CH 2 Pavement

CHAPTER TWO: PAVEMENT
2.1 Definition and types of pavement

A relatively stable layer constructed over the natural soil may be defined as Road pavement.
Pavement
Sub-grade
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Formation (Earthwork in Embankment/filling)
Natural Soil
The pavement is designed to support the wheel loads imposed on it from mov ing traffic over it. Additional stresses are also
imposed by changes in environment.
It should be strong enough to resist the stresses on it and should be thick enough to distribute the external loads on the
earthen sub grade, so that the sub-grade it self can safely bear it.
Pavement consist one or more layers.
Indian practice
Surface course
Base course
Sub-base course
Sub-grade soil
American practice
Surface course
Binder course
Base course
Sub-base course
Sub-grade soil
British practice
Wearing course
Base course
Road- base
Sub-base course
Sub-grade soil
Transportation Engineering-II/snlkhyaju@gmail.com/nec Page 75

In a rig id pavement, the concrete slab acts on the wearing surface and distributes the loads. The slab may be directly placed
on the sub-grade, or in case of weak soils, a base or sub-base may be provided between slab and the sub-grade. The top most
layer is surfacing course for the purpose of providing a smooth, abrasion resistance, dust proof and strong layer.
The base course which lies immediately next below is the mediu m, through which the stresses imposed are d istributed
consistency. Additional help in distributing the loads is provided by the sub-base layer.
The sub-grade is the compacted natural earth, immed iately bellow the pavement layers. The top of the sub -grade is also
known as the formation level.
Quality of pavements:
 Structurally sound to withstand the stresses.
 Sufficient thick to distribute the loads.
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 Should have reasonably hard, wearing surface.
 Should be dust proof.
 Smooth enough for comfort driving.
 Should develop low friction for low resistance to movement.
 Should have a texture and adequate roughness to prevent skidding.
 It should be impermeable.
Types of pavement:
From the structural performance point of view, pavements can be broadly classified as:
 Flexible
 Rigid
 Semi-Rigid
 Composite
Flexible
It is essentially a layered system, wh ich has low flexural strength, due to which the pavement defects mo mentarily under load
but rebounds to its original level on removal of load. The pavement thickness is so designed that the stresses on the sub -grade
soil are kept within its bearing power. The deformation of the lower layers is reflected on to the surface layers.
Rigid pavement:
This type of pavement derives its capacity to withstand loads fro m flexural strength or beam strength. Inherent strength of t he
slab plays major role in resisting the wheel load. It has slab action and is capable of transmitting the wheel load stresses
through a wider area below.
Semi-Rigid pavement:
It represents an intermediate state between flexib le and rig id pavement. Typical examp les of this type are ; lean concrete base,
soil cement and lime concrete construction.
Composite pavement:
It comprises of mu ltiple, structurally significant layers of different co mposition. Examp les: brick -sandwiched cement
concrete.
2.2 Factors affecting pavement design

The various factors to be considered for the design of pavement are;
1. Design wheel load
2. Sub grade soil
3. Climatic factors
4. Pavement component material
5. Environmental factors
6. Special factors in the design of the different type of pavement
7.

1. Design wheel load
The thickness design of pavement primarily depends upon the design wheel load. Higher wheel load obviously need thicker
pavement.
The various wheel load factors to be considered in pavement design are:
 Maximum wheel load
 Equivalence Factor
 Vehicle Damage Factor
 Vehicle distribution
 Contact pressure
 Vehicle speed
 Repetition of loads
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i) Maximum wheel load
The wheel load configurat ions are important to know the way in which the loads of a given vehicle are applied on the
pavement surface.
Wheel load configuration:
Single axle with dual wheels=8.16 ton
Tandem axle with double wheels =14.5 ton
Tridem axle with double wheels

ii. Equivalence factor
The damage caused by different axle loads is of different magnitudes . Difficulty arises in assessing the no. of repetitions of
load since the traffic consists of a mixture of axle loads of varying magnitudes . To deal with this proble m, the traffic is
expressed in term of an equivalent number of standard axle load generally taken as 82 KN ( 8.2 ton)
The structural damage caused by an axle load varies as the exponential power of its ratio to the standard axle load.
In Nepal, F is equivalent factor for an axle load is given by the expression,
𝐹=* +
where, La=Actual axle load in KN
Ls=Standard axle load, 82 KN
N=Exponential power, =4.5

country Design standard
axle load, kg
India 8170
U.K 10170
U.S.A 8200-10900
AASHTO 9100
Belgium, France 13100
For the single wheel assembly, the wheel load is taken half of the axle load.
iii) Contact pressure

Contact pressure is greater than the tire pressure for low pressure tire, because the wall of the tires is in compression.
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The contact pressure is smaller than the tire pressure for high pressure tire, because the wall of the tires is in tension.
However in pavement design the contact pressure is generally assumed to be equal to the tire pressure.
Example: 1
• Total number of axle=4450
• Following data is axle load survey.
• Now calculate the total number of Equivalent Standard Axle Load (ESAL)
Axle Category (ton) % of Axle Number
0 to 2 15
2 to 4 15
4 to 6 20
6 to 8 30
8 to 10 10
10 to 12 10
iv. Vehicle distribution factor

A realistic assessment of distribution of co mmercial traffic by direct ion and by lane is necessary as it direct ly affects the total
equivalent standard axle load application used in the design. Until reliab le data is available, the fo llo wing d istribution ma y be
assumed.
Single lane roads:
Traffic tends to be more channelized on single roads than two lane roads and to allow fo r this concentration of wheel load
repetitions, the design should be based on total number of commercial vehicles in both directions.
Two-lane single carriageway roads:
The design should be based on 75 % of the commercial vehicles in both direc tions.
Four-lane single carriageway roads:
The design should be based on 40 % of the total number of commercial vehicles in both directions.
Dual carriageway roads:
For the design of dual two-lane carriageway roads should be based on 75 % of the number o f co mmercial vehicles in each
direction.
For dual three-lane carriageway and dual four-lane carriageway the distribution factor will be 60 % and 45 % respectively.

v. Vehicle damage factor
The vehicle damage factor (VDF) is a mult iplier for converting the number of co mmercial vehicles of different axle loads and
axle configurations to the number of standard axle -load repetit ions. It is defined as equivalent number of standard axles per
commercial vehicle. The VDF varies with the axle configuration, axle loading, terrain, type of road, and fro m region to
region. The axle load equivalency factors are used to convert different axle load repetit ions into equivalent standard axle load
repetitions. Where sufficient info rmation on axle loads is not available and the project size does not warrant conducting an
axle load survey, the indicative values of vehicle damage factor as given in table may be used.
Initial traffic volu me in terms of nu mber Terrain

of commercial vehicles per day Rolling Hilly
0-150 1.5 0.5
150-1500 3.5 1.5
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More than 1500 4.5 2.5
vi) Vehicle speed

Speed is directly related to the duration of loading. The greater the speed, smaller the strain, in the pavement. Therefore
higher speed of vehicles is desirable.
vii) Repetition of loads

It is very important factor causing pavement distress. It is therefore necessary to select the design vehicle and assess the total
number of repetitions of axle loads during the pavement life.
As the traffic flo w is mixed, and then it is difficult to assess the number of repetitions of load. The standard procedure to deal
with this problem is to express the traffic in terms of an equivalent number of standard axles. The standard axle load mostly
generally used is 80KN.
2. Sub-grade soil
The properties of the sub-grade soil are important in deciding the thickness requirements of pavements .A sub -grade is lower
stability requires thicker pavement to protect it from traffic loads.
The design CBR of sub grade is selected based on the traffic
Traffic, ESA Design sub-grade value, %
104 or less 60
104 –106 75
more than 106 87.5
3. Climatic factor
Among the climatic factors, rainfall affects the moisture conditions in the sub-grade and the pavement layers. The daily and
seasonal variation in temperature has significance in the design of rigid pavements and bituminous pavements.
4. Pavement component material

The stress distribution characteristics of the pavement component layers depend on characteristics of the material used. The
fatigue behavior of these materials and their durability under adverse conditions of weather should also be given due
consideration.
5. Environmental factors
The environ mental factors such as height of embankment and its foundations details, depth of cutting, depth of surface water
table etc. affect the performance of the pavement.
2.3 Difference between rigid and flexible pavement

Design accuracy: Cement concrete pavement design requires more precise structural analysis, than flexible pavement.
Flexible pavement designs are mainly empirical.
Life: Cement concrete pavement has life of about 40 years. Co mpared to this, the life of a flexible pavemen t generally varies
from 10 to 20 years.
Maintenance: Cement concrete pavement needs very little maintenance, except joint maintenance. This type of surface is
unaffected by spillage of o il and lubricants. On the other hand, bitu minous surface needs great inputs in maintenance. The
surface needs resurfacing and resealing frequently. It is affected by spillage of oil and lubricants.
Initial cost: In general, cement concrete pavements are costly than bituminous pavement.

Stage constructi on: Due to ext reme scarcity of resources in the country road construction is generally done in stage -wise
policy. Only b ituminous pavement can be constructed follo wing the policy of stage construction. On the other side cement
concrete pavements do not fit into such scheme.
Availability of material: Cement, bitu men, stone aggregate and gravel/sand are the major materials used in pavement
construction. Bitu men is the byproduct of petroleum refinery plant. In recent years cement has great demand on other civil
construction works. Due to these situations bituminous pavements are more popular.
Surface characteristics: Good cement concrete pavement is smooth and free fro m rutting, potholes, corrugations. Thus
riding quality of a cement concrete surface is always assured.
Penetration of water: A cement concrete surface is practically impervious except jo ints. Bitu minous surface is not
impervious. Water can finds its way into the lower layers through cracks and pores. Water can impair the stability of the
pavement.
Utility l ocation: In cement concrete pavement it is difficu lt to locate utilities (such as water pipe, telephone lines, electric
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poles etc.) after construction.
Gl are and night vision: Cement concrete has gray colour which can cause glare under sunlight. Black bitu minous surface is
free from this defect. On the other hand bituminous surface needs more street lighting at night.
Traffic dislocation during construction: A cement pavement requires 28 days to open for traffic after laying the slabs. But
in bituminous surface traffic can be allowed just after the rolling.
Environmental considerati on during construction: heating of b itumen, aggregate and mixing them in hot-mix p lants, may
be more hazardous to the environment than cement concrete.
Overall economy on a life-cycle basis: A good road is costly to construct, but such road requires little maintenance and
results in saving in vehicle operat ion cost. Considering these facts it is proven that rigid pavements are more econo mical th an
flexible on overall economic consideration
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Properties Flexible Rigid
Design Empirical method Designed and analyzed by using the elastic
Principle Based on load distribution theory
characteristics of the
components
Material Granular material Made of Cement Concrete either plan,
reinforced or prestressed concrete
Flexural Low or negligible flexible Associated with rigidity or flexural strength
Strength strength or slab action so the load is distributed over
a wide area of subgrade soil.
Normal Elastic deformation Acts as beam or cantilever
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Loading
Excessive Local depression Causes Cracks
Loading
Stress Transmits vertical and Tensile Stress and Temperature Increases
compressive stresses to the
lower layers
Design Constructed in number of Laid in slabs with steel reinforcement.

Practice layers.
Temperature No stress is produced Stress is produced

Force of Less. Deformation in the Friction force is High
Friction sub grade is not transferred
to the upper layers.
Opening to Road can be used for traffic Road cannot be used until 14 days of curing
Traffic within 24 hours
Surfacing Rolling of the surfacing is Rolling of the surfacing in not needed.
needed
2.4 Design methods of Flexible Pave ments: Overseas Road Note 31, IRC37-2001, AASHTO,
Asphalt Institute, DoR guidelines
2.4.1 Overseas Road Note 31

This Road Note gives recommendations for the structural design of bituminous surfaced roads in tropical and subtropical
climates It is aimed at h ighway engineers responsible for the design and construction of new road pavements and is
appropriate for roads wh ich are required to carry up to 30 million cu mu lative equivalent standard axles in one direction. The
design of strengthening overlays is not covered nor is the design of earth, gravel or concrete roads.
THE DESIGN PROCESS

There are three main steps to be followed in designing a new road pavement .These are:
 Estimating the amount of traffic and the cumulative number of equivalent standard axles that will use the road over
the selected design life;
[( ) ]
= 𝐹
Where:
N = cumulative number of standard axles to be catered for the design in terms of million standards axle (msa),
A = initial traffic in the year of completion of construction in terms of the number of commercial vehicles per day,
D = lane distribution factors,
F = vehicle damage factor,
n = design life in years, and
r = annual growth rate of commercial vehicles (r=-0.075 if growth rate is 7.5 percent per annum).
 Assessing the strength of the subgrade soil over which the road is to be built expressed in CBR.
 Selecting the most economical co mb ination of pavement materials and layer thicknesses that will provide
satisfactory service over the design life of the pavement using structural catalogues.

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2.4.2 IRC 37-2001 method
Design procedure
• Based on the performance of existing designs and using analytical approach, simple design charts and a catalogue of
pavement designs are added in the code.
• The pavement designs are g iven for subgrade CBR values ranging fro m 2% to 10% and design traffic ra nging fro m
1 msa to 150 msa for an average annual pavement temperature of 35°C.
• Using the following simple input parameters, appropriate designs could be chosen for the given traffic and soil
strength:
• Design traffic in terms of cumulative number of standard axles; and
• CBR value of subgrade.
DESIGN TRAFFIC
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• The method considers traffic in terms o f the cu mu lative nu mber of standard axles (8160 kg) to be carried by the
pavement during the design life. This can be computed using the following equation:
[( ) ]
= 𝐹
Where:
N = cumulative number of standard axles to be catered for the design in terms of million standards axle (msa),
A = initial traffic in the year of completion of construction in terms of the number of commercial vehicles per day,
D = lane distribution factors,
F = vehicle damage factor,
n = design life in years, and
r = annual growth rate of commercial vehicles (r=-0.075 if growth rate is 7.5 percent per annum).
Initial traffic
Initial traffic is determined in terms of commerc ial vehicles per day (CVPD). Fo r the structural design of the pavement only
commercial vehicles are considered assuming laden weight of three tones or more and their axle loading will be considered.
A = P( r) x
Where, P = number of commercial vehicles per last count

x = number of years between the last count and the year of completion of construction
Traffic growth rate
If adequate data is not available, it is recommended that an average annual growth rate of 7.5 percent may be adopted.
Design life
For the purpose of the pavement design, the design life is defined in terms of the cumu lative nu mber of standard axles that
can be carried before strengthening of the pavement is necessary taken as 10 to 15 year
Pavement thickness design charts.

 For the design of pavements to carry traffic in the range of 1 to 10 msa, use chart 1 and for t raffic in the range 10 to
150 msa, use chart 2 of IRC:37 2001.
 The design curves relate pavement thickness to the cumulative nu mber of standard axles to be carried over the
design life for different sub-grade CBR values ranging from 2 % to 10 %.
 The design charts will give the total thickness of the pavement for the above inputs.
 The total thickness consists of granular sub-base, granular base and bituminous surfacing.
 The individual layers are designed based on the recommendations given below and the subsequent tables.
Example 2:
Design the pavement for construction of a new bypass with the following data:
1. Two lane carriage way
2. Initial traffic in the year of completion of construction = 400 CVPD (sum of both directions)
3. Traffic growth rate = 7.5 %
4. Design life = 15 years
5. Vehicle damage factor based on axle load survey = 2.5 standard axle per commercial vehicle
6. Design CBR of subgrade soil = 4%.

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2.4.3 AASHTO method
 The design procedure recommended by the A merican Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials is
based on the results of the extensive AASHTO test conducted in Ottawa, in the late of 1950s early 1960s
 The emp irical performance equations obtained from the AASHTO Road Test are still being used as the basic models
in the current guide but were modified and extended to make them applicable to other regions in the nation.
Traffic
The design procedures are based on cumulative expected 18-kip equivalent single axle load (ESAL).
Design Traffic=W 18 = DD + DL + w18
Where,
DD = a directional d istribution factor expressed as a ratio, that accounts for the distribution of ESA L units
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by direction e.g. east-west, north-south etc. (=0.5 typically)
DL = a lane distribution factor expressed as a ratio, that accounts for the distribution of traffic when two or
more lanes are available in one direction.
w18 = the cumulative two direct ional 18-kip ESA L units predicted for a specific section of highway during
the analysis period.
Number of lanes in each direction Percent of 18-kip ESAL in design lane DL

1 100
2 80-100
3 60-80
4 50-75
Analysis period
The analysis period is the period of t ime that any design strategy must cover. It may be identical to the selected perfo rmanc e
period. In the past, pavements were typically designed and analyzed fo r a 20 -year performance period. It is now
recommended that consideration be given to longer analysis periods because they may be better suited for the evaluation of
alternative long-term strategies based on life cycle costs.
Highway conditions Analysis period ( years)
High-volume urban 30-50
High-volume rural 20-50
Low-volume paved 15-25
Low-volume aggregate surface 10-20
Performance period
The performance period refers to the time that an initial pavement structure will last before it needs rehabilitation or the
performance time between rehabilitation operations. The selection of performance period can be affected by such factors as
the functional classification of the pavement, the type and level of maintenance applied the funds available for init ial
construction, life cycle cost and other engineering consideration.
Reliability
Basically reliability is a means of incorporating some degree of certainty into the design process to ensure that the various
design alternatives will last the analysis period. The level of reliab ility to be used for design shou ld increase as the volume of
traffic, difficulty of diverting traffic and public expectation of availability increase.
Application of the reliability concept requires the selection of a standard deviation that is representative of local conditions. It
is suggested that standard deviation of 0.45 be used for flexible pavements and 0.35 for rigid pavements.
Functional classification Recommended level of reliability

Urban Rural
Interstate and other freeways 85-99.9 80-99.9
Principal arterials 80-99 75-95
Collectors 80-95 75-95
Local 50-80 50-80

Serviceability
Initial and terminal serviceability indexes must be established to compute the change in serviceability, ΔPSI, to be used in the
design equations. The init ial serviceability index is a function of pavement type and construction quality. Typical values fr o m
the AASHTO Road Test were 4.2 for flexib le pavements and 4.5 for rigid pavements. The terminal serviceability index is the
lowest index that will be tolerated before rehabilitat ion, resurfacing and reconstruction become necessary. An index of 2.5 or
higher is suggested for design of major highways and 2.0 for highways with lower traffic.
=
PSI = Pavement Serviceability Index 1<PSI < 5
P0 = Initial Serviceability Index
Rigid pavements: 4.5
Flexible pavements: 4.2
p t = Terminal Serviceability Index
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Design equation
( ( )
= ( )
( )
W 18 = Predicted number of 18-kip single axle load application ESALs
ZR = Normal deviate for given reliability R
ZR can be determined from table below
S0 = Standard deviation
. SN=a1D1 + a2D2m2 + a3D3m3
a1 , a2, a3 are layer coefficient for the surface, base and subbase respectively.
D1 , D2 , D3 are the thickness of the surface, base and subbase respectively.
m2 is the drainage coefficient of base course and m3 is the drainage coefficient of subbase course.
M R is the road bed soil resilient modulus.
Standard normal deviates for various levels of reliability

Reliability (%) Standard normal Reliability (%) Standard normal
deviate (ZR) deviate (ZR)
50 0.000 93 -1.476
60 -0.253 94 -1.555
70 -0.524 95 -1.645
75 -0.674 96 -1.751
80 -0.841 97 -1.881
85 -1.037 98 -2.054
90 -1.282 99 -2.327
91 -1.340 99.9 -3.090
92 -1.405 99.99 -3.750
The layer coefficient a1 for asphalt concrete surface course used in the AASHTO Road Test was 0.44. The layer coefficient
depends upon the resilient modulus of the material. The values of a 1 are given in table below.
Resilient Modulus (psi) a1

450,000 0.44
400,000 0.42
300,000 0.36
200,000 0.30
100,000 0.20
The following approximate values of a2 and a3 for granular base courses can be used.
CBR a2 CBR a3
100 0.14 100 0.14
55 0.12 40 0.12
45 0.11 30 0.11
30 0.09 25 0.10
20 0.07 15 0.09
10 0.08

The values of m2 and m3 the modifiers for layer coefficient for drainage conditions, can be taken from table below:
Quality of Percentage of time pavement is exposed to moisture levels approaching saturation

drainage Less than 1% 1-5% 5-25% Greater than 25%
Excellent 1.4 – 1.35 1.35 – 1.30 1.30 – 1.20 1.20
Good 1.35 – 1.25 1.25 – 1.15 1.15 -1.00 1.00
Fair 1.25 – 1.15 1.15 – 1.05 1.00 – 0.80 0.80
Poor 1.15 -1.05 1.05- 0.80 0.80 – 0.60 0.60
Very poor 1.05 – 0.95 0.80 – 0.75 0.75 -0.40 0.40
Quality of drainage
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Minimum thickness
It is generally imp ractical and uneconomical to use layers of materials that are less than some minimu m thickness.
Furthermore, traffic consideration may dictate the use of a certain min imu m thickness for stability. Table shows the
minimu m thickness of asphalt surface and aggregate base. Because such minimu ms depend somewhat on local practices and
conditions, they may be changed if needed.
Traffic ESAL Asphalt concrete Aggregate base
Less than 50,000 1.0 4
50,001-150,000 2.0 4
150,001-500,000 2.5 4
500,001-2,000,000 3.0 6
2,000,001-7,000,000 3.5 6
Greater than 7,000,000 4.0 6
General design procedure

The procedure for thickness design is usually started from the top, described below:
Using E2 as M R determine fro m figure the structural number SN1 , required to protect the base and compute the thickness of
layer 1 by;
Using E3 as M R determine fro m figure the structural number SN2 required to protect the subbase and compute the thickness
of layer 2 by;
Based on the roadbed soil resilient modulus M R, determine fro m figure the total structural number SN3 required and compute
the thickness of layer 3 by;

Below figure is a monograph for solving the design equation for flexible pavements
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Example 3:
Figure below is a pavement system with the resilient moduli, layer coefficients, and drainage coefficients as shown. If
predicted ESAL = 18.6 x 106 , R=95%, S0 = 0.35 and ΔPSI = 2.1, select thicknesses D1 , D2 and D3 .
SN1
SN2 E1=400,000 psi, a1 =0.42 D1
SN3 E2=30,000 psi, a2=0.14 , m2 =1.2 D2
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E3=11,000 psi, a3=0,08 , m3 =1.2 D3
MR=5,700 psi
2.4.4 Asphalt Institute method

Design steps;
 Cumulative ESALs is calculated
 Design CBR is converted to sub-grade resilient modulus
o M R (MPa) =10.3 x CBR
o M R (Psi) = 1500 x CBR
 From chart “full depth asphalt concrete” defines the total thickness of A/C corresponding to the ESAL and M R.
 Obtained full thickness of A/C is converted into the different layers (subbase and base) of other materials with given
modulus of elasticity, using the ratio:
=( )
Where
t1 , t 2 = Thickness of layer 1 and 2 respectively
E1 , E2 =Modulus of elasticity of layer 1 and 2 respectively
Example 4
A pavement has to be designed for a certain length of existing single lane carriage way road from the followi ng
consideration:
1. Current traffic of 80kN equivalent single axle load = 0.95x105 ESAL/year
2. Design period = 10 years
3. Construction period = 18 months from the last traffic count
4. Traffic growth rate = 7%
5. CBR value of sub-grade soil =5%
6. Elastic modulus of asphalt concrete for surface course = Eac=2500MPa
7. Elastic modulus of emulsified stabilized base = Eb =1200MPa
8. Elastic modulus of granular sub-base = Esb =120MPa
Draw the cross section of final pavement layers considering the thickness of asphalt concrete on surface course is not less
than 75mm

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2.4.5 DoR Guidelines
Best on the performance of existing design and using analytical approach, simple design charts and a catalogue of pavement
design have been added for the use of engineers. The Pavement design are given for sub -grade CBR value ranging fro m 2
percent to 10 percent and design traffic fro m 1 msa to 150 msa for an average annual pavement temperature of 35 0C. The
layer thickness obtained fro m the analysis has been slightly modified to adapt the designs to stage construction. Using the
following simple input parameters, appropriate design could be chosen for given traffic and sub-grade soil strength:
a) Design traffic in terms of cumulative number of standard axles; and
b) CBR values of Sub-grade
Computation of design traffic

The design traffic is considered in terms of cumu lative number o f standard axles (in the p articular lane carrying
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maximu m traffic) to be carried during the design life of the pavement. This can be computed as:
[( ) ]
= 𝐹
Where,
N = the cumulative number of standard axles to be catered for in the design in terms of msa
A = Initia l traffic in the year of completion of construction in terms of number of co mmercial vehicles per
day is estimated using the following formula:
A = P( r) x
Where, P is the number of co mmercial vehicles as per the last traffic count; x is the number of
years between the last traffic count and the year of completion of construction.
D = Lane distribution factor
F = Vehicle damage factor
n = Design life in year It is reco mmended that National highways should be designed for a life of 15 years.
Exp ressways and urban roads may be designed longer life of 20 yrs. For other categories of roads, a
design life of 10 to 15 years may be taken.
r = annual growth rate of commercial vehicle (in the absence of detail traffic study r can be taken as 7% i.e
0.07)
Sub-grade
The sub-grade in cut and fill should be well co mpacted to utilize its fu ll strength and to economize on the overall
thickness of the pavement required. Heavy co mpaction is recommended for the construction of express ways,
National highways and feeder roads as well as urban roads. Current Standard Specificat ion for Road and Bridge
Works (SSRBW) describes the provision of Capping layer (Clause 1004), mechanical stabilizat ion (Clause 1005)
and Lime stabilization (Clause 1006) for the preparation of sub -grade in different soil conditions. The general
requirements for the construction detail of sub-grade should be referred to the Section 1000 of Standard
Specifications for Road and Bridge Works.
Pavement Thickness and Composition

Total pavement thickness is recommended to
adopt from the Chart. Total thickness of the
pavement (in mm) is interpolated based on the
given values of the CBR of sub-grade and
cumulat ive number of standard axles (msa). The
composition of pavement layer and their
thickness is found by using the 'Pavement
Design Catalogue' based on the IRC 37-2001.
Pavement Design Catalogue has been developed
for part icular CBR value and cu mu lative nu mber
of standard axles. The total thickness is reduced
to granular sub-base, granular base and
bituminous wearing course.

Example 5:
Design the flexible pavement for construction of a new road with the following data:
 Two lane single carriage way is to designed in plain area
 Initial traffic in the year of completion of construction = 310 CVPD (sum of both directions) as mentioned below:
o heavy truck three axle: 30
o heavy truck two axle: 70
o mini truck: 120
o large bus: 60
o bus: 30
 Traffic growth rate = 7.0 %
 Design life = 15 years
 Vehicle damage factor based on axle load survey
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 Design CBR of sub-grade soil = 5%.
Example 6:
Design the pavement for a given stretch of a single lane road with the following data:
1. The results of sub grade soil in CBR at seven locations in a certain stretch of a road are given below:
S.N Chainage Test CBR result in %
1 0+050 11
2 0+350 7
3 0+500 7.5
4 0+650 8
5 0+800 4
6 0+950 6
7 1+500 5
You are required to adopt sub grade CBR value as 87.5 percentile.
2. The current traffic count on both directions on that stretch of a road for 16 hrs 7 days are as following:
S.N Traffic Category Number Equivalency factors in 82 KN
Single Axle Load (ESAL)
1 Truck (loaded) 45 5.67
2 Truck (empty) 35 0.32
3 Bus (loaded) 75 0.25
4 Mini Tata Truck (loaded) 65 0.46
5 Mini Tata truck (empty) 38 0.015
6 Mini bus (loaded) 42 0.01
7 Cars 46 0.001
8 Others 50 0
3. Assume traffic growth rate (r) = 7%

4. Design period (n) = 10 years
5. Construction period from last date of count (y) = 2 years
6. Modulus of asphalt concrete, ( ) = 2000 MPa
7. Modulus of untreated crushed base course (CBR=80%), ( ) = 250 MPa
8. Modulus of untreated granular sub base course (CBR=30%), ( ) = 250 MPa
You are required to design the pavement as per Asphalt Institute Method, IRC, Road note 31 methods.

Rigid pavement
Rigid pavements are those which contain sufficient beam strength to be able to bridge over localized sub grade failures and
areas of inadequate support. Should be analyzed by the plate theory. The existence of joints in rigid pavements also makes
the layered theory inapplicable. Rigid pavements are placed either directly on the prepared sub grade or a single layer of
granular or stabilized material
Types of Rigid pavement

• Jointed Plain Concrete Pavement (JPCP)
• Jointed reinforced concrete pavement (JRCP)
• Continuously reinforced concrete pavement (CRCP)
• Pre-stressed concrete pavement (PCP)
Transverse joint with or without dowels
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Transverse joint with dowels
Longitudinal Joint
with the tie bars
Wire
fabric
15 to 30 ft 15 to 30 ft 30 to 100 ft
(a) JPCP (b) JRCP
No joints
Continuous Wire
Reinforcements strands
Slab length 300 to 700 ft.

(c) CRCP (d) PCP
Factors affecting Design

A. Loading
1. Wheel load and its repetitions
2. Area of contact of wheel
3. Location of load with respect to slab.
Three position of loading are generally considered for estimating the stresses in a slab.
 Interior loading produces tensile stresses at the bottom of slab.
 Edge loading produces tensile stresses at the bottom of the slab parallel to the edge.
 Corner loading produces tensile stresses at the top of the slab parallel to the bisector of the corner angle.
Loading positions for Rigid Pavement Design

B. Properties of sub-grade
1. Sub-grade strength and properties
2. Sub-base provision or omission.
C. Properties of concrete
1. Strength
2. Modulus of Elasticity
3. Poisson’s Ratio
4. Shrinkage properties
5. Fatigue behavior
D. External Condition
1. Temperature Changes
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2. Friction between slab and sub-grade
E. Joints
1. Arrangement of joints
F. Reinforcements
1. Quantity of reinforcements
2. Continuous reinforcement
2.5 Analysis of stresses: Westergaad’s stress equation

Cement concrete slab design is a complicated subject. Theoretical analysis procedures involve a number of assumptions and
some of them are rarely tenable in practice.
Westergaard analysis (1925)
1. The concrete slab is homogeneous and isotropic and has uniform elastic properties.
2. The reaction of the sub-grade is vertical only and is proportional to the deflection of the slab.
3. The reaction of the sub-grade at a point is equal to (K x Deflection) at that point, the constant K=Modulus of sub -
grade Reaction.
4. The slab is uniform thickness.
5. The load in the interior and the corner is circular in shape. The edge loading is semi-circu lar. (As indicated in fig.
Before).
Westergaard define a property, which he termed as the relative stiffness of the slab and sub -grade. The radius of relative
stiffness is define as
Where,
l=radius of relative stiffness (mm)
E=modulus of elasticity of cement concrete (N/mm 2 )
µ=Poisson’s ratio of cement concrete (0.15)
h=cement concrete slab thickness(mm)
K=modulus of subgrade reaction (N/mm 3
Modulus of subgrade reaction

• The modulus of subgrade reaction k is proportional to the displacement.
• The displacement level is taken as 1.25 mm in calculating k.
• If p is the pressure sustained in N/ mm2 by the rigid p late of diameter 750 mm at a deflection = 1.25 mm, the
modulus of subgrade reaction k is given by
𝑝 𝑝
𝑘= = 𝑁 𝑚𝑚
𝛥

The original equations for the stresses under the three critical loading conditions presented by Westergaard are:
2.6 Stress due to Load, Temperature and sub grade friction

Stress due to Load
Interior loading
• When the load is applied in the interior of the slab surface at any place remote from all the edges.
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Corner loading
• When the center of load application is located on the bisector of the corner angle formed by t wo intersecting edge of
the slab and the loaded area is at the corner touching the two corner edges
Edge loading
 When the load is applied on an edge of the slab at any place remote from a corner
Where,
P = wheel load
l = radius of stiffness
H = thickness of slab
a = radius of contact area
b = radius of equivalent distribution of pressure at the bottom of slab
= a, when
= √( )

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Temperature stresses
Temperature stresses are developed in cement concrete pavement due to variation in slab temperature.
This is caused by
(i) daily variation resulting in a temperature gradient across the thickness of the slab and
(ii) seasonal variation resulting in overall change in the slab temperature.
The former results in warping stresses and the later in frictional stresses.
Temperature gradient
• Temperature difference of the slab at top and bottom divided by slab thickness
=( ) where =temperature at top of concrete slab

=temperature at bottom of concrete slab
h=slab thickness
Warping stress
When the temperature of the top surface of the slab is lower than the bottom surface, the corners and the edges tend to curl
upwards. In the reverse case, the slab tends to curl downwards. This causes warping stresses in the pavement.

The warp ing stress at the interior, edge and corner regions, denoted as ti ; te ; tc in kg/cm2 respectively and given by the
equation
𝐸 𝛼 𝑡 𝐶𝑥 𝜇 𝐶𝑦
𝜎𝑡𝑖 =
𝜇
𝐶𝑥 𝐸 𝛼 𝑡
𝜎𝑡𝑒 =
= Whichever maximu m
= √
( )
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Frictional stress
• The frictional stress f in kg/cm2 is given by the equation
where
W is the unit weight of concrete in kg/cm2 (2400),
f is the coefficient of sub grade friction (1.5)
L is the length of the slab in meters.
Example 7
Determine the warping stress at interior, edge and corner reg ions in a 25 cm thick concrete pavement with transverse joints at
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11m interval and longitudinal joints at 3.6m interval. The modulus of sub -grade reaction (k) is 6.9 kg/cm³ . Assume
temperature differential for day conditions to be 0.6˚c per slab thickness. Assume radius of loaded area as 15 cm for
completing warping stress at corner. Additional data are given below. = , = ⁄
2.7 Design of Rigid Pavement: IRC Design Guidelines, DoR Guidelines
2.7.1 IRC Design Guidelines

The steps involved in the design are:
1. Select wheel load for design, K value and properties of concrete.
2. Decide joint spacing and lane width
3. Select tentative design thickness of pavement slab.
4. Ascertain maximu m temperature stress from (Chart -Rigid 1)
5. Calculate residual available strength of concrete for supporting traffic loads
6. Ascertain edge load stresses from (Chart-Rigid 2) and calculate Factor of Safety Thereon.
7. In case available Factor of Safety is less than or in excess of 1,adjust the slab thickness and repeat steps 3 or 6 till the
Factor of Safety is 1 or slightly more. Let thickness be h s.
8. Check for adequacy of thickness in corner region by ascertaining corner load stresses from (chart -Rigid –2)
9. Adjust h s for traffic intensity. The adjusted design thickness h, may be obtained from :
Traffic at end of
design life in 0-15 15-45 45-150 150-450 450-1500 1500-4500 Above 4500
Com.Veh/day
h ;cm -5 -5 -2 -2 0 0 +2
Example 8
Design a two lane cement concrete carriageway (7.0m) to be constructed of Jointed Plain Cement Concrete Pavement (JPCP)
for the following conditions.
• Design Wheel load = 5100 kg
• Present traffic = 300 commercial vehicles /day
• Growth rate of traffic = 7 %
• Design period = 25 years
• Temperature variation = 12º C
• Modulus of subgrade reaction: K = 6 kg/cm3
• Concrete flexural strength = 40 kg/cm2
• Modulus of elasticity of concrete pavement = 3 × 105 kg/cm2
• Poisson’s ratio of the pavement = 0.15
• Coefficient of thermal expansion of pavement = 10 × 10 – 6 per ºC
2.7.2 DoR Design Guidelines

Tutorial: 6
40. Calculate the cumu lative standard axle load for the design of flexib le pavement with single lane of 3.5m width and it
caters a present traffic of 185 ESA L per day with annual gro wth of 7%. The road is to be designed for 15 years and
construction period of 18 months from last traffic count.
41. Total number of axle=4450
Following data is axle load survey.
Now calculate the total number of Equivalent Standard Axle Load (ESAL)
Axle Category(ton) 0-2 2-4 4-6 6-8 8-10 10-12

% of Axle Number 15 15 20 30 10 10
42. Design the flexible pavement section by CBR method as recommended by IRC using following materials.
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i. Compacted soil CBR=7%
ii. Poorly graded gravel, CBR=20%
iii. Well grader gravel, CBR=95%
iv. Sub-grade soil, CBR=4%
Assume the present ADT of commercial vehicles = 1200, Annual growth rate=8%, construction period =3years
43. Design a flexible pavement using CBR curves, given the following data:
a) Subgrade soil (soaked) CBR = 5%
b) Laterite sub-base (soaked) CBR = 15%
c) Water bound macadam base (CBR) = 95%
d) Number of heavy vehicle per day in September 2013 = 150
e) Design life = 15 years
f) Annual rate of inv\crease in the heavy vehicles = 5%
The road is proposed to be completed in September, 2017
44. The CBR test carried out on a sub grade soil gave the following reading:
Penetration (mm) 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 4 5 7.5 10 12.5
Load (kg) 0 4 14 30 41 50 58 70 77.5 93.2 102.5 110.8
The different pavement materials available near the construction site are as follows:
 Sandy soil with CBR value = 10%
 Soil-kankar mix with CBR value = 25%
 Broken stone and gravel with CBR value = 90%
 Bituminous concrete for surfacing =minimu m 5 cm thick
45. Design the pavement for construction of a new bypass with the following data:
i. Two lane carriage way
ii. Initial traffic in the year of completion of construction = 400 CVPD (sum of both directions)
iii. Traffic growth rate = 7.5 %
iv. Design life = 15 years
v. Vehicle damage factor based on axle load survey = 2.5 standard axle per commercial vehicle
vi. Design CBR of subgrade soil = 4%.
vii. Elastic modulus of asphalt concrete for surface course = Eac=2500MPa
viii. Elastic modulus of emulsified stabilized base = Eb =1200MPa
ix. Elastic modulus of granular sub-base = Esb =120MPa
46. An existing two lane single carriageway National Highway is proposed to be widened to 4-lane d ivided highway.
Design the new pavement from the following data:
a) 4-lane divided carriageway
b) Initial traffic in each direction in the year of completion of construction = 5640 CVPD
c) Design life period = 10 year
d) Design CBR value = 6%
e) Traffic growth rate = 8%
f) Axle load using the road = 11800kg
g) Elastic modulus of asphalt concrete for surface coarse(Eac) = 2750 Mpa
h) Elastic modulus of crushed stone base(CSB) coarse(Ebase) = 350 Mpa
i) Elastic modulus of granular sub base coarse (Esub base) = 130 Mpa
47. A pavement has to be designed for a certain length of existing single lane carriage way road fro m the following
consideration:
i. Current traffic of 80kN equivalent single axle load = 0.95x105 ESAL/year
ii. Design period = 10 years
iii. Construction period = 18 months from the last traffic count
iv. Traffic growth rate = 7%
v. CBR value of sub-grade soil =5%
vi. Elastic modulus of asphalt concrete for surface course = Eac=2500MPa
vii. Elastic modulus of emulsified stabilized base = Eb =1200MPa
viii. Elastic modulus of granular sub-base = Esb =120MPa
Draw the cross section of final pavement layers considering the thickness of asphalt concrete on surface course is
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not less than 75mm
48. Design the flexible pavement for a stretch of existing two- lane road from the following data:
(a) Current traffic in 80 KN (in EAL) = 3.91 × 105 EAL
(b) Growth rate of traffic = 7 %
(c) Design period = 10 years
(d) Construction period = 2 years from last traffic count.
(e) Minimu m CBR values in % of subgrade at 7 locations for that stretch of the road are: 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11
respectively.
(f) Design resilient modulus of subgrade in Mpa is taken as 85th percentile values.
It is required to design the pavement fro m Asphalt Institute Method. Finally, draw the cross section of pavement
layers.
(g) Elastic modulus of asphalt concrete for surface coarse(Eac) = 2750 Mpa
(h) Elastic modulus of crushed stone base(CSB) coarse(Ebase) = 350 Mpa
(i) Elastic modulus of granular sub base coarse (Esub base) = 130 Mpa
(j) Minimum thickness of asphalt concrete in surface coarse = 75 mm.
49. Design the flexible pavement as per IRC methods from the following data:
(a) Results of subgrade soil in CBR test at seven locations obtained in a certain stretch of a road are given below:
You are required to adopt subgrade CBR values as 87.5 percentile.

(b) The existing traffic counted on that stretch of the road on 16 hours, 7 days count are as following:
(c) Assume traffic growth rate = 7 %

(d) Design period = 10 years
(e) Construction period from last date of counts = 2 years

50. Design the pavement for two-lane single carriageway road with the following parameters:
 Total number of axles = 4050 Axle Category No. of Axles
 Axle distribution has shown in table in right side 0 to 2 ton 15%
 Take multiplier factor for Nepal= 4.5 2 to 4 ton 15%
 Take standard axle load for Nepal = 8.2 ton 4 to 6 ton 20%
 Design period = 20 years 6 to 8 ton 30%
 Traffic growth rate = 4% for all vehicles for design period 8 to 10 ton 10%
During CBR-test of subgrade soil; load after correct ion at mm and 5.0 >10 ton 10%
mm penetration (by standard plunger) are 50 kg and 75 kg. (Given the
standard load at 2.5 and 5.0 mm penetration by standard plunger as 13.44 kN( 1370 kg ) and 21.16 kN (2155 kg)
respectively)
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 Modulus of elasticity of subgrade soil =100 kg/cm2
 Modulus of elasticity of base material = 750 kg/cm2
 Modulus of elasticity for asphalt concrete = 2500kg/cm2
51. Design the pavement for two-lane single carriageway road with the following parameters:
During CBR-test of subgrade soil; load after correction at 2.5 mm and 5.0 mm penetration (by standard p lunger) are
50 kg and 75 kg. (Given the standard load at 2.5 and 5.0 mm penetration by standard plunger as 1370 kg and 2155
kgrespectively)
 Modulus of elasticity of subgrade soil =100 kg/cm2
 Modulus of elasticity of base material = 750 kg/cm2

Modulus of elasticity for asphalt concrete = 2500kg/cm2
 Design period = 20 years
 Traffic growth rate = 4% for all vehicles for design period
52. Results of seven tests produced the following sub-grade resilient modulus test values 44.9, 67.5, 68.5, 58.5, 68.3,
106.9, 80.0 Mpa. The traffic classification at the end of construction is projected as below:
Number of vehicles (both direction) 4000 2050 1000 1100 1200
Truck factors 0.003 0.28 1.06 0.62 1.05
Design the flexib le pavement using AIM for two lane two way roads to cater the above traffic with following details:
i. Traffic growth rate = 6.95%
ii. Elastic modulus of asphalt concrete for surface course = Eac=2500MPa
iii. Elastic modulus of emulsified stabilized base = Eb =1250MPa
iv. Elastic modulus of granular sub-base = Esb =150MPa
v. Design period = 12 years
vi. Use 87.5 percentile resilient modulus values for the design.
53. Determine the warp ing stress at interior, edge and corner regions in a 25 cm thick concrete pavement with transverse
joints at 11m interval and longitudinal joints at 3.6m interval. The modulus of sub-grade reaction (k) is 6.9 kg/cm³.
Assume temperature differential for day conditions to be 0.6˚c per slab thickness. Assume radius of loaded area as
15 cm for completing warping stress at corner. Additional data are given belo w.
= , = ⁄
54. Design a cement concrete pavement for the following conditions.
(a) Design Wheel load = 4100 kg
(b) Present traffic = 300 commercial vehicles /day
(c) Growth rate of traffic = 7.5 %

(d) Design period = 20 years
(e) Temperature variation = 13.1º C
(f) Modulus of subgrade reaction: K = 6 kg/cm3
(g) Concrete flexural strength = 40 kg/cm2
(h) Modulus of elasticity of concrete pavement = 3 × 105 kg/cm2
(i) Poisson’s ratio of the pavement = 0.15
(j) Coefficient of thermal expansion of pavement = 10 × 10 – 6 per ºC
55. Design a t wo lane cement concrete carriageway (7.0m) to be constructed of Jo inted Plain Cement Concrete
Pavement (JPCP) for the following conditions.
i. Design Wheel load = 5100 kg
ii. Present traffic = 300 commercial vehicles /day
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iii. Growth rate of traffic = 7 %
iv. Design period = 25 years
v. Temperature variation = 12º C
vi. Modulus of subgrade reaction: K = 6 kg/cm3
vii. Concrete flexural strength = 40 kg/cm2
viii. Modulus of elasticity of concrete pavement = 3 × 105 kg/cm2
ix. Poisson’s ratio of the pavement = 0.15
x. Coefficient of thermal expansion of pavement = 10 × 10 – 6 per ºC
56. Given:
a) ESAL = 2 x 106
b) One week for water to be drained
c) Saturation level moisture exposure = 30% of the time
d) AC’s M r at 68Fo = 450,000 lb/in 2
e) CBR of base course =100, M r = 31,000 lb/in 2
f) CBR of subbase =22, M r = 13,500 lb/in 2
g) CBR of subgrade = 6, M r = 1500CBR= 6*1500 = 9000 lb/in 2
h) Rural interstate
i) Parameter values:
j) Reliability level (R ) = 99%
k) Standard Deviation (So ) = 0.49,
l) Initial serviceability, p i = 4.5
m) Terminal serviceability, p t = 2.5
n) Drainage mi values = 0.8 for “Fair” category and “Greater than 25%” category
Design the pavement section by AASHTO method

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CHAPTER TWO: PAVEMENT

2.1 Definition and types of pavement

Transportation Engineering-II/snlkhyaju@gmail.com/nec Page 75

2.2 Factors affecting pavement design

Transportation Engineering-II/snlkhyaju@gmail.com/nec Page 76

Single axle with dual wheels=8.16 ton

Tandem axle with double wheels =14.5 ton

Tridem axle with double wheels

Transportation Engineering-II/snlkhyaju@gmail.com/nec Page 77

iii) Contact pressure

iv. Vehicle distribution factor

Transportation Engineering-II/snlkhyaju@gmail.com/nec Page 78

Initial traffic volu me in terms of nu mber Terrain

vi) Vehicle speed

vii) Repetition of loads

4. Pavement component material

2.3 Difference between rigid and flexible pavement

Transportation Engineering-II/snlkhyaju@gmail.com/nec Page 79

Transportation Engineering-II/snlkhyaju@gmail.com/nec Page 80

Design Constructed in number of Laid in slabs with steel reinforcement.

Temperature No stress is produced Stress is produced

2.4.1 Overseas Road Note 31

THE DESIGN PROCESS

Transportation Engineering-II/snlkhyaju@gmail.com/nec Page 81

Where, P = number of commercial vehicles per last count

Pavement thickness design charts.

Transportation Engineering-II/snlkhyaju@gmail.com/nec Page 87

Number of lanes in each direction Percent of 18-kip ESAL in design lane DL

Functional classification Recommended level of reliability

Transportation Engineering-II/snlkhyaju@gmail.com/nec Page 98

Standard normal deviates for various levels of reliability

Resilient Modulus (psi) a1

Transportation Engineering-II/snlkhyaju@gmail.com/nec Page 99

Quality of Percentage of time pavement is exposed to moisture levels approaching saturation

General design procedure

Transportation Engineering-II/snlkhyaju@gmail.com/nec Page 100

SN2 E1=400,000 psi, a1 =0.42 D1

SN3 E2=30,000 psi, a2=0.14 , m2 =1.2 D2

2.4.4 Asphalt Institute method

Transportation Engineering-II/snlkhyaju@gmail.com/nec Page 102

Computation of design traffic

Pavement Thickness and Composition

Transportation Engineering-II/snlkhyaju@gmail.com/nec Page 104

3. Assume traffic growth rate (r) = 7%

Transportation Engineering-II/snlkhyaju@gmail.com/nec Page 105

Types of Rigid pavement

Slab length 300 to 700 ft.

Factors affecting Design

Loading positions for Rigid Pavement Design

Transportation Engineering-II/snlkhyaju@gmail.com/nec Page 106

2.5 Analysis of stresses: Westergaad’s stress equation

Modulus of subgrade reaction

Transportation Engineering-II/snlkhyaju@gmail.com/nec Page 107

2.6 Stress due to Load, Temperature and sub grade friction

Transportation Engineering-II/snlkhyaju@gmail.com/nec Page 108

=( ) where =temperature at top of concrete slab

Transportation Engineering-II/snlkhyaju@gmail.com/nec Page 109

2.7 Design of Rigid Pavement: IRC Design Guidelines, DoR Guidelines