Transportation Engineering II

Introduction to Pavement

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 What is a Pavement?

OR
• Highway pavement is a structure
consisting of superimposed layers of
selected and processed materials whose
primary function is to distribute the applied
vehicle load to the sub grade.
OR
• It can also be defined as “structure which
separates the tires of vehicles from the
under lying foundation.”

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 What is a Pavement?
• A multi layer system that distributes
the vehicular loads over a larger area

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 What is a Pavement?

• Pavement is the upper part of roadway,

airport or parking area structure
• It includes all layers resting on the
original ground
• – It consists of all structural elements or
layers, including shoulders

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 Functions of the Pavement
• Reduce and distribute the traffic loading so as not
to damage the subgrade
• – Provide vehicle access between two points under
all-weather conditions
• – Provide safe, smooth and comfortable ride to
road users without undue delays and excessive
wear & tear
• – Meet environmental and aesthetics requirement
• – Limited noise and air pollution
• – Reasonable economy

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Requirements of pavement structure

• Sufficient thickness to spread loading to a pressure

intensity tolerable by subgade
• Sufficiently strong to carry imposed stress due to
traffic load
• Sufficient thickness to prevent the effect of frost
susceptible subgrade
• Pavement material should be impervious to
penetration of surface water which could weaken
subgrade and subsequently pavement
• Pavement surface shd. be skid resistant

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Classification of Pavements

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 Types of Pavement

PAVEMENTS

Flexible Pavements Rigid Pavements

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 Flexible Pavements

Asphalt Concrete Aggregate Base Course

Natural Soil (Subgrade)

Aggregate Subbase Course

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 Flexible Pavements

Given Wheel Load

150 psi
Wearing C.
Base
Sub-base
3 psi Sub-grade

Load Distribution in Flexible Pavements

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Flexible Pavements Load Distribution

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Types of Flexible Pavements

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Types of Flexible Pavements

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Types of Flexible Pavements

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Types of Pavements

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Types of Pavements

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Types of Pavements

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Types of Pavements

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Types of Pavements

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Types of Pavements

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Rigid Pavements

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 Rigid Pavements

Load Distribution in Rigid Pavements

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 Pavements Comparison

Flexible pavements:
• Deep foundations / multi layer construction
• Energy consumption due to transportation of materials
• Increasing cost of asphalt due to high oil prices
Rigid pavements
• Single layer
• Generally last longer
• May require asphalt topping due to noise / comfort
issues

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 Pavements Comparison

• Heavy vehicles consume less fuel on rigid

pavements

• Rigid pavements more economic when

considering environmental / life-cycle costing
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 Flexible Pavement

• “A flexible pavement is a structure that

maintains intimate contact with and distributes
load to the sub grade and depends on
aggregate interlock, particle friction and
cohesion for stability”

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 Flexible Pavement
OR
• It is a structure which distributes the traffic
loading stresses to the soil (sub grade) at a
magnitude that will not shear or distort the
soil i.e., from 150 psi to 3 psi
OR
• Pavement which reflects deformation of sub
grade & the subsequent layers on to the
surface” i.e.; load is transmitted from grain to
grain through contact points of granular
material, i.e. in a compressive way.
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 Flexible Pavement

Flexible pavements
• Elastic
• Three main layers
– Surfacing
• Wearing course
• Base course
– Road base
– Sub base
• Supported by Sub-grade

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 Flexible Pavement
Introduction
• Flexible pavements are so named
because the total pavement structure
deflects, or flexes, under loading. A
flexible pavement structure is typically
composed of several layers of different
materials.

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 Flexible Pavement

• Each layer receives the loads from

the above layer, spreads them out,
then passes on these loads to the
next layer below. Thus, the further
down in the pavement structure a
particular layer is, the less load (in
terms of force per unit area) it must
carry.

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Load Distribution In Flexible Pavements

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Typical Load Distribution in Flexible Pavement

Wheel Load

Bituminous Layer

Sub-grade 31
Typical Stress Distribution in Flexible Pavement.

Vertical stress

Foundation stress

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Load Transfer Mechanism

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Load Transfer Mechanism

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Structure of Flexible Pavement

• In order to take maximum advantage of

this property, material layers are usually
arranged in order of descending load
bearing capacity with the highest load
bearing capacity material (and most
expensive) on the top and the lowest load
bearing capacity material (and least
expensive) at the bottom.

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Structure of Flexible Pavement
– Surface Course: This is the top layer and the layer
that comes in contact with traffic.
– Base Course: This is the layer directly below the
surface course and generally consists of
aggregates (either stabilized or un-stabilized).
– Sub-base Course: This is the layer (or layers)
under the base layer. A sub-base is not always
needed.

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Structure of Flexible Pavement
– Sub-grade Course: The "sub-grade" is the
material upon which the pavement structure is
placed. Although there is a tendency to look at
pavement performance in terms of pavement
structure and mix design alone. The sub-grade
can often be the overriding factor in pavement
performance.

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 Surface Course

• The surface course is the layer in contact

with traffic loads and normally contains the
highest quality materials. It provides
characteristics such as friction,
smoothness, noise control, rut and shoving
resistance and drainage.

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 Surface Course

• In addition, it serves to prevent the entrance

of excessive quantities of surface water into
the underlying base, sub-base and sub-
grade. This top structural layer of material is
sometimes subdivided into two layers.

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 Wearing Course
• This is the layer in direct contact with traffic
loads. It is meant to take the brunt of traffic
wear and can be removed and replaced as
it becomes worn.
• A properly designed (and funded)
preservation program should be able to
identify pavement surface distress while it
is still confined to the wearing course. This
way, the wearing course can be
rehabilitated before distress propagates
into the underlying intermediate/blinder
course 40
Intermediate/Binder Course

– Intermediate/Binder Course: This layer

provides the bulk of the HMA structure.
It's main purpose is to distribute load.

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Asphalt wearing course and Base course

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 Base Course

• The base course is immediately beneath the

surface course. It provides additional load
distribution and contributes to drainage and
frost resistance. Base courses are usually
constructed out of:
– Aggregates: Base courses are most typically
constructed from durable aggregates that will not be
damaged by moisture or frost action. Aggregates
can be either stabilized or un-stabilized.

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Lime rock Base Course Undergoing Final Grading
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– HMA: In certain situations where high
base stiffness is desired, base courses
can be constructed using a variety of
HMA mixes. In relation to surface
course HMA mixes, base course mixes
usually contain larger maximum
aggregate sizes, are more open graded
and are subject to more lenient
specifications.
– Cement treated base
– Lime treated base
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 Sub-base Course

• The sub-base course is between the base

course and the sub-grade. It functions
primarily as structural support but it can
also:
– Minimize the intrusion of fines from the sub-
grade into the pavement structure.
– Improves drainage.
– Minimize frost action damage.
– Provides a working platform for construction.

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 Sub-base Course

• The sub-base generally consists of lower

quality materials than the base course but
better than the sub-grade soils.
• 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 so it may be omitted from
design.

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 Sub-base Course
• However, a pavement constructed over a
low quality soil such as a swelling clay
may require the additional load distribution
characteristic that a sub-base course can
offer. In this scenario the sub-base course
may consist of high quality fill used to
replace poor quality sub-grade.
Sub-base Course

base Course 48
 Sub-grade
• Although a pavement's wearing course is
most prominent, the success or failure of
a pavement is more often than not
dependent upon the underlying sub-grade
, the material upon which the pavement
structure is built.

Sub-base Course
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Sub-grade base Course
 Sub-grade

• Sub-grades be composed of a wide

range of materials although some are
much better than others. This
subsection discusses a few of the
aspects of sub-grade materials that
make them either desirable or
undesirable and the typical tests used to
characterize sub-grades.

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Sub-grade Preparation Sub-grade Failure Crack

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 Types of Asphalt Mixtures

Dense-graded

Open-graded Gap-graded
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Flexible Pavement – Construction

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Flexible Pavement Construction

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 Rigid Pavement

• Rigid pavements are those, which contain

sufficient beam strength to be able to bridge
over the localized sub-grade failures and
areas of in adequate support.
OR
• Load is transmitted through beam action of
slab in rigid pavements.
OR
• Rigid pavements are those, which reduces
the stress concentration and distributes the
reduced stresses uniformly to the area under
the slab.
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 Rigid Pavement
• Rigidity – does not deform under stress
• Concrete – air entrained increases resistance
to frost damage and de-icing salt corrosion
• Reinforcement – may be bars or mesh.
Continuous rigid pavements have heavy
reinforcement
• Joints – used in non-continuous pavements to
allow for thermal movement. Includes a ‘filler’
and surface sealant
• Rigid pavements – laid as single layer by
‘concrete paver’
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Basic Components of Concrete Pavement

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Concrete paver

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 Rigid Pavements
Introduction

• Rigid pavements are so named because

the pavement structure deflects very little
under loading due to the high modulus of
elasticity of their surface course. A rigid
pavement structure is typically composed
of a PCC surface course built on top of
either
– the sub-grade or
– an underlying base course.

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 Rigid Pavements

• Because of its relative rigidity, the

pavement structure distributes loads over
a wide area with only one, or at most two,
structural layers.
• There are other types of surfaces also i.e.;
reinforced, continuously reinforced etc.

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 Structure of Rigid Pavement

– Surface course. This is the top layer, which

consists of the PCC slab, reinforced or
continuously reinforced slabs .
– Base course. This is the layer directly below
the PCC layer and generally consists of
aggregate or stabilized sub-grade.
– Sub-base course. This is the layer (or layers)
under the base layer. A sub-base is not
always needed and therefore may often be
omitted.

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 Surface Course

• The surface course is the layer in contact with

traffic loads and is made of PCC or RCC. It
provides characteristics such as friction,
smoothness, noise control and drainage. In
addition, it serves as a waterproofing layer to the
underlying base, sub-base and sub-grade.
• The surface course can vary in thickness but is
usually between 150 mm (6 inches for light loading)
and 300 mm (12 inches for heavy loads and high
traffic). Figure shows a 300 mm (12 inch) surface
course.

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PCC Surface

Rigid Pavement Slab

(Surface Course) Thickness
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 Base Course

• The base course is immediately beneath the

surface course. It provides
• Additional load distribution,
• Contributes to drainage and frost resistance,
• Uniform support to the pavement and
• A stable platform for construction equipment. Bases also
help and prevent sub grade soil movement due to slab
pumping. Base courses are usually constructed out of:
– Aggregates base. A simple base course of
crushed aggregates has been a common option
since the early 1900s and is still appropriate in
many situations.
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 Base Course

– Stabilized aggregate or soil. Stabilizing agents

are used to bind otherwise loose particles to
one another, providing strength and
cohesion. Cement treated bases (CTB s) can
be built to as much as 20 - 25 percent of the
surface course strength.
– Dense-graded HMA. In situations where high
base stiffness is desired base courses can be
constructed using a dense-graded HMA layer.
– Permeable HMA. In certain situations where
high base stiffness and excellent drainage is
desired, base courses can be constructed using
an open graded HMA. 65
 Base Course

– Lean concrete. Contains less Portland cement

paste than a typical PCC and is stronger than a
stabilized aggregates. Lean concrete bases
(LCB s) can be built to as much as 25 - 50
percent of the surface course strength. A lean
concrete base, functions much like a regular
PCC surface course and therefore, it requires
construction joints and normally cracks over
time. These joints and cracks can potentially
cause reflection cracking in the surface course.

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Completed CTB with Curing Seal Lean Concrete Base Material

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 Sub-base Course

• The sub-base course is the portion of the pavement

structure between the base course and the sub-
grade. It functions primarily as structural support but
it can also:
– Minimize the intrusion of fines from the sub-grade into the
pavement structure.
– Improves drainage.
– Minimizes frost action damage.
– Provides a working platform for construction.

• The sub-base generally consists of lower quality

materials than the base course but better than the
sub-grade soils. Appropriate materials are
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aggregates and high quality structural fill.
 Sub-grade

• Sub grade provides support to the

overlying concrete slab. If it is of good
quality then slab can be laid over it without
providing sub-base otherwise if it is
extremely poor then a sub-base layer
should be incorporated .
• For design purpose the only thing to know
about sub-grade is its classification and
the unit pressure coming from slab to sub-
grade should be calculated for its
selection. However, it must be resistant to
moisture damages. 69
 Types of Rigid Pavement
• Jointed Plain Concrete Pavement
(JPCP)

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 Types of Rigid Pavement

• Continuously Reinforced Concrete

Pavement (CRCP)

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Photo from the Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute
 Rigid Pavement –
Construction

Slipform

Fixed form

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 Pavements Comparison

Flexible pavements:
• Deep foundations / multi layer construction
• Energy consumption due to transportation of materials
• Increasing cost of asphalt due to high oil prices
Rigid pavements
• Single layer
• Generally last longer
• May require asphalt topping due to noise / comfort
issues

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Pavements Comparison

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 Types of Pavement Failure
• Failure criteria
• Flexible Pavements
• Fatigue Cracking,
• Rutting,
• Thermal Cracking,
• Rigid Pavements
• Fatigue Cracking,
• Pumping or Erosion
• Others: Faulting, spalling, joint deterioration

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Flexible vrs. Rigid Pavements

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Flexible vrs. Rigid Pavements

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Airport-Highway Pavements

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