Superelevation

405. Superelevation
405.1. Forces Acting on a Turning Vehicle
Centrifugal forces on curves are proportional to the local curvature which is
the inverse of the radius of curvature. The centrifugal force acts along the
outward normal and tends to destabilize a vehicle by tipping it about the
outside wheel line. One way to counter this destabilizing eect is to "bank"
the roadway. Superelevation is the banking (rotation) of a highway to counter
some of the lateral force. In Fig. 405.1, the components of the two body
forcesthe gravity force and the centrifugal forceare shown as solid lines.
As shown in the gure, the banking causes a portion of the lateral
acceleration to act normal to the pavement (mV 2/R sin ). This is felt as a
downward force by the vehicle occupants. The remaining portion of the
lateral force may act one of three ways depending on the banking and speed
of the vehicle.

Figure 405.1. Forces on a vehicle on a superelevated roadway.

If the speed is balanced for the banking, the lateral force acting outward on
the vehicle will be countered by the forces pushing the vehicle down the
slope of the banking. This is a neutral equilibrium condition.
If the vehicle is traveling faster than the equilibrium speed, the resultant
lateral force acts outward on the vehicle and occupants. At excessive speeds,
the vehicle will skid or roll o the road.
If the speed is lower than the equilibrium speed, the vehicle and occupants
are forced inward. Extreme banking can cause top heavy vehicles to roll over
toward the inside of the curve. Additionally, icy conditions can cause the
vehicle to slide down the pavement.

405.2. Maximum Superelevation Rates

High rates of superelevation may cause slow moving vehicles to slide down
the banking in snow and ice. High superelevation rates can be dicult to
attain in urban settings due to closely spaced intersections, numerous
driveways, and limited right of way. Maximum superelevation rates are
chosen to limit the adverse eects of superelevation. The following
recommendations are from the AASHTO Green Book:

[1]

1. For urban areas, the maximum superelevation rates of 4% and 6% are

recommended.
2. For areas that have frequent ice and snow, maximum superelevation rates

of 6% and 8% are recommended.

3. In rural areas without ice or snow, maximum superelevation rates of 10%
and 12% are recommended. Higher values should be used with caution,
particularly considering the accommodation of occasional slow moving
vehicles, construction equipment, and maintenance equipment.

405.3. Coecient of Side Friction

The wheel on wet pavement side friction factor is designated f . Note that
this is dierent from the coecient of friction (a combination of rolling and
skidding friction) which is used to calculate stopping distance. (Note that the
current version of the AASHTO Green Book no longer uses a friction
coecient approach for computing stopping distance. Instead it uses a
deceleration rate a , default value a = 11.2 ft/s 2.)
The superelevation factor is given by e = tan , where is the banking angle
(with the horizontal).
Solving the equilibrium equations for the vehicle traveling on a banked curve,
to prevent the outward slide of the vehicle, the required superelevation
factor e for a design speed V , curve radius R, and side friction coecient f is
given by

(405.1)
On the other hand, if superelevation e and side friction coecient f are
known, the dimensionless centrifugal acceleration (normalized with respect
to the gravitational acceleration) is given by

(405.2)
For most practical values, the product (e f ) is negligible and therefore the
centrifugal factor is given by the sum of the superelevation factor e and the
side friction factor f . For stability, the centrifugal factor e + f must be
greater than or equal to the factor v 2/gR.

(405.3)
Given maximum superelevation e max and design side friction factor f , the
minimum safe radius (R

min)

and maximum degree of curve ( D max) for a

horizontal curve are given by

(405.4)

(405.5)
where S = design speed (mph)

e = superelevation (%)
f = recommended side friction factor (decimal)
R = curve radius (ft)
D = degree of curve (degrees)
Example 405.1
The exit ramp from a highway has 4% superelevation. The design speed for
the ramp is 35 mph. If the side friction factor is 0.18, what is the maximum
radius (ft) of the horizontal curve for the ramp?
Solution The minimum radius is calculated from

Use a radius of 375 ft for the ramp.

405.3.1. Side Friction Coecient
Figure 405.2 summarizes the recommendations from the AASHTO Green

Book about side friction factor as a function of design speed.

Figure 405.2. Side friction factors assumed for design. (AASHTO Green
Book.)

405.4. Distribution of e and f over a Range of Curves

According to the AASHTO Green Book , there are ve methods for sustaining
centripetal acceleration on curves by use of superelevation e or side friction

f:
Method 1

Superelevation and side friction

vary in proportion (linear) to the
curvature (inverse of curve radius)
from zero to their respective
maximum values.

Method 2

For a vehicle traveling at design

speed all lateral acceleration is
sustained by side friction until f

max

is reached. Then, side friction is

held constant while superelevation
is increased. Variation of both
parameters is proportional to the
curvature.
Method 3

For a vehicle traveling at design

speed, all lateral acceleration is
sustained by superelevation until

e max is reached. Then,

superelevation is held constant
while side friction is increased.
Method 4

Same as method 3, except that

average running speed is used
instead of design speed.

Method 5

Superelevation and side friction

vary in nonlinear fashion with the
curvature (inverse of curve radius).
Resulting values are between those
produced by methods 1 and 3.

405.5. Transition to Superelevation

The normal cross section (for drainage) of a roadway is usually crowned
along the centerline and has a nominal cross slope of 1.5% to 2.0%. While
this is acceptable over a tangent section, it can cause problems when the
roadway is curved. The problem is more severe on the outer lane, where the
adverse cross slope may be considered "negative superelevation." In order to
satisfy the stability criterion stated above, it is necessary to bank or
superelevate the roadway. The transition from a tangent section with a
normal crown to a super elevated horizontal curve occurs in two parts:

405.5.1. Tangent Runo Length L t

Using a portion of the tangent leading into the curve, the outside lane(s) are
rotated from a crown cross slope to a level condition over a length known as
the tangent runo length. The rate at which the adverse cross slope is
removed is called the relative gradient for superelevation runo, or the
superelevation runo rate. The tangent length required to achieve this
change is called the tangent runo length or tangent runout L t . The tangent
runout is computed from

(405.6)
where L t = length of tangent runo

w = lane width
n = no. of lanes being rotated
b w = a reduction factor = (1+n )/2n
b w = 1.0 for n = 1, b w = 0.75 for n = 2, b w = 0.67 for n = 3
e NC = normal cross slope (%)
= superelevation runo rate (%)
405.5.2. Superelevation Runo Length L r
The length over which outside lane(s) are rotated from level to the fully
superelevated condition is known as the superelevation runo length.

(405.7)
where L r = length of superelevation runo

e d = design superelevation rate (%)

Ideally, the curve should have no superelevation on the tangent section and
be fully superelevated on the curve. One option is obviously to achieve full

superelevation exactly at the point of curve (PC) and provide the distance L r
entirely on the tangent. However, this practice is by no means universal.
Many agencies distribute the distance L r to lie partially on the tangent and
partially within the curve. Thereby, the curve is not fully superelevated at the
PC. The distribution of the superelevation runo varies from agency to
agency. For example, if the distance L r is partitioned into 2 : 1 parts, then
two-thirds of L r is located on the tangent (i.e., before the PC of the curve)
and one-third of L r is located within the curve. At the PC the curve has only
two-thirds of the design superelevation. This situation is illustrated in Fig.
405.3. The pavement cross sections are shown to the right. On the tangent,
upto point A , the pavement has a normal crowned section. At B the adverse
cross slope has been rotated to the horizontal prole. The distance AB to
achieve this rotation is the tangent runout L t . From B to C the cross section
is rotated until it is fully superelevated at C . The distance BC is the
superelevation runo (L r ).

Figure 405.3. Transition to superelevation.

405.6. Maximum Gradient for Superelevation Runo

Table 405.1 shows the maximum relative gradients recommended by the

AASHTO Green Book . For example, for a design speed of 50 mph, the
maximum is 0.5% (which may also be expressed as 1:200). Commonly
adopted rates are signicantly less than this value and for V = 50 mph, the
SRR adopted may be between 1 : 400 and 1 : 300.

Table 405.1. Maximum Relative Gradient for Superelevation Runo

(AASHTO)
Dsign speed (mph)

Maximum relative

Equivalent relative

gradient (%)

slope

15

0.78

1:128

20

0.74

1:135

25

0.70

1:143

30

0.66

1:152

35

0.62

1:161

40

0.58

1:172

45

0.54

1:185

50

0.50

1:200

55

0.47

1:213

60

0.45

1:222

65

0.43

1:233

70

0.40

1:250

75

0.38

1:263

80

0.35

1:286

Source Adapted in part from Exhibit 3-30 (AASHTO Green Book )

Example 405.2
The alignment of a roadway is composed of the following sections:

Which segment has the lowest factor of safety for lateral stability?
Solution For lateral stability, the superelevation factor e + f must be greater
than V 2/gR . Using speed S (mph), radius R (ft), and g (ft/s 2), this factor
becomes

Assuming the coecient of side friction f according to design speed, the

segment having the greatest value of V 2/gR e f will be most critical. In
fact, theoretically, if this factor is positive, the location is unsafe with regard
to lateral stability. Calculating the value of this parameter for each segment,
we get

According to this table, the segment CD has the lowest factor of safety for
lateral stability.

405.7. Spiral Curves

A spiral curve or transition curve is often used to produce a gradual
transition from tangents to circular curves. While the cross section is being
rotated from the crowned to the fully superelevated section, the spiral may
be used to gradually change the radius of curvature (from innite on the
tangent to the specied curve radius).
For more details on the geometry of spiral curves, see Chap. 404.

[1]A

Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets

, 5th ed.,

American Association of State Highway and Transportation Ocials,

Washington, DC. 2004.
Citation
EXPORT

Indranil Goswami: Civil Engineering All-In-One PE Exam Guide: Breadth and Depth,
Second Edition. Superelevation, Chapter (McGraw-Hill Professional, 2012),
AccessEngineering

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