Dr. P.

NANJUNDASWAMY
Department of Civil Engineering
S J College of Engineering
Mysore – 570 006

pnswamy@yahoo.com
Pavement Design Parameters

• Traffic
• Climatic Factors
• Road Geometry
• Subgrade
• Material Properties
• Environment
Design Parameters – Traffic
• Maximum Wheel load
• Contact Pressure
• Multiple Wheel Loads
• Repetition of Loads
• Position
• Impact of wheels
• Iron-tyred vehicles
 Traffic Loading - Approaches
Approaches
Fixed traffic
• Single load, no load repetitions
Fixed vehicle
• No. of repetitions of a std. axle load
• Equivalent axle load factor
Variable traffic and vehicle
• Stresses, strains and deflections under
each load group separately
Wheel Load and Contact Pressure
Contact Pressure

The influence of
contact pressure
on stress levels
in base, subbase
and subgrade
layers are
marginal
Contact Pressure

The magnitude of
contact pressure
determines the
quality and
thickness of
wearing and
binder course
Wheel Load

The influence of
the magnitude of
the wheel load
on stress levels
in base, sub-base
and subgrade
layers is
significant
Wheel Load

Total thickness
of the pavement
is mainly
determined by
the magnitude
of the load and
not the contact
pressure
Axle Configurations and Loads

19t)
Axle Configurations
2 Axle Truck – 16t

3 Axle Truck – 24t

4 Axle Semi Articulated – 34t

4 Axle Articulated – 34t

5 Axle Truck – 40t

LCV
Axle Configurations
Axle Configurations
Axle Configurations
Axle Configurations
Design Vehicle ?
 Effect of Wheel Configuration

The effect of axles 1, 2 and 3 on

stresses and strains within pavement
layers are considered independently
 Effect of Wheel Configuration

Within a group of axles, each axle is

not considered as independent
 Effect of Wheel Configuration

In flexible pavement design by layer

theory, only the wheels on one side
are considered
 Effect of Wheel Configuration

In rigid pavement design by plate

theory, the wheels on both sides are
usually considered (even when
distance > 1.8 m)
 6
5.11
5
ESALs per Vehicle

1.85
2
1.35
1
0.0007 0.10
0
Car Delivery Truck Loaded 18-Wheeler Loaded 40' Bus Loaded 60'
Articulated Bus

Notice that cars are insignificant and thus

usually ignored in pavement design.
 Shape of Contact area
The true shape of contact area is
elliptical
In flexible pavement analysis, it is
approximated to circular shape for
the ease of calculations
P
Radius of contact area, a 
p
 Shape of Contact area
In rigid pavement analysis, circular
shape approximation leads to
significant error
For the convenience of calculations,
the elliptical shape is approximated
by a rectangle and two semicircles
 Shape of Contact area
The contact area
0.3 L

0.4 L L

0.3 L

0.6 L

In FEM analysis of rigid pavement,

equivalent rectangular area of
0.8172 L x 0.6 L is assumed
 Multiple Wheel Loads
Equivalent Single Wheel Load (ESWL)
Is a single wheel load having same contact
pressure which produces same value of
• Maximum stress
• Deflection
• Tensile stress
• Contact pressure
at the desired depth
 Graphical Solution
Equivalent Single Wheel Load (ESWL)
Boyd and Foster method
Semi-rational method

Assumptions
• Equalancy concept is based on equal
vertical stress
• Contact area is circular
• Influence angle is 45o
• Soil medium is elastic, homogeneous and
isotropic half space
 Graphical Solution . . . .
Equivalent Single Wheel Load (ESWL)
 Graphical Solution . . . .
Equivalent Single Wheel Load (ESWL)
 Graphical Solution . . . .
Equivalent Single Wheel Load (ESWL)

2P B
ESWL (Log Scale)

P1

P A

d/2 Z1 2S

Depth z (Log Scale)

 Graphical Solution . . . .
Example
Find ESWL at depths of 5 cm, 20 cm and 40 cm for a
dual wheel carrying 2044 kg each. The center to center
tyre spacing is 20 cm and distance between walls of the
two tyres is 10cm

Solution
For desired depth z1 = 5 cm, which is half the distance
between the walls of tyre, ESWL = P = 2044

For z3 = 40 cm, which is twice the tyre spacing, ESWL =

2P = 4088 kg
 Graphical Solution . . . .
Equivalent Single Wheel Load (ESWL)
Log10(d/2) = 0.7
2P B
Log10(P) = 3.3
ESWL (Log Scale)

P2 = 3.5 Log10(2S) = 1.6

Log10(2P) = 3.6
P A
Log10(Z2) = 1.3

d/2 Z2 2S P2 = Antilog (3.5)

= 3162 kg
Depth z (Log Scale)
 Graphical Solution . . . .
Equivalent Single Wheel Load (ESWL)

log10 P2  3.3 
0.301 log10 4 
 3.5
log10 8
3.5
P2  10  3162 kg
 Equal Vertical Stress Criterion
From Boussinesq’s Theory PS

or Z
A
σzs Maximum vertical
stress at A
Sd

Pd Pd

Sd/2 Z

1 2 3
σzd Maximum of vertical
stresses at 1, 2 and 3
 Equal Vertical Deflection Criterion
Foster and Ahlvin (1958) PS

and
Z
A
ws Maximum vertical
deflection at A
Sd

Pd Pd

Sd/2 Z

1 2 3
wd Maximum of vertical
deflections at 1, 2 and 3
 Equal Vertical Deflection Criterion
Huang (1968)
ESWL based on interface
deflection of two layered
systems
 Other Criteria

• Equal Tensile Strain

• Equal Contact Pressure
• Equivalent Contact Radius
 Equivalent Single Axle Load (ESAL)
Is the equivalent repetitions of Standard
Axle during the design life of pavement
IRC terms this ESAL as Cumulative number
of standard axles during the design life
The number of repetitions of different
types of axles are converted into
equivalent repetitions of standard axle by
using Equivalent Axle Load Factors (EALF)
Equivalent Axle Load Factor (EALF)
Defines the damage per pass to a pavement
by an axle relative to the damage per pass
of a standard axle
Exact EALF can be worked out only by using
distress models
Approximate EALF can be worked out using
the fourth power rule

Standard Axle Load Single axle : 8160 kg

Tandam axle : 14968 kg
 Vehicle Damage Factor (VDF)
Instead of converting each axle pass into
equivalent standard axle passes, it will be
convenient to convert one truck pass into
equivalent standard axle passes
The factor that converts – VDF
VDF is the number of standard axles per truck
Determining VDF
Sample Axle Load Survey
Sample Axle Load Survey
Computation of VDF
Traffic on Design Lane
Need for Distribution Factors
 Traffic on Design Lane
Worked out by finding the
Directional Distribution Factor (0.5 to 0.6)
Proportion of ADT of trucks occurring in
the maximum direction

Lane Distribution Factor

Proportion of trucks occurring on the
design lane which depends on
Number of lanes and
Traffic volume
 Factors Suggested by IRC
Undivided Roads (Single Carriageway)

No. of Traffic Percentage of

lanes in two trucks in
directions Design Lane
1 100
2 75
4 40
 Factors Suggested by IRC
Divided Roads (Dual Carriageway)
No. of Traffic Percentage of
lanes in two trucks in
directions Design Lane
1 100
2 75
3 60
4 45
 Design Period
Depends on
 traffic volume
 growth rate
 capacity of road and
 possibility of augmentation
Flexible Pavement
15 years – NH, 20 years – Express ways &
Urban Roads, 10 to 15 years – Other Roads
Rigid Pavement
30 years. When Accurate prediction not
possible – 20 years
 Design Traffic

N = Cumulative std. axle repetitions during

design period (expressed in msa)
A = Initial traffic intensity (CVPD)
D = Lane distribution factor
F = Vehicle damage factor
n = Design life (years)
r = Annual rate of growth for commercial vehicles

Average annual growth rate – 7.5%

Thank you