Pavement Design, Construction and

Maintenance for Bituminous Roads

Subject
Flexible Pavement

Participants
Assistant Engineer/Junior Engineer
 Lecture 10

Evaluation of Flexible Pavements

 Introduction
Pavement structures deteriorate with time when
subjected to loads and various climatic factors.
The rate of deterioration depends on the initial
condition of the pavement, the rate of traffic loading,
the magnitude of traffic loading, climatic conditions and
various other parameters.
In order to assess the needs for and to plan future
improvement and maintenance works, it is necessary to
maintain an intimate and up-to-date knowledge of the
condition of the road network and for this reason it is
good practice to carry out regular road condition
surveys.
 Introduction
Road condition surveys allow the road authority to:
Become thoroughly familiar with the road network and its
maintenance challenges and on this basis make objective
and quantified assessments of the condition of each road,
Make objective prioritisations of maintenance and
improvement works in line with sound asset management
principles,
Review the effectiveness of maintenance activities carried
out since the previous surveys, and
Programme in detail the improvement and maintenance
works to be carried out during the next construction
season.
 PERFORMANCE EVALUATION
Pavements are evaluated typically for two types of
performance:
Functional performance
Structural performance
 Functional Performance
Functional performance is the ability of the pavement to
provide comfortable, safe, economical riding surface to
the users.
As long as the pavement is in a position to give
satisfactory service to the road user in terms of safe
comfortable ride the pavement continues to be in a
functionally acceptable condition.
Functional Performance can be expressed or measured
or quantified in terms of either the present serviceability
index, the index developed by AASHTO or in terms of
roughness or any other parameter that is related to the
surface that could be related to the safety and comfort of
the road users.
 Structural Performance
Structural performance, on the other hand is
related to the structural soundness of the structure
or the load carrying ability of the structure.
This can be measured normally in terms of the
response of the pavement when it is subjected to a
load.
Normally structural performance will be expressed
in terms of structural response of the pavement.
 Structural Evaluation
The in-situ structural condition of an existing
pavement can be evaluated in two ways -
destructive and non-destructive.
In the destructive evaluation method, samples of
different layer materials are collected from the
pavement and the properties are evaluated in the
laboratory.
These properties are in turn used as inputs for
mechanistic evaluation of pavements for assessing
the structural condition of the pavement in terms
of mechanistic parameters.
 Structural Evaluation
With the development of non-destructive evaluation
techniques, it has become more convenient to assess
the strength of pavement layers without disturbing the
pavement.
Measurement of structural responses such as surface
deflections of pavements subjected to a specified load
is a commonly used structural evaluation approach.
Pavement deflections can be measured by applying a
static or creep load on the pavement. Deflection
measurement using Benkelman beam can be
considered under this category.
 Structural Evaluation
Evaluation of pavement condition under dynamic
loading is considered to be more rational as load
pulses can be applied to simulate practical traffic
loading conditions. Falling Weight Deflectometer
(FWD) is commonly used for application of impulse
load for pavement evaluation.
Strength of the pavement layers can also be assessed
using Dynamic Cone Penetrometer (DCP) by
measuring the resistance of different pavement layers
to the penetration of a standard cone under repeated
application of blows by a standard hammer.
 Benkelman Beam Deflection
Benkelman Beam Deflection (BBD) technique is
widely used all over the world for Evaluation of
structural capacity of existing flexible pavements and
also for estimation and design of overlays for
strengthening of any weak pavement.
The various parameters like pavement surface
temperature, subgrade soil type, its moisture content
and compaction, the thickness and quality of pavement
courses, drainage conditions and their influence on
pavement deflection and service behaviour are also to
be accounted properly while computation of the
characteristic and true deflections.
 Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD)
The FWD operates by dropping a mass from a known
height onto a circular plate through a spring system.
The load pulse applied at the pavement surface is measured
using a load cell.
The deflected shape of the pavement is recorded using a
number of geophones placed at different radial locations.
The deflection data, applied load layer thicknesses and a
range of moduli values are used as input in a
backcalculation program to determine the in-situ moduli
values of the layers.
This will indicate the present structural condition of the
pavement structure and will help in adopting an
appropriate rehabilitation measure.
 Falling mass

Guide rod

Geophones

Spring

Loading plate

Deflection Bowl
 Dynamic Cone Penetrometer
DCP is an effective device for in-situ evaluation of
subgrade and granular layers due to its relatively small
and lightweight design.
Because of its simple and economical design, DCP is
being used in the field to characterize the subgrade and
base materials.
One of the greatest advantages of the DCP device lies
in its ability to provide a continuous record of relative
soil strength with depth.
By plotting a graph of penetration index versus depth,
one can observe the profile showing layer depths and
strength conditions.
 Handle

No. of Blows
Hammer
0 50 100 150 200
0

Penetration (mm)
200

Upper Shaft 400

575 mm

Anvil 600

800
Lower Shaft

Graduated
Scale

CONE
60o cone angle

Base Plate
20 mm
 Functional Evaluation of Pavements
Present Serviceability Index
Roughness
Merlin
Bump Integrator
Visual Condition Survey
Distresses in Flexible Pavement
 Present Serviceability Index (PSI)
The concept of measuring serviceability of pavements in
terms of PSI was introduced by AASHTO and is used by
many organisations as performance indicator for design
of low volume roads.
The AASHO test equation for present serviceability
index correlates the present serviceability index with the
surface characteristics of the pavement such as slope
variance which gives an indication of the variance of the
surface profile in the longitudinal direction and rut
depth for a flexible pavement and for concrete pavement
both for cracking area and patched area.
 Roughness
Roughness is an important indicator of pavement
performance as it directly affects the way in which
pavements serve the travelling public.
For thin bituminous surfaced roads, the pavement
may actually fail by break up of the thin surfacing
before the terminal condition in terms of rutting has
been reached.
Therefore, roughness should be considered as a
main parameter for defining the failure condition of
thin surfaces granular pavements.
 MERLIN
MERLIN was developed by the Transport Road
Research Laboratory (TRRL), UK for measurement
of road roughness in developing countries.
This machine is robust and straight forward to use.
Being inexpensive, this can be easily procured by
the rural road agencies for evaluation of low volume
roads.
It consists of a metal frame with a standard bicycle
wheel at the front and handles and a foot at the rear.
 MERLIN

Chart Pointer

Handle

Weight
Moving Arm Stabilizer

Pivot
Probe

Front Foot Rear Foot

(With marker in contact with
road)
 Bump Integrator
Either towed fifth wheel bump integrator or car-
mounted bump integrator can be used for measuring
the road roughness.
These are response type road roughness measuring
systems and arc extensively used in the country for
measurement of roughness.
The Towed Fifth Wheel Bump Integrator comprises of a
standard pneumatic wheel mounted within a
rectangular frame with single leaf spring on either side.
Spring dashpots mounted on the leaf spring provide
damping for the suspension.
An integrating unit is there which is mounted on one
side of the frame and integrates the unevenness in cm.
Fifth Wheel Bump Integrator
Car Mounted Bump Integrator
 Visual Condition Surveys
Visual condition surveys cover aspects of both
functional and structural pavement condition, but
generally serve as a qualitative indicator of overall
condition.
Specialized equipment is used to quantify both
functional and structural properties of the
pavement structure.
Ideally, for any given section of highway, two or
more evaluators would arrive at the same
assessment of the section’s current condition.
However, there are still many aspects of pavement
evaluation that are highly subjective.
 Distresses in Flexible Pavements
Rutting
Cracking
Raveling
Pot holes and,
Patching
Corrugation
Shoving
Settlement
 Rutting
Permanent Deformation or rutting provides the
principal indication of deterioration in granular
pavements with thin bituminous surfacing.
It develops mainly along the wheel tracks, and increases
with cumulative application of commercial traffic.
The permanent deformation manifests at the surface of
the pavement as rutting, although due to inherent
variability of the subgrade and pavement materials and
due to improper construction techniques, surface
roughness develops along with rutting.
Rutting is a load-associated distress.
Measurement of Rutting
 Cracking
This distress is a traffic loading related distress that
is initiated in the wheel paths.
In the case of rural roads, the bituminous surfacing
for paved roads is usually thin (less than 40 mm)
and is not expected to contribute significantly to the
structural capacity of the pavement.
Thus, cracking is not considered as a structural
failure in thin surfaced pavements.
Cracking
 Ravelling
Ravelling is the progressive loss of surface
aggregates caused by weathering, traffic, or a
combination of the two.
 Potholes and Patching
Potholes are small, bowl-shaped depressions in the
pavement surface that penetrate all the way through
the bituminous layer down to the base course.
Patches are repairs made to previous distress,
indicating prior maintenance activity.
Improper patching can introduce a degree of
roughness, further deterioration at the edges of the
patch, or even failure of the patch itself if the
underlying problem was not addressed.
Potholes
 Corrugations
Corrugations are a
series of transverse
ridges and valleys (or
ripples) occurring at
regular intervals along
the pavement.
Unstable bituminous
mixture or poor base
quality are associated
with this distress.
 Shoving
Shoving is the deflection and bulging of the road
surface generally parallel to the direction of traffic,
and/or horizontal displacement of surfacing
materials.
This is typically caused by braking, accelerating or
turning vehicles.
Factors that can make roads more susceptible to
shoving are:
inadequate pavement strength or thickness
poor bonds between pavement layers
lack of containment of the pavement edge
Shoving
 Settlement
Settlement is a dip or depression in the longitudinal
profile of the pavement surface. Settlement shall be
considered a distress when it causes a noticeable
effect upon riding quality.
Settlement should not be confused with
corrugation, which is another type of surface profile
deficiency specific to flexible pavements
Settlement
 Pavement Condition Survey
PMGSY Guidelines
The Pavement Condition Survey is required to be
carried out at every 100 metre interval for every 1km of
the road length by the Junior Engineer in charge of the
section and assisted by his Work Inspector/ Mate.
The attributes for road condition survey data should
comprise details of potholes, broken edges, ruts,
depressions, pavement failure, cracks and shoulder
condition.
These details can be collected through visual inspection
and/or with horizontal straight edge and ruler.
The data needs to be classified under various headings
namely, GOOD, FAIR and POOR with rating assigned to
each classification.
 Road Priority Index (RPI)
RPI is required in case of constrained budget as is
the case in all the States.
It should have following parameters:
Traffic Count – the higher the traffic the higher the
priority.
Importance of the Road – whether it connects to
education/healthcentre, places of tourist/religious
importance,
Classification of the Road-that is, whether it is a link
road or a through route.
 Pavement Condition Index (PCI)
The assessment of road condition for prioritization
of maintenance activities can also be determined
through the Pavement Condition Index (PCI) using
the following simple methods:
Measurement based on Visual Inspection only
Based on Riding Comfort
Based on Comfortable Driving Speed possible
 Based on Visual Inspection
o The engineer is expected to rate the PCI by visual inspection of
the pavement for each kilometre on a scale of 1 to 5.
 Based on Riding Comfort
o A jeep or car is driven at 50 km/hr and the riding comfort
noted for each kilometre. Based on ‘Riding Comfort’ while
driving at the design speed of 50 km/hr, the PCI is assessed.
 Based on Comfortable Driving Speed
o The driver is instructed to drive at the most comfortable and
safe speed possible on the road. The PCI is then assessed for
each kilometre based on the Normal Driving Speed.
 Determination for PCI
In order to get the PCI of the road, the arithmetic mean
of the condition assessed for each km is taken if the
kilometre-wise PCI is varying within a short range.
If the variation of PCI is large from section to section of
the road under consideration, the road is to be divided
into homogeneous sections and the arithmetic mean of
PCI is taken for each section.
Annual maintenance plan (AMP) shall be prepared on
the basis of above Total Rating to arrive at final ranking
and road section prioritization.
Taking into consideration the budget availability first
priority shall be given to Routine Maintenance of the
network.