Analysis & Design of Pavement

MUDULE- II (B)
Dr. R. K. Kar
 Functions and characteristics of
pavement
Pavement is a reinforcing layers provided on the top of the subgrade
to protect it and distribute the load or stress over a greater area
thereby reducing the effect of load.
• It should be structurally strong enough to withstand stresses
imposed on it.
• It should be thick enough to distribute the external loads to a safe
value on subgrade.
• It should provide a reasonable hard surface.
• It should be textured and rough to prevent skidding.
• It should have a dust free surface for safety.
• It should have a good riding quality.
• It should have as low friction with tyre as possible.
• It should be impervious to water.
• It should have long life and low maintenance cost.
• It is desirable to construct the pavement well above the maximum
level of the ground water to keep the subgrade dry even in
monsoon.
 Types

• Flexible
• Rigid
• Semi-rigid
• Composite
Contd…
 Flexible pavement
• Flexible pavements are those which have low or negligible
f lexural strength and are rather f lexible in their structural
action under loads.
• Flexible pavement is a layered structure consisting of
subgrade, subbase, base and surface course. Elastic three
layered structure, resting on subgrade.
• Flexible pavem en t layer s t r an sm it t he ver t ical o r
compressive loads to lower layers by grain to grain transfer
through points of contact in the granular structure.
• The vertical compressive stress is maximum on the
pavement surface directly under the wheel load and is equal
to the contact pressure under the wheel. Due to the ability
to distribute the stress to a larger area in the shape of a
truncated cone, the stresses get decreased at the lower
layers.
• Considering the above stress distribution the upper layers
are of superior materials than the lower layers.
• Flexible pavement layers ref lect the deformation of the
lower layers on to the
Contd…
Contd…
 Rigid pavement
• Rigid pavements are those which possess noteworthy
flexural strength or flexural rigidity.
• Stresses are not transferred from grain to grain to the
lower layers as on case of f lexible pavement but by slab
action (bending of slab). The main point of difference in
structural behavior is that the critical condition of stress
in the rigid pavement is the maximum f lexural stress
o ccu rrin g in t h e s l a b d u e t o wh eel l o a d a n d
temperature changes whereas in f lexible pavement it is
the distribution of compressive stresses.
• Rigid pavements are made of plain or reinforced or
prestressed concrete.
• Rigid pavement does not get deformed to the shape of
the lower surface as in case of flexible pavement.
• It is made of CC slab supported on the subgrade with
or without provision of subbase.
 Factors influencing design of
Flexible pavement
Design life
• Design life is the time elapsed as a new,
reconstructed/rehabilitated pavement structure deteriorates
from its initial level of serviceability to its terminal value of
serviceability. As per IRC:37 it is 20 years for NH and SH, for
very high density corridors (>300 msa) and expressways
long life at least for a minimum period of 30 years and 15
years for other category of roads.
Reliability
• This concept was introduced by AASHTO. Reliability stands
for the probability that any particular type of distress will
remain below or within the permissible level during design
life. This concept incorporates a certain amount of certainty
that the designed pavement would serve satisfactorily
during the entire design life. IRC:37 introduces two reliability
levels 90% and 80% both in fatigue and rutting models.
 Contd..
Traffic factors
• Wheel load: It causes stress and strains in pavement layers
and subgrade. Ty re pressure determines the area of
application. Effect of total static load on each wheel, multiple
wheel load assembly and axle configuration affects the design.
• Impact: Irregularities on surface and at joints cause additional
load due to impact.
• Repetition of wheel loads: Apart from single wheel load design
criterion, the cumulative load applications during the design
life cause elastic and plastic deformations leading to fatigue
damage.
• Position of wheel loads across the pavement: Concentration of
wheel loads at a localized width of pavement may cause extra
distress.
• Iron tyred wheels: Bullock cart or tractor with iron tyre can
cause severe distress in pavements.
• Traff ic growth rate: Rate of growth of traff ic for the design
period affects the total traff ic for which the road is to be
designed. May be taken as 5% in absence of any data.
 Contd…
Subgrade strength and drainage
• Properties of subgrade influence the thickness of pavement.
The stress strain behaviour of subgrade under static and
repeated loads along with variations in stability and volume
with changes in moisture content affects the design.
Surface and sub-surface drainage of pavement and from
the adjoining land affect subgrade strength and hence the
design.
Road geometry
• Pavement on horizontal curves is subjected to extra
stresses, good example being the portion at junctions.
Pavements on grades are also subjected to extra stresses
due to acceleration/deceleration and braking.
Pavement component materials
• The fatigue behaviour, durability and other physical
properties of the materials used in different layers under
adverse conditions of weather and environment affect the
stress distribution characteristics and hence the design.
 Contd…
Climatic factors
• Rainfall affects pavement drainage
including softening of subgrade and can
thus be signif ic ant factor. Frost heave
can also disturb the pavement structure.
Daily and seasonal variation in
temperature can affect the performance
of pavement.
 Factors affecting design of Rigid
pavement
Loading
• Wheel loads and its repetitions
• Area of contact of wheel
• Location of load with respect to slab
• Wheel base characteristics
Properties of subgrade
• Subgrade strength properties
• Sub-base provision or omission
Properties of concrete
• Strength
• Modulus of elasticity
• Poisson’s ratio
• Shrinkage properties (coefficient of thermal expansion)
• Fatigue behaviour
 Contd…
External conditions
• Temperature changes
• Friction between slab and subgrade
Joints
• Arrangement of joints
Reinforcement
• Quantity of reinforcement
• Continuous reinforcement
Design Life
Generally 30 years
 Contd…
Wheel load and its repetitions
• The wheel load induces stresses in the slab. Greater
the wheel load greater the stresses. The legal axil
load currently in use is 100 kN (10.2 t) for single axle
186 kN (19 t) for tandem and 235 kN (24 t) for
tridem axles. Impact can be of serious concern in
the design of concrete slabs, especially at joins and
it can be minimized with use of eff ic ient load
transferring device.
• The number of repetitions of wheel load has
signif icant effect on rigid pavement performance
and the serviceability index decreases as the
n umbe r o f re p et i t i o n s i n c rea s e s . T he l o a d
repetitions can be assessed by knowing the present
traff ic and the expected rate of growth of traff ic
over the design period.
 Contd…
Area of contact of wheel
• The wheel load from the pneumatic tyre is transmitted to
the slab over a contact area which is determined by the tyre
pressure. The contact area is assumed to be circular. For
most commercial highway vehicles this ranges from about
0.7 to 1.0 MPa and 0.8 MPa is taken for design. Concrete
pavement having thickness > 200 mm are not affected
significantly in the variation of tyre pressure 0.7 to 1.0 MPa.
Location of load with respect to slab
• Three positions of loading are generally considered for
estimating the stresses in a slab. Interior loading produces
tensile stress at bottom of slab, edge loading produces
tensile stress at bottom of the slab parallel to the edge and
another small tensile stress at the top of slab at right angles
to the edge. Corner loading produces tensile stress at the
top of the slab parallel to the bisector of corner angle.
Contd…
 Contd…
Wheel base characteristics
• Wheel bases of trucks vary from 3.6 m to 5.0 m and
commonly used spacing of transverse joint is 4.5 m. Thus,
both (front and rear) axles with spacing more than 4.5 m are
not expected to contribute to top-down fatigue cracking.
Hence, spacing between the front and f irst rear axle less than
the proposed spacing of transverse joints is important for
computing top-down fatigue cracking damage.
Subgrade strength and properties
• The supporting power of soil subgrade is generally measured
by the plate bearing test, using a 75 cm dia circular plate. The
property measured is the modulus of subgrade reaction, k
which is a measure of the resistance of the soil to deformation
under the pressure caused by the bending slab. A minimum
subgrade CBR of 8% is recommended for design. Other
properties affecting pavement performance are drainage
characteristics, susceptibility to volumetric changes with
changes in moisture content and susceptibility to frost action.
 Contd…
Sub-base provision or omission
• Sub-base is a layer of selected granular material placed
on the subgrade soil and immediately below the
concrete pavement. Alternatively, Dry Lean Concrete
(DLC) having 7-day average compressive strength of 10
MPa is recommended, the minimum thickness of DLC
for major highways being 150 mm. The functions of
sub-base are;
• To provide a uniform and reasonably f irm pavement
support
• To prevent mud-pumping on clays and silts
• To prevent or reduce frost action
• To provide a levelling course
• To act as capillary cut-off
• Sub base adds to the strength of subgrade soil.
 Contd…
Strength of concrete:
• Concrete has a very high crushing strength and rarely fails in
compression in pavement. Flexural strength should not less
than 4.5 MPa.
• fcr= 0.7 √fck
Modulus of elasticity (E )
• E of concrete increases with increase in its strength. It plays an
important role in determining the relative stiffness of slab and
hence is a governing factor in design. Its value is about 3x104
MPa.
• E = 5000 √fck
Poisson’s ratio
• It is needed in the determination of stresses in concrete slab
and decreases with increase in the value of E. Its value is 0.15.
 Contd…
Shrinkage properties of concrete
• Concrete expands slightly during setting due to
hydration of cement, but on subsequent drying it
shrinks. Such shrinkage causes some stresses.
Subsequent changes in moisture content may also
cause shrinkage or expansion, resulting in additional
stresses in the slab.
Fatigue behavior
• As concrete is subjected to repetitive stress,
progressive permanent internal structural damage
takes place. As the ratio of f lexural stress to f lexural
strength (stress ratio) increases the concrete is able
to resist fewer and fewer repetitions. When the
stress ratio is less than 0.45 concrete will virtually
withstand infinite repetitions without any reduction
in load carrying capacity.
 Contd…
Temperature changes:
• Mean temperature cycles, daily and annual of concrete pavement affects
the maximum spacing of contraction and expansion joints. Changes in the
temperature gradient through the slab will cause differential expansion or
contraction between top and bottom of the slab. Slab tends to warp and is
prevented from warping due to slab weight and friction at load
transferring devices inducing stresses.
• The expansion and contraction of the slab due to temperature changes is
restrained due to the friction between the subgrade and the slab.
Friction between slab and sub-grade
• The amount of friction between the slab and the subgrade determines
the restraint imposed on expansion and contraction due to temperature
changes. The spacing of joints is also affected by friction.
Arrangement of Joints
• The joints are needed for allowing expansion, contraction and warping of
slab caused by reasons discussed above. The spacing and arrangements of
joints govern the stresses induced in the slab.
Reinforcement
• The amount of reinforcement is an important consideration in design.
Recently continuously reinforced concrete pavements are being
constructed.
 Procedure for design of flexible
pavement as per IRC:37:2018
• Computation of design traffic
The design traff ic (N) in terms of cumulative number of standard
axles in msa in design years is computed from N = A*D*F*[365*{(1 + r) n

– 1}/r], where ‘A’ is initial traff ic in the year of completion of

construction in number of CVPD, given by A = P (1+ r ) ; ‘D’ is lane
x

distribution factor; ‘F’ is vehicle damage factor; ‘n’ is design life in

years; ‘r’ is annual growth rate of commercial vehicles in decimal
(0.05); ‘P’ is number of commercial vehicles (gross laden weight ≥ 30
kN) as per last count and ‘x’ is number of years between last count
and year of completion of construction.
• Subgrade CBR
If the type of soil used in different stretches of the subgrade varies
along the length of the pavement, the CBR value of each type of soil
should be the average of at least three specimens prepared using
that soil. 90 percentile subgrade CBR value should be adopted for
th

the design of high volume roads such as Expressways, National

Highways, State Highways and Urban roads. For other categories of
roads, the design can be done based on the 80 percentile CBR value
th

if the design traff ic is less than 20 msa and based on 90 percentile

th

CBR if the design traff ic is 20 msa or more. Where there is signif icant
difference between the CBRs of the selected subgrade and
embankment soil, the design is based on effective CBR/modulus of
 Contd…
• Selection of trial composition
The expected functional requirements of the layers in
a high performing pavement, such as a strong
subgrade, a well-drained sub-base strong enough to
withstand the construction traff ic loads, a strong
crack, ruttin g an d mo isture damage resistan t
bituminous base and a bituminous surfacing that is
resistant to rutting, top-down cracking and to
damages caused by exposure to environment are to
be considered while selecting a trial composition.
• Bituminous mix design and mix resilient modulus
Sources of the materials for the mix are to be decided
based on the physical requirements and other
properties as per IRC Specif ications. The design mix is
arrived at by trials and testing. The resilient modulus
of the mix to be used in pavement design, either
obtained by test or empirical equations, is to be as per
IRC37.
 Contd…
• Layer thickness
The selection of trial thicknesses of various layers of the
pavement is based on the designers’ experience and
subject to the minimum thicknesses from functional and
constructability considerations, recommended by IRC 37.
• Structural analysis of pavement using IITPAVE
This is to be done by running the IITPAVE software using
as inputs the layer thicknesses, the layer moduli, the layer
Poisson’s ratio values, the standard axle load of 80 kN
distributed on four wheels (20 kN on each wheel), and a
tyre pressure as 0.56 MPa. For carrying out fatigue
damage analysis of cement treated bases, the axle load
under consideration and a contact pressure of 0.80 MPa
will be considered. The program will output the stresses,
strains and def lections at selected critical locations in the
pavement from which the values of critical mechanistic
parameters can be identified for design.
 Contd…
• Computations of allowable strains
The allowable strains in the bituminous layer and subgrade for
the selected design traff ic are to be estimated using the
fatigue and rutting performance (limiting strain) models given
in IRC 37. The inputs to the models are the design period of
pavement in terms of cumulative standard axles, the resilient
modulus value of the bottom layer bituminous mix, and the
volumetric proportions (air voids and effective binder) of the
mix. For estimating the limiting tensile strain in the CTB layer,
the elastic modulus of the CTB material is an input.
• Iterations
A few iterations may be required by changing the layer
thicknesses until the strains computed by IITPAVE are less than
the allowable strains derived from performance models.
• Check for cumulative fatigue damage
Where cementitious bases are used in the pavement, the
cumulative fatigue damage analysis is required to be done as
done in the case of rigid pavement design to make sure that
the cumulative proportion of damage caused by the expected
axle load spectrum does not exceed unity.
 Contd…
• Use of design catalogue
In the case of relatively low traff ic volume roads,
with design traff ic not exceeding 50 msa, and in
situations where investigations prior to design are
not feasible on account of exigencies, a thickness
design catalogue is provided in these Guidelines to
help the highway authorities in expeditious project
approval and procurement. It needs to be borne in
mind that the design assumptions made in the
preparation of the catalogues need to be fulfilled in
actual execution. In case there are deviations from
these assumptions, the design should be revised
following the procedure explained above. For
design traff ic upto 2 msa, IRC:SP:72:2015 may be
referred to.
 Load stress in rigid pavement
•
• The stresses at interior, edge and corner
regions of a CC slab are given by
Westergaard as:
• σint = 0.316 (P/h2){4log10(l/b) + 1.069}
• σedge = 0.572 (P/h2){4log10(l/b) + 0.359}
• σc = (3P/h2){1 – ( a√2/l)0.6}
 Contd…
• Temp stress
Temperature stress (MPa) at critical edge region is
• σ = Eα∆TC/2
et

E = modulus of elasticity of concrete MPa

α = coeff icient of thermal expansion of concrete, /
C
0

∆T = max. temp. differential during day between

top and bottom of slab, C
0

C = Bradbury’s coeff icient, which can be directly

obtained from Bradbury’s chart for values of L/l or
W/l where L is spacing of contraction joint in mm
and W is width of slab in mm and l is radius of
relative stiffness in mm.
 Joints in rigid pavement
• Joints have significant effect on the performance of pavement
and hence are to be properly designed and maintained. These
joints may be longitudinal or transverse.
• Longitudinal joints are required in pavement for carriageway
greater than 4.5 m to allow for transverse contraction and
warping. This joint is likely to open up during the service
period and tie bars are to be provided to take care of this.
• Transverse joints may be expansion, contraction and
construction joints.
• Expansion joints are full depth joints to allow expansion of CC
slab due to rise of average temperature in summer. As these
are likely to get f illed up with dirt and other incompressible
materials, which prevent free expansion of slab, no more used
except near permanent structure like bridges and culverts.
• Contraction joints relieve the tensile stresses in CC pavement
and its spacing depends upon type of coarse aggregates and
average temperature fluctuations. Maximum spacing is limited
to 4.5 m to prevent top-down cracking during night.
• Construction joint is a full depth joint and should, as far as
possible, be placed at contraction joints except in case of
emergency when a key joint may be used.
 Procedure for design of rigid
pavement as per IRC:58:2015
• Design values for various parameters (properties
of subgrade, subbase, properties of concrete,
design period, traff ic growth rate, present traff ic
with axle configurations, temperature differential,
joints spacing etc.) are decided.
• Trial thickness of CC slab is selected.
• Cumulative number of axle load repetitions of
different magnitudes and different categories is
computed.
• Proportion of axle load repetitions during day and
night is computed.
• Axle load repetitions during day (10:00am to
4:00pm) are estimated and the temperature
differential is assumed to remain constant during
this period for analysis of bottom-up cracking.
 Contd…
• Axle load repetitions during night (00:00am to 6:00am) are
estimated. Only those vehicles with spacing between front
axle and f irst rear axle less than transverse joint spacing are
considered for top-down cracking. For the analysis of top-
down cracking the temperature differential taken is half of
that taken during day time plus 5 0 C.
• Flexural stress at edge due to rear single and tandem axle
loads for combined effect of axle load and temperature
differential during day time is computed. Then, stress ratio
and corresponding allowable repetitions along with fatigue
damage for the above axles are computed and the cumulative
fatigue damage (CFD) is calculated for bottom up cracking.
• Flexural stress in the central area of slab with front axle near
the approaching transverse joint and rear axle close to the
following joint in the same panel under negative temperature
differential is computed. Then, stress ratio and corresponding
allowable repetitions along with fatigue damage for different
axles are computed and the cumulative fatigue damage (CFD)
is calculated for top-down cracking.
• Sum of CFD for bottom up cracking and top-down cracking is
found and should be less than 1.0 for trial thickness of
pavement to be safe against fatigue cracking.
 Equivalent single wheel load
• (ESWL)
To carry maximum load within the specified limit and to
carry greater load, dual wheel, or dual tandem assembly
is often used.
• Equivalent single wheel load (ESWL) is the single wheel
load having the same contact pressure, which produces
same value of maximum stress, deflection, tensile stress
or contact pressure at the desired depth.
• The procedure of f in ding the ESWL for equal stress
criteria is provided below. This is a semi-rational method,
known as Boyd and Foster method, based on the
following assumptions:
• equivalency concept is based on equal stress;
• contact area is circular;
• influence angle is 45 degree ; and
• soil medium is elastic, homogeneous, and isotropic half
space.
 Contd…

ESWL-Equal stress concept

Contd…
 Contd…
• The ESWL is given by:

• where P is the wheel load, S is the

center to center distance between the
two wheels, d is the clear distance
between two wheels, and z is the
desired depth.
Contd…
 Equivalent single axle load (ESAL)
• Vehicles can have many axles which will distribute the
load into different axles, and in turn to the pavement
through the wheels.
• A standard truck has two axles, front axle with two
wheels and rear axle with four wheels.
• But to carry large loads multiple axles are provided. Since
the design of f lexible pavements is by layered theory,
only the wheels on one side needed to be considered.
• On the other hand, the design of rigid pavement is by
plate theory and hence the wheel loads on both sides of
axle need to be considered.
• Legal axle load: The maximum allowed axle load on the
roads is called legal axle load. For highways the
maximum legal axle load in India, specif ied by IRC, is 10
tonnes.
• Standard axle load: It is a single axle load with dual wheel
carrying 80 KN load and the design of pavement is based
on the standard axle load.
Contd…
Contd…
 ASSIGNMENT
• Calculate the stresses due to load at interior, edge and corner
regions of a CC pavement for (i) legal single axle load and (ii)
legal tandem axle load for modulus of subgrade reaction k as
75 MPa/m, slab thickness 225 mm, Grade of concrete M40
and radius of contact area 150 mm. Assume any suitable data,
if required.
• Find ESWL at depths of 10 cm, 30 cm and 60 cm for a dual
wheel carrying 2050 N each. The center to center tyre spacing
is 30 cm and distance between the walls of the two tyres is
20 cm.
• Let number of load repetition expected by 60 kN standard
axle is 1000, 120 kN is 200 and 40 kN is 10000. Find the
equivalent axle load.
• Calculate the edge warping stress for modulus of elasticity as
3x10 MPa, slab thickness as 330 mm, Poisson’s ratio as 0.15,
modulus of subgrade reaction as 75 MPa/m, width of
carriageway as 3.5 m and joint spacing as 4.5 m with temp
differential of 21 0
C.
THANKS