MODULE 5: Pavement Design

What are the parameters in designing flexible pavements?

Pavements are among the costliest items associated with highway construction and
maintenance, and are largely responsible for making the U.S. highway system the
most expensive public works project undertaken by any society. Because the
pavement and associated shoulder structures are the most expensive items to construct
and maintain, it is important for highway engineers to have a basic understanding of
pavement design principles. In the United States, there are over 3 million miles of
highways. About 45% of these roads are lower-volume roads that are not paved (these
roads generally have a gravel surface or are composed of a stabilized material
consisting of an aggregate bound together with a cementing agent such as portland
cement, lime fly ash, or asphaltic cement).
Highways that carry higher volumes of traffic with heavy axle loads require surfaces
with asphalt concrete or portland cement concrete to provide for all-weather
operations and prevent permanent deformation of the highway surface. These types of
pavements can cost upward of several million dollars per mile to construct. Some
states, such as California, Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania, and Texas, have
pavement construction, maintenance, and rehabilitation budgets that easily exceed a
billion dollars per year. Given the magnitude of this pavement-asset investment, it is easy
to understand why the construction, maintenance and rehabilitation of pavement
infrastructure must be done in a cost-effective manner.
Fundamentally, a paved surface performs two basic functions. First, it helps
guide drivers by giving them a visual perspective of the horizontal and vertical
alignment of the traveled path thus giving drivers information relating to the driving
task and the steering

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control of the vehicle. The second function of pavement is to support vehicle loads, and
this second function is the focus of this module.
In general, there are two types of pavement structures: flexible pavements and
rigid pavements. There are, however, many variations of these pavement types.
Composite pavements (which are made of both rigid and flexible pavement layers),
continuously reinforced pavements, and post-tensioned pavements are other types,
which usually require specialized designs and are not covered in this chapter. As with
any structure, the underlying soil must ultimately carry the load that is placed on it.
te the traffic load stresses to the soil (subgrade)
at a magnitude that will not shear or distort the soil. Typical soil-bearing capacities can be
less than 50 lb/in2 and in some cases as low as 2 to 3 lb/in2 . When soil is saturated
with water, the bearing capacity can be very low, and in these cases it is very
important for pavement to distribute tire loads to the soil in such a way as to prevent
failure of the pavement structure.

A flexible pavement is constructed with asphaltic cement and aggregates and

usually consists of several layers, as shown below. The lower layer is called the
subgrade (the soil itself). The upper 6 to 8 inches of the subgrade is usually scarified and
blended to
provide a uniform material before it is compacted to maximum density. The next layer
is the subbase, which usually consists of crushed aggregate (rock). This material has
better engineering properties (higher modulus values) than the subgrade material in
terms of its
bearing capacity. The next layer is the base layer and is also often made of crushed
aggregates (of a higher strength than those used in the subbase), which are either
unstabilized or stabilized with a cementing material. The cementing material can be
portland cement, lime fly ash, or asphaltic cement.

The top layer of a flexible pavement is referred to as the wearing surface. It is

usually made of asphaltic concrete, which is a mixture of asphalt cement and
aggregates. The purpose of the wearing layer is to protect the base layer from wheel
abrasion and to waterproof the entire pavement structure. It also provides a
skidresistant surface that is
important for safe vehicle stops. Typical thicknesses of the individual layers are shown in
the figure below. These thicknesses vary with the type of axle loading, available materials,
and expected pavement design life, which is the number of years the pavement is expected
to provide adequate service before it must undergo major rehabilitation.
Serviceability Concept
Prior to the AASHO Road Test, there was no real consensus on the definition of
pavement failure. In the eyes of an engineer, pavement failure occurred whenever
cracking, rutting, or other surface distresses became visible. In contrast, the motoring
public usually associated pavement failure with poor ride quality. Pavement engineers
conducting the AASHO Road Test were faced with the task of combining the two failure
definitions so that a single design procedure could be used to satisfy both critics. The
Pavement Serviceability-Performance Concept was developed by Carey and Irick [1962]
to handle the question of pavement failure. Carey and Irick considered
pavement performance histories and noted that pavements usually begin their service life
in excellent condition and deteriorate as traffic loading is applied in conjunction
with prevailing environmental conditions. The performance curve is the historical
record of the performance of the pavement. Pavement performance, at any point in
time, is known as the present serviceability index, or PSI.
 At any time, the present serviceability index of a pavement can be measured. This is
usually done by a panel of raters who drive over the pavement section and rate the
pavement performance on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the smoothest ride. The
accumulation of traffic loads causes the pavement to deteriorate, and, as expected, the
serviceability rating drops. At some point, a terminal serviceability index (TSI) is
reached and the pavement is in need of rehabilitation or replacement.
It has been found that new pavements usually have an initial PSI rating of
approximately 4.2 to 4.5. The point at which pavements are considered to have failed (the
TSI) varies by type of highway. Highway facilities such as interstate highways or
principal arterials usually have TSIs of 2.5 or 3.0, whereas local roads can have TSIs of 2.0.

Flexible-Pavement Design Equation The basic equation for flexible-pavement design given
in the 1993 AASHTO design guide permits engineers to determine a structural number
necessary to carry a designated traffic loading. The AASHTO equation is:
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Structural Number The objective of Eq. 4.1 and the nomograph in Fig. 4.5 is to determine
a required structural number for given axle loadings, reliability, overall standard
deviation, change in PSI, and soil resilient modulus. As previously mentioned, there
are many pavement material combinations and thicknesses that will provide
satisfactory pavement
service life. The following equation can be used to relate individual material types and
thicknesses to the structural number:

where a1, a2, a3 = structural-layer coefficients of the wearing surface, base, and subbase
layers, respectively, D1, D2, D3 = thickness of the wearing surface, base, and subbase
layers in inches, respectively, and M2, M3 = drainage coefficients for the base and
subbase, respectively.

Values for the structural-layer coefficients for various types of material are presented
in Table 4.5. Drainage coefficients are used to modify the thickness of the lower pavement

value of 1.0 for a drainage coefficient represents a material with good drainage
characteristics (a sandy material). A soil such as clay does not drain very well and,
consequently, will have a lower drainage coefficient (less than 1.0) than a sandy material.

Because there are many combinations of structural-layer coefficients and

thicknesses that solve Eq. 4.3, some guidelines are used to narrow the number of solutions.
Experience has shown that wearing layers are typically 2 to 4 inches thick, whereas
subbases and bases range from 4 to 10 inches thick. Knowing which of the materials is the
most costly per inch of depth will assist in the determination of an initial layer thickness.