of loded area as 15 cm for
computing warping stress at the corner.
• E= 3 x 10ᶺ5 kg/cm²
• e= 10 x 10ᶺ -6 per ºc
• µ= 0.15
 Example-4
• A CC pavement slab thickness 20cm is constructed over a granular subbase
having modulus of subgrade reaction 15 kg/cm². the maximum temperature
difference between the top and bottom of the slab during summer day and
night is found to be 18ºc. The spacing between the transverse contraction
joint is 4.5 m and that between the longitudinal joint is 3.5 m. the design wheel
load is 5100 kg, radius of contact area is 15 cm. the coefficient of thermal
expansion of CC IS 10x10ᶺ-6 per ºc and friction coefficient is 1.5.calculate the
warping stress at edge,interior ,corner and also calculate the friction stress.
• E= 3x10ᶺ5 kg/ cm²
• µ=0.15
DESIGN OF JOINTS
Cement Concrete Pavements have different types
of transverse joints :
i) Contraction joints limited to 4.5 m to prevent top-down cracking during the night hours
ii) Construction joints be placed at the location of contraction joints except in case of emergency
when a key joint may be used
iii) Expansion joint
iv) Longitudinal joint required in pavements of width greater than 4.5 m to allow for transverse
contraction and warping
Load Transfer at Transverse Joints

• Load transfer to relieve part of the load stresses in edge and corner regions of
pavement slab at transverse joints is provided by means of mild steel round dowel bars.
• In coastal and high rainfall areas, coated/corrosion resistant dowel bars are often used
to provide long term load transfer. The coating may be zinc or lead based paint or
epoxy coating.
• Dowel bars enable good riding quality to be maintained by preventing faulting at the
joints. For general provisions in respect of dowel bars, stipulations laid down in IRC:15,
may be followed.
• More dowel bars may be provided under the wheel path of heavy commercial vehicles
in the light of past experience. Designer may use his/her discretion after a study of the
traffic pattern.
It is found that only the bearing stress in the concrete that is responsible for the performance
of dowel bars at the joints. High concrete bearing stress can fracture the concrete
surrounding the dowel bars, leading to the looseness of the dowel bar and the deterioration
of the load transfer system with eventual faulting of the slab. Larger diameter dowel bars are
found to provide better performance.

Maximum bearing stress (Fbmax) between the concrete and dowel bar is obtained from
𝑘𝑚𝑑𝑠 𝑃𝑡 2 + 𝛽𝑍
𝐹𝑏𝑚𝑎𝑥 =
4𝛽3 𝐸𝐼
4 𝑘𝑚𝑑𝑠 𝑏𝑑
β = relative stiffness of the bar embedded in concrete, mm-1 =
4𝐸𝐼
kmds = modulus of dowel support, MPa/m
bd = diameter of the dowel, m
z = joint width (5 mm for contraction joint and 20 mm for expansion joint), in mm
E = modulus of the elasticity of the dowel bar, MPa
I = moment of inertia of the dowel, mm4
Pt = load transferred by design dowel bar, kN
The modulus of dowel support ranges from 80,000 to 4,15,000 MPa/m. A typical value of
415,000 MPa/m may be adopted for design since only the fourth root of the k-value affects
the computation of β.
7.2.4 Each dowel bar should be designed for the maximum load being transferred by it for
the allowable bearing pressure. Equation 15, based on the expression given by the American
Concrete Institute (ACI) Committee-225 may be used for calculation of the allowable bearing
stress on concrete.
101.6 − 𝑏𝑑 𝑓𝑐𝑘
𝐹𝑏 =
95.25

Where,
Fb = allowable bearing stress, MPa
bd = dowel diameter, mm
fck = characteristic compressive strength of the concrete, MPa
(For M 40 concrete, fck = 40 MPa (28 days) = 48 MPa (90 days, MORTH)
Since the initial Load Transfer Efficiency (LTE) at the transverse joint is almost 100% and it
takes a long time for the LTE to decrease with traffic repetitions, 90-day compressive
strength can safely be used for the computation of allowable bearing stress.

For heavy traffic, greater than 450 CVPD, dowels are to be provided at the contraction joints
since aggregate inter-lock cannot be relied upon to effect load transfer across the joint to
prevent faulting due to the repeated loading of heavy axles. Joint widths of 5 mm and 20
mm may be taken for stress computation in dowel bar at contraction and expansion joint
respectively. Recommended diameter and length of dowel bars are given in Table below

Slab Thickness Dowel Bar Details

mm Diameter, mm Length, mm Spacing, mm
200 25 360 300
230 30 400 300
250 32 450 300
280 36 450 300
300 38 500 300
350 38 500 300
Dowel group action : When loads are applied at a joint, a portion of the load is
transferred to the other side of the slab through the dowel bars. If the load is near the
joint of a pavement slab tied to a concrete shoulder, a part of the load is transferred to
the shoulder also. The dowel bar immediately below the wheel load carries maximum
amount of load and other dowel bars transfer progressively smaller magnitudes of
loads. Repeated loading causes some looseness between the dowel bars and the
concrete slab and recent studies indicate that the dowel bars within a distance of one
radius of relative stiffness (1.0 ) from the point of load application participate in load
transfer. Assuming a linear variation of the load carried by different dowel bars within
1.0l, the maximum load carried by a dowel bar can be computed.