CEE 3604

Transportation Engineering

Pavement Design

Transportation Engineering (A.A. Trani) 1

 Pavement Design
• The level of service of roads depends not only on
number of lanes and safety features of the road but
also on the quality of pavements

• Pavement design techniques:

• Flexible and Rigid pavements

Read Florida DOT Pavement

Design Document
Transportation Engineering (A.A. Trani) 2
Definition of Flexible Pavement Layers
• A typical pavement is made up of multiple
layers

source: Florida DOT Flexible Pavement Design Manual

Transportation Engineering (A.A. Trani) 3
 Definitions
• Friction course
• Provides a skid-resistance
surface
• Structural course
• Distributes the traffic loads
to the base course
• Base course
• Supports the structural
course and distribute loads to
the stabilization (subgrade)
layer

Transportation Engineering (A.A. Trani) 4

 Types of Pavements

• Flexible pavements
• Rigid pavements

Source: Encyclopedia Britannica

Transportation Engineering (A.A. Trani) 5

 Flexible Pavements
• Multi-Layered system (3-4 layers)
• Design life is usually 10-20 years
• Unit cost ($2-$3 per square foot according to
RO Anderson Engineers, 2017)

• Higher maintenance cost

• Relatively low flexural strength (high
deformation of the sub-grade)
• Better ride quality (no expansion joints)
Transportation Engineering (A.A. Trani) 6
 Rigid Pavements
• Normally 2-3 layers
• Design life 30-40 years
• Unit cost ($6-$8 per square foot according to
RO Anderson Engineers, 2017)

• Lower maintenance cost

• Relatively high flexural strength (less
deformation of sub-grade)
• Lower ride quality (due to expansion joints)
Transportation Engineering (A.A. Trani) 7
 Example: Original Airport Pavement for Dulles
International Airport (circa 1962)

Source: Fuselier, Grubs and McQueen, ASCE 2008

Transportation Engineering (A.A. Trani) 8
Example: New Specification for Airport Pavement at
Dulles International Airport (circa 2005)

18 inches of PCC
6 inch Cement Treated Base layer
12 inch subgrade Soil (Cement Stabilized)

Transportation Engineering (A.A. Trani) 9

Why Do some Pavements Have to Be So
Complex?
• To support large transportation vehicles (like
very large aircraft)

Airbus A380-800 maximum takeoff mass is around 570 metric tons

Transportation Engineering (A.A. Trani) 10
 AASHTO Equation

• An equation that relates the pavement

structural performance and various operational
factors such as the vehicle loadings, strength of
roadbed soils and pavement structure
• The American Association of State Highway Officials
(AASHTO)

Transportation Engineering (A.A. Trani) 11

 AASHTO Design Equation Variables
• Accumulated 18-kip Equivalent Single Axle Loads
ESAL or ESALD

• Traffic load information used in pavement design

• Traffic levels for ESAL
• Resilient Modulus (M ) R

• A measurement of the stiffness of the roadbed

soil

• Reliability (%R)
• Standard Normal Deviate (Z ) R

• Reliability (%R) value converted into logarithmic

form for calculations purposes
Transportation Engineering (A.A. Trani) 12
AASHTO Equation Design Constants

• Standard deviation (So)

• Accounts for variability in traffic load and
construction (So = 0.45 typical)
• Current Serviceability Index (PSI)
• A rating of 0 to 5 is used with 5 being the best
and 0 being the worst
• Initial Serviceability (P ) I

• Terminal Serviceability (P ) T

• Change in Serviceability (dPSI)

Transportation Engineering (A.A. Trani) 13
 AASHTO Design Procedure
• Required Structural Number (SN ) R

• “a weighted thickness in inches calculated from

traffic load information and roadbed soil stiffness,
representing the required strength of the
pavement structure”
• The objective of the AASHTO design method is to
calculate the value of SNR
• SN R represents the strength of the pavement
required to carry the traffic loads down to the road
soil layer with adequate serviceability throughout
the life cycle of the pavement

Transportation Engineering (A.A. Trani) 14

AASHTO Design Equation

Transportation Engineering (A.A. Trani) 15

AASHTO Design Procedure
(per Florida DOT Manual)

Transportation Engineering (A.A. Trani) 16

 Design Periods
(Florida DOT Design Manual)

Transportation Engineering (A.A. Trani) 17

 Design Procedure
Required Structural Number
• Step 1 - the 18-kip Equivalent Single Axle Loads
18-kip (ESAL's) are obtained from the District
Planning Office
• Step 2 - the Resilient Modulus (MR) used to
characterize the strength of the roadbed soil is
obtained from actual laboratory testing
• Step 3 - A safety factor is applied using a Reliability
(%R) value from Table 5.2. Recommended values
range from 75 to 99%. A Standard Deviation (SO)
of 0.45 is used in the calculation. The Standard
Normal Deviate (ZR) is dependent on the
Reliability (%R)
Transportation Engineering (A.A. Trani) 18
 Design Procedure
• Most DOTs have produced tables with acceptable values
of SNR for given inputs to the AASHTO Equation (see
the Florida manual DOT)

Transportation Engineering (A.A. Trani) 19

Layer Calculations

source: Florida DOT Flexible Pavement Design Manual

Transportation Engineering (A.A. Trani) 20
Pavement Design Layer Calculations
SNc = a1D1 + a2D2 + a3D3 + a4D4
where:
SNc = Total calculated strength of all
pavement layers (inches or millimiters)
a1 = first pavement layer coefficient (dim)
D1 = first pavement layer thickness
(inches or millimiters)
a2, a3 and a4 are coefficients for other layers
D2, D3 and D 4 are thicknesses for
other layers

Transportation Engineering (A.A. Trani) 21

 Layer Coefficients
(per Florida DOT Manual)

• “Layer coefficients ( a , a , a
1 and a4) have been
2 3
developed which represent the relative strength of
different pavement in materials”

• “The values for these materials are given in Table

5.4” of the Florida Pavement Design Manual

• The coefficients presented in this table are based

on the best available data. Future adjustments will
be made to these values by manual revisions should
research or other information dictate”

source: Florida DOT Flexible Pavement Design Manual

Transportation Engineering (A.A. Trani) 22
Layer Coefficients (Table 5.4)

source: Florida DOT Flexible Pavement Design Manual

Transportation Engineering (A.A. Trani) 23
 Design Examples
(Florida DOT Design Manual)
• Page 47 of Florida DOT Flexible Pavement
design Manual
• Go to page 64 in the DOT Flexible Pavement
Design Manual

Transportation Engineering (A.A. Trani) 24

Design Example # 1
(AASHTO Method)

source: Florida DOT Flexible Pavement Design Manual

Transportation Engineering (A.A. Trani) 25
 Design Example # 1
(Florida DOT Design Manual)

Transportation Engineering (A.A. Trani) 26

 Design Example # 1
(Florida DOT Design Manual)

source: Florida DOT Flexible Pavement Design Manual

Transportation Engineering (A.A. Trani) 27
 Design Example # 1
(Florida DOT Design Manual)

source: Florida DOT Flexible Pavement Design Manual

Transportation Engineering (A.A. Trani) 28
Asphalt Concrete Friction Course
Selection Chart (Table 4.1)

Transportation Engineering (A.A. Trani) 29

Design Example
(Initial Step)

source: Florida DOT Flexible Pavement Design Manual

Transportation Engineering (A.A. Trani) 30
Design Example
(Initial Step)

source: Florida DOT Flexible Pavement Design Manual

Transportation Engineering (A.A. Trani) 31
Design Example
(Initial Step)

source: Florida DOT Flexible Pavement Design Manual

Transportation Engineering (A.A. Trani) 32
Design Example Solution

source: Florida DOT Flexible Pavement Design Manual

Transportation Engineering (A.A. Trani) 33
 Example of FC-5 Material

Permeable 3/4 inch layer

Texture and aggregates to improve friction and avoid hydroplaning
Source: Jim Musselman , Florida Department of Transportation
Transportation Engineering (A.A. Trani) 33a
Design Example
Solution

source: Florida DOT Flexible Pavement Design Manual

Transportation Engineering (A.A. Trani) 34
Design Example
Solution

source: Florida DOT Flexible Pavement Design Manual

Transportation Engineering (A.A. Trani) 35
 Design Example
Solution

For example problem

source: Florida DOT Flexible Pavement Design Manual

Transportation Engineering (A.A. Trani) 36
Structural Numbers for Base Layer

Source: Florida
Department of
Transportation

Note that using optional

base group 10 with a
structural course of 5''
provides an SN number
of 4.09 (versus 4.05
required)

Transportation Engineering (A.A. Trani) 36a

Design Example
Solution

source: Florida DOT Flexible Pavement Design Manual

Transportation Engineering (A.A. Trani) 37
Design Example
Solution

For example problem

source: Florida DOT Flexible Pavement Design Manual

Transportation Engineering (A.A. Trani) 38
Design Example
Solution

source: Florida DOT Flexible Pavement Design Manual

Transportation Engineering (A.A. Trani) 39
Design Example
Solution

source: Florida DOT Flexible Pavement Design Manual

Transportation Engineering (A.A. Trani) 40
 Typical Cost of Mix Asphalt

Source:Yin and West, 2018 - https://eng.auburn.edu/research/

centers/ncat/files/technical-reports/rep18-03.pdf

SMA = Stone Matrix Asphalt

Superpave = Superior Performing Asphalt Pavement
Transportation Engineering (A.A. Trani) 40a
 Virginia Pavement Data

SMA Pavements Superpave Pavements

Transportation Engineering (A.A. Trani) 40b

 Example of Pavement Design Software
• Uses National Cooperative Highway research Program
(NCHRP) Mechanistic-Empirical method
• Calculates pavement responses (stresses, strains, and
deflections)
• Includes traffic, climate, and materials parameters
• Hot-mix asphalt (HMA) and Portland Cement Concrete
(PCC) pavements

https://www.aashtoware.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Pavement-ME-
Design-Brochure-FY-2019.pdf
Transportation Engineering (A.A. Trani) 40c
 Minnesota DOT Software

https://www.dot.state.mn.us/materials/pvmtdesign/software.html
Transportation Engineering (A.A. Trani) 40d
 Airport Pavements

Note: At rest, ~ 95% of the aircraft weight is on the main landing gear
Transportation Engineering (A.A. Trani) 41
Sample Airport Pavement Charts
Aircraft manufacturers
provide ready-made charts
for quick verification

Boeing 777-300ER Taking Off at Chicago

O’Hare Airport

http://www.boeing.com/commercial/airports
Transportation Engineering (A.A. Trani) 42
Sample Airport Pavement Charts
Boeing 777-300ER
Dimensions in
Airport Design Document

Boeing 777-300ER Taking Off at Chicago

O’Hare Airport

http://www.boeing.com/commercial/airports
Transportation Engineering (A.A. Trani) 43
 Sample Airport Pavement Charts
Flexible Pavement
Design Chart

U.S. Army Corps of

Engineers
Design Method
(S-77-1):

Source:
777-200LR / -300ER / -Freighter
Airplane Characteristics for Airport Planning
Transportation Engineering (A.A. Trani) 44
 Sample Airport Pavement Charts
California Bearing Ratio (CBR)
Flexible Pavement Weight on
Design Chart Main Landing
Gear

U.S. Army Corps of

Engineers
Design Method Annual
Departures
(S-77-1):

Source:
777-200LR / -300ER / -Freighter Flexible Pavement Thickness (inches)
Airplane Characteristics for Airport Planning
Transportation Engineering (A.A. Trani) 45
 California Bearing Ratio (CBR)

• A measure of the load-bearing capacity (or

strength) of natural soil

• Strength of soil compared to crushed California

limestone (assumed to have a CBR value of 100)
• CBR is a standard described in ASTM Standard
D1883-05 (for laboratory samples)
• D4429 (for soils in the field)
• AASHTO T193
Check out information in : http://
www.pavementinteractive.org/california-bearing-ratio/
Transportation Engineering (A.A. Trani) 46
 Sample Airport Pavement Charts
Flexible Pavement
Design Chart

Portland Cement
Association
Design Method

Source:
777-200LR / -300ER / -Freighter
Airplane Characteristics for Airport Planning
Transportation Engineering (A.A. Trani) 47
 Sample Airport Pavement Charts
Flexible Pavement
Design Chart Subgrade

Pavement Thickness (inches)

Strength

Allowable Working Stress (psi)

Modulus
Portland Cement (lb/cu.inch)
Association
Design Method

Weight on
Main Landing
Gear

Source:
777-200LR / -300ER / -Freighter
Airplane Characteristics for Airport Planning
Transportation Engineering (A.A. Trani) 48