CSE29357, Highway Engineering

Part 2
Dr. Yuhong Wang
Professor
Fall 2020
 Course Contents
 Part 1: Highway Geometric Design (Dr. Siu)
 Topic 1: Introduction to Traffic Engineering
 Topic 2: Introduction to Highway Design
 Topic 3: Elementary Geometric Design
 Topic 4: Highway Earthwork and Final Plan
 Part 2: Highway Structure/Materials (Dr. Wang)
 Topic 5: Road Structure
 Topic 6: Highway Materials and Construction

2
 Contact Information and Self
Introduction
 Office: ZS921
 Email: yuhong.wang@polyu.edu.hk
 Phone: 2766 4489

3
 Contents
 Hong Kong Road Network Facts
 Pictures of Highways/Airports
 Definition and Types of Pavement
 Flexible Pavements
 Rigid Pavements
 Comparison between Flexible and Rigid
Pavements

4
Hong Kong Road Network Facts
 In September 2017, there were over 762,000
vehicles on 2,107 kilometres of roads
 442 on Hong Kong Island, 472 in Kowloon
and 1,193 in the New Territories.
 Together with the dense development and
difficult terrain, it imposes a constant
challenge to the highway engineers.
 There are 15 major road tunnels, 1,349
flyovers and bridges as well as 1,292
footbridges and subways to keep people and
goods on the move.

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Hong Kong Road Network

6
 Hong Kong Route Number System
 Three north-south routes: Route 1, Route 2, and
Route 3
 Route 1: Cross-Harbour Tunnel (opened 1972)
 Route 2: Eastern Harbour Tunnel (opened 1989)
 Route 3: Western Harbour Crossing (opened 1997)
 Five east-west routes:  Route 4, Route 5, Route
7, Route 8 and Route 10
 Numbered from south to north
 One loop route: Route 9
 One route in planning:
Route 6

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 Chainage Marker System
 Linear Routes  Loop Route, i.e. Route 9

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Representative Highway Projects in
Hong Kong
 The First Expressway in Hong Kong
 The First Road Tunnel in Hong Kong
 The First Cross Harbour Tunnel in Hong
Kong
 The Longest Tunnel in Hong Kong
 The Longest Bridge in Hong Kong

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The 1st Express Way: Tuen Mun Road
• Stage I completed in May 1978, and stage II completed
in May 1983 

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The 1st Road Tunnel: Lion Rock Tunnel
• The first tube of the tunnel was opened to traffic in
1967 and the second tube was completed in 1978.
• The length of the tunnel is 1.4km.

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 The 1st Cross Harbour Tunnel:
Cross-Harbour Tunnel
• The construction works started in 1969 and the tunnel
was inaugurated in 1972.

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The Longest Tunnel: Tate’s Cairn Tunnel
• 3,913 m northbound and 3,945 m southbound
• Average daily traffic: 55,000 vehicle trips 

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The Longest Bridge: Tsing Ma Bridge
• The Bridge has a centre span of 1,377 m and crosses
the marine channel between Ma Wan and Tsing Yi.

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Pictures of Highways and
Airports

15
Pacific Coast Highway 1, California

16
Urban Park Highway, Berlin

17
Normandie Highway Bridge, France

18
Freeways in Bangkok

19
Highway E314, Belgium

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Greece’s Road

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Lombard Street ( 九曲花街 ), San
Francisco, California

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IC6 Highway, Portugal

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Japanese Highway

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Highways & Motorways in Lithuania

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Beijing Overpass

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Ya’an to Xichang Trans Mountain
Expressway

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Hong Kong Airport

Source: https://www.timeout.com/hong-
kong/travel/hong-kong-international-airport

28
Definition and Types of
Pavement

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 What is Pavement?
 A layer or layers of compacted material designed to
withstand the stresses applied by vehicle wheel
loads and provide a smooth riding surface.

Layered Structure

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 Pavement Types
 Flexible Pavement  Rigid Pavement

 Bituminous Pavement  Concrete Pavement

 Asphalt Pavement

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 Pavement Types
 Composite Pavement

32
Flexible Pavements

33
Flexible Pavements: Tuen
Mun Road in Hong Kong

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 Flexible Pavements
 Also known as, bituminous pavements or
asphalt pavements.
 Composed of compacted stone beneath a
bituminous surfacing.

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Flexible Pavement Structure in HK
 Flexible Pavement in Hong Kong consists of three
main layers: bituminous surface, roadbase and sub-
base. The surfacing layer is generally sub-divided
into a wearing course and a base course laid
separately.
WEARING COURSE
BITUMINOUS
SURFACE
BASE COURSE

ROADBASE

SUB-BASE

SUBGRADE
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 Functions of Each Layer
 Wearing Course: provides a uniform running surfacing whose
roughness and texture ensure adequate resistance to skidding.
Usually, it is impervious to prevent water penetrating into the
pavement structure and destroying its stability. It must be capable
of carrying the high stresses induced by traffic without deformation.
 Base Course: provides a good regulating layer on which to
construct a wearing course that will give good riding quality. It also
contributes to the structural strength of the pavement.
Occasionally, the wearing & base courses are combined in a single
layer.
 Roadbase: the main structural layer in the flexible pavement. Its
purpose is to distribute traffic loads so that the stresses and strains
developed in the subgrade and the sub-­base are within the
capacity of the material of these two layers.
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Functions of Each Layer (Cont’d)
 Sub-base: is also a load-distributing layer but of weaker
material than the roadbase. In addition to reducing the
stresses and strains in the subgrade, the sub-base may
act as a cut-off blanket to prevent moisture and
subgrade material from migrating upward from the
subgrade and may also provide a suitable platform on
which to construct the upper layers of the pavement.
(The bearing capacity of sub-base is measured by
California Bearing Ratio, CBR Test).
 Subgrade: defined as the prepared and compacted top
surface of a road bed on which the pavement structure is
constructed. Generally, top 0.5 m portion of the soil
foundation is denoted as subgrade (its bearing capacity
is measured by CBR Test).

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 Detail Structure of Flexible Pavement
WEARING COURSE
SURFACING
BASE COURSE
UPPER ROADBASE
ROADBASE
LOWER ROADBASE
UPPER SUB-BASE
SUB-BASE
LOWER SUB-BASE

SUBGRADE SUBGRADE
• Roadbase and sub-base are also often laid in 2 different materials
• Marshall test is used to design the mix of the bituminous surfacing
and roadbase.
• CBR test is used to check the bearing capacity of sub-base and
subgrade.
• A capping layer may be required on top of the Subgrade.
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 Design of Sub-base/Capping
 After checking the CBR (<15%) of sub-grade,
design the thickness of sub-base and capping
 The purposes of providing a capping layer are:
 Provide a working platform for the upper layers
 Protect the loss of material of the weak subgrade.
 The basic requirement of the capping layer is
that it should be of adequate grading to allow
compaction. A minimum CBR of 15% is often
required. The specification of capping layer
material is less stringent than subbase (CBR >
30%) and cheaper material should be applied.

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Design of Sub-base/Capping
(Cont'd)

CBR=15

CBR=2.5

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 Bituminous Materials for Flexible
Pavements
 Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA): a combination of
aggregate and asphalt binder mixed together
at elevated temperatures that forms a hard,
strong construction material when cooled to
surrounding temperatures.
 HMA is also known by many names, such as
asphalt concrete (AC), asphalt, and blacktop.
 HMA Types:
 Dense-graded HMA (most traditional)
 Gap-graded stone mastic asphalt (SMA)
 Open-graded HMA

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Aggregate Distributions of HMA

Open-graded

Dense-graded SMA
(Gap-graded)

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 Dense-Graded Mixes
 A well-graded HMA mixture intended for
general use. When properly designed and
constructed, a dense-graded mix is relatively
impermeable.
 Dense-graded mixes are generally referred to
by their maximum aggregate size.
 They can further be classified as either fine-
graded or coarse-graded.
 Fine-graded mixes have more fine and sand sized
particles than coarse-graded mixes.
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Fine-Graded and Coarse-Graded Mixes

Nominal
Maximum Fine-Graded Mix Coarse-Graded Mix
Aggregate Size
37.5 mm > 35% passing the 5.0 mm < 35% passing the 5.0 mm
28.0 mm > 40% passing the 5.0 mm < 40% passing the 5.0 mm
20.0 mm > 35% passing the 2.36 mm < 35% passing the 2.36 mm
14.0 mm > 40% passing the 2.36 mm < 40% passing the 2.36 mm
10.0 mm > 45% passing the 2.36 mm < 45% passing the 2.36 mm
Maximum size. The smallest sieve through which 100 percent of the aggregate sample particles pass. Superpave defines the
maximum aggregate size as “one sieve larger than the nominal maximum size” (Roberts et al., 1996[1]).
Nominal maximum size. The largest sieve that retains some of the aggregate particles but generally not more than 10 percent by
weight. Superpave defines nominal maximum aggregate size as “one sieve size larger than the first sieve to retain more than 10
percent of the material” (Roberts et al., 1996[1]).

Thus, it is important to specify whether “maximum size” or “nominal maximum size” is being referenced.

45
 Example
 The following table shows the gradation of dense-
graded mixture with nominal maximum aggregate
size of 12.5 mm. Is it a fine-graded or coarse-graded
mix? Sieve Size Passing Ratio (%)
14 mm 100
12.5 mm 92
9.5 mm 75
4.75 mm 55
2.36 mm 46
1.18 mm 32
0.6 mm 20
0.3 mm 14
0.075 mm 46 10
 Dense-Graded Mixes (Cont’d)
 Purpose: dense-graded mixes are suitable for all
pavement layers and for all traffic conditions.
They work well for structural, friction, leveling
and patching needs.
 Materials: Well-graded or continuously graded
aggregates, and asphalt binder (with or without
modifiers).
 Mix Design: Superpave, Hveem or Marshall
design procedures.

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 Stone Mastic Asphalt (SMA) Mixes
 A gap-graded (or discontinuously graded) HMA that is
designed to maximize deformation resistance and
durability by using a structural basis of stone-on-
stone contact.
 It is an extremely durable, waterproof, hard-wearing
surface material with lower voids. As the aggregates
are all in contact, rut resistance mainly relies on
aggregate properties rather than asphalt binder
properties.
 Since aggregates do not deform as much as asphalt
binder under load, this stone-on-stone contact greatly
reduces rutting.
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SMA Mixes (Cont’d)

Dense-Graded HMA (left)

vs. SMA (right)

49
 SMA Mixes (Cont’d)
 Purpose: provide improved rut resistance
and durability. Therefore, SMA is almost
exclusively used for surface courses on high
traffic volume roads or at intersections with
heavy traffic.
 Materials: gap-graded aggregate (usually
from coarse aggregate, manufactured sands
and mineral filler), asphalt binder (typically
with a modifier for increasing viscosity).
 Mix Design: Superpave or Marshall design
procedures.

50
 Open-Graded Mixes
 An open-graded HMA mixture is designed to have
large air void content and be water permeable (dense-
graded and SMA mixes usually are not permeable).
 Open-graded mixes use only crushed stone (or
gravel) and a small percentage of manufactured
sands (i.e. fines and small particles).
 Open-Graded Friction Course (OGFC): typically 15% air
voids, lower aggregate standards than Porous Asphalt mixes
(PA).
 Porous Asphalt Mixes (PA): typically 18-22% air voids, higher
aggregate standards than OGFC and requires the use of
asphalt binder modifiers.

51
 Open-Graded Mixes (Cont’d)
 Purpose: OGFC and PA are used in surface courses
only. They reduce tire splash/spray in wet weather
and typically result in smoother surfaces than
dense-graded HMA. Their high air voids help to
reduce tire-road noise by up to 50%.

52
 Open-Graded Mixes (Cont’d)
 Materials: Aggregate (crushed stone or
gravel and manufactured sands), asphalt
binder (with modifiers).
 Mix Design: Less structured than for dense-
graded or SMA mixes. Open-graded mix
design generally consists of: 1) material
selection, 2) gradation, 3) compaction and
void determination; and 4) asphalt binder
drain-down (or viscosity) evaluation.

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 Comparison between Mixtures

Aggregate
Mix Type Permeability Purpose Function
Gradation
Well-graded with Water resistance
Dense- Not
aggregate in all All layers and support
Graded permeable
different sizes traffic loading
Only a small
SMA (Gap- percentage of Not Surface
Reduce rutting
Graded) aggregate particles permeable layer
in the middle range
Only a small
Reduce tire
Open- percentage of Surface
Permeable splash/spray and
Graded aggregate particles layer
tire-road noise
in the small range

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Experimental Methods

55
 Experimental Methods
 California Bearing Ratio
 Penetration
 Softening Point
 Flakiness Index of Aggregates

56
CBR for unbound materials

57
CBR for unbound materials

58
 California Bearing Ratio Test
 CBR: California Bearing Ratio Test
 Developed by the California State Highways
Department in 1930
 Characterize the resistance of a material to
uniaxial penetration
 Measure of soil shear strength relative to
standard crushed stone material

59
 CBR Test Procedure (Lab 1)
1. All particles greater than 20 mm in diameter
should be first removed
2. Prepare the sample in the steel mould (152
mm diameter & 178 mm height)
3. Place the sample on the testing machine
4. Apply a seating force (at a uniform rate of 1.3
mm/min) to the plunger, depending on the
expected CBR value
5. Reset the reading and then start the machine
6. Record reading of the force at intervals of
penetration of 0.25 mm (max penetration is
Typical CBR Machine
7.5 mm)
7. Take out the soil sample and determine the
moisture content

60
 CBR Calculation
 Plot the graph of force vs. penetration with
smooth curve drawn through the relevant points
 If the curve is uniformly convex upwards (no correction
needed), if not some correction need be applied
 Record the force at 2.5mm and 5mm, calculate
CBR at 2.5mm and 5mm using:

 Load of Soil 
CBR  100 
 Load of Standard Rocks 

61
 CBR Calculation (Cont'd)
Loads Corresponding to 2.5 mm and 5.0 mm Penetration
for the Standard Rocks
Penetration 2.5 mm 5.0 mm
Load of Standard Rocks (KN) 13.24 19.96

 The larger of the CBR at 2.5mm and 5.0mm

deformation will be taken as the design CBR
 CBR Curves
800
3.56
700
3.11

600
2.67
500
Load (Ib)

2.22
400
1.78
300
1.33
Wrong Curve
200
0.89
Standard Curve
100
0.44 Need correction
00
0
0 0.1
2.5 0.2
5.0 0.3
7.5 0.4
10.0 0.5
12.5 0.6
15.0

Penetration (in)
(mm)
 CBR Curve Correction
700
3.11

600
2.67

500
2.22
Load (Ib)

400
1.78

300
1.33

200
0.89

100
0.44

00
0 2.5
0.1 5.0
0.2 7.5
0.3 10.0
0.4 12.5
0.5 15.0
0.6
0.0 2.5 5.0
Penetration
Penetration(in)
(mm)
Influence of Moisture upon CBR
700

600

500

400
CBR

300

200

100

0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6

Moisture Content
 Example
 The results from the CBR test are shown in the Table.
Plot the curve of Penetration vs Load, and determine
the testing material’s CBR value.
Penetration (mm) Load (KN)
0.5 1.8
1 3.5
1.5 5.2
2 6.8
2.5 8.2
3 9.5
3.5 10.7
4 11.6
4.5 12.4
5 66 13.0
 Example: Solution
 1. Check regularity of the curve if it requires
correction.

 In this case, it’s OK.

67
 Example: Solution
2. CBR = (Test Load/Standard Load) X 100%
 Load at 2.5 mm penetration = 8.2 kN
 Standard CBR at 2.5 mm = 13.24 KN
 CBR @ 2.5 mm = (8.2 x 100)/13.24 = 62%
 Load at 5.0 mm penetration = 13.0 kN
 Standard CBR at 5.0 mm = 19.96 KN
 CBR @ 5.0 mm = (13.0 x 100)/19.96 = 65.1%

3. Thus, Final CBR = max (62%, 65.1%) = 65.1%

68
Bituminous Mixture Components

Air voids Binder

Sufficient air voids to Sufficient binder to

accommodate ensure durable
temperature change pavement and
and further workability
compaction

Sufficient aggregates
Aggregates to ensure shear
strength and
stability

69
Background
 First US hot mix asphalt
(HMA) constructed in
1870’s
 Pennsylvania Ave.
 Used naturally occurring
asphalt from surface of
lake on Island of Trinidad
 Two sources
 Island of Trinadad
 Bermudez, Venezuela
 Refinery Operation

LIGHT DISTILLATE

PUMPING MEDIUM DISTILLATE

FIELD STORAGE STATION

HEAVY DISTILLATE
TOWER
DISTILLATION
REFINERY

RESIDUUM
PROCESS
UNIT
OR
STORAGE TUBE CONDENSERS
HEATER AND ASPHALT
GAS COOLERS CEMENTS
AIR
PETROLEUM BLOWN FOR PROCESSING INTO
ASPHALT EMULSIFIED AND
CUTBACK ASPHALTS
SAND AND WATER AIR
STILL
Asphalt Binder
 Rheology Tests
 Rheology: measure of deformation and
flow of asphalt cement at any temperature
 Relate to pavement performance (rutting, bleeding,
fatigue or thermal cracking)
 Temperature and loading rate are critical
 Tests
 Viscosity
 Penetration
 Softening point
 Ductility test
 Asphalt Cement Specifications
 First approach to characterize the stiffness
of an asphalt cement was to chew on it.
 Subjective
 Could not be used to routinely specify the
requirements of an asphalt cement for a given
construction project.
 These drawback eventually led to the
development of the penetration test
 Penetration Testing
 Sewing machine needle
 Specified load, time, temperature (25 oC)

100 g Penetration in 0.1 mm

Initial After 5 seconds

 Penetration Specification
 Five Grades
• 40/50
• 60/70
• 80/100
• 120/150
• 200/300
Penetration Grading Specification
 Uses penetration results to specify
 Adds
 Flash point test
 Ductility
 Solubility
 Thin film oven (TFO) aging
• Penetration
• Ductility
Flash Point (Safety)

Thermometer

Cup filled with

asphalt

Wand attached
to gas line
Typical Penetration Specifications

Penetration 40/50 200/300

Flash Point, oC 450+ 350+
Ductility, cm 100+ 100+
Solubility, % 99.0+ 99.0+

Retained Pen., % 55+ 37+

Ductility, cm NA 100+
Penetration, 0.1 mm

Medium Sensitivity

Low Sensitivity

High Sensitivity

25oC
Temperature
 Softening Point
The temperature at which a bitumen sample can no longer support the
weight of a 3.5-g steel ball.

Two horizontal disks of bitumen, cast in shouldered brass rings, are heated
at a controlled rate in a liquid bath while each supports a steel ball.

The softening point is reported as the mean of the temperatures at which

the two disks soften enough to allow each ball, enveloped in bitumen, to
fall a distance of 25 mm (1.0 inch)

http://www.pavementinteractive.org/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/Softening_point.jpg
 Softening Point
Test the resistance to flow at high temperatures.

Softening point is not the melting point. Asphalts are neither crystalline nor
chemically homogeneous. As such, the softening point is simply an
arbitrary indication of the resistance to flow at high usage temperatures.

Typically, unmodified paving grade asphalt binders will have softening

point temperatures in the range of approximately 35-55°C depending on the
grade of the asphalt binder.
A modified paving grade asphalt binder could have softening point
temperatures in the range of approximately 50-75°C (122-167°F)
Roofing asphalt binders, particularly those used for shingle coating,
typically have softening point temperatures in the range of approximately
88-105°C.
Dry Sieve Analysis of Aggregates

Dry sieve analysis is used to determine the particle size distribution, also
known as gradation, of a mixture of aggregates by sieving. The results are
used to determine compliance of the particle size distribution with
applicable specification requirements and to provide necessary data for
control of the production of various aggregate products and mixtures
containing aggregates.
Flakiness Index of Aggregates
Flakiness Index is the percentage by weight of particles whose least
dimension (thickness) is less than three- fifths (0.6times) of their mean
dimension. This test is not applicable to sizes smaller than 6.3mm.