Transportation Engineering

Engr. Hisham A. Sacar

Pavements
› Flexible Pavements

A flexible pavement is constructed with asphaltic

cement and aggregates and usually consists of several
layers. The lower layer is called the subgrade.
Pavements
› Rigid Pavements

A rigid pavement is constructed with Portland cement

concrete and aggregates as shown with flexible pavements,
the subgrade (the lower pavements), the base layer is
optional.
Pavement Thickness Using Expansion Pressure
Method
Problem 1
› Compute the pavement thickness by expansion pressure
method if the expansion pressure is 0.200 kg/cm2 and
the average pavement density is 0.0025 kg/cm3.

› Ans: 80 cm
Rigid Pavement: (Olders Theory)
› Without Dowels or Tie Bars

(thickness of pavement at edge and center)

f: Allowable tensile stress of concrete in

W: Wheel load
Rigid Pavement: (Olders Theory)
› With Dowels or Tie Bars

(thickness of pavement at edge)

(thickness of pavement at center)

f: Allowable tensile stress of concrete

W: Wheel load
Situation 1:
› A rigid pavement is to be constructed to carry a wheel load of
50 kN. The allowable tensile stress of concrete is 1.40 MPa.

2. Find the thickness of the pavement if the effect of dowels is

neglected. Ans: 327.33 mm
3. If dowels are used across the joints, find the thickness of the
pavement when the wheel load is placed at the edge of the
pavement. Ans: 231.46 mm
4. If dowels are used across the joints, find the thickness of the
pavement when the wheel load is placed at the center of the
pavement. Ans: 163.66 mm
Flexible Pavement
Problem 5
› Compute the thickness of a flexible pavement for a wheel
load of 54 kN, if the allowable bearing pressure on the
base of the pavement is 0.15 Mpa and the equivalent
radius of the contact area of the tires is equal to
165 mm.

› Ans: 173.4 mm
Situation 2
› A flexible pavement carries a static wheel load of 53.5 kN.
The circular contact area of the tire is 85806 mm2 and
the transmitted load is distributed across a wide area of
the subgrade at an angle of 45°. The subgrade bearing
value is 0.14 MPa, while that of the base is 0.41 MPa.
Design the thickness of 6.) pavement and 7.) that of the
base.

› Ans: 6.) 39 mm, 7.) 145 mm

Stiffness Factor

Es = Subgrade Modulus
Ep = Modulus of elasticity
Problem 8:
› The stiffness factor of a pavement and the subgrade is
0.45. The modulus of elasticity of the subgrade is 120
kg/cm2. Determine the modulus of elasticity of the
pavement.

› Ans: 1317 kg/cm2

Problem 9:
› What is the stiffness factor of a pavement if its modulus
of elasticity is 180 MPa and whose subgrade modulus of
40 MPa.

› Ans: 0.605
Thickness of Base Using McLeod’s Method

P: wheel load
S: subgrade ressure
K: constant value from table
Problem 10
› In a plate bearing test, a pressure of 41 psi was required to
deflect a 30 inches diameter plate by 0.2 in. A flexible
runway pavement is to be designed for a deflection of 0.5
in under a single wheel load of 40000 lb with a tire
pressure of 120 psi. Compute the thickness of a granular
base using McLeod’s method. Use the value of k = 50 for
the actual contact area and a conversion factor of 2.1 for
a subgrade pressure corresponding to the actual contact
area and deflection of 0.5 in.

› Ans: 7.21 in.

California Bearing Ratio

A: Area of piston plunger

P: Load applied
Problem 11
› The CBR value of a standard crushed rock for a 5 mm
penetration is 76 kg/cm2 when it was subjected to a
penetration test by a piston plunger to 6 cm diameter
moving at a certain speed, What is the CBR of soil sample
when subjected to a load of 105 kg if it produces a
penetration of 5mm?

› Ans: 4.88%
Problem 12
› The thickness of a pavement is 31.74 cm. A wheel load of
4000 kg with a tire pressure of 8 kg/cm2 is acting on the
surface of the pavement. What is the maximum CBR value
of subgrade soil using this load? Use the formula
developed by U.S Corps of Engineers.

› Ans: 6%
Traffic Index

0.11
𝑇𝑟𝑎𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐 𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑥=1.35( 𝐸𝑊𝐿)
Problem 13
› Compute the traffic index if the annual value of equivalent
wheel loads (EWL) is 32,600,000.

› Ans: 9.05
Residual and Warping Stress
Problem 14
› Compute the residual strength (kg/cm2) in concrete
slab(pavement) at the edge region if the allowable flexural
stress of concrete is 40 kg/cm2 and the warping stress at
the edge is 21.8 kg/cm2.

› Ans: 18.2
Edge Load Stress

𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡h
𝐹𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑜𝑓𝑠𝑎𝑓𝑒𝑡𝑦=
𝑒𝑑𝑔𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠
Problem 15
› Compute the edge load stress (kg/cm2) for a concrete
pavement having a residual strength of 20.56 kg/cm2 and
a factor of safety of 1.07.

› Ans: 19.21
Corner Load in Pavements

Sc: stress due to corner load

P: corner load
h: thickness of slab
Problem 16
› A concrete pavement having a thickness of 15 cm carries
a wheel load of 5100 kg. Compute the stress (kg/cm2) if
the load is acting at the corner of the slab using
Goldbecks formula.

› Ans: 68
Accident Rates for 100 million vehicle miles of
travel (HMVM) for a segment of a highway

R: the accident rate for 100 million vehicle mile

A: the number of accidents during period of analysis
ADT: average daily traffic
N: time period in years
L: length of segment in miles
Accident Rates per million entering vehicles
(MEV) for an intersection:

R: the accident rate for one million entering vehicles

A: the number of accidents during period of analysis
ADT: average daily traffic
N: time period in years
Problem 17
› The number of accidents for 6 years recorded in a certain
section of a highway is 5892. If the average daily traffic is
476, determine the accident rate per million entering
vehicles.

› Ans: 5652
Problem 18
› Determine the average daily traffic entering the
intersection if the accident rate is 5,000 per MEV if the
total accidents occurred during a ten-year period is
3000.

› Ans: 165
Problem 19
› From the given data of traffic counts for a certain portion
of SCTEX are tabulated as shown:
Length of segment = 6 miles
Average daily traffic (ADT) = 7500
Number of crashes per year = 28
Determine the accident rate for 100 million vehicle miles.

Ans: 170.47
Severity Ratio

𝑓𝑎𝑡𝑎𝑙+𝑖𝑛𝑗𝑢𝑟𝑦 𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠
𝑆. 𝑅.=
𝑓𝑎𝑡𝑎𝑙+𝑖𝑛𝑗𝑢𝑟𝑦 𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠+𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑦 𝑑𝑎𝑚𝑎𝑔𝑒
Problem 20
› Data on a traffic accident recorded for the past 5 years on
a certain stretch of a two-lane highway is tabulated as
follows:

Compute the severity ratio.

Ans: 0.275
Space/Time Mean Speed
› Space Mean Speed

› Time Mean Speed

Situation 3
› From the following data of a freeway surveillance, there
are 5 vehicles traveling distances “S” when observed on
the two photographs taken every 2 seconds apart.

21.) Determine the space mean speed. Ans: 41.65 kph

22.) Determine the time mean speed. Ans: 42.26 kph
Traffic Flow

k: Traffic Density
N: number of vehicles occupying a segment
L: Length of Roadway

q: traffic flow
Problem 23
› Compute the rate of flow in vehicles per hour if the space
mean speed is 30 mph and the density is 14 veh per km

› Ans: 675.92
Situation 4
› The data below shows the result of the flow of traffic at a certain art of
a highway by observing the arrival times for four vehicles at two
sections A and B that are 150 m apart. The total observation time at
section A is 15 sec.
Vehicle Section A Section B
1 T sec T + 7.58 sec.
2 T + 3 sec. T + 9.18 sec.
3 T + 6 sec. T + 12.36 sec.
4 T + 12 sec. T + 21.74 sec.
24. Determine the time mean speed in kph. Ans: 74.74
25. Determine the space mean speed in kph. Ans: 72.33
26. Determine the flow at section A in vehicle per hour. Ans: 960
Situation 5
› The peak hour factor (PHF) during rush hour along EDSA
is 0.90. The highest 5-minute volume is 250 vehicles, and
the space mean speed is 90 kph.

27. Determine the flow of traffic. Ans: 2700 veh/hr

28. Determine the traffic density. Ans: 30 veh/km
29. Determine the spacing of vehicles. Ans: 33.33 m
Problem 30
› Compute for the minimum radius of horizontal curve for a
design speed of 96 kph. f = 0.15, e = 0.067.

› Ans: 334.40 m
Problem 31
› Compute the impact factor for a horizontal curve radius
of 400 m if the design speed is 120 kph.

› Ans: 0.283
Problem 32
› An old curve is to be improved to accommodate a design
speed of 100 kph. If the superelevation is 0.08 and the
coefficient of friction is 0.10, what is the required degree
of the curve?

› Ans: 2.62°
Sight Distance for Horizontal Curves
For :

For :

M: clear distance from center of roadway to obstruction

S: sight distance along center of roadway
R: Radius of center-line curve
L: Length of Curve
Problem 33
› A highway curve has a radius of 80 m and a length of 90
m. if the required sight distance is 60 m, how far off the
center of the road could you allow the bushes to grow?

› Ans: 5.625 m
Problem 34
› The clearance to an obstruction is 40 m, and the
desirable sight distance when rounding a horizontal curve
is 600 m. Determine the minimum radius of horizontal
curve if the length of curve is 550 m long.

› Ans: 1117.19 m
Sight Distance for Vertical Summit Curve
For

For

h1: height of eye level from the pavement

h2: height of object
Problem 35
› A vertical summit curve has tangent grade of +0.5% and a
-1.0% grade for a road which will provide a stopping sight
distance of 190 m. Height of driver’s eye above pavement
is 1.07 m and the height of the object ahead is 0.15 m.
Compute the length of the crest curve.