AASHTOPavementThicknessDesignGuide

Whendesigningpavementthicknessforflexibleandrigidpavements,thefollowingconsiderations
shouldbeused.
1. Performancecriteria(serviceabilityindexes).Conditionofpavementsareratedwithapresent
serviceabilityindex(PSI)rangingfrom5(perfectcondition)to0(impossibletotravel).
a. Initialserviceabilityindex(Po)PoisconsideredtobethatPSIimmediatelyafterthe
pavementisopen.AASHTOvaluesare4.5forrigidpavementand4.2forflexiblepavement.
b. Terminalserviceabilityindex(Pt)PtisconsideredtobethatPSIthatrepresentsthelowest
acceptablelevelbeforeresurfacingorreconstructionbecomesnecessary.

Pt=2.00forSecondaryRoads,LocalResidentialStreets.
Pt=2.25forMinorCollectors,IndustrialandCommercialStreets.
Pt=2.50forMajorCollectorsandallArterials.

c. Serviceabilityloss(dPSI)dPSIisthedifferencebetweenPoandPt(PoPt).ThedPSIisthe
basisforthepavementdesign.

2. Designvariables

a. Analysisperiod(n)nistheperiodoftimeforwhichtheanalysisistobeconducted.
Normally50yearsforconcreteand30yearsforasphalt.
b. DesignTraffic(ESALs)ESALsistheestimateofnumberofEquivalent18kipSingleAxle
Loads(ESALs)duringtheanalysisperiodisrequired.Thisvaluecanbeestimatedbasedon:

TheAverageAnnualDailyTraffic(AADT)inthebaseyear
Theaveragepercentageoftrucksexpectedtousetheroad
Theaverageannualtrafficgrowthrate,and
Theanalysisperiod
ToestimatethedesignESALs,thefollowingproceduremaybeused.
1.) ObtainanestimateofthedesignAADTforthebeginning,orbaseyearofthe
analysisperiod.
2.) ObtainanestimateoftheaveragepercentageoftheAADTthatwillbetrucks.
3.) CalculatetheESALsforthebaseyear.
4.) Calculatethegrowthfactorbasedontheannualtrafficgrowthrate(r%)andthe
analysisperiod(n).GrowthFactor=(((1+r)^n)1)/r
5.) MultiplythebaseyearESALsbytheGrowthFactortoobtainthetotalESALsforthe
analysisperiod.

c. Reliability(R%)/NormalDeviation(ZR)Ristheprobabilitythatthedesignwillsuccedfor
thelifeofthepavement.Thefollowingreliabilityandnormaldeviation(ZR)valuesare
recommended.
LocalStreets:
R=80%,ZR=0.841
CollectorStreets:
R=88%,ZR=1.270
ArterialStreets:
R=95%,ZR=1.645

d. Overallstandarddeviation(So)SoisthecoefficientwhichdescribeshowwelltheAASHTO
RoadTestdatafitstheAASHTODesignEquations.Thelowertheoveralldeviation,the
bettertheequationsmodelthedata.Thefollowingrangesarerecommended.

RigidPavements:
0.30to0.40
FlexiblePavements:
0.40to0.50

3. Materialpropertiesforstructuraldesign

a. Roadbedsoilresilientmodulus(MR)MRisthepropertyofthesoilwhichindicatesthe
stiffnessorelasticityofthesoilunderdynamicloading.MRisalsoadjustedforseasonal
fluctuationfromtemperatureetc.

b. Modulusofsubgradereaction(kandkc)kisthemodulusofthesubgradesoil.

c. ApproximaterelationshipofktoMR:
k=MR/19.4

d. Compositemodulusofsubgradereaction(kc)kcisthecompositemodulusofthesubbase
materials,whichwilltakeintoaccountanybaseplacedontopofthesubgrade.Ifabaseis
usedkcisinputintotheequationratherthank.
TypeofSoil

Subgrade
Strength

KValueRange
(pci)
(Rigid
Pavement)

Siltsandclaysofhighcompressibility(liquid
limit>=50),naturaldensity(notrecommended
forsubgradeswithouttreatment)
Finegrainsoilsinwhichsiltandclaysize
particlespredominate(lowcompressibility,
liquidlimit<50)
Poorlygradessandsandsoilsthatare
predominatelysandywithmoderateamountsof
siltsandclays(welldrained)
Gravelysoils,wellgradedsands,andsandgravel
mixturesrelativelyfreeofplasticfines

VeryLow

CBR

50 100

Resilient
Modulus
MR,(psi)
(Flexible
Pavement
10002700

Low

100 150

27004000

3to
5.5

Medium

150 220

40005700

5.5
to12

High

220 250+

>5700

3or
less

>12

Approximatecompositemodulusofsubgradereaction(kc)forvariouspavementconditions.
SubgradekValue

50
100
150
200

UntreatedSubbaseDepthvskc,pci,(LS=1)
4in
6in
8in
27
31
34
43
47
51
57
62
66
70
74
78

10in
37
56
71
85

Crushedstoneusek=100andkc=150for6to12inofthickness.

SubgradekValue

50
100
150
200

BituminousSubbaseDepthvskc,pci,(LS=0)
4in
6in
8in
84
112
141
144
198
243
221
277
334
284
351
419

10in
170
288
392
487

SubgradekValue

50
100
150
200

CementTreatedSubbaseDepthvskc,pci,(LS=0)
4in
6in
8in
101
145
193
185
258
334
265
360
460
341
457
577

10in
245
414
563
700

SubgradekValue

50
100
150
200

LeanConcreteSubbaseDepthvskc,pci,(LS=1)
4in
6in
8in
104
156
205
192
271
354
274
378
488
353
480
612

10in
262
443
603
750

e. ConcretepropertiesModulusofElasticity(Ec)andModulusofRupture(Sc).Scisthe28
dayFlexuralStrengthoftheconcrete.EccanbederivedfromScasfollowsEc=5700(Sc).
FlexuralStrength(Sc)canalsobeapproximatedfromcompressivestrength(fc)asfollows:
Sc=2.3fc^0.667(psi).
f. Layercoefficients.Structurallayercoefficients(ai)arerequiredforflexiblepavement
design.Avalueforthesecoefficientsisassignedtoeachlayermaterialinthepavement
structureinordertoconvertactuallayerthicknessintostructuralnumber(SN).

Component
Coefficient Minimum
Thickness
Surface/IntermediateCourse

HotMixAsphaltwithTypeAAggregate
0.44
2
HotMixAsphaltwithTypeBAggregate
0.40
2
BaseCourse

TypeBHotMixAsphalt
0.40
2
AsphaltTreatedBaseClassI
0.34
4
BituminousTreatedAggregateBase
0.23
6
AsphaltTreatedBaseClassII
0.26
4
ColdLaidBituminousConcreteBase
0.23
6
CementTreatedGranular(Aggregate)Base 0.20
6
SoilCementBase
0.15
6
Crushed(Graded)StoneBase
0.14
6
MacadamStoneBase
0.12
6
PortlandCementConcreteBase(New)
0.50

OldPortlandCementConcrete
0.40

CrackandSeatedPCC
0.250.30
RubblizedPCC
0.20

ColdinPlaceRecycled
0.220.27
SubbaseCourse

SoilCementSubbase
0.10
6
SoilLimeSubbase
0.10
6
GranularSubbase
0.10
4
SoilAggregateSubbase
0.05
4

4. Pavementstructuralcharacteristics
a. Coefficientofdrainage(CdorMi)Cdisthecoefficientofdrainageforrigidpavement
designusedtoaccountforimprovedordecreasedqualityofdrainage.Miisthecoefficient
ofdrainageforflexiblepavementdesignusedtomodifylayercoefficients.Waterunder
pavementisoneoftheprimarycausesofpavementfailure.Thiswillcontributeto
pavementpumpingunderlargenumbersofheavyloads.

Thefollowingdefinitionsareusedasaguide:

ExcellentdrainageMaterialdrainedto50%ofsaturationin2hours.
GooddrainageMaterialdrainedto50%ofsaturationin1day.
FairdrainageMaterialdrainedto50%ofsaturationin7days.
PoordrainageMaterialdrainedto50%ofsaturationin1month.
VerypoordrainageMaterialdoesnotdrain.

BasedonthesedefinitionstheCdorMivalueforFairdrainagewouldbe1.00.Avalueof
1.00wouldhavenoimpactonpavementthickness.Lowervaluesincreasetherequired
pavementthickness;highervaluesdecreasetherequiredpavementthickness.

RecommendedvaluesofCdforrigidpavement
PercentofTimePavementstructureisexposedtomoisturelevelsapproachingsaturation
Qualityof
<1%
1 5%
5 25%
>25%
Drainage
Excellent
1.251.20
1.20 1.15
1.15 1.10
1.10

Good
Fair
Poor
VeryPoor

1.201.15
1.151.10
1.101.00
1.000.90

1.15 1.10
1.10 1.00
1.00 0.90
0.90 0.80

1.10 1.00
1.00 0.90
0.90 0.80
0.80 0.70

1.00
0.90
0.80
0.70

RecommendedvaluesofMiformodifyingstructurallayercoefficientsofuntreatedbaseand
subbasematerialsinflexiblepavements
PercentofTimePavementstructureisexposedtomoisturelevelsapproachingsaturation
Qualityof
<1%
1 5%
5 25%
>25%
Drainage
Excellent
1.401.35
1.35 1.30
1.30 1.20
1.20
Good
1.351.25
1.25 1.15
1.15 1.00
1.00
Fair
1.251.15
1.15 1.05
1.00 0.80
0.80
Poor
1.151.05
1.05 0.80
0.80 0.60
0.60
VeryPoor
1.050.95
0.95 0.75
0.75 0.40
0.40

b. Loadtransfercoefficientsforjointedandcontinuousreinforcedpavements.Theoneitem
whichdistinguishesconcretepavement,isthetypeofjointusedtocontrolcrackingand
whetherornotsteeldowelsareusedinthejointforloadtransfer.Eachdesignprovidesa
differentleveloftransferofloadfromonesideofpavementjointtotheother.Toadjust
projectedpavementperformanceforvariousdesigns,theloadtransfercoefficient(J)is
used.

LoadTransfercoefficients(J)fortypicaldesigns
E18sMillions
Doweled&Mesh Aggregate
InterlockEdge
Support

No
Yes
No
Yes
Upto0.3
3.2
2.7
3.2
2.8

No

Yes

0.3to1

3.2

2.7

3.4

3.0

1to3

3.2

2.7

3.6

3.1

3to10
10to30
Over30

3.2
3.2
3.2

2.7
2.7
2.7

3.8
4.1
4.3

3.2
3.4
3.6

2.9
3.0
3.1

2.5
2.6
2.6

Continuous
Class
Reinforcement

Local
Streets/Roads
Local
Streets/Roads
Local
Streets/Roads
Arterials/Highways
Arterials/Highways
Arterials/Highways

c. Lossofsupportfactor(LS)LSisincludedinthedesignofrigidpavementstoaccountfor
thepotentiallossofsupportarisingfromsubbaseerosionand/ordifferentialverticalsoil
movement.

TypicalrangesofLSforvarioustypesofbasematerials.
TypeofMaterial
CementTreatedGranularBase
(E=1,000,000to2,000,000psi)
CementAggregateMixtures

LossofSupport(LS)
0.0 1.0
0.0 1.0

(E=500,000to1,000,000psi)
AsphaltTreatedBase
(E=350,000to1,000,000psi)
BituminousStabilizedMixtures
(E=40,000to300,000psi)
LimeStabilized
(E=20,000to70,000psi)
UnboundGranularMaterials
(E=15,000to45,000psi)
FineGrainedorNaturalSubgradeMaterials
(E=3,000to40,000psi)

0.0 1.0
0.0 1.0
1.0 3.0
1.0 3.0
2.0 3.0

5. PavementReinforcement

a. General.Therearetwotypesofreinforcedrigidpavements.JointedReinforcedConcrete
Pavement(JRCP)andContinuouslyReinforcedConcretePavement(CRCP).Themajor
differenceisthatJRCPhasjointsandCRCPdoesnot.

b. JRCP

1) Slablength(L)distancebetweentransversejoints.
2) Steelworkingstress(fc)typicallyavalueequivalentto75%ofthesteelyieldstrength
isusedforworkingstress.ForGrade40andGrade60steel,thefcwouldbe30,000psi
and45,000psi,respectively.
3) Frictionfactor(F)Faccountsforthefrictionalresistancebetweenthebottomofthe
slabandthetopoftheunderlyingsubbaseorsubgradelayerandisbasicallyequivalent
toacoefficientoffriction.

Recommendedfrictionfactors(F)
TypeofMaterialBeneathSlab
SurfaceTreatment
LimeStabilization
AsphaltStabilization
CementStabilization
RiverGravel

FrictionFactor(F)
2.2
1.8
1.8
1.8
1.5

CrushedStone
Sandstone
NaturalSubgradeMaterials

1.5
1.2
0.9