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25 ARRB Conference Shaping the future: Linking policy, research and outcomes, Perth, Australia 2012
INTRODUCTION
In case of weak subgrade, it is common to use capping materials or working platforms of
suitable quality such as select material, chemically modified soil, geogrid reinforced soil, etc. In
this case, the effective or the composite strength of its subgrade and the capping material given
would then be used for the design of flexible pavements.
The RMS Austroads Guide Supplement to Pavement Technology Part 2 (RMS 2010) gives
presumptive subgrade CBR values which may be used in pavement design for various working
platforms (Table 1).
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25 ARRB Conference Shaping the future: Linking policy, research and outcomes, Perth, Australia 2012
On the other hand, the 2010 version of Austroads Guide to Pavement Technology Part 2
(Austroads 2010) specified that (in Section 3.14.1):
The above clause is no longer mentioned in the current Austroads Guide Part 2 (Austroads
2012) since it is generally accepted in practice that the thickness and strength of working
platform or capping layer should be taken into account to achieve the nominated effective
subgrade strength.
For pavements with thin bituminous surfacing, Figure 8.4 of Austroads Guide Part 2 seems to
suggest that it may be used to calculate the thicknesses of capping layers and other pavement
layers above the original subgrade for a certain design ESA. For example, from Figure 1 it may
be inferred that 110 mm of material with a CBR of 3% may be used as a capping layer on top of
a natural subgrade with a CBR of 2% to produce a subgrade with an effective CBR of 3% for a
6
DESA of 10 (Figure 2). This is certainly not in agreement with RMS Supplement as shown in
Table 1.
The chart shown as Figure 1 has been empirically developed to determine the layer
composition of a pavement with thin bituminous surfacing. It can be shown that for such a
pavement, CIRCLY modelling (with maximum base modulus = 500 MPa) can produce similar
layer thicknesses based on the limiting strain criterion of the natural subgrade. However, if the
chart is used to obtain the capping layer thickness for subgrade improvement, the thickness so
obtained may not be appropriate for other pavement configurations where pavement life may be
controlled by a layer other than the natural subgrade.
This paper examines the issue of selecting an effective material property, CBR or modulus
value, for the combination of a capping layer and a semi-infinite subgrade. In this case, it is
important to note that for a certain traffic loading it is possible to find one pavement
configuration that will perform similarly on a homogeneous semi-infinite subgrade and a twolayer subgrade (capping plus homogeneous semi-infinite subgrade). However, the equivalency
of both subgrade types may not hold for other pavement configurations or traffic loadings.
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25 ARRB Conference Shaping the future: Linking policy, research and outcomes, Perth, Australia 2012
In the subsequent sections of this paper, empirical methods for finding the effective CBR are
presented and their validity examined. The results from the calculations are compared with
those obtained from multilayered elastic theory on the basis of equal surface deflection so that
the effective subgrade CBR so obtained will be applicable to any flexible pavement types and
not affected by the choice of pavement materials and their fatigue characteristics.
Figure 2: Thickness of capping layer inferred from Fig. 8.4 of Austroads (2012) for an
effective CBR of 3%
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25 ARRB Conference Shaping the future: Linking policy, research and outcomes, Perth, Australia 2012
strains below the layer should also remain (relatively) unchanged. According to Odemark, the
stiffness of a layer is proportional to the following term (Ullidtz 1987):
(1)
h E
1
where
h
Poissons ratio.
For the two layers of different materials shown below, it can be stated that both are of equivalent
stiffness if
3
1
1
2
3
2
2
2
For the case of two materials with equal Poissons ratio, the following equation will hold:
h =3
3
1
=h
E
1
1
2
Therefore, for a system with two finite layers with equal Poissons ratio as shown below, layer 1
of modulus E1 can be represented by an equivalent thickness (he) of modulus E2:
h =h
e
E
1
1
2
Note that the correction factor f of Odemarks method is different from f = Ev / (1 + v) used in
the CIRCLY computer program.
Researchers reported that the value of the correction factor f depends on the layer
thicknesses, modular ratios, and the number of layers in the pavement structure. However, it
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25 ARRB Conference Shaping the future: Linking policy, research and outcomes, Perth, Australia 2012
was mentioned that the use of f values of 0.8 to 0.9 leads to a reasonably good agreement
between the two methods (Subagio et al. 2005).
For layer 1:
e1
= f h
E
1
1
e
For layer 2:
e 2
= f h
E
2
2
e
Therefore,
h = f h
e
E
1
h = f E
e
E
1/ 3
+ f h
E
2
(h E
1
1/ 3
1
2
e
+h E
2
1/ 3
Thus,
E =
e
(h 1E 1 1 / 3+ h 2 E 2 1 / 3)
f
he
Note that in the above equation, Ee and he are variables. If he is taken as (h1 + h2), then
E =
e
(h 1E 1 1 / 3+ h 2 E 2 1 / 3)
f
h1 + h 2
and if there are i layers to be combined, the following equation can be used to find Ee:
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25 ARRB Conference Shaping the future: Linking policy, research and outcomes, Perth, Australia 2012
E =
e
n h E 1 / 3
i i
f 1 n
1 h i
(3)
This equation is known as the Japan Equation in the Austroads Guide Part 2 (Austroads 2012),
where CBRi replaces Ei, with f =1 and hi = 1 metre. The Japan Equation (Japan Road
Association 1989) implicitly assumes the following condition:
all layers are isotropic and have the same Poissons ratio
both the original structure and the transformed structure have the same stress & strain
distribution (f = 1)
the existence of a semi-infinite subgrade thickness is ignored. Figure 3 (a) and 3 (b) shows
that only 1 metre upper layer depth is considered. In other words, the effect of applied stress
is assumed to be negligible below this depth. This is an assumption that may be acceptable
for designing concrete pavements but is erroneous in the case of flexible pavements.
900
Capping CBR 4%
800
Capping CBR 5%
700
Capping CBR 6%
600
Capping CBR 7%
500
Capping CBR 8%
Capping CBR 9%
400
1.5
2.5
3.5
Figure 4: Thickness of capping layer from the Japan Equation (effective CBR = 3%)
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25 ARRB Conference Shaping the future: Linking policy, research and outcomes, Perth, Australia 2012
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25 ARRB Conference Shaping the future: Linking policy, research and outcomes, Perth, Australia 2012
Figure 6: Variation of correction factor (f) with depth (after El-Badawy and Kamel 2011).
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25 ARRB Conference Shaping the future: Linking policy, research and outcomes, Perth, Australia 2012
10
1.0
Japan/CHEVRON
0.9805
1.2952
1.4125
1.4578
1.4783
1.4819
1.4845
1.5
Japan/CHEVRON
1.4769
1.7533
1.8115
1.8084
1.7846
1.7569
1.7251
2.0
Japan/CHEVRON
2.0036
2.1094
2.0311
1.9510
1.8779
1.8049
1.7436
2.5
Japan/CHEVRON
2.3654
2.1140
1.8878
1.7191
1.5904
1.5128
1.4267
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25 ARRB Conference Shaping the future: Linking policy, research and outcomes, Perth, Australia 2012
CBREffective
f = 1.52510.5251
CBROriginal
(4)
Figures 11 and 12 show the variation of capping thickness with the original subgrade CBR to
achieve an effective CBR of 3% and 5%, respectively (for this study the maximum capping layer
thickness was 1000 mm). The existence of double curvature relationships is evident in both
charts, which is similar to that of the previous CHEVRON isotropic analysis (Figure 8).
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25 ARRB Conference Shaping the future: Linking policy, research and outcomes, Perth, Australia 2012
CBR
original
(%)
Method
CIRCLY
765
615
535
490
455
430
ODEMARK
793
640
546
482
435
399
Differences
-28
-25
-11
20
31
CIRCLY
980
875
800
ODEMARK
965
871
798
Differences
15
10
CIRCLY
680
545
480
435
400
ODEMARK
714
569
480
420
376
Differences
-34
-24
15
24
CIRCLY
980
835
745
ODEMARK
972
850
761
Differences
-15
-16
CIRCLY
640
515
445
405
ODEMARK
669
528
442
384
Differences
-29
-13
21
CIRCLY
905
765
ODEMARK
893
776
Differences
12
-11
CIRCLY
960
615
490
425
ODEMARK
918
642
503
419
Differences
42
-27
-13
CIRCLY
845
ODEMARK
848
Differences
-3
CBR
effective
CBR
original
1.5
0.71
Sum
of
diff.
-5
0.52
21
1.33
0.8
-19
1.67
0.64
-23
1.25
0.85
-18
1.5
0.72
1
1.2
0.88
8
1.75
0.77
-3
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25 ARRB Conference Shaping the future: Linking policy, research and outcomes, Perth, Australia 2012
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25 ARRB Conference Shaping the future: Linking policy, research and outcomes, Perth, Australia 2012
In contrast with the previously described methods, it has been found that for a subgrade of CBR
2%, it is not practical to place a capping layer with a CBR of 4% in order to obtain an effective
CBR of 3% (the required capping layer thickness would have to be much greater than 1000
mm). Instead, a 750 mm capping layer with CBR 5% would be needed. It is also interesting to
note that a typical RMS subgrade treatment is to place a 900 mm material with soaked CBR 8%
on top of the subgrade which would, according to these two charts, produce an effective
subgrade soaked CBR of 3% if the original subgrade soaked CBR is about 1.5% or an effective
soaked CBR of 5% if the original subgrade soaked CBR is about 3%.
CONCLUSIONS
It has been demonstrated that the effects of combining layers of different soils may alter not
only the stress and strain distributions within the individual layers but also the surface deflection.
Odemarks method simplifies the effect of layering to produce an equation to predict the
combined modulus but does not produce an accurate representation of stress and strain
distribution within multilayered pavement foundation. Correction factors have been proposed to
improve the accuracy of Odemarks method for a combined modulus, but their accuracy may be
questionable.
This paper presented the results of a preliminary investigation on the effect of layering and nonlinearity on the combined modulus of a multilayered subgrade. The study was limited to a twolayer subgrade, being a capping layer with a maximum thickness of one metre, on top of a
semi-infinite subgrade. Limited CBR combinations were analysed using the CIRCLY computer
program with Austroads sublayering and anisotropy assumptions, which produced an equation
that can be used to find the appropriate correction factor for use with the Odemarks method.
Subsequently, charts that can be used to obtain the capping layer thickness on top of a
subgrade were proposed to obtain an effective subgrade CBR for pavement design purposes.
Since the charts have been developed independent from pavement configurations, they can be
used for any type of flexible pavement.
The results of this study indicate that the use of the Odemarks method without a correction
factor (i.e. the Japan Equation) will underestimate the capping thickness requirement if
anisotropy and nonlinearity are considered. The validation process employed in the present
study demonstrates the accuracy of the proposed correction factor and the resulting charts.
Further studies will be conducted to more comprehensively analyse the application of the
method for a wider range of CBR values, number of layers and layer thicknesses.
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25 ARRB Conference Shaping the future: Linking policy, research and outcomes, Perth, Australia 2012
DESA
Effective
subgrade
CBR (%)
Input vertical
modulus
(MPa)
Pavement
Layers (critical
Thicknesses
layer is
(mm)
underlined)
350
Base
270
5
150
SMZ
300
50
Subgrade
Semi-infinite
Granular
1.43E+07
350
Base
270
150
SMZ
300
5**
90
Capping
834
30
Subgrade
Semi-infinite
1700
Wearing AC
40
4000
AC14
50
4000
AC20
260
3
150
SMZ
300
50
UZF
300
30
Subgrade
Semi-infinite
1700
Wearing AC
40
4000
AC14
50
4000
AC20
260
3**
150
SMZ
300
50
UZF
300
50
Capping
743
20
Subgrade
Semi-infinite
Full depth
1.52E+08
1700
Wearing AC
40
asphalt
4000
AC14
50
4000
AC20
260
3**
150
SMZ
300
50
UZF
300
70
Capping
512
20
Subgrade
Semi-infinite
1700
Wearing AC
40
4000
AC14
50
4000
AC20
260
3**
15
SMZ
300
50
UZF
300
100
Capping
374
20
Subgrade
Semi-infinite
1000
Wearing AC
40
2500
AC14
50
2700
AC20
85
3
10000
LMC
195
150
SMZ
300
50
UZF
300
30
Subgrade
Semi-infinite
1000
Wearing AC
40
2500
AC14
50
2700
AC20
85
10000
LMC
197.5
Deep
3**
strength
3.65E+07
150
SMZ
300
asphalt
50
UZF
300
50
Capping
743
20
Subgrade
Semi-infinite
1000
Wearing AC
40
2500
AC14
50
2700
AC20
85
10000
LMC
197.5
3**
150
SMZ
300
50
UZF
300
70
Capping
512
20
Subgrade
Semi-infinite
** With capping layer thicknesses from Equations 3 and 4 to improve the original subgrade CBR.
Cumulative
Damage Factor
(CDF)
9.08 E-01
9.57E-01
9.48E-01
9.72E-01
9.68E-01
9.70E-01
7.86E-01
7.9E-01
7.9E-01
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25 ARRB Conference Shaping the future: Linking policy, research and outcomes, Perth, Australia 2012
REFERENCES
Austroads (2009), Review of Relationship to Predict Subgrade Modulus from CBR (California
Bearing Ratio), Sydney, Australia.
Austroads (2010), Guide to Pavement Technology Part 2: Pavement Structural Design, Sydney,
Australia.
Austroads (2012), Guide to Pavement Technology Part 2: Pavement Structural Design, Sydney,
Australia.
El-Badawy, M. and Kamel, M.A. (2011), Assessment of Improvement of the Accuracy of the
Odemark Transformation Method, International Journal of Advanced Engineering Sciences and
Technologies, 5 (2), pp.105-110.
Japan Road Association (1989), Manual for Asphalt Pavement, Japan Road Association,
Tokyo.
Reddy, M.A., Reddy, K.S. and Pandey, B.B. (2001), Design CBR of Subgrade for Flexible
Pavements, IRC Highway Research Bulletin, 64, pp. 61-69.
RMS (2010), Austroads Guide Supplement to Pavement Technology Part 2, Sydney, Australia.
Subagio, B., Cahyanto, H., Rahman A. and Mardiyah, S. (2005), Multi-layer Pavement
Structural Analysis Using Method of Equivalent Thickness, Case Study: Jakarta-Cikampek Toll
Road, Journal of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies, Vol. 6, pp. 55-65.
Ullidtz, P. (1987), Pavement Analysis, Development in Civil Engineering, Vol.19, Elsevier,
Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The comments and views expressed in the paper are those of the authors and not necessarily
of the Roads and Maritime Services of NSW. The authors thank Messrs. D. Hazell and P.
Tamsett for reviewing the manuscript.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHIES
Andreas Nataatmadja, BE (Hons) Petra, MEng AIT, PhD Monash, GradCert (Env) Melb.,
MIEAust
Dr. Nataatmadja is the Supervising Pavement Engineer (Design & Analysis) of Roads Traffic
Authority-New South Wales in Parramatta. His previous position was Senior Lecturer in
Geotechnical and Pavement Engineering at QUT, Brisbane. He has published numerous
papers in geotechnical engineering and pavement technology. With a research interest in the
areas of material science, geotechnical and pavement engineering, Andreas has been working
in the broad area of civil engineering for more than 30 years in industrial, consulting, research
and teaching environments.
Ms. Su Yin Tao, BSc (App. Chem) UTS, Dip.Sci.Prac UTS, GradCert (Pavement Tech.) CPEE
Su Yin Tao joined the RMS in 2006 on the Graduate Program. She has worked in Materials
Technology, Environmental Assessment, Geotechnical Science, Pavement Design and
Analysis, and Bridge Technology areas of the RMS. She recently completed the Pavement
Technology Graduate Certificate with CPEE and currently works at RMS in the Design and
Analysis Unit, focusing on pavement wear and design review.
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25 ARRB Conference Shaping the future: Linking policy, research and outcomes, Perth, Australia 2012
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