Mizan Tepi University

Collage of Engineering and Technology

Construction Technology and Management

Road and bridge Construction

 Chapter 1.Road Construction
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Overview of pavements
1.3 Types of pavements
 1.1 Introduction

• The field of pavement design is dynamic.

• In the early stage, pavement design was carried out by a
rule-of-thumb procedure based on entirely past
experience.
• Pavements constructed over plastic soils showed higher
distress than those constructed over granular deposits
• With the increase in traffic and usage and development
of heavy transport means, the deterioration of pavements
due to heavy trucks and aircrafts necessitated a more
rational approach of design. This led to full-scale and
laboratory experiments
 1.2 Overview of pavements
. A pavement structure is a layer structure which supports the vehicle
load on its surface and transfers and spreads the load to the
subgrade without exceeding either the strength of the subgrade or
the internal strength of the pavement itself.
.The basic idea in building a pavement for all-weather use by
vehicles is to prepare a suitable subgrade, 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 subgrade 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.
 1.3 Types of pavements

1.Flexible Pavements
2.Rigid pavements

1.Flexible Pavements
• A flexible pavement is one, which has low flexural strength,
and the load is largely transmitted to the subgrade soil
through the lateral distribution of stresses with increasing
depth
• Pavement trickiness is designed such that the stresses on the
subgrade soil are kept within its bearing capacity and the
subgrade
is prevented from excessive deformation
CONT…..
 a) Conventional Flexible pavements

.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
.Starting from the top: surface course, base
course, sub base course, compacted subgrade,
and natural subgrade.
.The use of the various courses is based on either
necessity or economy and some of the courses
may be omitted.
 Conventional Flexible pavements(Cond..)

.Surface Course: the top course of an asphalt pavement. It is constructed

by dense graded hot-mix asphalt. It must be tough to resist distortion
under traffic and provide a smooth and skid-resistant riding surface
&waterproof.
. Base Course: the layer of material under the surface course. It may
unbounded or stabilized. It provides a level surface for laying the surface
layer. it prevents intrusions of the fine subgrade soils into the pavement
structure.
. Sub base Course: the layer of material under the base course
constructed using local and cheaper materials for economic. It facilitates
drainage of free water
.Subgrade: 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 desirable density near the optimum moisture
content. It is graded into a proper shape, properly drained, and
compacted to receive the pavement layers.
b) Full-Depth Asphalt Pavements

• Full-depth asphalt pavements are constructed

by placing one or more layers of hot-mix
asphalt directly on the subgrade or improved
subgrade.
• 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
areas where local materials are not available.
2. Rigid Pavements
• Rigid pavements are pavement structures constructed of cement concrete
slabs, which derive their capacity to withstand vehicle loads from flexural
strength or beam strength due to high modulus of elasticity.
• The performance of rigid pavements is governed by the strength of the
concrete slab than the subgrade
• The subgrade may provide a uniform support for the slab
2. Rigid Pavements(Cond..)

 where the subgrade soil cannot provide a

uniform support, or for one or more of the
following reasons described here under, there
is always a necessity to build a base course
under cement concrete slab and
it is widely used for rigid pavements.
. Control of pumping.
. Improvement of drainage.
. Expedition of Construction.
. Control of shrinkage and swell.
.Control of frost action.
3.Composite Pavements
• 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.
.cement concrete slab: a strong base
.hot-mix asphalt: a smooth and non reflective
surface
• very expensive and is rarely used as a new
construction
Comparison of Rigid and Flexible Pavements
• The following main differences between rigid and flexible
pavements can be cited:
. The manner in which vehicle loads are transmitted
to the subgrade soil,
.Design precision,
. Design life,
. Maintenance requirements,
.Initial cost,
. Suitability for stage construction,
. Surface characteristics,
. Permeability,
. Traffic dislocation during construction
Basic Design Factors

Design factors can be divided into four

broad categories:
.Traffic loading
.Environment
. Materials
. Failure criteria
TRAFFIC LOADING

• The loading applied by traffic is the major factors

.The configuration, magnitude(Tyre pressure ),
and repetitions of axle loads, Speed of traffic
loading
• Axle-loads and configurations:
.Axle loads affect primarily the stresses and
strains developed in the lower layers of the
pavement
. the individual wheel or axle-load that is critical
in pavement design and performance.
. Most countries limit, by law, the maximum axle-
load of vehicles
Environment
• The environmental factors that influence pavement
design include temperature, and precipitation.
Temperature:
.Affects:
. the resilient modulus of bituminous layers and
. creates thermal stresses in cement concrete slabs.
Precipitation:
. The construction of earth works
. Strength of pavement structure
. Surface water drainage
Materials

• 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.
Thank You!

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