cuarren D Stresses in flexible pavements Design and construction of flexible asphalt pavements has changed rather id.” Rigid or PCC pavement design has long been based primarily upon a theoretically related analysis involving some empirical modifications to the classical Wester gaard approach. Flexible pavements were (and still are) classified by a pavement structure having a relatively thin asphalt wearing course with layers of granular base and subbase being used to protect the subgrade from being overstressed. ‘This type of pavement design was primarily based upon empiricism or experi cence, with theory playing only a subordinate role in the procedure. However, the recent design and construction changes brought about primarily by heavier wheel loads, higher traffic levels, and the recognition of various inde- pendent distress modes contributing to pavement “failure” (such as rutting, shoving, and cracking), have led to the introduction and increased use of stabilized base and subbase material. Stabilizers such as asphalt, lime, flyash, and. cement are frequently used to increase the structural strength of the pavement by increasing rigidity. Because of these reasons an extremely concentrated effort was made in the last several years to develop a more fundamentally based design analysis for asphalt concrete pavements having unstabilized (flexible) or stabilized (semirigid) base layers. In the strictest sense, there is at present no truly fundamental or rational design procedure that is widely accepted in the pavement design in- dustry, However, a great deal of engineering reliance is being placed upon the ‘use of multilayered linear clastic theory. This is exemplified by the introduction into practice of several such design procedures based upon this concept. It should be clearly understood by the reader that, for any pavement design procedure to be completely rational in nature, total consideration must be given to three elememts, These elements are (1) the theory used (o predict the failure 24LAYERED SYSTEM CONCEPTS. 25 or distress parameter, (2) the evaluation of the pertinent material properties necessary for the theory selected, and (8) the determination of the relationship between the magnitude of the parameter in question to the failure or perform: ance level desired. “This chapter considers only the first item. A general discussion of fundamental material tests utilized in rational designs is presented in Part II of this book, while Part III contains the basic development of the fundamental criteria used in rational design procedures, Even though most pavement material responses g woxs) worey woN GET AOL “OL"E Sy ° c TOV er c TO= Wea i hesedd | 0002 = zy ory 002 = 2H E — | / VO=% : x e = ov =H } - ‘To000 awaw ai | Pay : Lf \ AE | E = x Ar Ae | AA” = \ —5 5 A \y = Hoe yxy i E < a = x Ao | F >< | 5 XX Xenv=i E Xx e| S x(7008 01 0 =2¥ “OOs= LY "122 ‘su ToNEDA 14 worg) “Hopes sous spiepoayy, “Oe amby B som —\ \ — een | AE == 4 \ \ =H A w= 10000 eK \7Z\ X_\,.. 4 Xx x 4 AAA ELAS Hee=v V = 4 \ [iY SE AA VA ee a =< a FES EX PDX E A \ ZA bea VA [ase /_4" E A KY SS = ov0005.% FO= EF TO= IN “zz ‘SOM fONIBA @) (NMEA woXy) “KODE sone sakeroONL “Ore MOE °© GO=2 OE= 1 ez MM ONEA Y) (9M Moy) soe] mH sOKePON, “OLE o Se =20=¥ E aE LOGS Sea ee COAT OO LO NLT =a or oo tooo0008 8 FO = BY ‘oon = I ‘azz “HAH pwomeg G) (Me Woy) SORE] HOM MePIONL “OLE MMS o zo=vov=H vo=v og=H \ 4 NE 5 te Seo ol Se RE ay Yo. _ Seis H + K Ey XY S| S05 CKAL KAKA NSO x = ra X Ke VK LE AEX XL r = = ‘002 = a QL {fave aw ale core oon :1H 00000 62‘O00 01 0 = ay “OOOE = LY "zzz “ious pooRHI4 ” os=H ov=H oz=H oe olen aie 7 —— DIE. > ee ay S x ui Rey ¢ SCmoie'o voto won Cea eee) eay—eae) (ard 22) eaten) Gua ca2) Gau—tz2) (euN—tz2) Nt) CUM La) (oster oye) wopog seus ekorseny “ET TEV 64Hoo ° (erw—eee) (euy—eze) (oan 122) (eanr—eae) (ene eZD CaN ta7) (ern ee2) ea—caz) (rE) ome = 4 ows ome sro =m so =F worn (ponumen) “e aTaVE+ an) (enn—aze) (aN 122) eu eee) exN—t2) Gau—wE) (erusze) eat—t22) ca 122) (ovens) “ee OVEsiete e122) (eww ez2) cewnm az) (waz) (pena) “et mvooo) ea0-0 aro vaste foo) $000°0 ‘ene'9 Stopo'd 96000 010" ocr mm fe0'0 ooo S000 orn ory ‘cero ooo nmr souse'o—zeesoroouet'o sett 1c00'0 —sero0-0 feted Sonae-o ane eae anSO'O ‘Stope'o S000 100" seo Towra 200 om'® toons we" ‘iloe'® een S000 (Gre e22) Ga—ae) (ura I2e)CenNtew) Cea—eeR vine) Cea—222) GaA—e2) Uae) eau) (ponunwon) “ee savTABLE 2.2. (coninved)£ 4 THREE-LAYER SYSTEM oN 7 Mlustrative Example 2.4, Three-Layer Problem. Referring to Figure 29, a pavement structure has the following characteristics: hy = 3 inches, hy = 12 inches, E, = 600,000 psi, E, = 80,000 psi, and Z, = 15,000 psi. For p = 80 psi and a = 6 inches, calculate the following: bon a ea Sin pee (ali fy. Si, nat. Sim Ay 12 in. a Note that the ky, ky, and H values are values tabulated for Figure 2.10 and ‘Table 2.8 solutions. The value of a; (4) = 0.5 must be interpolated from a (4) values chown, a. For the Kl = 0, K2 = 2, and H= 0.25, the appropriate 221 diagram of Figure 2.10 is found. For an a, (A) = 05 z2\ = 047 “on = pCAl) = 80(0.47 b. From the appropriate 272 diagram of Figure 2.10, 222 = 0.10 “one = pl222) = 80(0.10) = 8.0 psi 6. Since the horizontal stress factors of Table 2.8 do not have a tabulated value for a; (A) = 05, this value must be interpolated. The following tabulated summary illustrates the sequence to be carried out in order to evaluate os. ‘The or value can be determined by interpolation of a plot of a; (4) versus on. By this procedure o,; = —$15 psi, ¢72 = —9.0 psi and oy = —1.0 pri. ai (4) (221 — RR) on on 063219, =13.0 ps 0.2 1.83765, = 109.4 psi 04 3.86779 = 271-8 psi 0.8 5.50796 403.0 psi 16 4.24281 3018 psi 3.2 1.97494 = 120.4 psi d. Knowing oy and o; 6 = og lea — onl = seep, 600) 2.938 x 10° inch/inch or a tensile strain of 294 microinches/inch, [-315 — 37.6]72 ‘STRESSES IN FLEXIBLE PAVEMENTS e. Knowing oz: and os 1 5 Wea — oral = T5056 [8 — (-D) = 6.000 X 10-4 inch/ineh ora compressive strain of 600 jctoinches/inch. FUNDAMENTAL DESIGN CONCEPTS ‘The previous sections of this chapter have dealt with the mechanics of deter- mining various stresses, strains, and deflections within a multilayered structure. The purpose of this section is to illustrate how a general interpretation of these clastic layered results should lead to an understanding of the basic principles of pavement design. ‘The examples that follow are of necessity somewhat simplified ue to the rather large number of variable combinations between the 4, H, Ky, and K, parameters. Nonetheless, the ability of multilayered theory to provide a ‘quantitative evaluation of certain critical’ parameters, as the pavement layer geometry and material characteristics change, demonstrates fundamentals that will form the nucleus of any future rational pavement design procedure Subgrade Stress. Figure 2.11 illustrates the influence of changing the pave- ‘ment layer thicknesses upon the vertical compressive stress factor for a three-layer pavement system. As can be seen, the subgrade stress is greatly decreased by a decrease in the A (a/h:) parameter. This implies that for a given load (contact radius a), this decrease can be accomplished by an increase of the base-course “average | ‘nit sess Vertical stress rato Figure 2-11, Vertical stres ratio at the second interface of 2 three-layer system as a function Of o/h, and hy/h, (From Nielson.)FUNDAMENTAL DESIGN CONCEPTS 73 thickness. The stress level can also be reduced to a lesser extent by increasing the H (l/h) parameter. For a constant basecourse thickness this is done by an increase in the surface thickness Another efficient method of reducing the vertical compressive subgrade stress is to increase the rigidity of the upper pavement layers (Ky and K.). In a layered system the major influence upon the stress is usually exerted by the stiffness of the layer directly above the subgrade. Hence in a three-layer system, the base- course modulus £, has the more pronounced effect upon stress reduction, while the pavement layer modulus E, controls the subgrade stress for two-layered systems. This fact can be readily noted from Figure 2.6 which shows the load- spreading qualities of rigid or high modulus pavement layers. Therefore in order to reduce the subgrade stress to some tolerable design value, one can either in. crease the base-course thickness and surface thickness of the same layered material or replace the quality of the layered material with a more rigid material, Deflection. Depending upon the type of layered pavement structure con- sidered, the percentage of the total curfare 4 grade layer varies from about 70 to 95 percent. It can, therefore, be assumed that most of the deflection is caused by the elastic compression of the subgrade layer, Deflections are simply the mathematical integration of the vertical strain with depth. Since the strain magnitude, for a given material type at a given point in the structure, is a divect function of the triaxial stress state, it can be deduced that the same general factors that tend to decrease the subgrade vertical compressive strain also tend to decrease the pavement deflection. For example, re- {erring to Figure 2.7, an increase in either the pavement thickness hy, oF the stiff: ness of the pavement layer Ey, causes a reduction in the deflection, In general, it can also be seen that a greater reduction will occur by increasing the modulus or rigidity of the pavement layer than by increasing its thickness lection contributed yy the eub. Shear Stress. The previous sections have dealt with how subgrade stress and pavement deflections could be reduced by incorporating more rigid upper layers and or increasing their thickness, This feature is obviously desirable in design as it tends to minimize distress associated with subgrade shear and densification due to loads. However, as the upper layers become stiffer and provide increased load-spreading capability, this benefit is made possible at the expense of an increase in shear stress within the stiff layer. (On any given horizontal plane in a Jayered structure, the maximum horizontal shear stress r,, occurs directly under the edge of the loaded plate. The 7,, value is zero directly under the plate centerline and also approaches zero as the radial distance is increased from the plate centerline. Figure 2.12 illustrates the hori- zontal shear stress factor as a function of depth below the pavement surface on a plane passing through the plate edge for various K, values. Several factors may be observed as the modulus of the surface is increased (K, increase). ‘The magni. tude of the 7). increases greatly in the upper layer as it becomes more rigid. This increase over Boussinesq or one-layer theory is also shown. In addition, the maximum +,, value within the entire structure occurs about middepth in the surface layer. Finally, it can be noted that the horizontal shear stress occurring at the first interface is reduced for higher modular ratio Ky.1 1 ; 4 £5] ‘Surface on which 3 ae aap fe ie Pao 9 | Ly ash, Ib BT h isi fe ae ma yw Bom 5 Kem 10 Figure 2.12, Typical dstibution of shearing streses in a three-layered system. (From Nielson) Herzontal shear stress aio Fel 0 og Os SO 057 /"vaues ot aim, Figuwe 2.19, Influence of a/h on the depth and magnitude of (a/P) for a=5 inches and Ke K, = 20, (From Nielson) 74FUNDAMENTAL DESIGN CONCEPTS 75 ‘The thickness of the surface layer also plays a significant role in the magnitude Of shear stress development. Figure 2.18 shows how this occurs. For fixed modular ratios Ky and Ke, it can be seen that as the thickness of the surface layer fy is increased, the magnitude of the shear stress is decreased. Also as hy increases, the location of the maximum value shifts upward from about middepth of this layer to approximately the third point, Tensile Stress, Another very important consideration in layered structures is the potential for developing large tensile stresses at the bottom of the rigid layer. Figure 2.14 illustrates the primary factors that affect this parameter. In general, the most critical parameters are a high modular ratio Ky and a small H Parameter value, As can be seen, surface layers having an H <2 along large K, value are especially prone to the buildup of large tensile stresses. It should be pointed out that a maximum tensile stress value does occur at some low H value and a subsequent decrease in this parameter towards zero will actually transfer the horizontal tensile stress condition to a compressive mode, Effect of Tire Pressure and Toral Load. ‘Ihe magnitude of vertical stress at a point due to a load at the surface on a pavement will depend upon the applied pressure as well as the magnitude of the total load. Figures 2.15 and 2.16 represent Boussinesq vertical pressures in an ideal soil mass due to various ‘combinations of tire pressure and total load. In Figure 2.15 one curve is for a a5; a0 2s 20] 15 Ky values 10 os ° : 2 Figue 2.14, Horizontal tensile sire ratio at the bottom of the fit layer of & three-layered system a8 a function of Ky and HL76 STRESSES IN FLEXIBLE PAVEMENTS Vertical stress (os) Deven vnches) aees A biuviiiit Figure 2.15, Variation of vertical stress with depth, Boussinesq problem tire pressure of 100 psi and a single load of 80,000 pounds. Also presented is that for an identical gross wheel load but for the tire pressure of 200 psi. As seen on the curves the effect of the high tire pressure is pronounced in the upper layers of the pavement, whereas at a depth of about 36 inches the stresses are about equal for both cases. High tire pressures, thus, necessitate high-quality materials in the upper layers of the pavement, but the required total depth of pavement is not affected appreciably by tire pressures. On the other hand, for a constant tire pressure an increase in total load increases the vertical stress for all depths. Figure 2.16 shows the effect of dual wheels on stresses for constant tire pres- sure. Calculated stresses at the surface are not affected by the wheel configuration and are equal to the applied tire pressure. Dual wheels, however, result in in- ‘creased stresses at greater depths as do tandem axles when the pressure bulbs of the tires overlap. SUMMARY ‘This chapter has presented the general background for determining various stress, strain, and deflection solutions for multilayered elastic systems. Not only is this type of theory used directly in several asphalt pavement design methods, but it also provides 2 powerful tool for the engineer to interpret all of the basic structural design factors to be evaluated for any pavement system, ‘The basic concept of granular base flexible pavements is to provide a base thickness such that the vertical compressive subgrade stress or deflection is re. duced to some limiting value less than the allowable distress level developed from the relevant criteria, This pavement type is built up of layers having successively higher modulus values in the upper layers, but still having relatively Tow Ky and values. As a result, the load-spreading capabilities of this system‘SUMMARY 7 Vertical tress (ps) (6st on ett 90) tel ott oo Sle 1o0 te coe 101 eet Bap ous! Tae ee Figure 2.16. Elect of number of wheels on vertical tres. Rowsinesq problem. Notes (1) All tires have 100 psi inflation. (2) Depth at whieh interaction of dual wheel is eignicain is about ecual to one-half the clear distance between tres. (8) Depth at which dual tires will act at a Single tte is about two times the e-c spacing of the tines ‘must occur primarily through the thickness of the granular base and subbase layers. As stiffer and stiffer materials are employed in the upper layers, the noticeable reduction of subgrade stress or deflection is apparent. For any given subgrade soil type, this allows 2 reduction of thickness of a stiffer layer over a similar thickness of unbound granular material to satisfy the requirements of an allow- able subgrade distress or limiting deflection criteria, This is a direct result of the better load-spreading capabilities of stiff or rigid layers. However, a very important fact that should be clearly understood by the iat even though stiffer materials reduce the risk associated with a sub- grade mode of distress, such as shear, the presence of this stiff layer brings about ‘an increase in the tensile stress magnitude at the bottom of this layer as well as a marked increase in the horizontal shearing stresses. Thus a subsequent design analysis is required to insure that both the shearing resistance and the flexual resistance of this stiff layer are great enough to sustain these higher stress conditions. ‘These facts provide the most basic and fundamental concepts of pavement design that the reader should possess. In addition, even though the multilayered concepts have been presented only for asphalt pavements (flexible and semirigid) they can easily be extended into rigid pavement design. In fact, studies by McCullough (22) and Nielson (27) have utilized multilayered elastic theory to analyze and design PGC structures. reader is78 ‘STRESSES IN FLEXIBLE PAVEMENTS, PROBLEMS 2.1, Determine the complete state of stress (2m or, #) using one-layer theory under the centerline of a tire having a 50,000-pound load, 100 psi pressure forthe following depth-tie radius ratios: 0, 0.2, 0.5, 1.0, 20, 4.0, 80, Assume the pavement is characterized by u = 0.5 and E = 3000 psi, 2.2. Repeat Problem 2.1 for the cate when # = 0.2 and comment on the effect of » upon the computed stresses 2.2. For the pavement and load conditions of Problem 2.1, calculate the strains (6, €) at adeplh-tire radius ratio of 2.0 for u = O.2and y = 0.5. Comment on the effect ofa upon the strain values 2.4, Prove that when = 0.5, the volume change of a unit element is zero when subjected to a triaxial state of stress 2.5. A dual wheel having a load per tire of 5000 pounds, 70 psi pressure, and a inch center to center wheel spacing is placed on a pavement 19 inches thick. The subgrade is characterized by E = 3000 psi and 4 = 0.5. Caleulate the total pavement deflections due to the dual load by one-layer theory at the following radial distances from the centerline of fone tie: = 0, 3.3, 7.0, 10.9, and 14.0 inches, 2 2.7. A plate-bearing test using a 30-inch diameter rigid plate was made on a subgrade as well as on 10 inches of gravel bate course, The unit load required to cause settlement of 0.2 [Repeat Problem 2.5 using two-layer interface deflection theory, Assume that Ey = 10 Bs inch was 10 psi and 40 pai, respectively. Determine the required thickness of base course to sustain a 50,000-pound tire, 100 psi pressure, and maintain a deflection of 0.2 inch, 2.8. A pavement structure is comprised of the following layers: 5.75-inch asphalt concrete surface, E = 400,000 psi; 23.0 inches of granular base, E = 20,000 psi, and a subgrade having an E = 10,000 pai, All layers are assumed to have u = 0.5. Calculate the horizontal tensile strain at the bottom of the asphalt concrete layer and the vertical compressive strain at the top of the subgrade layer under the centerline of a 40,000-pound whect load, 150 psi pressure, 2.9. A full-depth asphalt pavement is 28.75 inches thick with an E = 200,000 psi It resis directly over a subgrade having an E = 10,000 psi, Through the use of three-layer theory, compute the horizontal tensile strain at the bottom of the asphalt concrete layer and the vertical compressive stain at the top of the subgrade layer fora tire load of 40,000 pounds, 150 psi pressure, (Hint: Subdivide the asphalt layer into two layers having thicknesses of 5.75, and 23.0 inches). SELECTED REFERENCES 1. Acum, W. EA, and 1, Fox, “Computation of Load Streses in a Thiee-Layer Elastic System,” Geotechnique, Vol. 2, pp- 298-300, 1951, 2 Ahlvin, R. G., and H. H. Ulery, “Tabulated Values for Determining the Complete Patten ‘of Strenes, Strains and Defiections Beneath a Uniform Circular Load on a Homogenous Hilf Space,” Highway Research Board Bulletin $42, 1962 3. Aldous, W. M., M. H, Price, and Walker L. Shearer, Jr» “The Load Transmission Test for Flexible Paving and Base Courses,” Part III, Load Distribution Through Gravel Bases to @ Weak Subgrade, Civil Aeronauticn Administeation, 1958 4. Air Force Weapons Laboratory, “Rational Pavement Evaluation—Review of Present Technology.” Technical Report AFWL-TR.6)6, October 1963, 5, “Development of CR, Flexible Pavement Design Method for Airfields.” (A. Symposium) Traneactions, ASCE, Vol. 115, 1950.