Professional Documents
Culture Documents
A. History
In its most general sense, a road is an open, generally
public way for the passage of vehicles, people, and
animals.
The earliest human road builders predate recorded
history by thousands of years. With the advent of
modern man, road building - the purposeful construction
of general public ways - became a common sign of an
advancing civilization.
Covering these roads with a hard smooth surface
(pavement) helped make them durable and able to
withstand traffic and the environment. Some of the
oldest paved roads still in existence were built by the
Roman Empire.
Roman Roads
By in large, Roman roads (see
Figure) were constructed during
the Republican times - the
oldest road, Via Appia, dates
back to 312 B.C.
The Roman road network
consisted of over 100,000 km
(62,000 miles) of roads.
The superior quality and
structure of its pavements have
allowed many Roman roads to
survive to this day.
… Roman Roads
Innovations in Performance
Innovations in Construction
Summary
The underlying
PCC slabs
Load Distribution on Pavement
Flexible pavements are those which are surfaced with
bituminous (or asphalt) materials. These can be either in the
form of pavement surface treatments (such as a bituminous
surface treatment (BST) generally found on lower volume
roads) or, HMA surface courses (generally used on higher
volume roads such as the Interstate highway network). These
types of pavements are called "flexible" since the total
pavement structure "bends" or "deflects" due to traffic
loads. A flexible pavement structure is generally composed of
several layers of materials which can accommodate this
"flexing". On the other hand, rigid pavements are composed
of a PCC surface course. Such pavements are substantially
"stiffer" than flexible pavements due to the high modulus of
elasticity of the PCC material. Further, these pavements can
have reinforcing steel, which is generally used to reduce or
eliminate joints.
Each of these pavement
types distributes load over
the subgrade in a different
fashion.
Rigid pavement, because of
PCC's high elastic modulus
(stiffness), tends to distribute
the load over a relatively
wide area of subgrade (see
Figure). The concrete slab
itself supplies most of a rigid
pavement's structural
capacity.
Flexible pavement uses
more flexible surface course
and distributes loads over a
smaller area. It relies on a
combination of layers for
transmitting load to the
subgrade (see Figure).
Basic Structural Elements
A typical flexible pavement structure (see Figure) consists of the
surface course and the underlying base and subbase courses. Each of
these layers contributes to structural support and drainage. The
surface course (typically an HMA layer) is the stiffest (as measured by
resilient modulus) and contributes the most to pavement strength. The
underlying layers are less stiff but are still important to pavement
strength as well as drainage and frost protection. A typical structural
design results in a series of layers that gradually decrease in material
quality with depth.
Surface Course
The surface course is the layer in contact with
traffic loads and normally contains the highest
quality materials. It provides characteristics
such as friction, smoothness, noise control,
rut and shoving resistance and drainage. In
addition, it serves to prevent the entrance of
excessive quantities of surface water into the
underlying base, subbase and subgrade
(NAPA, 2001). This top structural layer of
material is sometimes subdivided into two
layers (NAPA, 2001):
1.Wearing Course. This is the layer in direct contact with traffic
loads. It is meant to take the brunt of traffic wear and can be
removed and replaced as it becomes worn. A properly designed
(and funded) preservation program should be able to identify
pavement surface distress while it is still confined to the wearing
course. This way, the wearing course can be rehabilitated before
distress propagates into the underlying intermediate/binder course.
2.Intermediate/Binder Course. This layer provides the bulk of the
HMA structure. It's chief purpose is to distribute load.
Base Course
The base course is immediately beneath the surface course. It
provides additional load distribution and contributes to drainage and
frost resistance. Base courses are usually constructed out of:
1. Aggregate. Base courses are most typically constructed from
durable aggregates (see Figure) that will not be damaged by
moisture or frost action. Aggregates can be either stabilized or
unstabilized.
2. HMA. In certain situations where high base stiffness is desired,
base courses can be constructed using a variety of HMA mixes. In
relation to surface course HMA mixes, base course mixes usually
contain larger maximum aggregate sizes, are more open graded
and are subject to more lenient specifications.
Subbase Course
The subbase course is between the base course and the
subgrade. It functions primarily as structural support but it can also:
1. Minimize the intrusion of fines from the subgrade into the pavement
structure.
2. Improve drainage.
3. Minimize frost action damage.
4. Provide a working platform for construction.
The subbase generally consists of lower quality materials than the
base course but better than the subgrade soils. A subbase course is
not always needed or used.
For example, a pavement constructed over a high quality, stiff
subgrade may not need the additional features offered by a subbase
course so it may be omitted from design. However, a pavement
constructed over a low quality soil such as a swelling clay may
require the additional load distribution characteristic that a subbase
course can offer. In this scenario the subbase course may consist of
high quality fill used to replace poor quality subgrade (over
excavation).
Perpetual Pavements
"Perpetual Pavement" is a term used to
describe a long-lasting structural design,
construction and maintenance concept. A
perpetual pavement can last 50 years or more if
properly maintained and rehabilitated. As
Michael Nunn pointed out in 1998, flexible
pavements over a minimum strength are not
likely to exhibit structural damage even when
subjected to very high traffic flows over long
periods of time. He noted that existing
pavements over about 370 mm (14.5 inches)
should be able to withstand an almost infinite
number of axle loads without structural
deterioration due to either fatigue cracking or
rutting of the subgrade. Deterioration in these
thick, strong pavements was observed to initiate
in the pavement surface as either top-down
cracking or rutting. Further, Uhlmeyer et al.
(2000) found that most HMA pavements thicker
than about 160 mm (6.3 inches) exhibit only
surface-initiated top-down cracking. Therefore,
if surface-initiated cracking and rutting can be
accounted for before they impact the structural
integrity of the pavement, the pavement life
could be greatly increased.
HMA Types
There are many different types of flexible pavements. This section
covers three of the more common types of HMA mix types used.
This section provides a brief exposure to:
Dense-graded HMA. Flexible pavement information in this Guide is
generally concerned with dense-graded HMA. Dense-graded HMA
is a versatile, all-around mix making it the most common and well-
understood mix type in the U.S.
Stone matrix asphalt (SMA). SMA, although relatively new in the
U.S., has been used in Europe as a surface course for years to
support heavy traffic loads and resist studded tire wear.
Open-graded HMA. This includes both open-graded friction course
(OGFC) and asphalt treated permeable materials (ATPM). Open-
graded mixes are typically used as wearing courses (OGFC) or
underlying drainage layers (ATPM) because of the special
advantages offered by their porosity.
Types of Flexible Pavement
Dense-graded
Open-graded Gap-graded
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ROAD CONSTRUCTION
Aggregates Asphalt/PCC
Laboratory Exp.
Maintenance Programs
of Pavement Structures