PAVEMENT MATERIALS (INTRODUCTION)

PAVEMENT

The Pavement is the structure which separates

the tires of vehicles from the underlying
foundation material.

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 Types of Pavements
There are two types of the Pavement:

1. Flexible Pavement

A layered system pavement which has low flexural

strength.

2. Rigid Pavement

It has a slab action and possess High flexural

strength.

If the pavement itself is very strong, but it is

constructed on loose and poor subgrade, it can fail.

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 FUNCTIONS OF PAVEMENT

 The most important function of the pavement is to

withstand the load applied from a vehicle such as a
truck or an aircraft, without deforming
excessively.

 The layered structure of the pavement is meant

for ensuring that the load is spread out below the
tire, such that the resultant stress at the bottom
layer of the pavement, the subgrade, is low enough
not to cause damage.

 When the existing soil is not stiff enough to

support the relatively small stress, then there is a
need to improve the soil.
 FUNCTIONS OF PAVEMENT

 There is also a need to improve the soil if it is

susceptible to moisture. Such a problem can be
solved by treating the soil with an additive, such as
lime and a Portland cement.

 Since pavements are exposed to the environment, a

very important factor in the design of pavements
is the consideration of water, which could be
coming from rain/snow (surface water) and/or
from the ground (ground/subsurface water).

 Since water can be detrimental to a pavement, a

basic necessity of designing a proper pavement is
to provide adequate drainage for both surface and
subsurface water.
 FUNCTIONS OF PAVEMENT

 Standing water on a pavement can cause

hydroplaning, skidding, and accidents. There
is a need to make sure that water from
precipitation is drained away quickly and
effectively.

 Water present in frost-susceptible soils in

the subgrade can freeze, causing heaving
and failure of the pavement. Therefore,
frost-susceptible materials should be
avoided.
 Generally the layers in a pavement improve in
quality as one goes up from the bottom to the
surface layer.
 The surface layer, which can be asphalt or concrete, is the
most expensive and stiff/durable layer in the entire pavement
structure. Components of this layer are mostly naturally
occurring materials.

 Generally several layers are present in an asphalt pavement.

From the bottom up, the layers are known as the subgrade,
subbase, base, and binder and/or surface.

 While designing, adequate thickness to each layer is assigned,

so as to obtain the desirable properties in the most cost-
effective way.

 Concrete pavements may not have as many layers, and in many

cases the concrete slab rests on a stabilized subgrade, which
consists of soils modified with some additives.
 IMPORTANT ISSUES

Traffic keeps on increasing, while the costs of materials and

methods keep on climbing, as budgets dwindle everywhere. The
only way to keep up and still have good roads is through learning
and applying good principles, implementing proven new concepts
and technologies, and continually researching for better
materials and methods.

Issues can be summarized as follows:

1. Drainage is needed to drain water away from the pavement.

2. The materials must be evaluated and selected properly so that

they can withstand the effects of the traffic and the
environment.
 IMPORTANT ISSUES

3. The mix must be designed properly such that it can withstand

traffic and environmental factors.

4. The structure should be designed properly such that it has

adequate thickness to resist excessive deformation under
traffic and under different environmental conditions.

5. The pavement must be constructed properly such that it has

desirable qualities.

6. The pavement must be maintained/managed properly through

periodic work, regular testing, and timely rehabilitation.

7. Generation of knowledge through research is critical for

ensuring good pavements in the future.
 Conventional Flexible Pavements
Following figure shows the cross section of a conventional flexible
pavement . Starting from the top, the pavement consists of seal
coat, surface course, tack coat, binder course, prime coat, base
course, subbase course, compacted subgrade, and natural sub -
grade.
The use of the various courses is based on either necessity or
economy, and some of the courses may be omitted .
 Conventional Flexible Pavements
Seal coat is a thin asphalt surface treatment used to waterproof
the surface or to provide skid resistance where the aggregates in
the surface course could be polished by traffic and become slippery
.

The surface course is the top course of an asphalt pavement,

sometimes called the wearing course. It is usually constructed of
dense graded HMA . It must be tough to resist distortion under
traffic and provide a smooth and skid-resistant riding surface .

The binder course, sometimes called the asphalt base course, is the
asphalt layer below the surface course.

There are two reasons that a binder course:

First, the HMA is too thick to be compacted in one layer,
Second, the binder course generally consists
of larger aggregates and less asphalt, so replacing a part of the
surface course by the binder course results in a more economical
design.
 Conventional Flexible Pavements

A tack coat is a very light application of asphalt, usually asphalt

emulsion diluted with water, used to ensure a bond between the
surface being paved and the overlying course.
Tack coats are also used to bond the asphalt layer to a PCC base or
an old asphalt pavement .

A prime coat is an application of low-viscosity cutback asphalt to an

absorbent surface, such as an untreated granular base on which an
asphalt layer will be placed .

The difference between a tack coat and a prime coat is that a tack
coat does not require the penetration of asphalt into the underlying
layer, whereas a prime coat penetrates into the underlying layer,
 Conventional Flexible Pavements

The base course is the layer of material immediately beneath the

surface or binder course . It can be composed of crushed stone,
crushed slag, or other untreated or stabilized materials .

The subbase course is the layer of material beneath the base

course . The reason that two different granular materials are used
is for economy. Instead of using the more expensive base course
material for the entire layer, local and cheaper materials can be
used as a subbase course on top of the subgrade .

Subgrade The top 6 in . (152 mm) of subgrade should be scarified

and compacted to the desirable density near the optimum moisture
content . This compacted subgrade may be the in-situ soil or a
layer of selected material .
 Conventional Flexible Pavements
Full-Depth Asphalt Pavements are constructed by placing one or
more layers of HMA directly on the subgrade or improved
subgrade.
The asphalt base course in the full-depth construction is the
same as the binder course in conventional pavement.
As with conventional pavement, a tack coat must be applied
between two asphalt layers to bind them together .
 Characteristics of Pavement
 It should be sound enough to support the
wheel loads imposed on it from traffic moving
over it.

 It should be thick enough to distribute the

external loads and stresses on the earthen
subgrade, so that it can safely bear it.

 It should provide comfort to the road user

at high speeds.
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 Characteristics of Pavement (Contd.)
 The surface of the pavement should have
adequate roughness to prevent skidding of vehicles.

 The surface should be impervious.

 The Pavement should have long life and the cost

of maintaining it annually should be low.

 It should provide a hard wearing surface, so that

abrading action of wheels does not damage it.

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 Materials used in the Road Pavement
 The materials used in different layers of the pavement are:

1. Soil (Sub-Grade)

2. Aggregate e.g; Rock, Gravel, Slag (Base Course )

3. Mix of Aggregate and binding material i.e. bitumen, tar and

cement (Wearing/Surface Course)

 All the pavements requires the efficient use of locally

available materials, if economically constructed roads
are to be built.

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 The thorough study is required of, not only the
soil and aggregate properties that affect pavement
stability and durability but also the properties of
the binding materials that may be added to these.

 In more recent years for economic and

environmental reasons, attention has been given to
the use of “waste” materials in lieu of conventional
aggregates in pavements.

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
SOIL

 Soil Properties / characteristics

 Moisture content

 Atterberg Limits

 Grain Size Composition

 Dry Density

 Soil Classification

 AASHTO Soil Classification

 Unified Soil Classification

 Earth work formation and soil compaction

 Soil stabilization techniques

 Evaluation of Soil Strength

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 AGGREGATE

 Aggregate Properties
 Aggregate Tests
 Strength
 Crushing Test
 Hardness
 Abrasion Test
 Toughness
 Impact Test
 Durability
 Soundness Test
 Shape
 Shape Test
 Cementation
 Bitumen Adhesion Test
 Density
 Sp. Gravity and Water

Absorption Test

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  BITUMEN / TAR / CEMENT

 Bitumen Properties  Bitumen Tests

 fluid enough  Penetration Test

 low temperature susceptibility Ductility Test

 uniform viscosity  Softening Point Test

 good amount of volatiles  Flash and Fire Point Test

 Los on Heating Test

 ductile and not brittle
 Water content Test
 can be easily mixed
 Sp. Gravity Test
 good affinity to the aggregate
 Viscosity Test

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  TAR / CEMENT

 Tar Properties and test

 Cement

 Design of Bituminous Mixtures

 Marshal Method of Mix Design

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