HIGHWAY

ENGINEERING II

HIGHWAY II - Introduction Nov., 2022

 CHAPTER 1
2

INTRODUCTION

HIGHWAY II - Introduction
 Introduction
3

Contents:
 General
 Overview of pavement structures
 Flexible pavements
 Rigid pavements

 Basic design data

HIGHWAY II - Introduction
 General
4

 The field of pavement design is dynamic,

 The concepts are changing with time as technology
develops and new equipment emerges for site
investigation, material and traffic data collection,
and new data become available.
 Observing the performances of the already
constructed roads, highway engineers become aware
that pavement performance is dependent on the sub-
grade soils.
 With the knowledge of soil mechanics, pavement
design was made with soil classification.

HIGHWAY II - Introduction
 General Cont’d
5

 This led to full-scale and laboratory experiments in

different countries at different capacities.
 Results of laboratory experiments conducted under
varying soil, climatic, and loading conditions in
different countries have given rise to understanding
and development of the existing design methods.

HIGHWAY II - Introduction
 General Cont’d
6

 Principles of pavement design are common to all

problems and localities,
 Different highway agencies in different countries use
different design manuals prepared to suite
 Their local conditions and
 Available materials of construction.

HIGHWAY II - Introduction
 Overview of Pavement Structures
7

 Pavements are designed and constructed to provide

durable all-weather traveling surfaces for safe and
speedy movement of people and goods with an
acceptable level of comfort to users.
 A pavement structure is a layer structure which
supports the vehicle load on its surface and transfers
and spreads the load to the sub-grade without
exceeding either the strength of the sub grade or the
internal strength of the pavement itself.

HIGHWAY II - Introduction
 Overview Cont’d
8

 The basic idea in building a pavement for all-weather

use by vehicles is to prepare a suitable sub grade,
provide necessary drainage and construct a
pavement that will:
 Have sufficient total thickness and internal strength to carry
expected traffic loads, and distribute them over the sub grade
soil without overstressing.
 Have adequate properties to prevent or minimize the
penetration or internal accumulation of moisture, and
 Have a surface that is reasonably smooth and skid resistant at
the same time, as well as reasonably resistant to wear,
distortion and deterioration by vehicle loads and weather.

HIGHWAY II - Introduction
 Overview Cont’d
9

 The functional requirements of pavements are

achieved through careful considerations of:
 Selection of pavement type,
 Selection of materials to be used for various pavement layers
and treatment of subgrade soils,
 Structural thickness design for pavement layers,
 Subsurface drainage design for the pavement system,
 Surface drainage and geometric design, and
.

HIGHWAY II - Introduction
 Overview Cont’d
10

 EARTH ROADS
 Designed for a very low traffic where the soil can be trafficable

 Used when there is economic limitation

 The natural sub grade soil can be made to carry the traffic load
after clearing and shaping
 Such earth roads give seasonal services and

 Require reshaping after seasonal changes.

HIGHWAY II - Introduction
 Overview Cont’d
11

 GRAVEL ROADS
 Better than earth roads,

 Constructed by spreading gravel over the sub-grade, shaping

and compacting to avoid excessive strain at the sub grade level
 Usually provides services in all seasons with less frequent
reshaping as compared to earth roads.
 Designed to carry low to medium traffic & serve as stage
construction.
 The surface material should be kept to certain standard such as
grading and plasticity.

HIGHWAY II - Introduction
 Overview Cont’d
12

Types of pavements
 Pavements are generally classified into two
categories,
 Flexible pavements
 Rigid pavements.
 The basis for classification is the way by which traffic
loads are transmitted to the sub-grade soil through
the pavement structure.

HIGHWAY II - Introduction
 Flexible Pavements
13

 Provides sufficient thickness for load distribution

through a multilayer structure
 The stresses & strains in the subgrade soil layers are
within the required limits.
 The strength of subgrade soil would have a direct
bearing on the total thickness of the flexible
pavement.
 Designed to take advantage of the decreasing
magnitude of stresses with depth.

HIGHWAY II - Introduction
 Flexible Pavements
14

HIGHWAY II - Introduction
 Flexible Pavements
15

 It has low flexural strength and the load is largely

transmitted to the sub grade soil through the lateral
distribution of stresses with increasing depth.
 The pavement thickness is designed such that
stresses on the subgrade soil are kept within its
bearing capacity and the sub grade is prevented from
excessive deformation.
 Its structural strength and smoothness depends to a
large extent on the deformation of the subgrade soil.

HIGHWAY II - Introduction
 Flexible Pavement
16

HIGHWAY II - Introduction
 Flexible Pavements
17

 Flexible Pavement Typical Applications

 Traffic lanes

 Auxiliary lanes

 Ramps

 Parking areas

 Frontage roads

 Shoulders

HIGHWAY II - Introduction
 Flexible Pavements
18

 Advantages to Flexible Pavement

 Adjusts to limited differential settlement
 Easily repaired
 Additional thickness added any time
 Non-skid properties do not deteriorate
 Quieter and smoother
 Tolerates a greater range of temperatures

 Disadvantages to Flexible Pavement

 Loses some flexibility and cohesion with time
 Needs resurfacing sooner than PC concrete
 Not normally chosen where water is expected

HIGHWAY II - Introduction
 Flexible Pavements
19

 Generally, two types of construction have been used

for flexible pavements,
 Conventional flexible pavement and
 Full-depth asphalt pavement.

HIGHWAY II - Introduction
 Conventional Flexible Pavements
20

 Conventional flexible pavements are multilayered

structures with
 Better materials on top where the intensity of stress is high
and
 Inferior materials at the bottom where the intensity is low.
 This design principle makes possible to use local
materials and usually results in a most economical
design.

HIGHWAY II - Introduction
 Conventional Flexible Pavements
21

 A conventional pavement
normally consists of seal
coat, surface course, tack
coat, prime coat, base
course, sub base course,
compacted sub-grade, and
natural sub-grade.
 The use of various courses is
based on either necessity or
economy and some of the
courses may be omitted.

HIGHWAY II - Introduction
 Conventional Flexible Pavements
22

 Surface course: -
 The surface course is the top course of an asphalt pavement,

 Sometimes called wearing course.

 It is usually constructed by dense graded hot asphalt mix.

 It is a structural part of the pavement,

 Which must be tough to resist distortion under traffic and
 Provide a smooth and skid-resistant riding surface.

 The surface must be waterproof

 To protect the entire pavement and
 Subgrade from the weakening effect of water.

HIGHWAY II - Introduction
 Conventional Flexible Pavements
23

 Base course: -
 The base course is the layer of material immediately beneath
the surface course.
 It may be composed of well-graded crushed stone
(unbounded), granular mixed with binder, or stabilized
materials.
 It is the main structural part of the pavement and provides a
level surface for laying the surface layer.
 If constructed over the sub grade, it prevents intrusions if the
fine subgrade soils into the pavement structure.

HIGHWAY II - Introduction
 Conventional Flexible Pavements
24

 Sub base course: -

 It is the layer of material beneath the base course constructed
using local and cheaper materials for economic reason on top
of the subgrade.
 It provides additional help to the base and the upper in
distributing the load.
 It facilitates drainage of free water that might get accumulated
below the pavement.
 If the base course is open graded, the sub base course with
more fines can serve as a filter between the sub grade and the
base course.

HIGHWAY II - Introduction
 Conventional Flexible Pavements
25

 Sub grade: -
 It is the foundation on which the vehicle load and the weight of
the pavement layers finally rest.
 It is an in situ or a layer of selected material compacted to the
properly drained desirable and compacted to receive the
pavement layers.

HIGHWAY II - Introduction
 Full- depth asphalt pavements
26

 Are constructed by placing one or more layers of hot-

mix asphalt directly on the sub grade or improved
sub grade.
 This concept was conceived by the asphalt institute
and is generally considered the most cost-effective
and dependable type of asphalt pavement
 For heavy traffic and
 Quite popular in area where local materials are not available

HIGHWAY II - Introduction
 Rigid Pavements
27

 Are constructed of cement concrete slabs

 A rigid pavement, by virtue of its rigidity, can be able to
effect a slab action to spread the wheel load over the
entire slab area.
 The structural capacity of the rigid pavement is largely
provided by the slab itself.
 For the common range of sub-grade soil strength, the
required rigidity for a Portland Cement (PC) concrete
slab can be achieved without much variation in slab
thickness.
 The effect of sub-grade soil properties on the thickness of
rigid pavement is less important than that of flexible
pavement.

HIGHWAY II - Introduction
 Rigid pavements
28

 Rigid Pavement Typical Applications

 High volume traffic lanes

 Freeway to freeway connections

 Exit ramps with heavy traffic

 Advantages of Rigid Pavement

 Good durability

 Long service life

 Withstand repeated flooding and subsurface water without

deterioration

HIGHWAY II - Introduction
 Rigid pavements
29

 Disadvantages of Rigid Pavement

 May lose non-skid surface with time

 Needs even sub-grade with uniform settling

 May fault at transverse joints

HIGHWAY II - Introduction
 Rigid pavements
30

HIGHWAY II - Introduction
 Rigid pavements
31

 Main reasons for providing base course under

cement concrete slab are:
 Control of pumping: -
 Pumping is defined as the ejection of water and subgrade
soil through joints, cracks, and along the edges of the
pavements.
 Pumping occurs when there is void space under the slab
due to temperature curling of the slab, deformation of the
subgrade or both and erodible material under the slab is
saturated.
 It leads to faulting and cracking of the slab if not
corrected in time.

HIGHWAY II - Introduction
 Rigid pavements
32

 Control of frost action: -

 Heave caused by increase in volume of freezed water and
the formation and continuing expansion of ice lenses
causes the concrete slab to break and soften the subgrade
during frost melting period.
 This occurs when the soil within the depth of frost
penetration is frost susceptible (e.g. clay), there is a
supply of moisture and the temperature freezes for a
sufficient period of time.

HIGHWAY II - Introduction
 Rigid pavements
33

 Improvement of drainage: -
 when the water table is high and close to the ground surface, a
base course can raise the pavement to a desirable elevation
above the water table.
 An open graded base course provides an internal drainage
system capable of rapidly removing water that seeps through
pavement cracks and joints carry it away to the roadside.
 Dense-graded or stabilized base courses can also serve as
waterproofing layer.

HIGHWAY II - Introduction
 Rigid pavements
34

 Control of shrinkage and swell: -

 When the change in moisture causes subgrade to shrink or
swell, the base course can serve as a surcharge load to reduce
the amount of shrinkage and swell in addition to its use of
improving drainage.
 Measures that are taken to reduce entering water in to the
subgrade further reduce the shrinkage and swell potentials.
 As working platform for construction: -
 A base course can be used as a working platform for heavy
construction equipment.
 Under severe weather conditions a base course can keep the
surface clean and dry and facilitate the construction work.

HIGHWAY II - Introduction
 Types of concrete pavement
35

 Concrete pavements can be classified in to four

types:
 Jointed Plain Concrete Pavement (JPCP),
 Jointed Reinforced Concrete Pavement (JRCP),
 Continuous Reinforced Concrete Pavement (CRCP), and
 Pre-stressed Concrete Pavement (PCP).

HIGHWAY II - Introduction
 Rigid pavements
36

HIGHWAY II - Introduction
 Types of concrete pavement
37

 In Jointed Unreinforced Concrete Pavements

(JUCP),
 The pavement consists in an unreinforced concrete slab cast in
place continuously and divided into bays of predetermined
dimensions by the construction of joints.
 The bays dimensions are made sufficiently short so as to
ensure that they do not crack.
 The bays are linked together by tie bars, which is to prevent
horizontal movement and thus ensure load transfer through
aggregate interlock.

HIGHWAY II - Introduction
 Types of concrete pavement
38

 Jointed Unreinforced Concrete Pavements (JUCP),

Joints accommodate shrinkage during drying.

HIGHWAY II - Introduction
 Types of concrete pavement
39

 In Jointed Reinforced Concrete Pavements (JRCP)

 The pavement consists generally in a cast in place concrete
slab divided in reinforced concrete bays separated by joints.
 The reinforcement is made to prevent developing cracks from
opening.
 The bays are linked together by tie bars to prevent horizontal
movement and thus ensure load transfer through aggregate
interlock.
 The amount of distributed steel increases with the increase in
joint spacing and is designed to hold the slab together after
cracking.

HIGHWAY II - Introduction
 Types of concrete pavement
40

 Continuously Reinforced Concrete Pavements

(CRCP)
 Are reinforced concrete pavements designed joint-free for the
purpose of eliminating joints, which are the weak spots in rigid
pavements.
 The elimination of joints would decrease the thickness of
pavement required.
 The expansion and contraction movements are prevented by a
high level of sub-base restraint.
 The frequent transverse cracks are held tightly closed by a
large amount of continuous high tensile steel longitudinal
reinforcement.

HIGHWAY II - Introduction
 Types of concrete pavement
41

 Continuously Reinforced Concrete Pavements

(CRCP)

HIGHWAY II - Introduction
 Types of concrete pavement
42

 The pre-stressed concrete pavements

 Have less probability of cracking and fewer transverse joints
and therefore result in less maintenance and longer pavement
life.
 Has been used more frequently for airport pavements than for
highway pavements because the saving in thickness for airport
pavements is much greater than that for highway pavements.

HIGHWAY II - Introduction
 Composite pavements
43

 Composite pavements are pavements composed of

cement concrete as a bottom layer and hot-mix asphalt as
a top layer to obtain an ideal pavement with the most
desirable characteristics.
 The cement concrete slab provides a strong base and the
hot-mix asphalt provides a smooth and non-reflective
surface.
 However, this type of pavement is very expensive and is
rarely used as a new construction.
 Composite pavements include rehabilitated concrete
pavements using asphalt overlays and asphalt pavements
with stabilized bases.

HIGHWAY II - Introduction
 Composite pavements
44

 For flexible pavements with untreated bases,

 The most critical tensile stress or strain is at the bottom of
asphalt layer,
 While for composite pavements the most critical location is at
the bottom of the cement concrete slab or stabilized bases.
 A disadvantage of this construction is the occurrence
of reflection cracks on the asphalt surface due to the
joints and cracks in the rigid base layer.

HIGHWAY II - Introduction
Comparison of Rigid and Flexible pavements
45

 The following main differences between rigid and

flexible pavements can be cited.
 The manner in which vehicle loads are transmitted to sub-
grade
 Design life and precision
 Maintenance requirements
 Initial cost
 Suitability for stage construction
 Surface characteristics
 Permeability and
 Traffic dislocation during construction.

HIGHWAY II - Introduction
 Highway and Airport Pavement
46

 Airport pavements are generally thicker than

highway pavements and require better surfacing
materials due to:
 The gross-weight of an airplane is usually greater than that of a
heavy truck, but the number of load repetitions on airport
pavements is usually smaller than that on highway pavements.
 The arrangement and spacing of wheel loads on airport and
highway pavements are different.
 A typical tire pressure on highway pavements is much lesser
than that of airport pavements

HIGHWAY II - Introduction
 Highway and Airport Pavement
47

 Vehicle loads are applied near to the edge of highway

pavements but far away from the outside edge of airport
pavements.
 Unlike highway pavements, airfield pavements are
subjected to an impact loading.
 The design load of airport pavements is the wheel load of
the largest aircraft during takeoff time due to heavy fuel
weight. Although wheel loads can be used as design
loads, number of repetitions of standard axles is the
commonly used design parameter for highway pavements

HIGHWAY II - Introduction
 Basic Design Factors
48

 Design factors can be divided into four broad

categories:
 Traffic loading,
 Environment,
 Materials and and
 Failure criteria

HIGHWAY II - Introduction
 Traffic loading
49

 The loading applied by traffic is one of the major

factors affecting the design and performance of
pavements.
 The most important aspects of traffic loading that
are considered in the analysis and design of
pavements are:
 The configuration,
 Magnitude and
 Repetitions of axle loads

HIGHWAY II - Introduction
 Traffic loading
50

 The principal function of pavement structure is to protect

the sub grade from the loading imposed by traffic.
 The magnitude of maximum loading is commonly
controlled by legal load limits.
 Traffic surveys and loadometer studies are often used to
establish the relative magnitude and occurrence of
various loadings to which a pavement is subjected.
 Prediction or estimation of the total traffic that will use a
pavement during its design life is a very difficult but
obviously important task.

HIGHWAY II - Introduction
 Axle-loads and configurations
51

 Axle loads affect primarily the stresses and strains

developed in the lower layers of the pavement.
 Although much publicity is given to the physical size and
gross weight of vehicles, it is the individual wheel or axle-
load that is critical in pavement design and performance.
 Vehicle size and weight may have a devastating effect on
the environment but will not necessarily increase
pavement wear.
 Heavier loads are usually carried on a larger numbers of
axle or wheel thereby maintaining or even reducing the
individual wheel or axle loads, although their number
may be increased.

HIGHWAY II - Introduction
 Axle-loads and configurations
52

 Single Axle Single Tire o o

 Singe Axle Dual Tires oo oo

 Tandem Axle Dual Tires oo oo

oo oo

 Tridem Axle Dual Tires oo oo

(Special heavy duty oo oo
haul trucks) oo oo
HIGHWAY II - Introduction
 Axle-loads and configurations
53

 Small vehicles use single axles with single wheels.

 Larger vehicles mostly have either duel wheels or single
wheels with ‘super-single’ tyres at each end of the non-
steer single axles; still larger vehicles may have tandem
or multiple axles arrangements in which the successive
axle are closely adjacent to one another.
 The larger aircraft use quite complicated wheel
arrangements because the weight of the aircraft has
usually to be transmitted through two undercarriage legs,
and many wheels are necessary to obtain a reasonably
low individual wheel load.

HIGHWAY II - Introduction
 Tyre pressure
54

 The contact pressure is greater than the tyre pressure for

low-pressure tyres, because the wall of tyres is in
compression and the sum of vertical forces due to wall
and tyre pressure must be equal to the force due to the
contact pressure.
 The contact pressure is smaller than the tyre pressure for
high pressure tyres.
 However, in pavement design, the contact pressure is
generally assumed to be equal to the tyre pressure.
Because, heavier axle loads have higher tyre pressures
and more destructive effects on pavement, the use of tyre
pressure as the contact pressure is therefore on the safe
side.

HIGHWAY II - Introduction
 Type pressure
55

 Mostly, it is only the commercial vehicle that is

important in structural pavement design and a
typical tyre pressure would be 0.5 MN/m2.
 Aircraft tyres use pressures up to nearly 3.0 MN/m2
which can cause serious problem in the design of the
materials employed in the upper layers of the
pavement.

HIGHWAY II - Introduction
 Type pressure
56

 The approximate shape of contact area for each tyre,

which is composed of a rectangle and two semicircles
with the dimensions.
 Based on the finite element analysis of rigid
pavements, a rectangular contact area is also
assumed with a length of 0.8712L and a width of
0.6L, which has the same area of 0.5227L2.

HIGHWAY II - Introduction
 Type pressure
57

 These contact areas are not axisymmetric and cannot

be used with the layered theory.
 When the layered theory is used for flexible pavement
design, it is assumed that each tyre has a circular contact
area. This assumption is not correct, but the error
incurred is believed to be small.
 To simplify the analysis of flexible pavements, a single
circle with the same contact area as the duals is
frequently used to represent a set dual tyre instead of
using two circular areas.
 This practice usually results in a more conservative
design, but may not become conservative for thin asphalt
surface.

HIGHWAY II - Introduction
 Number of repetitions
58

 A succession of loads has a cumulative effect on the behavior

of pavements.
 It is therefore necessary to design the pavement for a specified
number of years and to estimate the total number and
magnitude of loads that will be applied during the periods
specified.
 A widely accepted procedure of considering traffic load is the
use of equivalent factor and converts each load into an
equivalent 80KN single axle load.
 The equivalency between two different loads depends on the
failure criteria used. Equivalent factor based on permanent
deformation may be different from those based on fatigue
cracking. Generally, an empirical approximation of a single
equivalent factor is used for practical purposes.

HIGHWAY II - Introduction
 Speed of traffic loading
59

 Another factor related to traffic loading is the speed of

traveling vehicles.
 Studies showed that the stresses and deflections tend to
decrease as the vehicle speed increases.
 Speed is directly used as the duration of loading on
pavements.
 Generally, the greater the speed is, the larger the
modulus and the smaller the strains in the pavement.
 Because of this, for a given volume of traffic, greater
thickness and quality of paving materials are required for
pavements in urban areas than those in rural areas.
 Similarly, such requirements are considered for uphill
roads and bus stop.

HIGHWAY II - Introduction
 Traffic loading
60

 Concept of Equivalent Single Axle Load : Used

to convert any load and/or combination of axles and
tires into a number of ESALs based on concept of
equivalent damage.
 Equivalent damage: Compare damage caused by a
wheel to damage caused by a standard wheel. It is a
function of type of damage (failure). Currently, we
only have equivalency Factors for general damage.
 Number of Repetitions are based on equivalent
factors. Each load group is converted into an
equivalent 18kip (80 kN) single axle load.

HIGHWAY II - Introduction
 Traffic loading
61

 Contact area and tire pressure

 Same load can cause more damage if pressure is high because
of less contact area.
 Tire pressure is not always = contact pressure.

 Speed is important.
 Viscoelastic Theory: speed is directly related to the duration of
loading
 Elastic Theory: resilient modulus of each paving material
should be selected proportional to vehicle speed.

HIGHWAY II - Introduction
 Environment
62

 The environmental factors that influence pavement

design include
 Temperature and
 Precipitation.
 Different standards of pavement design consider the
effects of these factors in various ways.

HIGHWAY II - Introduction
 Temperatures
63

 The effect of temperature on asphalt pavements is

different from that on concrete pavements.
 Temperature affects the resilient modulus of
bituminous layers and creates thermal stresses in
cement concrete slabs.
 In cold climates, the resilient modulus of unsterilized
materials also varies with free-thaw cycles.
 The elastic and viscoelastic properties of bituminous
materials are affected significantly by pavement
temperature.

HIGHWAY II - Introduction
 Temperatures
64

 When the temperature is low, the bituminous layer

becomes rigid and has less fatigue life.
 The stiffness is also influenced by the condition of
the mix and the hardness of the binder used.
 To minimize thermal contraction cracking at low
temperature a relatively soft binder and high binder
content would be used,
 whereas for hot conditions the hardness of the
binder would be increased and the binder content
reduced to minimized plastic flow in the material.

HIGHWAY II - Introduction
 Temperatures
65

 The warping stresses in rigid pavements are

generated principally by temperature changes.
 Warping stresses sometimes of the year or the day
are additive to the traffic stresses and can influence
the slab thickness requirements.
 Shortening the slab length reduces the effect of these
stresses.

HIGHWAY II - Introduction
 Temperatures
66

 Another effect of temperature on pavement design in

cold climate is the frost penetration which results in a
frost heave and stronger subgrade in the winter but a
much weaker sub grade in the spring.
 Frost heave causes differential settlements and pavement
roughness.
 The most detrimental effect of frost penetration occurs
during the spring period when the ice melts and the sub
grade is in saturated condition.
 It is desirable to protect the subgrade by using non-frost-
susceptible materials or the design should take into
account the weakening of the sub grade.

HIGHWAY II - Introduction
 Temperatures
67

 Softens AC in warm weather and hardens in cold

weather (cold  reduced strains but shorter fatigue
lives).
 Temperature gradient in PCC slabs affects curling
and slab-soil contact area.
 Frost penetration
- Frost Heave  differential settlements and
roughness.
- Spring thaw  saturated subgrade becomes weak
(most detrimental state).
HIGHWAY II - Introduction
 Materials
68

 Pavement materials include soils, aggregates,

bituminous binders and cement.
 The properties of these materials under traffic
loading in a given environmental conditions is
fundamental for the proper design of pavement
structures.
 Moreover, if economically constructed facilities are
to be obtained, locally available materials are to be
used efficiently.

HIGHWAY II - Introduction
 Materials Properties
69

 Stiffness - time, temperature, moisture effects (pre-

failure properties)
 Poison Ratio (relatively small effect on pavement
responses)
 Strength - time, temperature, moisture effects
(Failure properties: cracking, fatigue, permanent
deformation)
 Durability
 Permeability
 Thermal-Volumetric Properties

HIGHWAY II - Introduction
 Materials Properties
70

 Types of Material Behavior

Elastic - recoverable, time independent
 Plastic - non-recoverable, time independent
 Viscous - non-recoverable, time dependent
 Combination Visco-elastic - recoverable, time dependent
 Pavement Materials
1. PCC
2. Soils/Granular Materials
3. Stabilized Soils
4. HMA
5. Liquid Asphalts

HIGHWAY II - Introduction
 Performance and Failure Criteria
71

 Pavements are normally designed and constructed to

provide, during the design life, a riding quality
acceptable for both private and commercial vehicles
with acceptable maintenance.

HIGHWAY II - Introduction
 Performance and Failure Criteria
72

 Distress Types in Flexible Pavements

 Fatigue Cracking is based on the horizontal tensile strain at
the bottom of HMA (relates to the allowable number of load
repetitions).
 Rutting in surface layer is the permanent deformation or rut
depth along the wheel paths.
 Rutting due to sub-surface layers is mainly due to decrease
in thickness of the component layers above the subgrade.
 Thermal cracking occurs in locations where winter
temperature falls below –10 F. Pavement will crack when
thermal stress is greater than the fracture strength.
 Thermal fatigue cracking is caused by tensile strain in the
asphalt layer due to daily temperature cycle.

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 Distress Types in Rigid Pavements

 Fatigue cracking is most likely caused by the edge
stress at the mid-slab. Allowable load repetitions
depend on the stress ratio between flexural tensile
stress and the concrete modulus of rupture.
 Pumping or erosion is caused by the resilient
deformation under repeated wheel loads.
 Faulting, Spalling, and Joint deterioration are
major types of distress in rigid pavement.

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 Gravel Roads defects include:

 Distress

 Potholes

 Corrugation

 Rutting

 Raveling

 Erosion

 Loss of wearing course material

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 Cracks in wheel tracks

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 Longitudinal and alligator cracking in the Wheel

path.

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 Cracking observed on a narrow polder road

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 reflective cracking in jointed concrete pavement

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 Low temperature cracking observed on a highway

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 Roughness due to potholes due to severe cracking

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 Rutting in an asphalt pavement

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 Different pavement design methods consider

pavement failures as design criteria, but differently.
 AASHTO method of pavement design uses a rating
system known as Present Serviceability Index (PSI)
is used to account for performance of pavements.
 Asphalt Institute and Shell Procedures relate the
allowable number of load repetition to control
fatigue cracking and permanent deformations.

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