TOPIC:

Introduction to
Pavement Design
Concepts
Presented By:
Engr. Qaiser Rafiq
07 - MS - TE - 08
Contents:
❧ Pavement
❧ Types of Pavement
❧ Principal of Pavement Design
❧ Failure Criteria
❧ Aspects of Pavement Design
❧ Relative Damage Concept
❧ Pavement Thickness Design approaches
❧ Empirical Method
❧ Mechanistic-Empirical Method
 PAVEMENT
The pavement is the structure which
separates the tyres of vehicles from the
underlying foundation material. The later is
generally the soil but it may be structural
concrete or a steel bridge deck.
 TYPES OF
PAVEMENT

Flexible Rigid
Pavements Pavements
 FLEXIBLE PAVEMENTS
Flexible Pavements are
constructed from bituminous or
unbound material and the stress is
transmitted to the sub-grade
through the lateral distribution of
the applied load with depth.
Asphalt Concrete Aggregate Base Course

Natural Soil (Subgrade)

Aggregate Subbase Course

Typical Load Distribution in Flexible Pavement

Wheel Load

Bituminous Layer

Sub-grade
Typical Stress Distribution in Flexible Pavement.

Vertical stress

Foundation stress
 RIGID PAVEMENTS
 In rigid pavements the stress is transmitted
to the sub-grade through beam/slab effect.
Rigid pavements contains sufficient beam
strength to be able to bridge over localized
sub-grade failures and areas of inadequate
support.
 Thus in contrast with flexible pavements the
depressions which occur beneath the rigid
pavement are not reflected in their running
surfaces.
Concrete Slab

Sub-grade
 PRINCIPLES OF PAVEMENT
DESIGN
 The tensile and compressive stresses induced in a
pavement by heavy wheel loads decrease with increasing
depth. This permits the use (particularly in flexible
pavements) of a gradation of materials, relatively strong
and expensive materials being used for the surfacing and
less strong and cheaper ones for base and sub-base.

 The pavement (as a whole) limit the stresses in the sub-

grade to an acceptable level, and the upper layers must in
a similar manner protect the layers below.
 WHAT IS PAVEMENT DESIGN?

Pavement design is the process of developing the

most economical combination of pavement layers
(in relation to both thickness and type of
materials) to suit the soil foundation and the
traffic to be carried during the design life.
 DESIGN LIFE

The concept of design life has to be

introduced to ensure that a new road will
carry the volume of traffic associated with
that life without deteriorating to the point
where reconstruction or major structural
repair is necessary.
 Philosophy of Pavements
• Pavements are alive structures.
• They are subjected to moving traffic loads that are
repetitive in nature.
• Each traffic load repetition causes a certain amount of
damage to the pavement structure that gradually
accumulates over time and eventually leads to the pavement
failure.
• Thus, pavements are designed to perform for a certain
life span before reaching an unacceptable degree of
deterioration.
• In other words, pavements are designed to fail. Hence,
they have a certain design life.
 HOW MUCH DESIGN LIFE?

For roads in Britain the currently

recommended design is 20 years for
flexible pavements.
 PERFORMANCE AND FAILURE
CRITERIA
A road should be designed and constructed
to provide a riding quality acceptable for
both private cars and commercial vehicles
and must perform the functions i.e.
functional and structural, during the design
life.
 PERFORMANCE AND FAILURE
CRITERIA
If the rut depth increases beyond 10mm or the
beginning of cracking occurs in the wheel paths,
this is considered to be a critical stage and if the
depth reaches 20mm or more or severe cracking
occurs in the wheel paths then the pavement is
considered to have failed, and requires a
substantial overlay or reconstruction.
Failure Mechanism (Fatigue and Rut)

Nearside Wheel Track

Rut Depth
Bitumen Layer
Fatigue Crack

Unbound Layer
 Elastic Modulus ’E1’
Poison’s Ratio ‘ v1’
Bituminous bound Material Thickness ‘H1’
Er
Maximum Tensile Strain at Bituminous Layer

Elastic Modulus ’E2’

Granular base/Sub-base Poison’s Ratio ‘ v2’

Ez Thickness ’H2’
Maximum Compressive on the top of the sub-grade

Elastic Modulus ’E3’

Sub-grade
Poison’s Ratio ‘ v3’
The following relationship can be used to calculate
permissible tensile and compressive strains by
limiting strain criterion for 85% probability of
survival to a design life of N repetition of 80 kN
axles and an equivalent pavement temperature of 20
°C;
log N = -9.38 - 4.16 logεr (Fatigue, bottom of bituminous layer)
log N = - 7.21 - 3.95 logεz (Deformation, top of the sub-grade)

εr = is the permissible tensile strain at the bottom of the

bituminous layer

εz = is the permissible Compressive strain at the top of the

sub-grade.
 ASPECTS OF DESIGN

Functional Structural

Can sustain
Safety Riding Quality
Traffic Load
Structural Performance

Strength

Functional Performance

Safety

Comfort
 RUDIMENTARY DEFINITION

Pavement Thickness Design is the determination of required

thickness of various pavement layers to protect a given soil
condition for a given wheel load.
Given Wheel Load

150 Psi
Asphalt Concrete Thickness?
Base Course Thickness?
Subbase Course Thickness? 3 Psi

Given In Situ Soil Conditions

 PAVEMENT DESIGN PROCESS

Climate/Environment

Load Magnitude
Traffic
Volume
Asphalt Concrete
Base
Material
Properties Subase
Roadbed Soil (Subgrade)
 Truck

Asphalt Concrete Thickness ?

Base Course
? Thickness ?

Sub-base Course Thickness ?

• Pavement Design Life = Selected

• Structural/Functional Performance = Desired
• Design Traffic = Predicted
 WHAT DO WE MEAN BY ?

SELECTED DESIGN LIFE

DESIGN LIFE OF CIVIL ENGINEERING STRUCTURES?
WHAT DO WE MEAN BY ?

DESIRED STRUCTURAL AND

FUNCTIONAL PERFORMANCE
 FUNCTIONAL PERFORMANCE CURVE
Perfect Rehabilitation
Ride Quality Unacceptable
limit

Traffic/ Age

STRUCTURAL PERFORMANCE CURVE

Rehabilitation Structural
Failure
Structural
Capacity

Perfect Traffic/ Age

 WHAT DO WE MEAN BY ?

PREDICTED DESIGN TRAFFIC

 Traffic Loads Characterization

Pavement Thickness Design Are Developed

To Account For The Entire
Spectrum Of Traffic Loads

Cars Pickups Buses Trucks Trailers

13.6 Tons
Failure = 10,000 Repetitions

11.3 Tons
Failure = 100,000 Repetitions

4.5 Tons
Failure = 1,000,000 Repetitions

2.3 Tons
Failure = 10,000,000 Repetitions
4.5 Tons
13.6 Tons
Failure = Repetitions ?
11.3 Tons 2.3 Tons
 RELATIVE DAMAGE CONCEPT

Equivalent
18000 - Ibs Damage per
Standard ESAL Pass = 1
(8.2 tons)
Axle Load

• Axle loads bigger than 8.2 tons cause damage greater

than one per pass
• Axle loads smaller than 8.2 tons cause damage less than
one per pass
• Load Equivalency Factor (L.E.F) = (? Tons/8.2 tons)4
 Consider two single axles A and B where:
A-Axle = 16.4 tons
 Damage caused per pass by A -Axle = (16.4/8.2)4 = 16
 This means that A-Axle causes same amount of damage per
pass as caused by 16 passes of standard 8.2 tons axle i.e,

=
16.4 Tons 8.2 Tons
Axle Axle
 Consider two single axles A and B where:
B-Axle = 4.1 tons
 Damage caused per pass by B-Axle = (4.1/8.2)4 = 0.0625
 This means that B-Axle causes only 0.0625 times damage per
pass as caused by 1 pass of standard 8.2 tons axle.
 In other words, 16 passes (1/0.625) of B-Axle cause same amount
of damage as caused by 1 pass of standard 8.2 tons axle i.e.,

=
4.1 Tons Axle 8.2 Tons Axle
AXLE LOAD & RELATIVE DAMAGE

75.2
80

63.4
70
DAMAGE PER PASS

53.1
60

44.1
50

36.3
29.5
40

23.8
18.9
30

14.9
11.5
20
8.7
6.5
4.7
3.3
2.3

10
1.1
1.0

0
8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
SINGLE AXLE LOAD (Tons)
 PAVEMENT THICKNESS DESIGN
Comprehensive Definition
Pavement Thickness Design is the determination of
thickness of various pavement layers (various
paving materials) for a given soil condition and the
predicted design traffic in terms of equivalent
standard axle load that will provide the desired
structural and functional performance over the
selected pavement design life.
PAVEMENT THICKNESS DESIGN APPROACHES

MECHANISTIC-
EMPIRICAL
EMPIRICAL
PROCEDURE
PROCEDURE
 EMPIRICAL PROCEDURES
• These procedures are derived from experience
(observed field performance) of in-service pavements
and or “Test Sections”
These procedures define the interaction

Pavement A given set of

performance paving materials
, traffic and soils,
between for geographic
loads &
pavement location and
thickness climatic
conditions
• These procedures are only accurate for the exact
conditions for which they were developed and may be
invalid outside the range of variables used in their
development.
• EXAMPLE
•AASHTO Procedure (USA)
•Road Note Procedure (UK)
 EMPIRICAL PROCEDURES

These methods or models are generally used to

determine the required pavement thickness, the
number of load applications required to cause
failure, or the occurrence of distress due to
pavement material properties, sub-grade type,
climate, and traffic conditions.
 EMPIRICAL PROCEDURES
One advantage in using empirical models is that
they tend to be simple and easy to use.
Unfortunately they are usually only accurate for
the exact conditions for which they have been
developed. They may be invalid outside of the
range of variables used in the development of the
method
 AASHTO PROCEDURE

Empirical Procedure developed through statistical

analysis of the observed performance of AASHTO
Road Test Sections.

AASHTO Road Test was conducted from 1958 to 1960

near Ottawa, Illinois, USA.

234 “Test Sections” (160 feet long), each

incorporating a different combination of
thicknesses of Asphalt Concrete, Base Course and
Subbase Course were constructed and trafficked to
investigate the effect of pavement layer thickness
on pavement performance.
North
Frontage Road Maintenance Building Proposed FA 1 Route 80
Utica Road

Loop 4 23
Loop 5
Loop 3 Loop 6
2 1
US
Army Barracks US
6 71
178 6
AASHO Adm’n Frontage Road
Ottawa
71 23
Utica

Pre-stressed /
Test Tangent Reinforced Concrete
Flexible
X X
X X
X X
X X
Rigid
Steel I-Beam Test Tangent

Typical Loop
 AASHO ROAD TEST CONDITIONS
ENVIRONMENT
•Climate -4 to 24oC
•Average Annual Precipitation 34 Inches (864 mm)
•Average Frost Penetration Depth 28 Inches

Soil
•Classification A-6/A-7-6 (Silty-Clayey)
•Drainage Poorly Drained
•Strength 2-4 % CBR (Poor)

Pavement Layer Materials

•Asphalt Concrete AC a1 = 0.44
•Base Course Crushed Stone a2 = 0.14
•Subbase Course Sandy Gravel a3 = 0.11
AXLE WEIGHTS & DISTRIBUTIONS USED ON VARIOUS LOOPS OF THE ASSHO ROAD TEST
LOOP LANE
WEIGHT IN TONS
1
2 LOAD LOAD FRONT AXLE LOAD AXLE GROSS WEIGHT
0.9 0.9 1.8
2
FRONT LOAD
0.9 2.7 3.6
1
3 FRONT LOAD
1.8 5.5 12.7
LOAD

LOAD
2.7 10.9 24.6
FRONT LOAD

1
4 FRONT LOAD LOAD
2.7 8.2 19.1

FRONT LOAD LOAD

4.1 14.6 33.2

1
5 FRONT LOAD LOAD
2.7 10.2 23.2

FRONT LOAD LOAD

4.1 18.2 40.5

1 4.1 13.6 31.4

6 FRONT LOAD LOAD

5.5 21.8 49.1

FRONT LOAD LOAD
 AASHO ROAD TEST
• “Test Sections” were subjected to 1.114 million applications of load.
•taken
Performance measurements (roughness, rutting, cracking etc.) were
at regular intervals and were used to develop statistical
performance prediction models that eventually became the basis for the
current AASHTO Design procedure.

•condition,
AASHTO performance model/procedure determines for a given soil
the thickness of Asphalt Concrete, Base Course and Subbase
Course needed to sustain the predicted amount of traffic (in terms of 8.2
tons ESALs) before deteriorating to some selected level of ride quality.
RIDE QUALITY

Initial
Asphalt Concrete = ?
Base = ?
Terminal
Subbase = ?
ESALs Soil
LIMITATIONS OF THE AASHTO EMPIRICAL PROCEDURE

AASHTO being an EMPIRICAL

procedure is applicable to the
AASHO Road TEST conditions
under which it was developed.
MECHANISTIC-EMPIRICAL PROCEDURES
 These procedures, as the name implies, have two parts:
=> A mechanistic part in which a structural model
(theory) is used to calculate stresses, strains and
deflections induced by traffic and environmental
loading.
=> An empirical part in which distress models are used
to predict the future performance of the pavement
structure.

 The distress models are typically developed from the

laboratory data and calibrated with the field data.

 EXAMPLES
• Asphalt Institute Procedure (USA)
• SHRP Procedure (USA)
 Mechanistic - Empirical Methods

The mechanistic–empirical method of design is

based on the mechanics of materials that relates
an input (such as a wheel load) to an output or
pavement response (such as stress or strain). The
response values are used to predict distress based
on laboratory test and field performance data.
Dependence on observed performance is
necessary because theory alone has not proven
sufficient to design pavements realistically
 Mechanistic - Empirical Design
Approach

Researchers assumes that mechanistic -

empirical design procedures will model a
pavement more accurately than empirical
equations. The primary benefits that could
result from the successful application of
mechanistic empirical procedures include:
 Benefits of Mechanistic - Empirical
Design Approach

● The ability to predict the occurrence of

specific types of distress.
● Stress dependency of both the subgrade and

base course.
● The time and temperature dependency of the

asphaltic layers.
 Benefits of Mechanistic - Empirical
Design Approach
❧ Estimates of the consequences of new loading conditions
can be evaluated. For example, the damaging effects of
increased loads, high tire pressures, and multiple axles,
can be modeled by using mechanistic processes.
❧ Better utilization of available materials can be
accomplished by simulating the effects of varying the
thickness and location of layers of stabilized local
materials.
❧ Seasonal effects can be included in performance
estimates.
Benefits of Mechanistic - Empirical
Design Approach
❧ One of the most significant benefits of these methods is
the ability to structurally analyze and extrapolate the
predicted performance of virtually any flexible pavement
design from limited amounts of field or laboratory data
prior to full scale construction applications. This offers
the potential to save time and money by initially
eliminating from consideration those concepts that have
been analyzed and are judged to have little merit.
Draw Back of Mechanistic - Empirical
Design Procedures

One of the biggest drawbacks to the use of

mechanistic design methods is that these
methods require more comprehensive and
sophisticated data than typical empirical design
techniques.
However, the potential benefits are believed
to far outweigh the drawbacks. In summary,
mechanistic-empirical design procedures offer
the best opportunity to improved pavement
design technology for the next several decades.
 SOURCES OF PREMATURE PAVEMENT FAILURE

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Inadequately Designed Pavements Will Fail Prematurely Inspite

Of Best Quality Control & Construction Practices
 Causes of Premature Failure in
Pakistan
 Causes of premature failure of pavements in
Pakistan

 Rutting due to high variations in ambient

temperature
 Uncontrolled heavy axle loads

Limitations of pavement design
procedures to meet local environmental
conditions
 COMPARISON OF TRUCK DAMAGE
PAKISTAN Vs USA

1 7 13 19

2 8 14
20
3 9 15

4 10 16
21

5 11 17

6 12 18 22
Plastic Flow Rutting
Rutting in Sub-grade or Base