48th PICE National Convention and Technical Conference,

Bacolod City
November 12, 2022

INVESTIGATION OF THE EFFECTS OF THE AMOUNT

OF RAINFALL AND AMBIENT TEMPERATURE ON
FLEXIBLE PAVEMENTS IN THE PHILIPPINES
1

Dr. Lea B. Bronuela-Ambrocio

Engr. Jamie Alea Ramos
Engr. John Paul Dacanay
Dr. Hilario Sean Palmiano
Background
• The Philippines is a tropical and an archipelagic
country; made of 7,640 islands (Mariano et. al., 2021).
• According to Corporal-Lodangcoa and Leslie 2017,
the country has high levels of solar radiation
year-round and experiences an annual temperature
range that is not large enough to produce the four
distinct seasons.
2

Corporal-Lodangcoa and Leslie 2017

Background
• The 33,212.63 km stretch of road recorded in
the Road and Bridge Inventory Application of
the Department of Public Works and
Highways experienced the said climatic
condition.

• According to Road Bridge Inventory

Application of the agency, 66.13% of it is
made of concrete pavement materials,
32.54% is made of asphalt materials, and the
remaining are unpaved.
Mastercurve
• The modulus of asphalt is a function of material, temperature, and frequency
of loading.

4
What is VCI?
• Visual Condition Index (VCI) is a numerical rating used in
VCI Ranges Condition Treatment Measures
the Philippines to measure the present condition of the Rating
pavement based on the occurring surface defects. 1-20 Bad Total Reconstruction
• This rating is used as one of the decision factors, and key
20.1-40 Poor Replacement/
performance indicators used to determine the
Rehabilitation
appropriate maintenance and assess the effectiveness of
the asset preservation process (DPWH DO 120, Series of 40.1-70 Fair Preventive
2019) Maintenance
70.1-100 Good Routine Maintenance
• It ranges from 0 to 100, where 0 represents the worst
condition, and 100 represents the best condition. The 5

road rating condition has their corresponding general

condition and treatment measure.
Distress on Asphalt Pavements
Distress/Defect Description Possible cause
Crocodile Cracking Series of interconnected cracks caused by fatigue • Loss of support or stripping bottom asphalt layer
failure of asphalt surface course under repeated traffic • Increase in loading
loading
• Inadequate structural design
• Poor construction
Transverse Crack Cracks perpendicular to the pavement centerline • Thermal movement
• Shrinkage of bituminous due to low
temperature.
Longitudinal Crack Cracks parallel to pavement centerline
6 • Failure under repeated traffic loading
Edge break Crescent shape cracks which intersect the pavement • Lack of support at the edge
edge within 0.6m of pavement adjacent to shoulder • Poor drainage
• Weak Shoulder
Patching Portion of pavement surface that has removed and
replaced the additional material applied to the
pavement after original construction
Distress on Asphalt Pavements
Distress/Defect Description Possible cause
Pothole Bowl-shaped holes in the pavement surface • Expansion and contraction of penetrating water
from underlayer together with traffic loading.
• Poor Drainage
Surface Failures Loss of discrete and large area of wearing course layer. • Wearing course deterioration
• Mechanical Damage
• Surface Delamination.
Rutting Longitudinal surface depression in the wheel path • Lack of Compaction
7 • Weak Asphalt Mixture
• Insufficient thickness
Wearing Surface Can be bleeding (excessive bituminous binder), polished • Excessive bitumen, stone wear, stone
aggregate (portion of aggregate extending above binder), deterioration or stone loss.
or raveling (wearing of pavement surface caused by
dislodging of aggregate)
The impact of climatic factors on the road
networks of Tropical Countries like the Problem
Philippines is being ignored, due to the
Statement
small range of temperature. 8
Objectives
The study aims to characterize the
flexible type of pavement of the
national roads in the country and
investigate the effect of particular9
climatic factors such as rainfall and
ambient temperature.
Identify the surface defects of flexible type
of pavement and their possible cause.
Determine and compare the most common
surface defects observed in each regions
that are affected by climatic factors.
Correlate the amount of rainfall and
temperature with the most common surface
defects observed in each region.
Conceptual Framework
Pavement
Damage

Traffic Environment
Loading al Loading

Ambient
Magnitude Frequency Rainfall
Temperature

Load
Solar
Configuratio Moisture
Radiation
n

Ground
Water Level
10

Material Construction

Type of Strength of Vibration

Compaction
Material Subgrade (for PCC)

Reinforceme Temperature
nt (for HMA)

Maintenance Age
Region Number of Observed Town/City/Island
Town/City/Island
NCR 3 Naia, Science Garden, Port
CAR 1 Baguio
1 3 Dagupan, Laoag, Sinait
2 4 Aparri, Basco, Calayan, Itbayat
3 4 Casiguran, Clark, CLSU, Iba
4-A 6 Alabat, Infanta, Sangley, Tanay, Tayabas
4-B 5 Romblon, Coron, Cuyo, Puerto Princesa, San Jose
5 5 Daet, Juban, Legaspi, Masbate, Virac, Casiguran
6 6 Roxas
11
7 1 Dauis, Dumaguete, Mactan
8 3 Maasin, Tacloban
9 2 Dipolog, Zamboanga
10 2 El Salvador, Malaybalay
11 2 Davao
12 1 Cotabato, General Santos
13 2 Hinatuan, Surigao
Average Temperature and Amount of Rainfall

12

5 Year Average (2016-2020)

Defects Affected by Climatic Factors

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Transverse Crack
• Transverse cracks are prominent in Region 2 within the observation period.
• The correlation of temperature change with the overall data shows a trend, but correlation
are insignificant.

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Pothole
• Potholes are prominent in Region 11 within the observation period.
• The correlation of the amount of rainfall with the overall pothole data is not conclusive.

15
 Rutting
•Region 6 & 7 has the highest severity and extent of rut within the
observation period.

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• The severity of rutting is calculated according to the average rut depth for both inner and outer wheel paths.
• The extent is calculated by the DES as the percentage of the area with rutting greater than or equal to 5mm in
depth and is recorded to one decimal place as shown in the example opposite.
Drainage CONDITION SCORE
1
All regions have higher than 50% fair to good Good - Road edge well above side drains/ground level
drainage except Region 2. – well defined side drains or sufficient side slopes to
drain water
2
Fair - Road edge level with side drains/ground level –
ineffective side drains – water can cross the road in
many places
17 3
Poor - Road edge slightly below ground level – no
side drains or totally blocked side drains – some
ponding of water
4
Bad - Road edge well below ground level – road
serving as a drain to surrounding areas
 Transverse Cracks with Change in Temperature

With higher temperature

changes, the amount of
the transverse cracks is
expected to increase as
well. The said expected
relationship between the
two parameters is 18

observed for the cases of

Cordillera Administrative
Region (CAR), Region 3,
Region 9, and Region 11.
Transverse with Amount of Rainfall

19
 Potholes with Amount of Rainfall

20

Potholes occur due to the penetration of water in flexible pavements, causing its expansion and
contraction. Hence, the number of potholes are expected to be directly proportional to the amount of
rainfall. This relationship was observed for the case of Region 12
 Max Temperature and Rutting

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Rutting occurs when the bitumen mixture of flexible pavements weaken. Heat can contribute to the weakening of
flexible pavements. Hence, the rut depth is expected to increase with the maximum ambient temperature
increasing. The said relationship is observed in Region 1 and Region 3, for all regions in the Philippines, the
obtained values of R2 are lower than 0.5.
 Conclusion
• Based on the review of related literature the defects that are possibly
caused by climatic factors such as the amount of rainfall and
temperature are transverse cracking, pothole, and rutting.
• The transverse crack is prominent in Region 2, pothole is prominent in
Region 11, and Rutting is prominent in Region 6 &7 in 2016-2020.
• Although change in temperature in the country is minimal, there is a
trend observed from specific regions. The small change in temperature
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in the country have effect on transverse cracking but other factors may
have an effect in small correlation. For potholes and rut the correlation
done shows inconclusive result.
 Recommendation
• Incorporate AADT, M&R, & Drainage Conditions in the Analysis
• Find the impact of climatic factors in Concrete Pavement.
• Conduct testing that may control other factors affecting damage in
pavement.
• Include other climatic factors in the study such as moisture content.
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References
•American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) D6433 – 11. 2011. Standard Practice for Roads and Parking Lots
Pavement Condition Index Surveys, West Conshohocken, PA.
•Corporal-Lodangco, Irenea & Leslie, Lance. (2017). Defining Philippine Climate Zones Using Surface and
High-Resolution Satellite Data. Procedia Computer Science. 114. 324-332. 10.1016/j.procs.2017.09.068.
•Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) D.O. No. 120 – Updating of the Road Network Definition and
Inventory Update Manual and Visual Road Condition Assessment Manual Under the Road and Bridge Information
Application (RBIA). (2019). Retrieved from
https://www.dpwh.gov.ph/dpwh/sites/default/files/issuances/DO_120_s2019.pdf
•Dong, Dapeng & Li, Zili. (2021). Smartphone Sensing of Road Surface Condition and Defect Detection. Sensors. 21.
5433. 10.3390/s21165433.
•Figueroa, Arturo & Pintor, Lynlei & Sapuay, Grace & Ancheta, Arlen & Atienza, Vella & Hintural, Wencelito & Abris,
Mattheus & Ghosh, Sadhan. (2021). Circular Economy 24
Strategies and Implementation in the Philippines.
10.1007/978-981-16-0913-8_7.
•Meagher, W., Daniel, J. S., Jacobs, J., & Linder, E. (2012). Method for evaluating implications of climate change for
design and performance of flexible pavements. Transportation research record, 2305(1), 111-120.
•Qiao, Y., Flintsch, G. W., Dawson, A. R., & Parry, T. (2013). Examining effects of climatic factors on flexible pavement
performance and service life. Transportation research record, 2349(1), 100-107.
•Dong, Dapeng & Li, Zili. (2021). Smartphone Sensing of Road Surface Condition and Defect Detection. Sensors. 21.
5433. 10.3390/s21165433.
•Wang Guoqing, Wang Xinqiang, Yan Zhanyou, Qin Lusheng, Gao Zhanhua (2020). Analysis of the Influence of
Temperature Field on the Dynamic Modulus of Rubber Asphalt. Frontiers in Materials, Volume 7,
DOI=10.3389/fmats.2020.586457
Thank you!

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