LECTURE NO 4

•Transportation Engineering An Introduction

3rd Edition by C. Jotin Khisty and B. Kent Lall
(Pages 188 – 193)

•Highway Engineering 6th Edition by Paul H.

Wright (Pages 175 – 177)

•Introduction to Transportation Engineering

by James H. Banks (pages 83 to 92)

•A Policy on Geometric Design of Highways

and Streets 2004 (GREEN BOOK)
ROADWAY ALIGNMENT
1. An ideal and most desirable roadway is
one that generally follows the existing
natural alignment of the countryside.
2. This is the most economical type of
highway to construct, but certain aspects
of the design that must be maintained may
prevent the designer from following this
undulating surface without making
considerable adjustments in both the
vertical and horizontal directions.
The designer must produce an alignment in which
conditions are consistent and uniform to provide
comfort to drivers/passengers. Sudden changes in
alignment should be connected with long curves,
and short sharp curves should not be provided
with long curves of small curvature. The ideal
highway location is one with consistent alignment,
where both vertical grade and horizontal
curvature receive consideration and are
configured to satisfy limiting design criteria. The
optimal final alignment will be that in which the
best balance between grade and curvature is
achieved.
• Terrain has considerable influence on the
final choice of alignment. Generally, the
topography of the surrounding area is fitted
into one of three classifications:
1) Level,
2) Rolling,
3) Mountainous.
1) In level country, the alignment is in general
limited by considerations other than grade,
that is, cost of right-of-way, land use,
waterways requiring expensive bridging,
existing cross roads, railroads, canals, power
lines, and subgrade conditions or the
availability of suitable borrow material.
2) In rolling country, grade and curvature
must be carefully considered and to a certain
extent balanced. Depths of cut and heights of
fill, drainage structures, and number of bridges
will depend on whether the route follows the
ridges, the valleys, or a cross drainage
alignment.
3) In mountainous country, grades cause the
greatest problem, and, in general, the
horizontal alignment or curvature is controlled
by maximum grade criteria.
 Horizontal Alignment
•Horizontal alignment consists of a series of
straight sections of highway joined by suitable
curves. It is necessary to establish a balanced
relationship among design speed, degree of
curvature, super elevation and side friction.
•Horizontal curve is represented by either its
radius or its degree of the curvature. The
degree of a curve is the central angle sub tended
by an arc of 100 ft measured along the center of
the road.
SUPERELEVATION
 SUPERELEVATION
A vehicle when moving on a curved path is
subjected to following forces.
1.Centrifugal force that tends to move it
outwards from the circular path.
2.The vehicle weight component creates
friction between the road surface and tires to
counterbalance the centrifugal force.
3.The super elevated section of a highway
tends to stop the vehicles from sliding out­
ward. See figure on next slide.
Where
W = Weight of vehicle
ß = angle of pavement cross-sclopes
e = rate of superelevation = tan ß
F = Side friction = µN =
Where µ is the side friction factor, since sinß
is small, the second term can be neglected
g = 32.2 ft/sec2 or 9.81 m/sec2
v = longitudinal velocity (ft/sec or m/sec)
When all the forces on the vehicle are in
equilibrium, then
Therefore
The eq. can be written as:
Changing v from m/sec or ft/sec to V in
Km/h or mph the above eq can be written
as:

Where V is in Km/h, and R is in meters

Also
Where V is in miles/h, and R is in feet
Alternatively
Studies show that the maximum side friction
between new tires and wet concrete pavements
ranges from about 0.5 at 20 mph (30 Km/h) to
approximately 0.35 at 60 mph (100 Km/h). For
normal, wet, concrete pavement and smooth
tires, the value is about 0.35 at 45 mph (70
Km/h). However, curve design cannot be based
entirely on available side friction factor.
An important criterion is to use that portion
of the maximum available side friction that
most drivers feel safe and comfortable with.
For speeds up to 60 mph (100 Km/h), a
maximum value of 0.16 is recommended.
The side friction factor should not exceed
0.10 for speeds of 70 mph (120 Km/h) or
higher. At lower speeds, drivers are more
tolerant of discomfort and higher values
may be used in design.
 Several factors dictate the maximum rates of
superelevation: climate conditions, terrain,
` location (urban or rural), and frequency of very
slow-moving vehicles. No single maximum
superelevation rate is universally applicable.
The common superelevation rate is 0.10, where
snow and ice are not prevalent. Where snow
and ice are factors, a superelevation rate of 0.08
is a logical maximum to minimize slipping
across the highway.
A rate of 0.12 may be used on low-volume,
gravel-surfaced roads to facilitate cross-
drainage. A low maximum rate, usually 0.04 to
0.06, is common practice where traffic
congestion or extensive marginal development.
Table gives the minimum radius for each of
the five maximum superelevation rates for
design speeds from 15 to 80 mph and from 20
Km/h to 130 Km/h).
A variety of methods are practiced in
balancing e and µ. One such method uses
superelevation at speeds lower than the
design speed. Average running speed,
which is estimated as 80 to 100 percent of
design speed, provides superelevation
design where all lateral acceleration is
sustained by superelevation of curves
flatter than that needing the maximum
rate. Maximum superelevation is reached
near the middle of the curvature range.
At average running speed, no side friction is
needed up to this curveature, and side friction
increases rapidly and in direct proportion for
sharper curves. Considerable side friction is
available for higher speeds. An alternate
method for sustaining centripetal acceleration
on curves maintains superelevation and side
friction directly proportional to the inverse of
the radius of the curve. Application of this
method avoids use of maximum superelevation
for the substantial part of the range of curve
radii.
A still better approach is to use a
superelevation and side friction
distribution reasonably retaining the
advantages of both these methods
(AASHTO,2001).
Superelevation transitions involve modification
of the roadway cross section from normal crown
to full superelevation, at which point the entire
roadway width has a cross-slope of e. The
manner in which this transition is accomplished
is expressed by a superelevation diagram, which
is a graph of superelevation (cross-slope) versus
distance measured in stations. As an alternative,
the diagram may show the difference in elevation
between the profile grade and the edge versus
distance.
 Discussion
To facilitate cross-drainage, a commonly used
superelevation rate is 0.12. Therefore, e = 0.12
may be recommended. However,
recommending a superelevation of this
magnitude can lead to higher speeds and
associated problems of rutting and
displacement of gravel. Thus, 0.09 may be
considered a reasonable maximum value.
 Minimum Radius
The minimum radius is a limiting value of
curvature for a given design speed and is
determined from the maximum rate of
superelevation and the maximum side friction
factor selected for design (limiting value of f).
Use of sharper curvature for that design speed
would call for superelevation beyond the limit
considered practical or for operation with tire
friction and lateral acceleration beyond what is
considered comfortable by many drivers, or
both.
Although based ondriver comfort, rather
than safety, the minimum radius of
curvature is a significant value in alignment
design. The minimum radius of curvature is
also an important control value for
determination of superelevation rates for
flatter curves. The minimum radius of
curvature, Rmin, can be calculated directly
from the simplified curve formula for"Side
Friction Factor." This formula can be
recast to determine Rmin as follows: