Highway Engineering

Dr. Eman Magdy Ibrahim Youssef

Assistant professor, Civil Engineering Department, Delta Higher Institute of Engineering and Technology

1
April - 2022
 Structure Design

Ability to analyze and design flexible and rigid pavements

 Pavement types, design factors

 Material characterization

Subgrade
Subbase and base
Binder
HMA
 What is The Pavement?
A multi layer system that distributes the vehicular loads over a larger area
 Pavement Structural Types

Flexible
• Asphalt concrete (AC)

Rigid
Flexible
Rigid
• Portland cement concrete (PCC)

Composite
• Asphalt + Portland cement concrete
• Stabilized granular layers

Composite
 Flexible Pavement Layers

Very Strong
Durable
Impermeable
Manufacture
Surface
d Expensive Strong Free-
Draining
Base Manufactured
Less Expensive

Subbase
Moderate Strength
Free-Draining
Natural Material
Inexpensive
Weak Moisture
Subgrade Sensitive In Situ
Soil
 Objective of Pavement Design

To provide a surface that is : Material Types

Strong Unbound
• Traffic Loads • Natural (i.e., subgrade)
• Environmental Conditions • Select (i.e., subbase, base)
Smooth Asphalt concrete
• Ride Quality
• Portland cement concrete
Safe • Stabilized materials
• Friction
• Cement stabilized
• Drainage
• Bituminous stabilized
Economical
Bedrock
• Initial Construction Cost
• Maintenance Cost Recycled
Sustainable
Material Properties Needed for Design

Pavement response model material inputs

• Modulus (stiffness)
• Poisson’s ratio

Materials-related pavement distress criteria

• Permanent deformation resistance
• Fatigue resistance
• Strength
Other materials properties
• Density
• Permeability
• Thermal expansion coefficient
 Material Models
Linear elasticity
• Asphalt
• Stabilized layers
• Unbound layers

Linear viscoelasticity
• Asphalt

Nonlinear (all materials, to some extent)

• Nonlinear elasticity
• Plasticity
• Nonlinear viscoelasticity
• Viscoelasticity
 Subgrade/Base/Subbase Strength/Stiffness
Loading Piston External LVDT

Frame
Cell Pressure Inlet

Load Cell
Chamber Top Platen
Soil Specimen

LVDT LVDT Clamp

Inside Rods
Bottom Platen

Resistance Value (R-Value)

Resilient Modulus (MR)
California Bearing Ratio (CBR)

Modulus of Subgrade Reaction (K)

 California Bearing Ratio (CBR)

• CBR: California Bearing Ratio Test • Used in Pavement Design

• Developed by The California State Highways

Department in 1930. • Performed on unbound

• Resistance of the material to uniaxial penetration. layers:

• Measure of soil shear strength relative to standard • Subgrade layer,

crushed stone material.
• Subbase layer
• Field and laboratory test.
• base layer.
 California Bearing Ratio (CBR)

• Load a piston (area = 3 in2) at a

constant rate (0.05 in/min)
• Record Load every 0.1 in penetration
• Total penetration not to exceed 0.5
in.
• Draw Load-Penetration Curve.

•Surcharge weights are added during

testing and soaking to:
• measure • Simulate the weight of pavement.
swelling and CBR
•Prevent heaving up around the
• Soaking piston.
Samples for 4 days
 CBR Curves
700

600

500
Load (Ib)
400

300

200 Standard Curve

100 Need correction

0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6

Penetration (in)
 CBR Calculation

 Load or Stress of Soil 

CBR  100 
 Load or Stress of Standard Rocks 
Loads and Stresses Corresponding to 0.1 and 0.2 inches Penetration for the Standard Rocks
Penetration 0.1” (2.5 mm) 0.2” (5.0 mm)
Load of Standard Rocks (Ib) 3000 4500

Load of Standard Rocks (kN) 13.24 19.96

Stress of Standard Rocks (KPa) 6895 10342

Stress of Standard Rocks (psi) 1000 1500

Calculate CBR at 0.1 in (2.5 mm) and 0.2 in (5.0 mm) deformation
then use the Maximum value as the design CBR.
CBR Curve Correction
 Influence of Moisture upon CBR

700

600

500

CBR
400

300

200

100

0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6

Moisture Content

Use relevant value of moisture content when assessing soils under laboratory conditions.
CBR Curve
 Resistance Value (R-Value)
• Developed by California Division of
Highways: 1940s

• Measures frictional resistance of granular

material to deformation

• Uses the Hveem Stabilometer

• Tests material in a saturated condition

(worst case scenario
 R-value Test (ASTM D2844)

100
R  100  Pv = applied vertical pressure (typically
2.5 Pv
( )(  1)  1 160 psi)
D2 Ph Ph = transmitted horizontal pressure
D2 = displacement of stabilometer fluid
Pv necessary to increase horizontal
pressure from 5 to 100 psi.

Ph
 Typical R-Value Ranges
General Soil Type USCS Soil Type R-Value Range
GW
Clean gravels 30 – 80
GP
GM
Gravels with fines 30 – 80
GC
SW
Clean sands 10 – 50
SP
SM
Sands with fines 20 – 60
SC
ML 5 – 20
CL 5 – 20
OL <7
Silts and clays
MH 5 – 20
CH 5 – 20
OH <7
 Resilient Modulus (MR)

• Measures “stiffness” of the material under repeated load.

Deviator stress 1   3
MR  
Recoverabl e strain r

• Determines the load carrying capacity of the material.

• Used for HMA as well as unbound materials

• Uses a repeated load triaxial test.

• Used in most modern methods of pavement design.

 Triaxial Test Equipment

Loading Piston External LVDT

Frame
Cell Pressure Inlet

Load Cell
Chamber Top Platen
Soil Specimen

LVDT LVDT Clamp

Inside Rods
Bottom Platen
Typical Stress Strain Response During one Loading Cycle

Stress vs. Time Strain vs. Time

 Resilient Modulus (MR)

Animation from University of Tokyo Geotechnical Engineering Lab

 Nonlinear Material Behavior
Coarse-Grained Material Fine-Grained Soils
MR  K3 oct
K4

MR  K1 K2
Octahedral shear stress:
• Bulk stress: q = s1 + s2 + s3
• K1, K2 are material constants
• K1 > 0 • K3, K4 are material constants
• K2 ≥ 0 (stress-stiffening) • K3 > 0
• K4 ≤ 0 (stress-softening)
 Combined Stress Dependence of MR

k2 k3
    oct 
M R  k1 pa  


 P  1

 Pa   a 
(NCHRP 1-37A)

Bulk (Confining) Stress Shear (Deviatoric) Stress

• Stiffening term (k2 > 0) • Softening Term (k3 < 0)
• Dominates for coarse granular • Dominates for fine-grained
soils (base, subbase) soils (subgrade)
 Effect of Stress on MR
Coarse Materials Fine Materials
log MR log MR

log  log oct

Bulk Stress  Stiffening Shear Stress  Softening

 = 1 + 2 + 3

 = I = Bulk stress = First stress invariant oct = Octahedral shear stress

 Effect of Moisture/Density on MR

log MR log MR

S dry
Moisture  Softening Density  Stiffening
 Correlations

Correlation Example
• Conversions between CBR, R-value, MR
MR vs. R-value for some Washington
• Important points: State soils

• No direct correlation
• Each test measures a fundamentally
different property MR

• Developed correlations are only for

limited data sets

R-Value
 Correlations (CBR  MR)
M R  1500CBR 
Origin: Heukelom and Klomp (1962)
Limitation: Fine-grained non-expansive soils with soaked CBR  10

M R  2555CBR 
0.64

Origin: NCHRP 1-37A – Mechanistic Design Guide

Limitation: No Limitation

Units for Both Models: CBR  % EX: 80% use 80

MR  psi
 Correlations
1500CBR   1155
R  Value 
555
Origin: HDOT
Limitation: Fine-grained non-expansive soils with soaked CBR  8

M R  1000  555R Value 

Origin: 1993 AASHTO Guide

Limitation: Fine-grained non-expansive soils with R  20
 Plate Loading Test
• Measure supporting power of subgrades,
subbase, bases and a complete pavement.

• Field test.

• Data from the test are applicable for design

Plate Loading Test Schematic
of both flexible and rigid pavements.

• Results might need some corrections.

Plate Loading Test

 Modulus of Subgrade Reaction (k)

•Required for rigid pavement design.

P
K
Δ
K = modulus of subgrade reaction (pci)
P = unit load on the plate (stress) (psi)
D = deflection of the plate (in)

• For design use stress P = 10 psi (68.95 kN/m2)

 Effect of Plate Size
Corrections for K
p = n + m (P/A)
p = Unit load (stress) • Correction due to saturation (worst case
n, m = Empirical values obtained by test scenario).
P/A = Perimeter over area
• Correction due to bending of the plates.
 Correction Due to saturation
u
Ks  Ku
s
Ks = modulus of subgrade reaction corrected for saturation
Ku = field modulus of subgrade reaction
Du/Ds = ratio of the deflection in the unsaturated and saturated
tests
 Correction due to Bending of the Plates

• Some bending of the plates might occur When materials of

high modulus are tested.
• Use chart for correction of k for plate bending.

Basic Plate Loading Test Types

Static Load Repeated Load

ANY QUESTIONS