Pavement Engineering: Cheap and Environmentally Acceptable

UNIVERSITY OF NOTTINGHAM DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
Pavement Engineering - Module H23P01 Course Notes

1

PAVEMENT ENGINEERING

INTRODUCTION

A pavement is a structure designed to allow trafficking, usually of wheeled vehicles.
Most pavements are roads, but airfields, industrial hardstandings, cycle tracks etc. are all
included.

Key points:
a) Pavements are high-volume constructions; the materials used must therefore be
cheap and environmentally acceptable.
b) There is no exact definition of failure; they simply have to remain serviceable.
c) The definition of serviceability will vary from application to application.
d) Maintaining serviceability is an important part of pavement engineering.

The basic building blocks
Soil: unpredictable; water susceptible; sometimes low strength
Granular Material: more predictable; less water susceptible; stronger
Hydraulically-Bound Material: bound with cement or something similar
Asphalt: stones stuck together with bitumen; good quality material

A Typical Pavement Structure

Surface course (or Wearing course) Asphalt
Binder course (or Basecourse) Asphalt

Base Asphalt, Hydraulically-bound (e.g. Pavement
Quality Concrete), or Granular (often in more
than one layer)
Sub-base Hydraulically-bound or Granular

Capping (or Lower Sub-base) Hydraulically-
bound or Granular (only used over poor
subgrade; often in more than one layer)

Subgrade (or Substrate) Soil

2
CONSTRUCTION

A competent pavement designer must understand the practicalities of material production
and pavement construction if sensible decisions are to be taken.

1. Unbound Material

Natural Soils
- Check it to see that it is as strong as it was expected to be (CBR test see later).
- Protect it. Its easy to turn a basically sound material into a muddy soup! So
leave a thin layer of overlying material until the very last moment.

Granular Materials
- Make sure you have material that meets the specification.

a) Particle Size Distribution: achieved by crushing larger rocks and/or by
blending materials from more than one source. Put a sample through a set of
sieves to check it.

e.g. typical sub-
base limits:

0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
0.01 0.1 1 10 100
Sieve size (mm)
P
e
r
c
e
n
t
a
g
e

p
a
s
s
i
n
g
Upper Limit
Lower Limit
Sample
Shake

3

b) Particle Soundness: Use a test such
as the Los Angeles Abrasion test;
sometimes also tests for frost damage
and chemical weathering (MnSO
4

soundness).

c) Particle Shape: This isnt always
specified. Most common requirement
= % crushed faces (trying to make
sure that rounded gravel isnt used);
sometimes also by limits on flakiness
(% of particles of a given size able to
pass through a special thin sieve
opening) and elongation (% of
particles with one dimension over 1.8
times the nominal size) of particles.

The shape depends on the equipment used to carry out the crushing:

Cone Jaw

Roll Impact

d) Water Content: All unbound materials are sensitive to water.

Dry Density
Water Content
Heavy
Compaction
(e.g. on site)
Light
Compaction (e.g.
in laboratory)
0% air voids (i.e.
full saturation)
Optimum Maximum suction Dry
Desired in-service
condition after drying
out
Saturated
Maximum Dry Density
(heavy compaction)
Maximum Dry Density
(light compaction)

4
Low water content: negative pore pressure (or suction). Makes compaction
difficult; BUT good once in the road.

Higher water content: positive pore pressure. Makes compaction easier;
BUT bad once in the road.

So: compact at Optimum Water Content (OMC); let it dry out to develop
suction.

- Transport it to site in a suitable delivery truck

- Place it and compact it properly

Dozer + grader = good enough for lower layers
Paver = for high quality base layers (consistent thickness and surface level)
Compactors:

Vibratory Pneumatic Static

Delivery Truck
Delivery Truck
Dozer Motor grader
Paver Compactor
Compactor

5
2. Hydraulically-Bound Material (HBM)

HBM means any material that needs water to activate a binder usually cement.

In-situ Stabilised

This is usually just soil improvement. Converts a soft soil into something you can build
a road on. As well as cement, lime and/or fly ash (also called pulverised fuel ash PFA)
are used.

Plant-mixed HBM base/sub-base
- Get the right aggregate. You need a good durable rock, either river gravel or
quarried and crushed. Particle size distribution = similar to granular.

Water Content:
Problem: you must have the right amount for compaction (OMC similar to
granular materials) BUT you must also have just the right amount for the
hydraulic reaction to take place.

Too little water not all the binder will be activated reduced strength.

Too much water free water after the reaction has finished air voids left after
evaporation reduced strength again.

[This restricts the practical combinations of particle size distribution and strength]

- Batch it and mix it (or mix it
continuously)

This is a twin-shaft batch
mixer.

The alternative is a drum
mixer, allowing HBM to
pass through continuously.
This gives higher
productivity.
Stabiliser Compactor
Mixing unit


6
- Transport it to site usually in a normal delivery truck.

- Place it and compact it. Basically the same as for granular material, except that
you would usually put it through a paver to get good level and thickness control.

- Cure it usually by spraying a bitumen seal to stop the water evaporating.

Pavement Quality Concrete (PQC)
- Get the mix design right. This is a real concrete, which means it will be too wet
for roller compaction (usually); it will need vibrating.

- Batch it and mix it.

- Transport it to site usually in a purpose-
built concrete truck.

- Pave it. Wet concrete needs to be enclosed
by formwork of one sort or another.

Options: Fixed form; checker board
pattern slow process.

Fixed form; continuous side
rails much quicker.

Slip form; with a purpose-
built slip-form paver
quicker still; most commonly
used nowadays.
Water Content
Cement Content
Range required to
achieve design strength
Range for
wet-form
workability
Range required to
allow chemical
reaction to take
place
Range of mixture
design options for wet-
forming
Range for
roller-
compaction
workability
Range of mixture
design options for
roller-compaction


7

- Get the surface texture right

- Form joints (usually)

- Cure it, usually by means of a colourless aluminium-based sealant but can also
use wet cloth or regular water spray application.

- Cure it usually by spraying a colourless seal to stop the water evaporating.
Grooving:

Brushed finish:

Exposed
aggregate:

Burlap drag:
A set of steel tines is dragged across the surface of
the fresh concrete immediately after paving. [can
also be achieved by sawing hardened concrete]

The fresh concrete surface is brushed using an
appropriately heavy-duty brush to form a ridged
finish.

A retarder is sprayed onto the finished concrete and
loose mortar is brushed away from around the larger
aggregate pieces about 12 hours afterwards.

A sheet of rough fabric is dragged over the surface
of the wet concrete, leaving a rough finish.
Joint Types
Joint Forming
Expansion Joint
Contraction Joint
Warping Joint
Bottom crack inducer
Joint former strip
Saw Cut (at early age)
Dowel bar
(smooth)
Filler Board
Joint Seal
Slip Coating
Expansion Cap
Dowel bar (smooth)
Crack
Slip Coating
Joint Seal
Tie bar (ribbed)
Crack
Joint Seal
Sealant
groove cut
once joint
has been
formed

8
3. Hot-Mix Asphalt (HMA)

- Heat the bitumen to 140 to 180C; keep it in a hot storage tank.

- Dry the aggregate thoroughly in a drum dryer.

- Sieve the hot dried aggregate into size fractions;
store in hot bins.

- Mix bitumen + aggregate (about 30 secs)
asphalt.

Batch Mix Plant:

Drum Mix Plant:

Drum mixers give higher productivity. They rely on accurate proportioning of
moist aggregate since the bitumen is fed directly into the drying chamber, which
takes the form of an inclined rotating drum. The drying chamber doubles as the
mixing chamber and the hot mixture is fed out continuously from the drum to a
hot storage hopper before being dropped into the back of a waiting truck.

- Transport to site in a thermally insulated truck.

Can combine in a
drum mix plant

Aggregate
feed
Dryer
Elevator
Hot bins
Mixer
Bitumen
tank
Combined Dryer-
Mixer Drum
Hot storage
hopper
Cold bins

9
- Pave while the mixture is still hot,
e.g. 110- 130

- Compact before it cools down too
much; either pneumatic or
vibratory for main compaction,
dead weight steel drum for the
final finish

How quickly does the mat cool? For example, assuming a 110C paving temperature:

The practicalities of compaction mean that layer thicknesses tend to be between 25mm
and 120mm.

60
70
80
90
100
110
120
0 20 40 60 80
Depth (mm)
T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
e

(
C
)
@ 2 minutes
@ 4 minutes
20m
layer
40m
layer
80m
layer


10
MATERIALS

1. Sustainability and Cost

Pavements have to be cheap that is an absolute requirement. However, we also have to
try to limit environmental costs. The key concept is embedded (or embodied) energy,
which is the total energy used to manufacture, transport, process etc. every component of
the pavement.

Approximate costs and embedded energies for pavement component materials:
Material Embedded
Energy
(MJ/Tonne)
Cost
(/Tonne)
Embedded
Energy
Direct
Ingredients Sands and gravels
Crushed rock aggregate
Bitumen
Portland cement
Reinforcing steel
5-10
20-25
3200-3800
4500-5000
23000-27000
0.1-0.2
0.4-0.5
5-8
12-15
Mixtures Hot-mix asphalt
Cold-mix asphalt
Lean concrete
Pavement quality concrete (PQC)
Reinforced concrete
600-800
150-200
450-500
750-1000
1100-1500
12-16
3-4
9-10
15-20
22-30
25-40
15-30
15-25
35-50
40-55
Transport All materials (per journey km) 12-20

The question is: what is a MJ worth? In terms of fuel cost it is only about 0.01-0.02! It
also represents about 65g of CO
2
, and this might be valued anywhere from 0.002 to
0.02. To be environmentally conservative, the embedded energy costs in the table are
based on an equivalence of 0.02 per MJ.

So: although the table may be exaggerating, hot-mix asphalt and concrete carry a
significant embedded environmental cost.

BUT what about the issue of traffic, responsible for about 36% of all energy consumed
in the UK? A Nottingham research project found that energy losses attributable to road
stiffness were around 100MJ/m
2
for a heavily trafficked concrete pavement over a 40-
year life. For asphalt this went up to around 250MJ/m
2
. These translate to about 300 and
1000MJ/Tonne assuming normal pavement thicknesses which as you can see are quite
significant numbers. And this does not include energy loss due to surface roughness,
which is likely to be a much bigger factor and definitely needs researching!

Conclusion: we really should take the environmental cost of road pavements seriously.


11
2. Unbound Material

Whats really going on?

Individual stones have to translate and rotate.

stones slide against one another.

this is resisted by friction (typically around 30-35 for crushed rock, less for gravels);
stone shape is also obviously important.

Shear strength

Can be measured in a shear box

Can also be measured in a
triaxal apparatus

sin | = (o
1
o
2
) / (o
1
+o
2
)

Dont confuse stone-stone friction angle with |.
Initial State After Strain
B
BB
A
AA
A
AA
B
BB
F
N
Initial State After Strain
o
o
t
t
o
1
o
1
o
2
o
2
o
2
increasing o
1
Normal stress o

Shear
stress t

Angle of internal
friction |
(typically 55 for
a crushed rock

limiting t/o ratio
(typically 10 for a
crushed rock)
o

12
What properties affect shear strength?

particle shape; angular is good
stone-stone friction; not much effect
stiffness modulus of the rock; not much effect
particle size; big is good
particle size distribution; broadly graded is good
particle packing; dense is good
water content; high suction is good (see p3) increases effective stresses.

Stiffness
With an unbound material you cant really
talk about a Youngs Modulus because the
behaviour is so non-linear and stress-
dependent. On the other hand it is
convenient to pretend that it has a Youngs
Modulus, so instead we call it Resilient
Modulus or Stiffness Modulus and we have
to remember that its value changes
depending on the level of applied stress.

Typical values:

Solid rock is approximately linear elastic with a stiffness modulus of 100 and 200GPa;
unbound materials typically have a modulus in the range 20-250MPa.

What properties affect stiffness?

particle shape; not much effect
stone-stone friction; high friction is good
stiffness modulus of the rock; stiff is good
particle size; big is good
particle size distribution; not much effect
particle packing; not much effect
water content; high suction is good (see p3) increases effective stresses.
Shear Stress
Shear Strain
Cycle no: 1 2 3 10 100 1000 10000
Ultimate stress (= shear strength)
Applied Stress
Hysteresis loop
represents
energy loss
Approximate shear
modulus
Normal stress o

Shear
stress t

Angle of internal
friction |

Apparent
cohesion c
(due to stone
interlock)


13
California Bearing Ratio (CBR)

This is a convenient general measure of quality, but has no fundamental meaning.

Very, very, very approximate relationships with stiffness: a) E = 10 CBR
b) E = 17.6 CBR
0.64

Confined Compression
A triaxial test is better (more fundamental meaning) but it is complicated; and the stress
conditions are usually not right for a pavement. Confined compression is an alternative.

These tests are designed to give about the right level of stress in the material and so
hopefully about the right stiffness modulus for pavement design. You can also get a
measure of resistance to deformation accumulation under repeated load.
Force F
Displacement d
(50mm/min)
152mm diameter
125mm
height
Force (kN)
Displacement
1.27m
m
2.54m
m
F
2

F
1

CBR = max {(F
1
/13.2) ; (F
2
/20.0)} 100
where F
1
and F
2
are in kN
50mm
Steel
mould
Plunger
Soil
under
test
Load applied via
full-face platen
Springs
Locking nuts fix side
plates in place
Side plates
free to move
Adjustment control
for start conditions
Springbox

PUMA (Precision Unbound
Material Analyzer)
Load applied via
full-face platen Eight wall
segments
Calibrated steel
and rubber band

14
Dynamic Cone Penetrometer (DCP)

The DCP is especially convenient for doing down a core hole during evaluation of a
failing pavement.

Plate Tests
Nowadays the usual way of doing these is by means of a portable dynamic plate test
(DPT). It is a quick, practical method for getting the in-situ stiffness of a pavement
foundation. You have to remember of course that it is affected by any layer within about
1m of the surface.

Static plate tests are also possible. The standard test to evaluate an airfield pavement
subgrade is a static 762mm diameter plate.

Depth
Number of blows
Depth
CBR (%)
Equation used in UK: log
10
[CBR] = 2.48 1.057 log
10
[p]
Drop
weight
Scale
Anvil
Core hole
Granular
Soil
Penetration
rate p
(mm/blow)
Boussinesqs equation for deflection under a
rigid circular plate load:
o = P (1 v
2
) / 2rE
Therefore: E = P (1 v
2
) / 2ro
Peak load (P)
Peak deflection (o)
Time delay due
to ground inertia
Load
Deflection
Time
Drop
weight
Rubber
buffers
Loading
plate
(radius r)
Load cell
and velocity
transducer
(geophone)
Modulus E
Poissons ratio v


15
This table illustrates the fact that different stress conditions give different stiffnesses.

Material Stiffness Modulus (MPa)
Triaxial
(confining stress
20kPa; deviator
stress 0-100kPa)
DPT
(100kPa contact
pressure)
In the Pavement
(K-Mould, PUMA and
Springbox generally
give similar results)
Very soft clay soil 10 5 15
Firm clay soil 50 30 80
Sandy soil 75 30 50
Gravel capping 125 50 80
Sub-base 250 75 150
Granular Base 500 100 250

Permeability
Usually it is assumed that a sub-base or capping layer will be free-draining which is
not entirely true so you might want to measure it.

Material
Description
Typical
permeability
range (m/sec)
Well graded gravels 10
-5
to 10
-3

Poorly graded gravels 510
-5
to 10
-3

Silty gravels 10
-8
to 10
-4

Clayey gravels 10
-8
to 10
-6

Well graded sands 510
-6
to 510
-4

Poorly graded sands 510
-7
to 510
-6

Silty sands 10
-9
to 10
-6

Clayey sands 10
-9
to 10
-6

Low plasticity silts 10
-9
to 10
-7

Low plasticity clays 10
-9
to 10
-8

High plasticity silts 10
-10
to 10
-9

High plasticity clays 10
-11
to 10
-9

Water supply
Overflow
Specimen
(cross-sectional area A)
Porous end restraints
Measurement
of volume
flow Q
Head
difference
H
L
Permeability k = QL/AH
Lid

16
3. Hydraulically-Bound Material (HBM)

The word Hydraulic means that the binder needs water in order to be activated. The
most common binder of this type is Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC), but fly ash (a.k.a.
pulverised fuel ash PFA), lime or ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS) are
often mixed in or even used without OPC to give a slow-setting (and cheaper) material.

HBMs come in a range of different strengths / qualities:

Stabilised soil insitu mixing process; roller compacted; results in a partially bound
material. [Compressive strength < 2MPa]

HBM subbase plant mixed; uses gravel or crushed rock aggregate; still roller
compacted [Compressive strength 2-10MPa]

HBM base fully bound crushed rock; usually roller compacted; also known as lean
concrete. [Compressive strength 5-20MPa]

Pavement Quality Concrete (PQC) strong, fully bound concrete; wet-formed; vibratory
compaction. [Compressive strength 30-50MPa]

Strength
Strength can be measured in several ways. Flexural is most realistic for a pavement. Compressive
(cube or cylinder) is the most convenient.

or
Tensile
Indirect Tensile
Compressive
Flexural

17
Tensile Strength
In the end HBMs fail in Tension. The problem is that tensile strength is not easy to
measure. You could do Indirect Tension. This is much easier and can be done on a core
of material taken from a road but the stress conditions in the test are a little complicated
and it is hard to be certain what the result means.

Flexural Strength
This is much closer to what happens in a pavement.

It all adds up to the flexural strength (i.e. the tensile strength deduced from a flexural test)
being 10-15% higher than the real tensile strength. But this doesnt really matter since the
pavement will behave more or less like a flexural test specimen.

Compressive Strength
This is the least meaningful strength test but the most common, because it is so
convenient. For purposes of quality control it is therefore ideal.

Adding all this uncertainty together, the compressive-tensile
strength ratio can be anything from around 5 to 15.
Max Bending Moment (M) = P L / 6
P

P

P

P
L/3 L/3

L/3

h
[beam width = b]
Low friction graphite
applied to platens
Idealised
shape
Real shape
Analysis:
1. Failure occurs when c
t,failure
is reached.
2. If zero friction: c
t
= v c
c
= v o
c
/ E
3. But things arent quite linear, so:
c
t
> o
t
/ E
4. So, combining: o
c
> o
t
/ v
5. And if friction zero: o
c
>> o
t
/ v

c
c
c
t
o
o
>o
o
Assumption:
Reality:
M = 2 } bo(2x/h)x dx [0 to h/2]
= 4(bo/h).[x
3
]
= oh
2
/6
o = 6M/h
2

The non-linear relationship between
o and c in tension means that:
M > oh
2
/6
o < 6M/h
2

Compression
Tension
x

18
Conclusion: Compressive strength is not a fundamental measure. It should never be
relied upon in pavement design.

Strength Gain with Time
All HBMs become
stronger with time. We
usually design on a 28-
day strength but often use
3-day or 7-day for quality
control.

Fatigue
All HBMs tend to follow a
similar fatigue characteristic
when plotted as numbers of
load applications to failure
against the ratio of applied
stress to failure strength.

Durability
The key to durability is a low permeability which means small non-interconnecting
voids. The principal cause of damage is water; so if water cant penetrate then damage
wont occur. The danger comes when voids become filled with water and there is no clear
escape path. So be careful in design to avoid water becoming trapped.

Frost is another potentially serious problem. Water expands when it turns to ice, which
means that if the water is inside a nearly-closed void at the time it freezes then the
expansive pressure is likely to fracture the surrounding material. In PQC this can be seen
as areas of surface flaking, giving a very rough ride quality to vehicles. Measures to
combat frost damage include:
Air entrainment; introduce tiny air bubbles (e.g. 5% by volume) using a
chemical additive in the mix.
Keep the strength high.
Rule of thumb:
1. Limestone aggregate results in low compressive-tensile strength ratio (e.g. 7).
2. Granite aggregate results in moderate compressive-tensile strength ratio (e.g. 10).
3. Gravel aggregate results in high compressive: tensile strength ratio (e.g. 12).
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
1 10 100 1000
Age (days)
C
o
m
p
r
e
s
s
i
v
e

S
t
r
e
n
g
t
h

(
M
P
a
)
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1
1 10 100 1000 10000 100000 1000000
Number of Load Applications to Failure
F
l
e
x
u
r
a
l

S
t
r
e
s
s
:
S
t
r
e
n
g
t
h

R
a
t
i
o
9.2MPa Compressive strength
32.9MPa Compressive strength
25.9MPa Compressive strength; 0.5% steel fibres
o/s
f
= 1.064-0.064log(N)

19
Thermal Properties
HBMs are rigid solids; they are therefore susceptible to thermal expansion and
contraction. This is the reason for the use of joints in concrete pavements. The key
property is the coefficient of thermal expansion (o).

Aggregate Coefficient of thermal expansion o (per degree C)
River gravel 13 10
-6
Igneous rock 10 10
-6

Limestone 7 10
-6

Stiffness
HBMs are more or less linear elastic. Stiffness is not usually measured in the laboratory
because it is more difficult to do + a bit less important than strength. Here are some
typical values:

Mixture Type [compressive strength] Typical stiffness
Pavement quality concrete [40MPa] 30000-40000 MPa
Strong cement-bound base [10-20MPa] 15000-25000 MPa
Weak cement-bound base [5-10MPa] 5000-15000 MPa
Slag etc. bound base [5-10MPa] 3000-10000 MPa
Hydraulically-bound sub-base [2-5MPa] 2000-5000 MPa
Stabilised soil [< 2MPa] 100-300 MPa

The Stiffness of a Discontinuous Layer
A HBM is often designed to end up in a cracked state; sometimes it is deliberately
cracked when joints are formed. The effective stiffness in-situ will therefore be less than
that of the intact material. A HBM base with an initial stiffness of 10000-20000MPa can
easily end up with an apparent in-situ stiffness of no more than 5000MPa.

1. Curvature = M/EI = 12M/Eh
3

2. Strain at top = (uh/4)/d u/3
Stress at top = uE/3 ( 0 at mid depth)
Moment = (3/256)oh
2
= uh
2
E/256
Curvature = u/L = 256M/(h
2
EL)

3. Moment = thL/2 = gohL/2
Radius of curvature = (L
2
/4)/2o = L
2
/8o
Curvature = 8o/L
2
= 16M/ghL
3

Combine:
Curvature = M[12/Eh
3
+256/(h
2
EL)+16/ghL
3
]
Curvature also = M/E
eff
I = M[12/E
eff
h
3
]

E
eff
= 1/[1/E+64h/3EL+4h
2
/(3gL
3
)]
Stress distribution
I = h
3
/12 per m width
Slip stiffness g = t/o
d 0.75h
Uneven stress
zone
L
L L
L
h
h
M
M
L
h
o
t
u
1.
2.
3.
E

20
4. Asphalt

Bitumen (otherwise known as binder)
Bitumen is a liquid, even in service. This means that we need to worry about its
viscosity, which is a function of temperature. The problem is that viscosity is a little
complicated to measure directly, so the following two substitute tests are commonly used.

Penetration: the penetration of a needle into a container of bitumen.

Ring and ball softening point: the temperature at which a steel ball drops through a
prepared disk of bitumen.

0.01
0.1
1
10
100
1000
10000
100000
1000000
10000000
100000000
0 25 50 75 100 125 150 175
Temperature (Celsius)
V
i
s
c
o
s
i
t
y

(
P
a
.
s
)
50 pen
100 pen
200 pen
Compaction
Mixing
15g
Allowed to fall
for 5 seconds
p
Bitumen
at 25C
Penetration p measured in
tenths of a millimetre
Penetration (pen)
Penetration Index (PI): (20-PI)/(10-PI) = 50 (log
10
[100/pen(at temperature T)])/(SP-T)
Heat at 5C
per minute
Disk of bitumen
Metal
ring
Softening point is the
temperature at which
the bitumen disks sag
by 25mm (touching
the plates positioned
beneath them)
Water bath (stirred
continuously in
most specifications)
Ring & Ball Softening Point (SP)
Steel
balls

21
Real bitumen behaviour

There are two main components to
bitumen behaviour, elastic and
viscous, with a visco-elastic bit
between them just to make things
awkward.

Bitumen can also fracture. Tensile stress at failure is generally around 2-3MPa.

Ageing
Bitumen is that it changes with time due to oxidation and absorption by aggregate.

Short-term ageing occurs
during mixing, transporting,
placing and compacting while
the bitumen is at high
temperature; pen goes down
by about 25%.

Long-term ageing occurs
gradually such that bitumen
becomes ever harder during its
lifetime.

Binder Modification
Bitumen chemistry is a complicated subject and there are many different products on the
market that are claimed to improve the properties of bitumen. You should be aware of:

Polymers: Styrene-Butadiene-Styrene (SBS), Styrene-Butadiene Rubber (SBR)
and Ethyl Vinyl Acetate (EVA) will all increase the viscosity at high temperatures
but not at low temperatures. They may also increase fatigue life, particularly SBS.
Natural rubbers: This has been driven by the need to recycle vehicle tyres.
Sulphur: enhances workability at high temperature (>115C); becomes solid at
lower temperature.
Manganese: increases the cross-linkage between molecules and thereby increases
viscosity and stiffness. The problem is that the bitumen becomes brittle.
Load
Displacement
Viscous
Viscous
Visco-elastic
Visco-elastic
Elastic
Elastic
Time
Time
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
0.01 0.1 1 10 100
Time (years)
P
e
n
e
t
r
a
t
i
o
n

(
d
m
m
)
Texas (Benson, 1976)
Texas (Benson, 1976)
Michigan (Corbett and Schweyer, 1981)

22
Bitumen-Filler Mortar
Filler is the term used for silt-size particles (2-75m) which are added to enhance the
performance of the bitumen. It stiffens and strengthens the bitumen + gives extra
resistance to fatigue cracking.

Typically filler is added at slightly more than the mass of bitumen which means about a
2:1 bitumen to filler ratio by volume.

Bitumen-Aggregate Adhesion
This is a vital property if an asphalt is going to work properly. A lack of adhesion will
mean that fracture can take place along the interfaces between aggregate particles and the
bitumen-filler mortar and this will shorten the fatigue life of the asphalt; i.e. it will
crack.

But what causes poor adhesion?

The problem is that all aggregates would really prefer water to bitumen hence the need
to ensure that particles are absolutely dry before mixing with bitumen. Aggregate
chemistry determines how easily the bond with bitumen is broken down, but it all
happens much more rapidly if there is water about.

What can be done about poor adhesion?

Answer: include an additive, usually hydrated lime.

Asphalt Stiffness Modulus
Asphalt does not have a single modulus value; it is both temperature and loading rate
dependent because bitumen is temperature and loading rate dependent.

0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
0.1 1 10
Strain at Failure (%)
S
t
r
e
s
s

a
t

F
a
i
l
u
r
e

(
M
P
a
)
Pure bitumen
+5% filler
+15% filler
+35% filler
+50% filler
+65% filler
Cold and/or
rapid loading
Warm and/or
slow loading

23
Predicting Asphalt Stiffness Modulus

Step 1 Binder stiffness: The most widely adopted approach is to use van der Pohls
nomograph, a chart which relates binder stiffness (E
binder
) to temperature (T), softening
point (SP), penetration index (PI), and load pulse duration (t). The following formula
matches the nomograph over a restricted range of input parameters.

E
binder
[in MPa] = 1.157 10
7
t
-0.368
2.718
PI
(SP T)
5

Step 2 Mixture Stiffness: The other controlling parameter here is Voids in Mixed
Aggregate (VMA), = the percentage of the mixture which is not aggregate = binder % +
air %. Many different equations have been proposed. Here is one.

E
mixture
[in MPa] = E
binder
[1 + (257.5 2.5VMA)/(n (VMA3))]
n

where: n = 0.83 log
10
[4 10
4
/E
binder
]
VMA = V
binder
+ V
air
in %;
E
binder
is in MPa

These are easy enough to use, but the problem is that we dont normally know the
volume of binder, only the mass percentage; so there is more calculating to be done.

Example: predict the stiffness modulus of an asphalt with 5% binder by mass and 7% air
voids at 10C under fast highway traffic if the softening point of the binder is 49C and
the penetration index is -0.5.

a) What loading time? Fast highway traffic: say 100kph; i.e. 27.8ms
-1
. Tyre contact
is typically 300mm long, therefore loading time at the surface = 0.3/27.8 =
0.0108s. Rule of thumb: loading time (secs) = 1/speed (kph); i.e. 0.01s.

So: E
binder
= 1.157 10
7
0.01
-0.368
2.718
0.5
(49 10)
5
= 93.7MPa

b) What VMA? We need to estimate the density of the rock in the asphalt, generally
in the range 2500-2900kg/m
3
, say 2700 here. We also need the density of
bitumen, typically 1030kg/m
3
.

In 1000kg of asphalt: 5% binder = 50kg; binder volume = 50/1030 = 0.0485m
3
.
95% rock = 950kg; rock volume = 950/2700 = 0.3519m
3
.
Combine: 0.4004m
3
.
But 7% air voids total volume of (100/93) 0.4004 = 0.4305m
3
.
binder volume percentage of 0.0485/0.4305 100 = 11.3%
Therefore VMA = 11.3% + 7% = 18.3%

So: n = 0.83 log
10
[4 10
4
/93.7] = 2.183

E
mixture
= 93.7 [1 + (257.5 2.5 18.3)/(2.183 (18.33))]
2.183
= 7270MPa

24
Measuring Asphalt Stiffness
Here are three possible tests:

The tension-compression test is not very practical to carry out. The indirect tensile test
is very quick and easy, but has complex stress conditions; nevertheless it is widely used.
The four-point bending test is usually only carried out when testing for fatigue, but it
also gives a good stiffness measurement.

Note: stiffness depends on loading rate. Therefore you usually have to correct the result
before using it in pavement design.

Typical Stiffness Values
Material Stiffness Modulus (MPa) at 20C
In the Laboratory
(e.g. 125 milliseconds
to peak load)
In the Pavement
(e.g. 10 milliseconds
to peak load)
Dense asphalt base (50 pen binder) 5000 7000
Dense asphalt base (100 pen binder) 3500 5000
Surfacing 2000 3000

These values are for new asphalt, immediately after laying. But bitumen ages, which
means that the stiffness of a mixture will increase throughout its life as the viscosity of
the binder increases. For example, if a new dense asphalt base with 50 pen binder has an
initial stiffness (in the road) of 7000MPa at 20C (by which time the penetration of the
bitumen has already decreased to around 35 purely as a result of mixing and laying), then
this will probably have increased to about 9000MPa after 10 years in a climate such as
the UK, with much more rapid stiffness increase in hotter climates.

Note approximate temperature correction suggested by the Transport Research Laboratory:

log
10
(E
T
) = log
10
(E
20C
) 0.0003 (20-T)
2
+ 0.022 (20-T)
Tension-
Compression
F
F
o

E = 4FL/td
2
o
d
L
Indirect Tensile
Diameter = d
F
o
E = F(v+0.27)/bo
Thickness = b
o
Four-point Bending
(Flexure)
L L L
F/2
o
h
Thickness = b
E = FL[(23L
2
/4h
2
)+1+v]/hbo
F/2
F/2 F/2

25
Fracture and Fatigue of Asphalt

Low-temperature fracture can occur in continental climates. Asphalt expands and
contracts with temperature changes, with a typical thermal expansion coefficient o of
around 1.8 10
-5
per degree C. If it is too brittle at the low point of the temperature cycle
then it may simply break.

More usually, an asphalt
cracks due to fatigue under
millions of load applications.
Localised fractures begin to
form at particle-to-particle
contacts and then slowly
grow, eventually joining to
form proper cracks. Growth
rate is primarily controlled by
the magnitude of strain in the
mixture under load. You can
see the effect in a loss of
stiffness even before any
cracks can actually be seen.

Measuring Fatigue Resistance
The following three tests are commonly used.

Usually what you do is to
carry out a series of tests at
different stress/strain levels
and to plot the lives to failure
against strain (under load at
early stages of the test).

Failure is generally taken to be
a 50% loss in stiffness.

The results tend to be only
slightly affected by
temperature.
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Proportion of Life to Failure
P
r
o
p
o
r
t
i
o
n

o
f

I
n
i
t
i
a
l

S
t
i
f
f
n
e
s
s
10C
20C
30C
Indirect
tensile
4-point bending
Trapezoidal
(or 2-point
bending)
10
100
1000
100 1000 10000 100000 1000000
Number of Load Applications to Failure
I
n
i
t
i
a
l

S
t
r
a
i
n

(
x

1
0
-
6
)
Fatigue characteristic
Fatigue characteristic:
Slope typically about
-0.25 in log-log space

26
Permanent Deformation
Rutting is always a danger. To avoid it you need:

Good angular aggregate
A sensible gradation (i.e. particle size distribution of the aggregate)
Good compaction
A hard binder (so rutting only happens in hot weather)
At least 2% air voids, otherwise you begin to lose particle-particle contacts.

Measuring Permanent Deformation
The most usual forms of test are:

Typical RLA data:
(100kPa, 40C)

Note the effect of
moisture conditioning
i.e. soaking in water

Rule-of-thumb: 1%
strain is a safe limit;
2% spells danger; 3%
means trouble!

Durability
As mentioned already, bitumen ageing means asphalt becomes
stiffer a good thing but also more brittle not so good!

But we also have to worry about water damage, leading to loss of
adhesion between aggregate and bitumen.

So: test one batch usually indirect tensile strength;
soak a second batch for a while (many different specifications);
test the second batch;
express the result as retained strength, i.e. ratio of soaked to unsoaked (in %);
if > 75% (specifications vary) then OK
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
1.2
1.4
1.6
1.8
2
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000
Number of Load Cycles
A
x
i
a
l

S
t
r
a
i
n

(
%
)
Mix A - Dry
Mix A - Moisture conditioned
Mix B - Dry
Mix B - Moisture conditioned
Mix C - Dry
Mix C - Moisture conditioned
Wheel
tracking
Repeated load axial
(RLA)
Vacuum repeated
load axial
Water
bath
Simple Soaking
Procedure

27
Mixture Design

Aggregate Particle Size Distribution
The choice depends on where the material is going in the pavement.

Base: usually larger sized particles because layers are thick; also less bitumen.
Surface: usually smaller particles better ride quality; better durability; thin layers;
high binder content, therefore expensive.

Gradation usually go for a broadly graded mixture to give optimum aggregate
packing, deformation resistance, stiffness + minimise binder content. For example the US
Superpave specification uses a Fuller curve with n = 0.45 for what is termed asphalt
concrete (sometimes called dense bitumen macadam in the UK).

Fuller curves: % passing size d = (d/D)
n
where D = maximum particle size

Another option is gap-
grading. This means that
there are large stones and
smaller particles but not
much in between. Hot
rolled asphalt and stone
mastic asphalt are both
gap-graded mixtures.

A very different surface
material is porous
asphalt, with a near
single-sized gradation
designed to allow easy
water drainage.

The concept of a critical particle size can be useful. This is the point where the actual
gradation just touches a Fuller curve. The gradation to the right of the critical size is less
steep than the Fuller curve, which means that coarser particles are always separated by
plenty of smaller-sized particles, right down to the critical size. However, the gradation to
the left of the critical size is steeper than the Fuller curve, which means there are never
enough small-size particles to fill the gaps between larger ones. This means that particles
above the critical size form the aggregate skeleton; particles smaller than the critical size
are really just floating in the binder.

So: Asphalt concrete similar to the Fuller curve, therefore no clear critical size.
Hot rolled asphalt very clear critical size at around 1mm; needs good sand-sized aggregate.
Stone mastic asphalt should be a large critical size if well designed, but with almost
enough particles to fill the gaps; therefore very sensitive to errors in gradation.
Porous asphalt definitely a large critical size.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
0.01 0.1 1 10 100
Sieve size (mm)
P
e
r
c
e
n
t
a
g
e

p
a
s
s
i
n
g
Asphalt Concrete
Hot Rolled Asphalt
Porous Asphalt
Stone Mastic Asphalt
Fuller Curves (n = 0.45)
Critical particle size
(Hot Rolled Asphalt)

28
Binder Content
Dont forget: binder content as a percentage by mass is quite different from its
percentage by volume because the specific gravity of bitumen is so much less than that
of rock. The volume percentage (typically 8-12%) determines mixture properties; the
mass percentage (typically 4-6%) is most easily measured and therefore specified.

The Marshall Mix Design Method
A practical technique developed in the 1950s:

Select a gradation.
Make up a series of mixes at different binder contents.
Prepare specimens using a Marshall hammer for compaction.
Measure achieved densities.
Carry out Marshall tests to derive stability and flow values.
Determine optimum binder content based on stability, flow and density.

The Superpave Mix Design Method
This design approach grew out of research in the US in the 1990s and is principally
concerned with optimising mixture volumetrics:

Select a gradation (only broadly graded mixtures covered; filler-binder ratio by
mass between 0.6 and 1.2).
Make up a series of mixes at different binder contents.
Prepare specimens using a gyratory compactor.
Measure achieved densities.
The optimum binder content is the one that gives a void content of 4%.
Prepare further specimens at the optimum binder content.
Check voids at light and heavy compaction.
F
o
(50mm
/min)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Stability Density
Flow
Binder content Binder content
Binder content
maximum
minimum
optimum
optimum Marshall Test
Marshall Hammer
F
o
Stability
Flow
60C
10kg
100mm
0.45m
50mm

29

The additional checks at the end ensure that compaction doesnt occur too easily, an
indicator of poor aggregate interlock, and that void content will never fall below 2%,
even under heavy trafficking. Both checks are intended to avoid the danger of rutting.

Binder Grade (i.e. Penetration or similar measure)
This depends largely on climate. The key point is that the binder should be able to
perform satisfactorily over the full range of temperatures experienced in the pavement.

Low temperature danger of fracture and fatigue
High temperature danger of rutting
Desirable working range of binder viscosity 5 10
3
to 10
7
Pa.s.
e.g. 50 pen binder gives a working temperature range of around -10 to +45C.

In some climates it is just not possible to find a conventional binder which covers the
expected temperature range satisfactorily. In these cases there are two options:

Accept that damage will occur and plan accordingly.
Pay extra and use a modified binder, extending the working temperature range.

Filler
Filler is an extremely important part of the mixture. It is a very effective binder
additive, multiplying stiffness, fracture and fatigue strength by a factor of up to about 3.
The successful use of a good quality filler will:

enhance mixture stiffness and fatigue strength;
assist chemically in promoting aggregate-bitumen adhesion;
inhibit drainage of hot binder off the aggregate during transportation;
not prevent proper mixing;
not prevent proper bitumen-aggregate contact.

For best results, filler % by mass bitumen % by mass, maybe a little more.
Void content check on
specimens at design
number of gyrations (50-
125 depending on traffic)
Gyratory Compactor
-
-
-
-
-
Void Content
Binder content
optimum
4%
Check void content after
maximum level of
compaction (75-205 gyrations
depending on traffic)
>2%
Check void content after
initial compaction (6-9
gyrations depending on
traffic)
> 11% (unless traffic < 3msa)


30
5. Cold-Mix Asphalt

Conventional Hot-Mix materials have excellent mechanical properties BUT:

- aggregate has to be heated and dried thoroughly,
- this means that certain potential aggregates are excluded,
- the material has to be placed and compacted before it cools.

It would therefore be extremely useful to find an alternative which could be mixed with
cold, wet aggregate. There might be significant environmental benefits as well as a
reduced energy demand.

Options: Bitumen Emulsion
Foamed Bitumen

Bitumen Emulsion
Bitumen emulsion is a suspension of bitumen droplets in water, created as follows:

Break the bitumen into very small droplets, typically 1-20 microns in size. This requires a
Colloid Mill (which unfortunately is expensive and uses up significant energy!)

The emulsion works because the polymer parts of the emulsifier molecules attach
themselves to the bitumen droplets. This leaves each droplet surrounded with charge and
means that droplets repel each other. These forces are enough to prevent droplets
coalescing (combining) since bitumen and water have very similar specific gravities (1.00
and 1.03 respectively).
The Emulsifier
Emulsifiers are hydrocarbon chains
with positively or negatively
charged ions at the end of the
chain.

Cationic: positively charged

Anionic: negatively charged
Water + emulsifier

Hot bitumen
(100-140C)
1000-
6000rpm
Emulsion (<90C)
+
_

31

Typical proportions: 40-70% bitumen.
Big advantage of emulsions: they can last for months (with the occasional stir).

Foamed Bitumen
Bitumen foaming is an alternative technique to produce a binder which is workable at
normal ambient temperatures. This is done as follows:

Advantage of foamed bitumen over emulsion: it doesnt need so much water.
Disadvantage: you have to use it within about a minute! (i.e. straight into the mixer)

How Cold Mix Works
For both emulsion and foamed bitumen to achieve reasonable mixing in of the binder the
aggregate must be wet. The water content required is typically 2-3%.

Problem: the binder (bitumen droplets in emulsion or flakes of bitumen foam) heads
straight for the water, which is mostly found amongst the fine aggregate particles.
Result: coarse particles often dont get coated properly with bitumen, leaving a partially
bound material.

Bitumen droplet

Charged emulsifier molecules

Water + free emulsifier

Hot Bitumen
(140-200C)

Water (2-6% of bitumen)

Air

Foam
Time
Expansion Ratio
Half lives
(typically 15-30 seconds)
Maximum expansion ratio
(typically 10-20)

32
In detail:

Look in even more detail:

Compaction squeezes
particles together, forcing
the water away from
contact areas and creating
bitumen bonds.

The final trapped water content is usually 0.5-1.0% (by mass). The rest of the water can,
in theory, evaporate; but this is highly weather dependent. Cold-mix therefore needs good
weather.

Additives
Because the UK is not always warm and dry, it is common to add a small percentage (1-
2%) of cement, lime or fly ash to the mixture in order to take up some of the water,
helping the bitumen to attach itself to the aggregate.

Volumetrics
We need good compaction,
and this depends on the
fluid content (fluid
means water or emulsion or
more debatably foam
residue). Optimum
compaction is achieved at
optimum fluid content. This
is typically about 6% (by
mass).
1. Particles
coated with a
film of water
before mixing
3. Most of the
water
evaporates;
some is trapped
Dry Density
Fluid content
Air voids
Optimum
Fluid content
10%
5%
0%
2. Bitumen
droplets or flakes of
foam coalesce onto
the aggregate

33
So, say 2% water content is present in the aggregate already. This means that we can add
4% extra fluids. In an emulsion, this can be up to 70% bitumen, which means that the
upper limit on bitumen content is just under 2.8% (compared to a typical 4-5% for a hot-
mix asphalt). If you want more bitumen then you just have to accept a lower density.

Foamed bitumen needs a slightly higher initial aggregate water content to get good
mixing. The result is that you end up with more or less the same limit as for emulsion.

Illustration of volumetrics:

We can use the same equations for predicting the stiffness modulus of a cold-mix as for
hot-mix. A trapped water pocket has just the same effect as an air void.

Equation: E
mixture
[in MPa] = E
binder
[1 + (257.5 2.5VMA)/(n (VMA3))]
n

where: n = 0.83 log
10
[4 10
4
/E
binder
]
VMA is in %; E
binder
is in MPa

Say, for example, S
binder
is 25MPa for hot-mix at 20C but reduces to an average of
20MPa for cold-mix because of non-coated areas and the effect of the trapped water.

Therefore n = 2.66 for hot-mix and 2.74 for cold-mix.

Taking the volumetric examples above: S
DBM
= 6090MPa
S
cold-mix low binder
= 5350MPa
S
cold-mix std binder
= 1790MPa

Fatigue and deformation resistance are both also likely to be poorer than for hot mix.

By Volume: 78% 7% 10% 5%
By Volume: 78% 4% 6% 7% 2%
By Volume: 73% 6% 9% 10% 2%
By Mass: 87.5% 8% 4.5% 0%
By Mass: 90% 4.5% 2.5% 3% 0%
By Mass: 84.5% 7% 4% 4.5% 0%
By Volume: 69% 6% 9% 10% 6%
By Mass: 84.5% 7% 4% 4.5% 0%
Hot mix; dense grading;
standard binder content

Cold mix; dense grading;
low binder content

Cold mix; dense grading;

Cold mix; open grading;
Aggregate Filler Binder Air

34
Curing
An important difference between cold-mix and hot-mix is the time taken to gain strength.

Hot-mix: - fairly high strength as soon as it has cooled down (e.g. 2 hours);
- quite rapid stiffening for a few weeks as traffic slightly reorientates
particles for maximum effectiveness;
- slow stiffening thereafter due to binder ageing.

Cold-mix: - initially little more than a granular material;
- binder effect clear within 24 hours;
- continuing slow strength gain over a
period of up to 6 months;
- simulate in lab with 5 days at 40C

Unfortunately, it is not really practical to
keep traffic off the road for 6 months
while the material stiffens up! Therefore
there is a danger of early life damage
taking place but this is very hard to
predict. So long as the trafic is light, no
permanent damage will occur. The
question is: just how much is too much?

Practical Use of Cold Mix
Summary of key points:

a) The b bi in nd de er r c co on nt te en nt t will probably be l lo ow we er r than for a hot mix.
b) The v vo oi id d c co on nt te en nt t is likely to be h hi ig gh he er r than an equivalent hot-mix.
c) This means that cold-mix will usually be less stiff, less resistant to deformation
and have lower fatigue life. It is a p po oo or re er r m ma at te er ri ia al l!
d) Water needs to evaporate before sealing the surface. This means that the
aggregate g gr ra ad di in ng g used should be reasonably o op pe en n.
e) It is important to l li im mi it t e ea ar rl ly y t tr ra af ff fi ic ck ki in ng g.
f) All of these points mean that there is a s si ig gn ni if fi ic ca an nt t r ri is sk k associated with cold-mix.

So why would anyone use cold-mix?

a) The range of possible aggregates is extended. For example, construction and
demolition waste, incinerator ash, crushed concrete and recycled asphalt
planings (RAP) can all be used.
b) Cold-mix technology is ideal for in-situ recycling.
c) Cold-mix can have a storage life of several months.
d) Lower energy usage gives environmental benefits.

For these reasons, cold-mix is a popular choice for minor roads.
0.0
1.0
2.0
3.0
4.0
5.0
6.0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
S
t
i
f
f
n
e
s
s

a
t

2
0

d
e
g
r
e
e
s

(
G
P
a
)
Days since Construction
Basalt FoamMaster
Blast furnace slag Asphalt planings
RAP Limestone
Average


35
PAVEMENT DESIGN

1. Traffic

Load Magnitude

a) asphalt fatigue cracking depends approximately on the 4
th
power of tensile strain
see graph on p25;
b) concrete fatigue cracking depends approximately on the 10
th
to 12
th
power of
tensile stress see graph on p18;
c) subgrade rutting depends approximately on the 4
th
to 7
th
power of subgrade
compressive stress (or strain?).

So its all a bit complicated. The American Association of State Highway Officials
(AASHO) undertook a series of pavement trials during the late 1950s using controlled
trafficking with known loads. Conclusion: use a 4
th
power law.

No. of equivalent design axles (N
eq
) = [axle load (P) / design axle load (P
des
)]
4

i.e. if P is twice the design axle load P
des
, it will do 16 times the damage of a design axle.

How much difference does the choice of power law really make?

So, for highways we convert traffic to an equivalent number of 8T (80kN) axles (called
standard axles) which means 40kN wheel loads. For airfields we have to choose a
design aircraft and convert to numbers of equivalent design aircraft; similarly for port
pavements etc.

But, for highways at least, we usually dont know the detailed numbers in each weight
band, so it is common to use a wear factor (or damage factor) for each vehicle type.
Typical highway traffic 1 hour:

Wt band
0-1T
1-2T
2-3T
3-4T
4-5T
5-6T
6-7T
7-8T
8-9T
9-10T
10-11T
11-12T
12-13T
13-14T
14-15T

Average
0.5T
1.5T
2.5T
3.5T
4.5T
5.5T
6.5T
7.5T
8.5T
9.5T
10.5T
11.5T
12.5T
13.5T
14.5T

Number
3875
1201
564
320
254
189
265
412
365
176
17
4
1
0
0 or 1

0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
4000
4500
5000
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
Exponent n
E
q
u
i
v
a
l
e
n
t

n
o

o
f

8
T

a
x
l
e
s
Without 14-15T axle
With 14-15T axle
Convert to equivalent 8T axles:
N
eq
= N (W
av
/8)
n


36
Vehicle Type Wear Factors (= conversion factor to standard axles)
Hakim
(1998b)
Frith et
al
(1997)
UK Highways
Agency (HD24)
Collop (1999)
Flexible Rigid
Maint-
enance
New
road
Rutting Fatigue
2 axle rigid
3 axle rigid
3 axle articulated
4 axle rigid
4 axle articulated
5 axle articulated
6 axle articulated
-
1.16
0.39
1.75
0.84
2.02
1.78
0.40
1.26
0.65
2.80
1.00
2.50
1.69
0.40
2.30
1.70
3.00
1.70
2.90
3.70
0.60
3.40
2.50
4.60
2.50
4.40
5.60
1.16
2.32
1.79
2.85
2.71
3.70
3.94
1.46
2.39
1.63
3.12
2.26
3.94
3.03
0.68
1.29
0.68
2.12
1.10
2.65
1.48

Note: these keep changing as vehicle and tyre design changes.

Contact Pressure
The contact zone between a pneumatic rubber tyre and the road surface is obviously
complicated. But should we worry? By the time we go down a few centimetres the
pressure will have evened out so the exact details certainly wont affect the lower layers
probably not the base either. Result: dont worry about it except for high pressure, usually
aircraft loads, when we need to choose a suitably strong surface course.

Typical values: 250kPa for a car, 700kPa for a large truck, 1000-1500kPa for commercial
aircraft and up to 3000kPa for some military planes.

2. Standard Pavement Designs

As an example, here is the main chart from UK Highways Agency standard HD26.

Example
Fully flexible
design (asphalt/
foundation)
Composite design
HBM lower base
Composite design
asphalt upper base,
binder course and
surface course

37
Note: Traffic: (msa = millions of standard axles)

HBM (hydraulically bound material) category:
A. 9-12MPa (gravel)
B. 9-12MPa (crushed rock); 12-16MPa (gravel)
C. 12-16MPa (crushed rock); 16-20MPa (gravel)
D. 16-20MPa (crushed rock)

Foundation class:
1. Capping only 50MPa at top of foundation
2. Granular subbase 100MPa at top of foundation
3. Weak HBM subbase 200MPa at top of foundation
4. Strong HBM subbase 400MPa at top of foundation

Asphalt materials (= base layer):
- DBM125 = Asphalt concrete with 125pen binder
- HRA50 = Hot rolled asphalt with 50pen binder
- DBM50/HDM50 = Asphalt concrete with 50pen binder
- EME2 = Asphalt concrete with 15pen binder

Here is the equivalent chart for concrete (rigid) pavements

Note: Traffic: (msa = millions of standard axles)
CRCP = continuously reinforced concrete pavement
CRCR = continuously reinforced concrete roadbase (i.e. needs an asphalt surface)
f
r
= concrete flexural strength
R = reliability


38
The AASHTO (1993) method is also still widely used

Key Equation: Structural Number (SN) = a
1
h
1
+ a
2
h
2
+ a
3
h
3

where: a
1
, a
2
, a
3
= layer coefficients
[Asphalt a 0.238 modulus(GPa)
0.55
]
[Granular a modulus(MPa)
0.85
/ 470]
h
1
, h
2
, h
3
= layer thicknesses (inches)

Structural Number (SN) is a measure of the strength of the pavement structure, which is
related to pavement life (in msa) through a complicated equation.

Advantage: pretty simple conceptually

Nowadays the AASHTO Mechanistic Empirical Pavement Design Method (MEPDM)
is also available. This takes several minutes to run on a modern PC but accounts for
detailed traffic distribution + changes in temperature day and night throughout the year.

The problem is that all these methods + many others across the world are basically black
boxes. You input some parameters and you get a design out and you just have to trust
that the method applies to your particular case. You calculate nothing!

3. Analytical Pavement Design Flexible Pavements

Design Principles
The pavement has to fulfil the following roles:
a) Protect the subgrade: Natural ground will not be usually be strong enough to
bear traffic load directly; it would deform and rut.
b) Guard against deformation in the pavement layers: All pavement materials
must themselves be stable enough not to deform too much.
c) Guard against break-up of the pavement layers: The strength of the pavement
layers must be sufficient to prevent excessive cracking from developing.
d) Protect from environmental attack: The materials used must not lose their
properties (too much) under environmental attack.
e) Provide a suitable surface: The design has to be suitable to provide an
appropriate pavement surface.
f) Ensure maintainability: The design must ensure that it is possible to carry out
necessary maintenance.

Analytical design usually only looks at (a) and (c). The other points are covered by
sensible material specifications and sensible combinations of layers.

Protect the subgrade
Recognising the difficulties involved in soil parameter estimation, most of the current
analytical design methods use the so-called the subgrade strain criterion

39
This is a massive simplification and relies on a massive assumption, namely:

THE STRENGTH OF A SOIL IS DIRECTLY RELATED TO ITS STIFFNESS

This is not really true!!

Nevertheless, over a limited range of soils, for example UK heavy clays, it may be close
enough to being true to be usable. The argument goes like this:

life (to a limiting rut depth) = fn [stress strength]
if: strength = fn [stiffness modulus] .
. then: life = fn [stress/stiffness modulus] = fn [elastic strain].

The great advantage of this assumption is that it is only
necessary to calculate the elastic strain value in the
subgrade under load, i.e. the vertical elastic strain at the
top of the subgrade under a design wheel load. This can be
done using multi-layer linear elastic analysis programs
like BISAR, ELSYM, JULEA, CIRCLY etc.

All we need now is a relationship between life and strain.
Here are three:

N
f
[in millions] = 3.09 10
10
c
z
3.95
[c
z
in microstrain] UK Transport Research Laboratory
N
f
-3
c
z
7.14
[c
z
in millistrain] NAASRA (Australia)
N
f
8
c
z
3.7
[in microstrain] British Airports Authority

Conclusion: think before you believe any of them! They have all been developed based
on experience. For example, sandy soils will tend to have different relationship between
strength and stiffness modulus from that of clay soils, which means they can carry many
times the number of load applications for a given level of elastic strain.

This is about as good as
it gets unless you really
know something about
the soil in your
subgrade. However if
you know enough to
estimate the shear stress
at failure at the top of
your subgrade you might
be able to be a little
cleverer in your design,
based on data like that
shown here.

30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
1 100 10000 1000000
A
p
p
l
i
e
d

s
t
r
e
s
s
/
f
a
i
l
u
r
e

s
t
r
e
s
s

(
%
)
1% strain
2% strain
1% strain
2% strain
possible design line
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
1 10 100 1000 10000
S
h
e
a
r

S
t
r
a
i
n

e
x
c
l
u
d
i
n
g

t
h
e

f
i
r
s
t

c
y
c
l
e

(
%
)
99%
54%
88%
83%
71%
52%
73%
Clay
Sand
90%
90%: ratio of applied stress to
failure stress
Subbase
Hot-Mix Asphalt
Subgrade

40
This data is from laboratory tests carried out in the triaxial equipment on a soft clay and
an angular sand. Note that when the data is in the form of a stress ratio, the behaviour of
the two soils is fairly similar, allowing a possible design line to be proposed.

Guard against break-up of the pavement layers
It is a fact that a relationship is generally found between
tensile strain in asphalt under load and the number of load
applications until failure occurs; it is therefore quite logical
that the maximum tensile strain in the asphalt layers of a
pavement under a wheel load should be related to cracking.

Cracking can occur:
A at the bottom of the asphalt immediately under the load;
B near the surface just outside the loaded area;
C at the surface in the tyre tread contact zone.

A is generally assumed to be dominant. Even if it isnt always true it makes life simpler!
It can be calculated relatively easily using multi-layer linear elastic analysis.

We now need a relationship between calculated tensile strain and life. Here are two:

N
f
-10
(1/c
t
)
4.16
[c
t
in microstrain] UK Transport Research Laboratory
N
f
[in millions] = 0.00432k
1
'C (1/c
t
)
3.9492
(1/E)
1.281
[c
t
in microstrain] AASHTO, US
where: k
1
' = fn(h); C = fn(mixture volumetrics); E = asphalt stiffness
modulus; h = asphalt thickness.

Putting it all together:

Subbase
Hot-Mix Asphalt
Subgrade
Buses 56
2-axle trucks 562
3-axle trucks 401
5 or 6-axle articulated trucks (with semi-trailer) 268
Equivalent standard wheel loads/day 2633
20-year design traffic 2 10
7

1 10 10
2
10
3
10
4
10
5
10
6
10
7
10
8

2000
1000
800
200
100
50
20
10

strain
N
E
1
, v
1
E
2
, v
2

E
3
, v
3

h
1
h
2

c
t

h
1
h
2

c
t
= 150strain

c
t
= 100strain

c
t
= 70strain

c
t
= 50strain

Carry out traffic assessment
Select a fatigue characteristic
Multi-layer linear elastic analysis

41
Design Temperature
This is all OK, but we will get a different answer depending on the temperature of the
pavement since asphalt stiffness modulus depends on temperature. Its stiffness changes
by a factor of about three for every 10C temperature change, and stiffness is a key input
to any calculation of tensile strain.

The problem is far too complex to analyse fully.

So, select a design temperature and calibrate your prediction based on experience. In
the UK, the temperature selected is 20C. The equations for N
f
on the previous two pages
assume an asphalt temperature of 20C.

Typical Stiffness Moduli and Poissons Ratios

Modulus - Asphalt surface course: 2500MPa
Asphalt concrete, 125 pen (= DBM125): 3100MPa
Asphalt concrete, 50 pen (= DBM50/HDM50): 5000MPa
Asphalt concrete, 15 pen (= DBM15): 7800MPa
Weak HBM: 500MPa
Crushed rock base: 250-500MPa
Crushed rock subbase: 150MPa
Capping: 75MPa

Poissons ratio - asphalt and unbound material: 0.35
HBM 0.2

Issues in Real Design

Thin asphalt layers
The problem here is that
deformation (and therefore
curvature) of pavements with
thin asphalt layers is dominated
by the stiffness of underlying
support, which means that it
only increases slightly as
asphalt thickness reduces; and
strain, which is proportional to
curvature but inversely
proportional to thickness,
actually reduces at low
thickness. The trouble is that
though calculated strain may reduce as asphalt gets very thin, experience is that pavement
life does not start increasing!

Suggestion: just extrapolate the design curve derived at greater thicknesses.
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
0 50 100 150 200 250
Asphalt Thickness (mm)
T
e
n
s
i
l
e

S
t
r
a
i
n

(
m
i
c
r
o
s
t
r
a
i
n
)
Computed
For practical design
10000
100000
1000000
0 50 100 150 200
Asphalt Thickness (mm)
L
i
f
e

(
n
u
m
b
e
r

o
f

p
a
s
s
e
s
)
Modelling propagation
For practical design
Computed

42
Load Groups
You dont often get a truly isolated wheel, in
which case you might have to take account of
effects from neighbouring wheels.

In general: dont worry about it for asphalt
strain; take it into account for subgrade strain.

Dynamic Effects
Wheel load fluctuates as the vehicle body oscillates vertically. Some suspension systems
are more effective than others at avoiding high dynamic load, but you cant avoid it
entirely. Usually we ignore it in design, assuming it is included in the calibration. But
lets take a look at what might really be happening.

Divide into time steps

Work out relative damage in each
time step [ = (W/W
mean
)
n
]

Average damage over whole cycle

The first three curves make the assumption that the distribution of dynamic load is
random. However, there is plenty of evidence to show that this is often not the case and
that similar vehicles, having similar suspension system characteristics, will tend to apply
peak loads in roughly the same locations. The fourth curve makes the assumption that the
loading pattern is perfectly repeated, in which case the computed damage would occur at
regular intervals along the pavement and you can sometimes see this in reality.

Cornering

0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
1 1.2 1.4 1.6
Ratio: maximun dynamic/mean
M
u
l
t
i
p
l
i
e
r

o
n

d
a
m
a
g
e
Exponent = 4
Exponent = 8
Exponent = 12
Exponent = 4;
repeatable load pattern
Maximum dynamic
Mean Load

Sideways force due to cornering = Mv
2
/r
Vertical force due to gravity = Mg [g = 9.81m/s
2
]
Balance vertically: P
1
+ P
2
= Mg
Moments about inner wheel path: P
1
d = (Mv
2
/r)h + Mg(d/2)
Combine: P
1
= M (g/2 + v
2
h/rd)
P
2
= M (g/2 v
2
h/rd)
Example: v = 25m/s (approx 60mph); r = 500m; d = 2m; h = 2m;
M = 8T
P
1
= 49.24kN; P
2
= 29.24kN
M
d
h
P
2
P
1

v
r
Centre of
gravity

43
Vehicle Speed Effects
Vehicle speed is important for three reasons:
dynamic loads will be higher at high speeds;
asphalt stiffness varies with loading rate;
soils and granular materials at high levels of saturation may suffer from positive
pore pressures (and therefore low strength and stiffness) at high loading rates.

But we still usually ignore it!

Lateral Wander
This refers to the fact that not every wheel follows the same path. On highways, the
distribution across a wheel path commonly has a standard deviation of around 150mm;
on airport runways this is likely to be a metre or more. We could therefore reduce the
design traffic slightly to account for this. On roads this is rarely done; on airfields it is.

Designing with Cold-Mix Asphalt
The trouble with cold mix is that it is neither one thing nor the other. It is partially bound.

Choices:

a) treat it as a hot-mix

b) treat it as a very superior granular material

What stiffness to use? 500MPa if you are really quite unsure;
750MPa for most cases;
1000MPa for well controlled construction in UK;
1500MPa under ideal conditions.
Hot-mix binder course + surface course ~ 3500MPa

Cold-mix base ~ 2500MPa

Calculate asphalt tensile strain at base of cold-
mix layer; use a standard fatigue characteristic.
Assumption: the material achieves full curing
without damage [optimistic assumption]
Hot-mix binder course + surface course ~ 3500MPa

Cold-mix base ~ 1000MPa

Calculate asphalt tensile strain at base of binder
course; use a standard fatigue characteristic.
Assumption: the material deteriorates to the
equivalent of an excellent granular material.

44
4. Analytical Pavement Design Composite Pavements

The first issue here is: what is a composite pavement?

Answer: one with a relatively strong HBM layer in it. A weak HBM is really just like a
good granular material because it will end up broken into small pieces

So, reviewing the design principles listed on p38, the key differences are:

a) Subgrade protection becomes of secondary importance since the subgrade can
never rut until the HBM has broken.
b) We need to make sure the stress in the HBM isnt enough to break it, or at least
not enough to break it too much.

Thermal Stress
All HBMs expand and contract with temperature changes. They are solids and so this
imposes stresses, mainly in the longitudinal direction. In many climates there is likely to
be at least a 20C difference in HBM temperature between setting and the coldest time of
year, leading to a typical strain of 2 10
-4
, and this is around the failure strain for most
HBMs. The HBM will therefore crack at intervals transversely across the pavement. In
fact it will usually crack during the first few night of its life when the strength is still low.

What will the crack spacing be?

Shear stress t = gh tan|

Force across centre of slab = tL/2 = ghL/2 tan| (per metre width of slab)

If slab is intact: Tensile stress at slab centre ghL/2 tan| h = gL/2 tan|

If this is more than the tensile strength of the HBM, it will break in two

Example: say tensile strength = 0.2MPa when the first relatively cold night occurs,
density = 2300kg/m
3
and friction angle | is 35.

Stress = strength when: 0.2 10
6
= 2300 9.81 L/2 tan(35)
i.e. L = 38m

So a 40m length between cracks will break into two 20m lengths, but a 35m length will
remain intact. In fact eventual spacing should be between 19m and 38m.

h
L

Temperature << temperature at time of set
o
t t
Angle of friction |
HBM layer
Crack

45
Conclusion: expect transverse cracks, but the spacing will depend critically on day-night
temperature changes during the first few days and weeks of life, and these cannot
reasonably be foreseen.

Solution: crack deliberately (i.e. form joints) at much closer spacing, usually 3m.

This process creates weaknesses. Hopefully cracks from at each weakness but because
they are quite close together, each crack should remain very narrow (a hairline crack).

Design against Traffic Loading
This time we need to calculate the tensile stress at the
bottom of the HBM layer, again using multi-layer linear
elastic analysis.

We then need a relationship between calculated tensile stress
and life. Going back to p18, the key quantity is the ratio of
tensile stress to tensile strength well actually flexural
strength, i.e. strength from a realistic test arrangement. We
can just apply the fatigue equation suggested on p18, namely:

ot / flexural strength = 1.064 0.064 log
10
(N)

So, if the design is for 50 million standard axles and the calculated tensile stress at the
bottom of the layer is 0.8MPa, then the required long-term flexural strength is 1.4MPa,
which equates to a compressive strength of 10-15MPa. If we want to use a weaker
material we must make the layer thicker, or maybe make the foundation stronger.

Reflective Cracking
Even if there are no traffic-induced cracks in the HBM, we know that there will be
thermally induced transverse cracks (or joints which amounts to the same thing). These
represent discontinuities in the support given to the asphalt layers, which means we are
very likely to find a crack appearing through the asphalt at those points. This is reflective
cracking.

a) Reflective cracks are a nuisance not a real failure; could just keep re-sealing them.
b) Could use Highways Agency rule and always have at least 180mm of asphalt.
c) Could check asphalt tensile strain c
t
but if so then reduce E
HBM
to 500MPa. This
represents the effect of a discontinuity in support to the asphalt.
Recently
paved HBM
Form slots to
2/3 depth
Fill slots with
bitumen emulsion
Roll
HBM
Subbase
Hot-Mix Asphalt
Subgrade
HBM

46
5. Analytical Pavement Design Rigid Pavements (jointed unreinforced)

Westergaard Analysis
Since the 1920s, the equations developed by H.M.
Westergaard have represented the most widely used
approach to analysis of concrete pavements under load.
The original equations were derived assuming a
concrete pavement to act as a slab in pure bending, and
several subsequent modifications have been made over
the years to increase the accuracy with which a real
pavement can be modelled. The equations are in terms
of the maximum tensile stress in the concrete due to
slab bending and they are for three load locations: i)
internal (i.e. distant from a joint); ii) edge; and iii)
corner. The load is assumed to consist of a uniformly
stressed circular area. Here are commonly applied
versions of the equations.

Westergaard equations for stress in a concrete slab:

Internal loading; stress at base of slab:
o
Tensile
= [0.275 p / h
2
].[1 + v].[4 log
10
(L
s
/b) + log
10
(12 (1-v
2
)) 0.436]

Edge loading; stress at base of slab:
o
Tensile
= [0.529 p / h
2
].[1 + 0.54v].[4 log
10
(L
s
/b) + 0.359]

Corner loading; stress at top of slab:
o
Tensile
= [3 p / h
2
].[1 (\2 a / L
s
)
1.2
]

where: p = load; a = radius; h = slab thickness; v = Poissons ratio; L
s
= radius of relative
stiffness = [E h
3
/ (12 k (1-v
2
))]
0.25
; E = stiffness modulus; k = modulus of subgrade
reaction; b = radius of equivalent pressure distribution = \(1.6 a
2
+ h
2
) 0.675 h, if a >
0.72 h; = a, if a < 0.72 h.

Estimating modulus of subgrade reaction k:

Use multi-layer linear elastic analysis:
predict deflection o
k = (P/tr
2
)/o
Note: the result will depend on the value of r.
P
E
1
, v
1

E
2
, v
2

E
3
, v
3

r
Corner
Edge
Internal
Joints (with
zero load
transfer)
Plan View

47
Once you have calculated a worst-case tensile stress you could then apply the fatigue
equation suggested above for HBM. However, it is usual to be on the safe side and use a
more conservative equation, known as the Packard line.

ot / flexural strength = 0.96 0.0799 log
10
(N)

So, if you calculate a worst case stress of 1.6MPa for example, and you want to use a
concrete with a flexural strength of 4.5MPa then the design traffic is about 37 million
load applications.

Problem: real life isnt just corners, edges and places far from an edge. Joints usually
transfer load, so they arent really edges. But then not all joints are the same look back
to p7. Expansion joints are not far from being edges; contraction joints should have pretty
good load transfer; warping joints should have excellent load transfer.

Solution: Usually ignore the corner case. Often ignore the edge case. Use the internal
case but apply a factor depending on how good you think the joints are; e.g. 1.2 for
good joints, 1.5 for poor joints.

Multi-layer Linear Elastic Analysis
The same multi-layer linear elastic analysis as has been introduced for flexible pavements
can also be used here to calculate tensile stress.

Advantage: load combinations can be included, such as dual or tandem wheel sets.

Disadvantage: all layers have to be infinite in extent; there is no way of analysing an edge
or corner situation.

Limit State Analysis
A problem with both Westergaard and multi-layer linear elastic analysis is that concrete
cannot really crack at a single point. If cracking is to occur, then there must be a
mechanism of cracks. What will actually happen is that the point of theoretical failure
will simply reduce in stiffness locally as the first inter-particle fractures begin to occur.
Conclusions based on an elastic analysis will therefore be conservative. The alternative
is a limit state analysis.

Key equation: WORK done by loads = ENERGY absorbed by foundation
+ ENERGY dissipated at cracks

Need to: a) arrange loads on pavement;
b) propose a failure mechanism;
c) calculate work done + energy to foundation based on an assumed set of
deflections and angles;
d) derive the resisting bending moment (per metre) at crack locations;
e) relate this bending moment to a required slab thickness for a given
concrete strength using the equation M = oh
2
/6 (refer back to p17).

48
The limit state approach opens the door to solving problems of multiple loads and
complex joint geometry that would otherwise be impossible.

Warping Stresses
Thermally-induced warping stresses result from a temperature difference between the top
and the bottom of a slab; they should not be ignored.

Approach 1: assume that the safety margin in using the Packard line (previous page) is
enough to cover warping stresses the usual approach in practice.

Approach 2: use equations that were developed to predict warping stresses directly.
These are the Bradbury equations for maximum warping stress in a concrete slab, one
for internal stress and the other for edge stress, mirroring two of the conditions covered
by the Westergaard equations.

You can then add the maximum warping stress to the stress caused by traffic to give a
real maximum value for design although you then have to make some difficult
decisions about the number of likely combined stress applications during the life of the
pavement.
Example:

Assumptions: a) load uniformly distributed over area of foundation
enclosed by cracks
b) square wheel pattern with 0.5m offsets everywhere
Work done by loads = 4Po (\2d/20.5\2)/(\2d/2) = 4Po(11/d)
Energy dissipated at cracks = 4\2dM (o/(\2d/2)) = 8Mo
Energy absorbed by foundation = 4P (o/3)
Energy balance: 4Po (11/d) = 8Mo + 4Po/3
M P/3 for large d
Since M also equals o
f
h
2
/6, therefore: o
f
= 2P/h
2

o
d
0.5m
0.5m
Load P
Moment to cause cracking
= M per linear metre
Internal loading; stress at base of slab:
o
Tensile
= .E.o.T (C
x
+ v C
y
)/(1 - v
2
)

Edge loading; stress at base of slab:
o
Tensile
= .E.o.T C
x
(or C
y
)

where: E = stiffness modulus; o = coefficient of thermal
expansion; T = temperature difference top-bottom; C
x
,C
y

depend on the ratio of slab dimensions x and y respectively to
radius of relative stiffness L
s
see inset.

x/L
s
=0, C
x
0;
x/L
s
=2, C
x
0.05;
x/L
s
=3, C
x
0.18;
x/L
s
=4, C
x
0.50;
x/L
s
=5, C
x
0.73;
x/L
s
=6, C
x
0.89;
x/L
s
7, C
x
1

49
Joint Spacing
The main factor here is the amount of thermal expansion and contraction not warping.
Taking a typical coefficient of thermal expansion of 10
-5
per C and a 30C difference
between maximum summer and minimum winter pavement temperatures, then a
nominally 10m long slab of concrete will vary in length by 3mm. So, if joints are placed
in a road at 10m spacing, there will be a gap of 3mm or more in the winter.

This is usually too much. Even with dowel bars (refer back to p 7) there wont be enough
load transfer across joints in the winter because there wont be any aggregate interlock,
which means the design case becomes almost an edge condition.

In fact, experience suggests that for most climates joint spacings between 3.5 and 6m
represent a reasonable compromise between the cost and nuisance of joint construction
and maintenance and the need to maintain load transfer efficiency. Less and the cost
becomes too great; more and joint problems become increasingly likely.

6. Reinforced Concrete Pavements

Lightly Reinforced
Reinforcement is often not economically justified. However a light reinforcement mesh is
sometimes included near the top of the slab as a means of controlling shrinkage cracking.
It can also be used to cut back on the number of joints. The argument goes like this:

1) joints are a nuisance so lets have less of them;
2) greater joint spacing increased warping stresses less load transfer at joints;
3) therefore there is a much greater likelihood of cracking;
4) but if reinforcement is present cracks are controlled; they will remain narrow
and the slab will not break up.

In this sort of pavement hairline cracking is accepted; but there is enough reinforcement
to hold the slab together, giving plenty of aggregate interlock across each crack and so
plenty of load transfer.

Continuously Reinforced
But why have any joints at all? After all, if we can accept hairline cracking then what
putting so much reinforcement in that it never fractures? This is continuously reinforced
concrete (CRC), and it sits right at the top of the range of concrete pavement options.
The principle is simple. There has to be enough reinforcement to resist the forces
generated when the concrete contracts due to cooling.

Note:
a) the concrete will still crack but these will be hairline cracks, typically every 1m;
b) reinforcement quantity will typically be 0.6-0.8% of the concrete area;
c) slab thickness is usually less than in the unreinforced case but not by much;
d) there needs to be an anchorage (into the ground) at each end.

50
SURFACE PROPERTIES

1. Ride Quality

Excellent ride quality is not always needed but it is on high-speed roads.
Typical tolerance limits: 3mm in 3m
So how can this be achieved?

Pavement Quality Concrete
No problem achieving the tolerance in a machine-laid wet-formed concrete pavement.

Problem: concrete is hard and unable to absorb much energy from the tyres.
high tyre vibration
relatively high noise
not so pleasant to drive on
[joints just make things worse; good texture, e.g. longitudinal grooving
or exposed aggregate finish, can help]

Asphalt
To get a really good finish, the surface course must be relatively thin (say 50mm);
otherwise the paver operator will not be able to control levels well enough. But then the
underlying layer must also be reasonably even too and this principle applies right the
way through the pavement. The evenness of the surface of each layer can be constructed
slightly better than that of the one below, but only slightly.

UK Highways Agency tolerances (absolute maxima) at each level:

Pavement surface 6mm
Binder course 6mm
Base 15mm
Subbase + 10mm 30mm

Impact of different types of surface:

Surface Type Vibration
generation
Energy
absorption
Ride quality
ranking
Asphalt concrete medium medium 3
Hot rolled asphalt + chippings medium low 4
Stone mastic asphalt low high 2
Porous asphalt low very high 1
Surface dressing high low 5=
Concrete (PQC) fairly high very low 5=
Block paving very high low 7


51
2. Material Strength, Durability etc

A PQC surface is of exactly the same strength as the rest of the concrete slab not an
issue.

Asphalt Surfaces
Asphalt surface course has to have relatively small stone size due to its low layer
thickness and, consequently, a relatively high bitumen content. This leads to a less stiff
material but with high fatigue resistance and good durability.

Asphalt surface structural properties:

Mixture Type Stiffness Deformation
resistance
Fatigue
strength
Asphalt concrete medium high medium
Hot rolled asphalt (+ chippings) medium low high
Stone mastic asphalt medium-low high medium-high
Porous asphalt low medium-high medium-low
BASE HIGH HIGH MEDIUM

Block Paving
Although blocks themselves are high-stiffness, the effective layer stiffness is a function
of rotation and shear at joints, which depends on how well the joints are filled. It is
common practice to assume a stiffness of 500MPa for a combined block-bedding sand
layer.

3. Skid Resistance

Microtexture
This term describes the intrinsic frictional properties of the surface.

In an asphalt: it relates to the aggregate particles at the surface.
In a PQC: it relates to the cementitious mortar.
In block paving: it relates to the surface of the block.

The microtexture represents the ultimate skid resistance potential of a surface, the level
applying in dry conditions and without any intervening dirt, bitumen or ice lens. It is
logical therefore to insist on improved microtexture at sensitive locations such as
approaches to pedestrian crossings and roundabouts, and this approach is adopted by
highway authorities all over the world. Certain aggregate types such as gritstones
therefore take on a premium value because of their excellent microtexture.

The problem is that the frictional properties of a surface change under the action of
traffic. In dry weather they are polished by the relative motion of tyre and surface,

52
activated partly by tyre vibration. This reduces the microtexture. It is standard practice
therefore to assess the so-called Polished Stone Value (PSV) of an aggregate by first
subjecting it to an accelerated polishing regime before measuring the frictional
properties using the pendulum test.

Microtexture is also seasonal. Polishing occurs mainly in dry weather; wet weather
restores frictional properties to some extent due to the abrading effect of small particles
of grit which are present in surface water. For this reason, skid resistance should
preferably be assessed in summer or during the dry season.

Macrotexture
If it never rained you would need no
macrotexture (the visible texture due to
the arrangement of stones or the presence
of grooves etc). Neither tyre tread nor
visible surface texture make the smallest
contribution to basic skid resistance; they
are only present to ensure that surface
water has somewhere to go. Direct
contact is needed between tyre and
surface in order for friction to be
activated; if a water film remains in
between, the vehicle will aquaplane as
soon as brakes are applied. An optimised
macrotexture therefore ensures that there
is only a short distance between individual
contact points and regions where water
can be accommodated without danger.
Water movement away from
contact points
Accelerated Polishing Machine

Rubber-tyred
wheel

Polishing Test
Specimen

Surface
aggregate

Rubber
pad

Pendulum Test


53

Macrotexture is generally expressed
as a texture depth in millimetres.
The basic measure comes from a
procedure known as the sand patch
test, although there are also laser-
based pieces of equipment on the
market for rapid, sometimes traffic-
speed, measurement.

Macrotexture can also deteriorate under traffic loading. The same wet-season abrasion
that restores microtexture also reduces the height of individual aggregate particles,
eventually reducing the texture depth excessively. For this reason, it is necessary to
specify abrasion resistance, for example the Los Angeles Abrasion value.

4. Spray

Spray from surface water is a safety hazard. If water cannot easily flow across the
surface of a pavement then it will be available to form spray. The issue is not texture
depth but barriers to lateral flow.

Traditional UK Hot Rolled Asphalt (HRA) with rolled-in chippings has a particularly
bad reputation for spray since each individual chipping sits in its own small indentation
(negative texture) into the asphalt surface, allowing a small pond of water to remain
around it until it either evaporates or is dispersed in the form of spray.

Most other surfaces consist of protrusions (positive texture) from a more general surface
level and water can flow around these protrusions and make its way sideways. Asphalt
concrete and SMA therefore generate much less spray than HRA. Grooved concrete is
also good. However, porous asphalt is undoubtedly the premier material. Porous asphalt
allows water to drain straight into the pavement itself and then to pass laterally through it,
below the level of the tyre-surface contact. The result: virtually no spray at all. Of course,
the pavement has to be able to cope with the presence of water within the porous asphalt.
Usually the porous asphalt surface course has to overlie a dense, impermeable binder
course; otherwise pavement durability problems are likely.

Sand Patch Test
1. Measure out
exact volume of
sand
2. Pour onto
pavement
surface
3. Spread out level
with tops of
aggregate particles
4. Record
diameter of
sand patch

54
5. Noise

This can be an important issue in urban areas. It is a highly complex field and it is not
necessary for the pavement engineer to appreciate the exact acoustic mechanisms
involved.

As expected, noise level generally depends on texture depth, i.e. roughness. However,
the picture is clearly more complicated than this, with a 10dB(A) difference a factor
of about 3 in actual sound pressure magnitude between block paving and porous asphalt
for the same texture depth. Of the more common asphalt surfaces, SMA is evidently the
quietest at normal texture depths (around 1mm).

Conceptually:

Noise is caused by vibration, principally of the tyre tread elements.
Surface type affects both the amplitude and frequency of tyre tread vibration. [a
rough surface will induce a high amplitude of tyre vibration and therefore high
noise]
Some of this noise will be absorbed by the surface, and this will depend on the
hardness of the surface material. [concrete has poor ability to absorb any sort of
vibration energy including noise and this means that it is difficult to produce a
low-noise concrete surface]

Porous asphalt has very low stiffness and therefore causes little excitation to the tyre
tread elements; it also has excellent noise absorption properties an ideal low-noise
material.
88
90
92
94
96
98
100
102
104
106
108
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5
Texture depth (mm)
N
o
i
s
e

d
B
(
A
)
Porous asphalt
Stone mastic asphalt
Asphalt concrete
Surface dressing
Slurry seal
Exposed aggregate concrete
Textured concrete
Blocks
Porous
asphalt
Surface
dressing
SMA
Other materials
Blocks

55
PAVEMENT EVALUATION

1. Visual Condition Surveys

A visual survey is the most basic and yet often the most useful survey type of all. Put
simply, not all cracks are the same; nor are all ruts or surface defects. An experienced
engineer can deduce a great deal about the internal health or otherwise of a pavement just
by inspecting the surface.

Cracking in asphalt pavements
a) Is there more cracking in the wheel path than elsewhere?
Yes: traffic is responsible, whatever that cracking may look like.
No: traffic is irrelevant and the cause is environmental or due to a general material defect.
b) Are there transverse cracks right across the pavement?
Yes: either low-temperature cracks or reflective cracking from an HBM or PQC base.
c) Are there more transverse cracks in the wheel paths?
Yes: either traffic-induced reflective cracking or defects built in during construction.
d) Is there a single well-developed longitudinal crack in the wheel path?
Yes: traffic-induced fatigue of a thick flexible/composite pavement (cracks usually top-down).
e) Is there multiple cracking (crazing) in the wheel-path?
Yes: shallow failure; either thin asphalt or the upper layer has become debonded.
f) Is slurry pumping up to the surface through cracks?
Yes: water has become trapped, either in the bound materials or else in the foundation.
g) Are there localised wheel path depressions where more than one crack is present?
Yes: probably a HBM base; localised damage water ingress, loss of support, settlement.

Cracking in PQC Concrete Pavements
a) Is cracking (of a jointed pavement) largely restricted to transverse cracks?
Yes: thermally-induced, assisted by traffic; initial joint spacing was excessive.
b) Are significant longitudinal cracks present in or around the wheel path?
Yes: traffic-induced damage; cracks will propagate rapidly along the pavement.
c) Are longitudinal cracks narrow, relatively close-spaced and straight?
Yes: lightly reinforced concrete; minor defects at the time of construction.
d) Are there corner cracks at joint intersections?
Yes: lack of slab support close to joints; damage is limited and will extend no further.
e) Are there regular transverse cracks at 1-2m spacing but no joints?
Yes: continuously reinforced.concrete; should be hairline; if wide then pavement is too weak.

Chipping Loss: loss of adhesive properties in the binder due to bitumen ageing.

Ravelling: widespread chipping loss, leading to the development of pot-holes.

Bleeding: excess bitumen in the pavement shiny surface significant safety hazard.


56
Rutting

2. Profile Surveys

International Roughness Index (IRI)
IRI is defined by the amplitude of motion of a vehicle suspension system as it travels
along the road, measured in cumulative metres of suspension system movement per
kilometre of travel (m/km or mm/m). The vehicles that measure IRI are known as bump
integrators.

Laser Profile Surveys
Laser-based systems are now very commonly used, usually with an array of lasers
pointing down at the road surface. Reflective waves are monitored. They can be used for
profile measurement, texture depth and rut depth. These types of survey can be
carried out at normal traffic speed.
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
0 1 2 3 4
Distance (km)
I
R
I

(
m
/
k
m
)
IRI
< 2 m/km excellent
2-3 m/km satisfactory
3-4 m/km moderately bumpy
4-5 m/km bumpy
> 5 m/km very bumpy
Suspension movement
+ve
ve
Typical Data
Surface course problem Binder course - base
problem
Foundation problem

57
3. Skid Resistance Surveys

Skid resistance is a property that is directly related to the safety of users, applying to both
highways and airfield runways. In the case of airfield runways there are international
standards and it is necessary for airport authorities to check skid resistance regularly,
particularly under adverse weather conditions (rain or snow). Highways are governed by
standards set by individual countries, regions and cities.

4. Cores and Trial Pits

20
Sideways
force
Plan View
The Sideways Force Coefficient Routine Investigation Machine (SCRIM)
Plan Views
Trailer-mounted
alternatives
Separation
force
Drag
force
Wheel
under
braking
Water
tank
Surface
course
Binder/Base
course
HBM base
debonding
Crack; reflected
from HBM base
through asphalt
surfacing
Crack; top-down,
penetrating
through about
50% of the asphalt
Bottom-up
reflective
crack
beginning
to grow
Crack in
HBM base
possibly
reflected
from sub-
base
Serious
crack in
disintegra-
ting HBM
sub-base

58
Coring, using cutters of 100mm or 150mm in diameter, is a relatively non-destructive
method of sampling. Trial pits represent an alternative, labour-intensive method of
sampling. They are suitable i) where bound layer thickness is low; ii) where samples of
unbound foundation material are required; or iii) where specific information is needed
which demands a larger area than can be afforded by a core.

Construction Information
Cores and trial pits reveal the following: Materials present;
Layer thicknesses;
Visual quality;
Inter-layer bond.

Samples can also be taken back to the laboratory for testing.

In-situ Tests
The relatively small size of most core holes means that there is a limit to the types of test
that can be carried out. In fact, there is only one in-situ test device that is commonly used
and that is the Dynamic Cone Penetrometer (DCP see p14). Trial pits also allow the
portable Dynamic Plate Test (DPT also p14).

Laboratory Tests
These tests include:
compressive strength of HBM (height-diameter ratio of at least 1.0 required);
uniaxial stiffness modulus of HBM;
indirect tensile strength (ITS), either of HBM or asphalt;
indirect tensile stiffness modulus (ITSM) of asphalt;
indirect tensile fatigue test (ITFT) for asphalt;
repeated load axial test (RLAT) for asphalt deformation;
inter-layer bond strength tests.

Also, density and void content
can be obtained on specimens
of any convenient shape.
Asphalt specimens can also be
broken down into their
constituents, by means of a
centrifuge, with solvents used to
extract the bitumen. Aggregate
gradation and binder content
can be checked. Binder quality
can also be measured using a
Dynamic Shear Rheometer
(DSR).

P
o
P
o
Peak shear force
Shear slip
at failure
P
Leutner Test
Torque Test

59
5. Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR)

Thickness determination is the main reason for doing a radar survey and pretty good
data is usually obtained, accurate to around 1cm.

However, its all down to image
recognition software, so mistakes are possible. Radar can also give data on moisture
(water molecules become excited at radar frequencies), voids (because of the strength of
a solid-air interface), and steel reinforcement (steel interferes with wave propagation).

6. Deflection Surveys

The Benkelman Beam
This is the oldest and simplest form of deflection test device and it is successfully used
throughout the world.

Time
Transmitter
/receiver
Surface reflection
Asphalt/HBM reflection
HBM/Granular reflection
Depth
Asphalt
Hydraulically-bound material
Granular material
Individual Received Signal Longitudinal Signal Profile
Interpreted Thickness Profile
Radar wave pulses:
Frequency 0.2-1.5MHz
x
y
Deflection o due
to wheel load
Deflection o
Adjust for
temperature
Approximate
construction
Annual
Traffic
Life in years
[using an empirically-
determined set of
equations]
Distance travelled, x
Measurement, y
Benkelman Beam
Arm
Pivot Dial Gauge
6 63 35 50 0k kg g a ax xl le e l lo oa ad d
T Tw wi in n t ty yr re es s

60
The Benkelman Beam is a simple frame with an arm on a hinge, the rotation of which is
read from a dial gauge. The equipment is placed on the ground immediately behind the
twin rear tyres on one side of a goods vehicle loaded to a standard weight, the arm resting
on the pavement surface between the twin tyres. When the operator is ready, the goods
vehicle is slowly driven forward and a maximum reading is taken as the tyres pass the
end of the arm; when it has driven forward some metres, a minimum reading is also
taken. The difference relates to the deflection caused by the loaded wheel.

The Lacroix Deflectograph
The Deflectograph is an extension of the Benkelman Beam idea, initially developed in
France. However it allows the vehicle to travel continuously along the road. The
reference frame is in front of the measurement axle, and it is repeatedly dragged forward
relative to the body of the vehicle and then released. As soon as the rear tyres of the
vehicle have drawn level with the tip of the measurement arm, the frame is winched
forward toward the front of the vehicle ready for the next reading. The result is that a
measurement is taken every 3-4m and that the vehicle can travel continuously at a speed
of 2-3km/hr. Readings are taken in both wheel paths.

The problem with both the Benkelman Beam and the Deflectograph is that they are
relatively low-resolution measurements and rely on empirical interpretation. They also
do not give good data on PQC pavements. They are fine for estimating structural
condition of asphalt pavements for network-level management but they are not really
reliable enough for project-level design. For this we need something a bit more
sophisticated.

The Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD)
The FWD gives a very precise value of absolute deflection (accuracies of 2 microns
commonly quoted), and that opens the door to a much more sophisticated method of
interpretation.
Distance
travelled, x
6350kg axle load
Twin tyres
Winching
mechanism
Reference
frame
Arm
x
Deflection, y
Deflection o due
to wheel load
Adjust to equivalent
Benkelman Beam
deflection
Deflection o
Adjust for
temperature
Approximate
construction
Annual
Traffic
Life in years
[using an empirically-
determined set of
equations]

61

The machine is usually trailer-mounted. Tests are performed with the equipment
stationary and with the loading plate and deflection sensors lowered onto the surface. The
load pulse is then generated by the action of a falling weight onto a set of rubber buffers.

Key advantages:
the load magnitude can be selected to match a typical wheel load;
the pulse duration is similar to that from a moving vehicle;
the deflections are absolute and highly accurate (using velocity transducers);
measurements are taken not only at the load location (through a hole in the centre
of the loading plate) but also at selected distances from it.

The full set of readings describes a deflection bowl (or basin) which can be back-
analysed (or back-calculated) to deduce the combination of layer stiffnesses present.

Back-analysis is done by computer, with the following assumptions:
all layers are of uniform thickness and of infinite lateral extent;
all materials are linear elastic and homogeneous;
the load consists of uniform stress on a circular area;
dynamic effects due to inertia are negligible.
Deflection
(microns)
Offset (m)
0 1 2
Deflection
Bowl
FWD Longitudinal Section

Deflection sensors
Falling Weight
Rubber buffers
Loading Plate
Known layer
thicknesses
Layer
stiffnesses
Measured
load
Calculate
deflections using
multi-layer linear
elastic analysis
Adjust layer
stiffnesses
Good match
to measured
deflections?
Finish
no
yes
Load: 10-200kN
Duration:
25-50msecs
Platen radius:
150mm
Tow bar
Upper Pavement
- affects curvature of central part
- typical indicator: d
1
d
2
or d
1
d
3

Base and Sub-base
- affects slope in next region
2
d
4
or d
3
d
5

Subgrade
- affects deflection at distance
6
or d
7

d
1
d
2
d
3
d
4
d
5
d
6
d
7

Asphalt over
good foundation
Concrete over
poor foundation

Load

62
How many layers can be analysed? Two: no problem
Three: should be OK
Four: be careful; dont just believe the result

Another advantage over the Benkelman Beam and Deflectograph is that the FWD is
equally useful on concrete or asphalt. It is particularly well suited to measuring load
transfer efficiency across a joint. The loading plate is positioned one side of the joint and
deflections are measured either side.

Rolling Wheel Deflectometers
The ultimate deflection test device would be one that measured a full deflection bowl like
the FWD, but which travelled at traffic speed along a highway, thus combining both
quality and quantity of information. Such a device is the rolling wheel deflectometer,
and several versions have been developed over the years, achieving their goal to varying
degrees. One is currently being trialled by the Transport Research Laboratory. There is an
inevitable trade-off between measurement accuracy and travel speed. Several companies
and research organisations have used lasers to measure either distance from a datum of
vertical velocity of the surface.

So: not used much yet but watch this space.

7. Diagnosis

Pavements with an Asphalt Surface

Rutting: Check the visual condition. If ruts are narrow with shoulders, the problem is
near the surface (surface course or binder course probably); the wider the rut, the deeper
the problem. Inspect cores carefully. If an asphalt layer appears rich in binder, especially
if that binder is soft, that is likely to be the cause of the problem. Consider carrying out
repeated load axial tests (RLAT) to check whether materials are deformation susceptible.
Also look at DCP data (if it exists). This should relate to rut resistance of foundation
materials. Check FWD data. A subgrade stiffness of 50MPa or less indicates potentially
deformable material.

Load Transfer Efficiency
- affects step across joint
2
d
3
or d
3
/d
2

(note: = 0 or 100% even if perfect, due to
distance between sensors 2 and 3)
Slab Support
- affects angle of loaded slab
1
d
2
/ L
12

(where L
12
= distance between sensors)

d
1
d
2
d
3

Load Joint
Poor load transfer
Moderate load transfer
Good load transfer
L
12


63
Transverse Cracks: Look at the detailed crack shapes. If they are straight and regularly
spaced, they are reflective cracks from joints in an underlying concrete pavement. If the
shape is less regular, they may either be reflective cracks over a hydraulically-bound base
or else low temperature cracking of the asphalt. If reflective cracking is suspected, check
the crack distribution. If there is a concentration in the wheel paths then traffic is clearly
playing an important part; if not, then the effect is almost entirely thermally driven. Short
transverse cracks may also have originated as construction defects and they may be
progressing due to binder embrittlement. If FWD data is available, check for loss of
asphalt layer stiffness in the wheel paths. This provides evidence of crack severity.

Longitudinal Cracking in the Wheel Path: The fact that this cracking is in the wheel
path proves that it is the traffic which is doing the damage. If there are several cracks
within the zone of the wheel path then the effect is almost certainly shallow, possibly
associated with debonding between asphalt layers. If there is only a single crack, cores
through cracks are advised. In many cases, crack depth is shallow. Cores will also
indicate where debonding between layers is associated with cracking. If an FWD survey
has been carried out, check the asphalt layer stiffness. If it is low or variable then this
implies significant damage and/or debonding. Compare FWD-derived stiffnesses with
those from laboratory testing of recovered samples. If the two measures agree then the
asphalt layers are likely to be intact and well bonded. Check evidence for binder
hardening, e.g. from unusually high stiffness of laboratory specimens, or poor binder
adhesion, e.g. unusually low stiffness, even of undamaged material. Also evaluate the in-
situ stiffness of any HBM layer from FWD evidence. If it is less than expected, this is
evidence that cracking is present. Using the best available evidence for the stiffness of
each layer, carry out multi-layer linear elastic pavement analysis and compute
pavement life. Compare the theoretical life with past traffic numbers and with current
general pavement condition.

Ravelling: Ravelling (and associated pot-holes) occurs when adhesion between binder
and aggregate breaks down. Consider checking penetration of recovered surface course
binder; or consider measuring surface course stiffness in the ITSM. These should
identify binder hardening. Also check binder and filler contents since excess filler can
contribute to poor adhesion.

Bleeding: There is too much bitumen present. Inspect the cores. Multiple layers of
surface dressing are one common source of excess binder. Otherwise consider
determining the void content of the surface course. Bleeding should only occur at void
contents of 2% or less. Also check the visual condition for rutting since low void content
also leads to asphalt deformation.

Pavements with a Concrete Surface

Transverse Cracks (jointed PQC): Transverse cracking, either at mid-bay or a metre or
so from joints, is common; it implies that the joint spacing was too large for the
thermally-induced stresses and strains which have occurred. If the joint spacing is greater
than about 20 times the slab thickness, joints cannot be expected to function properly.

64
Also find out whether the cracking occurred soon after construction. If so, shrinkage
cracking may be the cause.

Transverse Cracks (CRC): Transverse cracks are expected in CRC. They should form
at a spacing of 1-2m but should remain narrow. If there are more or they are no longer
narrow, then the pavement is not functioning as intended and will continue to deteriorate.
Check concrete strength, slab thickness and foundation stiffness. The combination should
reveal whether the pavement as it was constructed should have lasted longer than it has.
If so then the problem lies elsewhere, e.g. reinforcement defects, overloading.

Longitudinal Cracking: This is a sign of overloading and is a very serious mode of
distress. Check concrete strength, slab thickness and foundation stiffness. If the computed
life is less than the current condition suggests, then this implies that one of the input
parameters was more favourable in the past. Possibly the foundation used to be stiffer and
has deteriorated over the years. Check FWD data for poor slab support. Also check
evidence for subgrade softening, from DCP, unbound material samples and/or a drainage
survey. If the computed life is greater than the current condition suggests, then something
has happened which the computation doesnt take into account. This could be shrinkage
cracking during initial concrete curing. Also investigate the crack distribution. If it is
localised then this suggests other areas may have much longer life.

Faulting across Joints: This has a serious effect on ride quality. If dowels or tie-bars are
present, there should be no faulting. If faulting is present, this can only mean serious
corrosion of the bars and disintegration of the surrounding concrete. Even without
dowels or tie-bars, faulting implies poor load transfer, possibly due to excessive joint
spacing, poor durability aggregate, or a deformable foundation.

Surface Deterioration: Concrete relies on the presence of a balanced combination of
cement mortar and aggregate throughout. Excess cement mortar at the surface results in
a relatively weak surface layer. Once trafficking has removed this excess mortar, there
will be a decrease in ride quality. Another possibility is scaling, which means the loss of
discrete areas of surface. This is usually caused by frost action.

8. Prognosis

Statistical Treatment of Data
Since condition inevitably varies it is usual to work in terms of statistics, for example:

50 percentile (e.g. of FWD back-calculated stiffness, or of thickness) = average
15 percentile (i.e. 85% is better) = for design

Pavement Life Prediction
Here you usually need an analytical computation, typically taking 15 percentile stiffness
moduli. You must include consideration of the realistic long-term properties of
materials. Sometimes it is possible to consult a design guide, but most are not flexible
enough to cope with a deteriorated pavement.

65
Result = predicted lives to failure.

The next step is to take account of the fatigue damage that has taken place already.

Miners Law: This law states that relative damage is cumulative.

For example: predicted fatigue life = 30 10
6
axle loads
past traffic = 12 10
6
axle loads
therefore relative damage = 40% (18 10
6
axle loads remaining)

The concept of relative damage becomes important for strengthening designs since,
whatever the predicted life of the strengthened pavement, up to 40% of it may have to be
discounted straight away due to past damage.

For example: required future life = 30 10
6
axle loads
design traffic = 50 10
6
axle loads
(since 40% has to be discounted)

Rutting is a bit different. You have to look at what has happened in the past and use that
to calibrate your future prediction. For example, if you predict rutting due to excess
subgrade strain, but there is no sign of rutting in the past then ignore your prediction!

Calculations should never be believed without question, especially when so many
assumptions are being made. This is especially true of concrete pavements, where
predictions can change dramatically with a small change in one of the input parameters.

The Effect of Debonding
Debonding between bound pavement layers significantly decreases the overall apparent
stiffness of the bound layers.

In the figure the debonded interface is assumed to transfer no shear stress at all, which is
an extreme case. However, it is common to find that the apparent stiffness of the bound
pavement layers is no more than half that expected when debonding is present. Note the
tensile strain at the bottom of the asphalt. It can be up to 60% higher than it would have
been in a non-debonded pavement.
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
1.2
1.4
1.6
1.8
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Depth of interface/total thickness
R
e
l
a
t
i
v
e

s
t
r
a
i
n

/

s
t
i
f
f
n
e
s
s
Strain at base of asphalt
Apparent stif f ness
debonded interface
Zero Bond

66
MAINTENANCE & REHABILITATION

1. Localised Cracking

First option = just seal the cracks to stop water getting in.

Second option = patch repairs

Problem: it is impossible to get the patch
to be as good as the original pavement. It
is difficult to compact, especially in the
corners and it never bonds perfectly to
surrounding materials.

2. Surface Deterioration

Surface problems are:

Ravelling = pieces of stone becoming detached from the surface;
Bleeding = excess bitumen coming to the surface (of an asphalt surface course);
Polishing = stones losing their friction properties due to tyre action;
Loss of texture = surface high-points wearing away or being pushed down into an
asphalt.

Possible solutions:

Gritting = spreading fine stone (e.g. 3mm) over the surface counters bleeding
Bush-hammering = abrade the surface stones counters polishing
Jet-blasting = eroding bitumen-filler mortar counters loss of texture
Grooving = cutting slots in the surface also counters loss of texture
SURFACE DRESSING (see next page) counters everything
Cracks
Debonded
interfaces
Break out to
required depth
Tack Coat
Seal

67
Surface Dressing (also known as Chip Seal)
This is really a brand new thin surface layer (sometimes put straight onto a new road).

a) spray a layer of bitumen (usually in the form of emulsion) over the surface;
b) spread a single layer of aggregate particles, usually 10-15mm in size;
c) watch the traffic compacting it.

A racked-in surface dressing includes a second application, of much smaller aggregate
size, designed to fill the gaps between larger particles.

Design:

Problems:

Cant be done in cold, wet weather;
The surface isnt particularly nice to drive on.

3. Reflective Cracking

This is the phenomenon of cracks appearing in a surface course directly over cracks in the
layer underneath. It happens for 2 reasons:

a) Thermal expansion/contraction opening and closing of joints/cracks;
b) Traffic loads causing high stress/strain over a joint/crack.

What can you do about it?
At least 180mm of asphalt overlay (UK Highways Agency);
A geogrid or strong geotextile, providing actual enhanced strength (A in next figure);
A standard geotextile, acting as a separation layer (B in figure);
A high-durability asphalt layer (C in figure);
An open-graded asphalt layer (D in figure);
Single surface dressing
Racked-in surface dressing
Surface
hardness
Skid
resistance
Surface
dressing type
Aggregate
selection and
spread rate
Season/
weather
Durability
requirements
Local
economics
Binder
selection and
spread rate

68
A granular interlayer (E in figure);
Crack and seat an underlying concrete layer (F in figure).

A B C D E F

4. More serious cracking or rutting

We are now thinking about: a) overlays;
b) inlays;
c) deeper reconstruction;
d) some combination.

Question: how
deep is the
problem?

Rutting might be
entirely due to
asphalt
deformation
but then it
depends which
layer is
responsible.

Is existing
pavement visibly
cracked?
There is no
need for an
interlayer
Typical crack
spacing?
Traffic level?
Is foundation
water-sensitive?
No
C1: <0.5m
Yes
High-durability
asphalt
Open-graded
asphalt
Granular
interlayer
Geogrid
Geotextile
C2: 0.5-2.0m
C3: >2.0m
T1: <5 10
6

T2: any
F1: no
F2: yes
C1-2, T2, F1
C1, T1, F2
C3, T2, F2
C2, T2, F1
C2-3, T2, F1
Rutting in original
pavement

A: mainly in surface course
B: mainly in binder course
0
10
20
0 10 20 Years
Rut depth (mm) Rehabilitation
40mm inlay; A
40mm overlay; B
40mm inlay; B
40mm overlay; A
Rutting in rehabilitated
pavement

69
Cracking also may not penetrate too far from the surface. In thick pavements it is
common to find cracks to 50-100mm depth only.

just replace the surface course? Or maybe the binder course as well?

Question: how do we deal with broken materials?

Generally, for any material that is going to be left in the
pavement we have to:
assign a long-term stiffness for analytical
design;
estimate an equivalent thickness of new intact
material if using design manuals.

We can also use geogrid reinforcement or geotextiles,
especially if the problem is likely to involve reflective
cracking.

If a PQC pavement is in reasonable condition
we can just bond an extra thickness onto the
surface used in USA particularly.

Occasionally, usually on airfield pavements, it
makes sense to put an entire new PQC slab on
top of an existing cracked layer.

Question: what if the problem is in the subgrade?

Well, it may be OK to use an overlay to increase the thickness of the pavement. That will
reduce the stress on the subgrade.

However it may also be possible to improve its strength by adding/repairing drainage.

Overlay/Inlay
Intact asphalt
Failed asphalt
Damaged HBM
Sub-base
Subgrade
Treat as intact;
predict cracking of
combined layer
Downrate stiffness,
e.g. to 500MPa
Take realistic long-
term in-situ stiffness
Take realistic
stiffness
Take realistic
stiffness
Failed asphalt
Overlay/Inlay
Geotextile
Failed asphalt
Overlay/Inlay
Damaged HBM
Predict cracking of
geogrid-reinforced
layer
Overlay/Inlay
Cracked Concrete
Predict cracking of
geogrid-reinforced
layer
Interlayer
HBM Sub-base
Capping
Subgrade
HBM Sub-base
Capping
Subgrade
Intact PQC
Thin-bonded overlay
Failed PQC
PQC overslab

70

5. Recycling

Most pavement materials can be recycled off site. For example, concrete can be crushed
to generate new aggregate. Recycled asphalt planings (RAP) can be added to new asphalt
depending on quality and consistency of the source.

Problem: you cant heat the RAP directly because it would give off toxic fumes.
Solution: superheat conventional aggregate; mix with RAP; heat is transferred.
Consequence: there is a limit to the proportion of RAP that can be used 15-30% say.

Hot In-situ Recycling

Limitations:
Be careful with the heating toxic fumes [flame, infra-red, superheated gases]
Impractical to heat more than say 50mm, usually less
Needs a reasonably consistent pavement with shallow damage only

Cold In-situ Recycling
a) Break everything up to a depth of up to 350mm;
b) Mix in a binder of some sort [emulsion, foamed bitumen, cement & water];
c) Compact;
d) Preferably leave exposed to the air for a few days;
e) Apply a new surface course.
Has the
upper subgrade
softened?
Dont worry
about the
drainage
Has it
affected pavement
peformance?
Is the drainage
defective?
Is improvement
technically feasible?
Think about
drainage
improvement
No
No
No
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Preheater Units Remixer Compactor
Mixing drum
Hopper for fresh
asphalt
Milling
unit
Screed

71

Limitations:
The ingredients will be relatively uncontrolled, including the water content.
Mixing will be imperfect, meaning there may be less binder at depth.
This means that properties will be poor relative to a plant-mixed material.
The surface will not be particularly smooth.

Consequences:
You generally need a plant-mixed, paver-laid surface course.
If emulsion or foamed bitumen are used, the resulting material will be like a high-
quality granular material; long-term stiffness may be around 1000MPa but there
is a large uncertainty margin on this.
If cement and water are used then the material will be like a fairly weak (and
highly variable) HBM.
Recycler Compactor
Milling unit

72

PAVEMENT MANAGEMENT

Pavement management refers to the decision-making process as to what maintenance to
do and when which depends on the data available from condition monitoring. So the
first question is: what type of monitoring should be carried out and how frequently?

1. Managing Pavement Monitoring

Network Level
A pavement authority needs to monitor performance regularly so as to plan budget
allocation.

Survey Type Information Usefulness
Traffic Count Trends; design traffic High
Axle weight Vehicle damage factors Low-medium
Visual Condition Roughness (approx)
Structural condition (very approx)
Skid resistance (possibly)
Very high
Profile Roughness
Structural condition (very approx)
High
Deflectograph Structural condition (approx) Medium
SCRIM Skid resistance Medium

Traffic counts can be automatic, using piezo-electric strips buried in the road surface, or
manual. The advantage of automatic counts is that they can continue day and night for
long periods with little expenditure. The advantage of manual counts is that traffic can be
classified accurately into different vehicle types (cars, buses, light goods, heavy goods
different axle configurations). Both are extremely useful in working out priorities.

Axle weight surveys can be carried out either by stopping and weighing wagons on a
fixed weighbridge or by installing a weigh-in-motion (WIM) device into the pavement.
Such surveys would normally only be carried out at state or country level, in order to
monitor trends in goods traffic development through the years, enabling wear factors to
be updated as necessary.

Visual survey data is essential. The information which results relates to ride quality,
structural condition and also safety-related features such as skid resistance. It can be
processed to give single numbers (e.g. Pavement Condition Index PCI) that can be used
(approximately) to assign likely remaining life and future maintenance costs. Visual
survey data also allows minor maintenance to be programmed.


73
Profile surveys, Deflectograph measurements and SCRIM surveys will all give a more
accurate evaluation of individual aspects of condition, namely ride quality, structural
condition and skid resistance. However, the high productivity achievable from a profile
survey, together with the fact that structural condition tends to correlate very roughly
with profile, makes it the favourite for network-level monitoring. On major highways
they would be carried out reasonably frequently (e.g. annually or biannually).

Project-Level
A pavement management system (PMS) will include triggers to indicate when
detailed evaluation at project level is needed, based on individual indicators (visual,
profile etc.) or a combination of them all. But when is the best time to do it?

It is sensible to carry out a detailed (project-level) evaluation well before the optimum
intervention level is reached according to network-level survey data. For example, if
optimum intervention level is assumed to occur when the network-level condition
indicator falls to 60% of its original value, it would be worth programming a detailed
evaluation when the survey data indicates 70-75% because the real level may already be
at 60%!

Principle:
Decide on one or more network-level condition indicators.
Estimate what condition (according to the condition indicators) represents the
optimum time for major maintenance.
Set triggers for project-level surveys at condition indicator values significantly
higher than those for optimum major maintenance.

Aims of project-level suvey:
to establish the deterioration mechanism(s);
to provide parameters for analysis and rehabilitation design.
Condition
Condition for cost-effective
major maintenance
Condition according to coarse
network-level surveys
Range of possible
actual condition
Time range for optimised
major maintenance
Time
Initial condition
Projected performance
following major
maintenance

74
Possible tools to use:

Survey Type Information Frequency
Cores; trial pits;
laboratory tests
Layer thickness
Bound material stiffness modulus
Fatigue strength
Deformation resistance
Foundation strength
Occasional
Radar (GPR) Layer thickness
High moisture locations
Continuous
Detailed Visual
Survey
Crack density
Rutting locations/severity
Continuous
Falling Weight
Deflectometer
Layer stiffness modulus
Joint condition
@10-100m
Drainage survey Drainage efficiency Targeted

Basically, you have to decide what you need to know and choose accordingly. Project-
level surveys need designing rather than following a set procedure. Cores or trial pits
are almost essential for every investigation, together with a detailed visual inspection of
the pavement. Other surveys depend on situation. If analytical design procedures are to
be used then the FWD (or rolling wheel deflectometer) is a key tool, supported by
appropriate laboratory tests and by use of the DCP in core holes or trial pits. Radar is
less essential and its use should depend on the likely variability in construction. Drainage
surveys are important where water-related problems are suspected.

2. Managing Maintenance

Practical Constraints

Multi-Lane Highways: Clearly one cannot raise (or lower) the surface level of one lane
without doing the same to all other lanes on a carriageway. This means that a simple
overlay solution may not really be as cost-effective as it looks.

Highway Structures: Clearance to overbridges places an upper limit on raising levels.
The carrying capacity of underbridges also places a limit; even a thin overlay adds a
significant extra load.

Kerbs and Barriers: Both kerbs and barriers can be raised but at a cost. In both cases
there is usually a degree of flexibility, allowing small increases in pavement level, and it
is therefore important to know just how much flexibility is available in a particular case.

Airport Runways: It is generally only the central 20m width which is damaged by
aircraft and it is often permissible to ramp down from a relatively thick overlay over the
central part of the runway to little or zero thickness at the edge.


75
Project-Level Optimisation
This is not always easy in practice. The problem is that budget constraints may mean that
the theoretical minimum whole-life cost solution may not be affordable in the short
term! There therefore has to be some interaction between project-level design and overall
network-level management. In practice, the usual simplification is for the authority to tell
the engineer what design lives to use (e.g. 20-year; 40-year).

Usually therefore the designer will be asked to come up with the best solution to
strengthen the road to take another x years of traffic. In this case, it is simply a matter of
costing up all the practical alternatives, taking into account any add-on costs due to
practical constraints. Indirect costs (delays to road users, safety-related issues) may also
be considered.

One key question is: what should x be?

This is not an easy question to answer. There has been a trend to increase design life over
the years so that 40 years is now common, and the key parameter is the so-called
discount rate. The idea is that a certain sum of money today is assumed to increase in
purchasing power with time due to continuing economic growth (!!). The corollary is that
future costs can therefore be discounted at a certain annual rate. A debate rages as to the
correctness of this assumption and discount rates range from zero to about 10%. One
further issue is that no-one really knows how long the need for any particular pavement
will last. So, just accounting for this uncertainty, some sort of discount is probably
justified.

Network-Level Optimisation
Network-level pavement management forces non-pavement costs to be taken seriously,
including costs which are not strictly financial:
User costs (speed restrictions, vehicle wear and tear, fuel consumption, delays);
Accident costs;
Environmental costs (air pollution, energy usage).

The most common method of dealing with user costs is to link them to International
Roughness Index (IRI). The following are examples of equations used for this.

Vehicle operating cost (VOC) = VOC
low IRI
(1+0.06[IRI3]) [IRI > 3]
Time cost (TC) = TC
low IRI
(1+0.03IRI)

There is nothing fundamental about these two equations. The economic equation is so
different in different countries that calibration is always required.

Accident costs can be linked to skid resistance coefficient () and to pavement
condition, but only very approximately. Example equations are:

Skidding accident cost Traffic flow 10
(1-1.8)

Accident cost due to pavement Traffic flow (rut depth 10mm)

76
A good management system will include predictive equations for future deterioration
based on experience, possibly also on the history of each length of road.

It is then possible to run what if? scenarios. For example, what if a particular length of
road was strengthened? Or just surface-dressed? Then the up-front cost of the treatment
can be balanced against the reduction in ongoing and future cost.

Does the perfect Pavement Management System exist? NO; its just too complex and
there are too many different factors to take account of. In the end, network-level
management is often simply a matter of avoiding foolish mistakes!

Pavement Engineering: Cheap and Environmentally Acceptable

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UNIVERSITY OF NOTTINGHAM DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

Pavement Engineering - Module H23P01 Course Notes

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