FLEXIBLE PAVEMENTS

Main categories of highway pavements

1. Flexible pavement
2. Rigid pavement
 FLEXIBLE PAVEMENTS
Flexible pavements usually consist of a bituminous surface underlaid with a layer
of granular material and a layer of a suitable mixture of coarse and fine materials.
Groups of flexible pavement
1. High type – quality that is not susceptible to weather conditions and is capable
of adequately supporting the expected traffic load without visible distress due
to fatigue.
2. Intermediate type – quality is between high type pavements and surface
treated roads.
3. Low type – quality ranges from untreated loose natural materials to surface
treated earth. Mainly used for low cost roads.
STRUCTURAL COMPONENTS
 STRUCTURAL COMPONENTS
Structural components of flexible pavements
1. Subgrade
2. Subbase course
3. Base course
4. Surface course
 STRUCTURAL COMPONENTS
The subgrade is usually the natural material located along the horizontal alignment
of the pavement and serves as the foundation of the pavement or track structure.
The subgrade consists of a layer of selected material that is obtained from
somewhere else and properly compacted to meet certain specifications.
 STRUCTURAL COMPONENTS
The subbase is located immediately above the subgrade and consists of material of a
superior quality of material than the subgrade.
 STRUCTURAL COMPONENTS
The base is located immediately above the subgrade and is constructed of better
quality material than the subbase.
 STRUCTURAL COMPONENTS
The surface course is the topmost course of highway and is constructed above the
base course. Flexible pavements have surface course that consists of a mixture of
mineral aggregates and asphalt.
SOIL STABILIZATION
 SOIL STABILIZATION
Soil stabilization is the treatment of natural soil to improve its engineering
properties.
Soil stabilization methods
1. Mechanical stabilization – the blending of different grades of soils to obtain a
required grade.
2. Chemical stabilization – the blending of the natural soil with chemical agents
like Portland cement, asphalt and lime.
 SOIL STABILIZATION
❖ Cement stabilized soil is a mixture of water, soil and measured amounts of
Portland cement thoroughly mixed and compacted to a high density then cured
sufficiently.
❖ Soil cement is a hardened material obtained by mechanically compacting a
mixture of finely crushed soil, water and a quantity of Portland cement that will
make the mixture meet certain durability requirements.
❖ Cement-modified soil is a semi-hardened or unhardened mixture of water,
Portland cement and finely crushed soil. It contains less cement than the soil
cement mixture.
❖ Plastic soil cement is a hardened material obtained by mixing finely crushed soil,
Portland cement and a quantity of water with the consistency of mortar.
❖ Soil-lime is a mixture of lime, water and fine-grained soil.
 CEMENT STABILIZATION
Cement stabilization of soils usually involves the addition of 5 to 14 percent
Portland cement by volume of the compacted mixture to the soil being stabilized.
Mixing is either carried out on site or in a central plant.
 ASPHALT STABILIZATION
Asphalt stabilization is carried out to achieve waterproofing of natural materials
and binding of natural materials. The amount of asphalt ranges from 4 to 7 percent
of the dry soil aggregate.
 LIME STABILIZATION
Lime stabilization is used in stabilizing base and subbase course. The lime added
ranges from 3 to 12 percent of dry soil.
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
 PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
In design, the pavement structure is considered as a multilayered elastic system,
with the material in each layer characterized by certain physical properties that
may include the modulus of elasticity, the resilient modulus and the Poisson ratio.
 PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
Factors considered in design based on the procedure of the AASHTO design method
1. Pavement performance
2. Traffic load
3. Road bed soils
4. Materials of construction
5. Environment
6. Drainage
7. Reliability
 PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
PAVEMENT PERFORMANCE
Pavement performance includes the capability of the pavement to carry traffic loads
and its serviceability to the user. The performance of the pavement is based on the
present serviceability index (PSI) that is measured based on pavement roughness
and distress.
The PSI scales from 0 (very poor) to 5 (very good). Newly constructed highways
have a PSI of 4.5 and a PSI of 2 for well used highways. Rehabilitation increases the
PSI to 4 and drops as the highway accumulates traffic load.
 PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
TRAFFIC LOADS
The design for traffic loads using the AASHTO method is based on the 18000 lb (9
tons) single axle load applied to the pavement on two sets of dual tires. A flexible
pavement is designed using a design period of 20 years. A design period is the
number of years the pavement will effectively continue to carry the traffic load
without requiring an overlay.
 PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
TRAFFIC LOADS
Some typical load equivalency factors for flexible pavement
Axle type Axle load (lbs) Load Equivalency Factor
Single Axle 2000 0.0003
10,000 0.118
14,000 0.399
18,000 1
20,000 1.4
30,000 7.9
Tandem axle 2000 0.0001
10,000 0.011
18,000 0.109
20,000 0.162
30,000 0.703
40,000 2.06
 PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
TRAFFIC LOADS
The relationship between axle weight and inflicted pavement damage is not linear
but exponential.
❖ An 18,000 lbs (9 tons) single axle does over 3,000 times more damage to a
pavement than a 2,000 lbs (1 ton) single axle.
❖ A 30,000 lbs (15 tons) single axle does about 67 times more damage than a
10,000 lbs (5 tons) single axle.
❖ A 30,000 lb (15 tons) single axle does about 11 times more damage than a
30,000 lb (15 tons) tandem axle.
Heavy trucks and buses are responsible for a majority of pavement damage.
 PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
ROADBED SOILS (SUBGRADE MATERIAL)
A measure of the strength of the subgrade is its resilient modulus, 𝑀𝑟 , which gives
the resilient characteristics of the soil when it is repeatedly loaded with an axle
load. An alternative engineering property is the California Bearing Ratio (CBR),
which gives the relative strength of the subgrade with respect to crushed rock.
Soil suitability for pavement construction:
1. Soils classified as A-1-a, A-1-b, A-2-4, A-2-5, and A-3 under the AASHTO
classification system can be used satisfactorily as subgrade material if properly
drained.
2. Materials classified as A-2-6, A-2-7, A-4, A-6, A-7-5, and A-7-6 will require a
layer of subbase material if used as subgrade.
 SOIL CLASSIFICATION
ROADBED SOILS (SUBGRADE MATERIAL)
 PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
MATERIALS OF CONSTRUCTION
General groups of materials for construction of flexible pavement
1. Subbase construction materials
2. Base construction materials
3. Surface construction materials
Materials for base and subbase courses must satisfy the general requirements for
an acceptable base and subbase material.
The material used as the surface course in flexible pavements is asphalt concrete.
This is a uniformly mixed combination of asphalt cement, coarse aggregate, fine
aggregate, and other materials depending on the type of asphalt concrete. The most
commonly used is hot plant mix of asphalt cement and dense-graded aggregates.
 PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
ENVIRONMENT
Main environmental factors are temperature and rainfall.
Effects of temperature change on flexible pavements
1. Stresses induced by thermal action
2. Changes in the creep properties.
Effects water seepage due to rainfall on flexible pavements
1. Strength reduction of roadbed soils
2. Pumping of soil through cracks
 PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
DRAINAGE
Highway drainage structures should be adequate to provide for the rapid drainage
of the free water from the pavement structure through the provision of a suitable
drainage layer.
 PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
RELIABILITY
Reliability is the probability that a pavement section using the process will perform
satisfactorily over the traffic and environmental conditions for the design period. It
is important that pavements should last long during its design period.
The reliability factor considers the possible uncertainties in traffic prediction and
performance prediction. Reliability design levels provide the assurance level that
the designed pavement section will survive for its design period.