Module-3

Axle Load, ESAL and Damaging

Effect of Axle Load
 AXLE LOADS
One of the primary functions of a pavement is its load
distribution. Therefore, in order to adequately design a
pavement information must be available about the expected
loads it will carry during its design life. Loads, the vehicle
forces exerted on the pavement (e.g., by trucks, heavy
machinery, airplanes), can be characterized by the following
parameters:  
– Tyre loads
– Axle and tyre configurations
– Repetition of loads
– Distribution of traffic across the pavement
– Vehicle speed
Vehicle loads of private cars and vans contribute very little to
structural deterioration. For the purpose of pavement
thickness design, only commercial traffic is considered.
 EQUIVALENT STANDARD AXLE LOAD (ESAL)

This approach converts wheel loads to an

equivalent number of "standard" or
"equivalent" loads based on the amount of
damage they do to the pavement. The
commonly used standard load is the 18,000 lb.
called Equivalent Single Axle Load.

Load Equivalency Factor also known as relative

damage factor  load 
4

 
 18,000 lb. 
As a rule-of-thumb, the load equivalency of a
particular load (and also the pavement damage
imparted by a particular load) is roughly related to
the load by a power of four (for reasonably strong
pavement surfaces). For example, a 36,000 lb.
single axle load will cause about 16 times the
damage as an 18,000 lb. single axle load. The
graph using some approximations, shows some
general vehicle load equivalencies - note that
buses tend to have high load equivalency factors
because although they may be lighter than a
loaded 18-wheeler, they only have two or three
axles instead of five.
As a rule-of-thumb, the load equivalency of a
particular load (and also the pavement damage
imparted by a particular load) is roughly related to
the load by a power of four (for reasonably strong
pavement surfaces). For example, a 36,000 lb. single
axle load will cause about 16 times the damage as an
18,000 lb. single axle load. The graph using some
approximations, shows some general vehicle load
equivalencies - note that buses tend to have high load
equivalency factors because although they may be
lighter than a loaded 18-wheeler, they only have two
or three axles instead of five.
 DAMAGING EFFECT OF
AXLE LOADS
The damaging effects of lighter and heavier axles were
expressed as equivalence factors as shown in Table. The
equivalence factor of 0.0002 for the 910-kg axle load
means that 5000 passes of such an axle would do the
same damaging effect as one pass of standard axle.

The damaging effect of heavy commercial

vehicles has increased manifold in recent years on
the more heavily trafficked Motorways and Trunk Roads.
 DAMAGING EFFECT OF DIFFERENT AXLE LOADS (AASHO ROAD TEST)

AXLE LOAD AXLE LOAD

EQUIVALENCE EQUIVALENCE
KG LBS FACTOR KG LBS FACTOR

910 2000 0.0002 9980 22000 2.3

1810 4000 0.0025 10890 24000 3.2

2720 6000 0.01 11790 26000 4.4

3630 8000 0.03 12700 28000 5.8

4540 10000 0.09 13610 30000 7.6

5440 12000 0.19 14520 32000 9.7

6350 14000 0.35 15420 34000 12.1

7260 16000 0.61 16320 36000 15

8160 18000 1* 17230 38000 18.6

9070 20000 1.5 18140 40000 22.8

*Standard axle
AXLE LOAD & RELATIVE DAMAGE

75.2
80

63.4
70

53.1
DAMAGE PER PASS

60

44.1
50

36.3
29.5
40

23.8
18.9
30

14.9
11.5
20 8.7
6.5
4.7
3.3

10
2.3
1.1
1.0

0
8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
SINGLE AXLE LOAD (Tons)
 LEF Example
The standard axle weights for a standing-room-only loaded Metro
articulated bus (60 ft. Flyer) are:
Axle Empty Full
Steering 13,000 lb. 17,000 lb.
Middle 15,000 lb. 20,000 lb.
Rear 9,000 lb. 14,000 lb.
Using the 4th power approximation, determine the total equivalent
damage caused by this bus in terms of ESALs when it is empty.
How about when it is full?
Traffic Loads Characterization

Pavement Thickness Design Are Developed

To Account For The Entire
Spectrum Of Traffic Loads

Cars Pickups Buses Trucks Trailers

13.6
Tons Failure = 10,000
Repetitions
11.3 Tons
Failure = 100,000
Repetitions
4.5 Tons
Failure = 1,000,000
Repetitions
2.3 Tons
Failure = 10,000,000
Repetitions
13.6 Tons 4.5 Tons
Failure = Repetitions ?
11.3 Tons 2.3 Tons
 RELATIVE DAMAGE CONCEPT

Equivalent
18000 - Damage
Standard ESAL Ibs per Pass =
Axle Load (8.2 tons) 1

• Axle loads bigger than 8.2 tons cause damage greater

than one per pass
• Axle loads smaller than 8.2 tons cause damage less
than one per pass
• Load Equivalency Factor (L.E.F) = (? Tons/8.2 tons)4
 Consider two single axles A and B where:
A-Axle = 16.4 tons
 Damage caused per pass by A -Axle = (16.4/8.2)4 =
16
 This means that A-Axle causes same amount of
damage per pass as caused by 16 passes of standard

=
8.2 tons axle i.e,

16.4 Tons 8.2 Tons

Axle Axle
 Consider two single axles A and B where:
B-Axle = 4.1 tons
 Damage caused per pass by B-Axle = (4.1/8.2)4 = 0.0625
 This means that B-Axle causes only 0.0625 times damage per
pass as caused by 1 pass of standard 8.2 tons axle.
 In other works, 16 passes (1/0.625) of B-Axle cause same amount of
damage as caused by 1 pass of standard 8.2 tons axle i.e.,

=
4.1 Tons 8.2 Tons
Axle Axle