TRAFFIC LOADING ANALYSIS

May 24, 2023 Pavement Design 1

Traffic
• The deterioration of paved roads caused by
traffic results from both the magnitude of the
individual wheel loads and the number of
times these loads are applied.
• For pavement design purposes it is necessary
to consider not only the total number of
vehicles that will use the road but also the
wheel loads (or, for convenience, the axle
loads) of these vehicles.

May 24, 2023 Pavement Design 2

 Traffic Cont…..
• The loads imposed by light traffics do not contribute
significantly to the structural damage.
• For the purposes of structural design, cars and
similar sized vehicles can be ignored and only the
total number and the axle loading of the heavy
vehicles that will use the road during its design life
need to be considered.
• In this context, heavy vehicles are defined as those
having an unladen(unloaded) weight of 3000 kg or
more and buses with seating capacity of 40 or more.

May 24, 2023 Pavement Design 3

 Heavy Vehicle Categories

Heavy vehicle categories Definition

Medium Goods Vehicles-MGV -2 axles, including steering axle, and

-3 tonnes empty weight or more

Heavy Goods Vehicles-HGV -3 axles, including steering axle, and

-3 tonnes empty weight or more

Very Heavy Goods Vehicles- -4 or more axles, incl. steering axle, and
VHGV -3 tonnes empty weight or more

Buses Seating capacity of 40 or more

May 24, 2023 Pavement Design 4

 Axle Configuration
• Each vehicle is given a simple axle configuration code for ease
of defining and processing the axle load data.
• The code is made up by the following system: Each axle is
represented by a digit, ‘1 ‘ and’ 2’ depending on how many
wheels are on the end of the axle.
• Tandem axles are indicated by recording the digits directly
after each other; a decimal point ‘ . ‘ is placed between code
digits for a vehicle’s front and rear wheels.
• The code for semi-trailers and articulated trailer are recorded
in the same way as for trucks but is separated from the truck
code by a minus ,-, sign. Similarly, for trailers a plus ‘+’ sign is
used.

May 24, 2023 Pavement Design 5

 System for Recording Axle Configuration

May 24, 2023 Pavement Design 6

 Axle Load Survey

May 24, 2023 Pavement Design 7

 Axle Load Survey Sheet

May 24, 2023 Pavement Design 8

 Design Life
• The design life is the period during which the road is
expected to carry traffic at a satisfactory level of
service, without requiring major rehabilitation or
repair work.
• For most road projects an economic analysis period of
between 10 and 20 years from the date of opening is
appropriate.
• The selection of design life will depend on a number
of factors and uncertainties, and must be specified by
the designer based on all available information, but
most times should be either 15 or 20 years.

May 24, 2023 Pavement Design 9

 Design Life Cont………
• For roads in Tanzania the currently recommended
design life is 20 years for flexible pavements.
• Whatever time period is chosen for the appraisal of a
project, the road will always have some residual value at
the end of this period.
• Design life does not mean that at the end of the period
the pavement will be completely worn out and in need
of reconstruction.
• It means that towards the end of the period the
pavement will need to be strengthened that it can
continue to carry traffic satisfactorily for a further
period.
May 24, 2023 Pavement Design 10
 Estimating Traffic Flow
• In order to determine the total traffic over the
design life of the road, the first step is to
estimate baseline traffic flows.
• The estimate should be the (Annual) Average
Daily Traffic (ADT) currently using the route,
classified into the vehicle categories of cars,
light goods vehicles, trucks (heavy goods
vehicles) and buses.
• The AADT is defined as the total annual traffic
summed for both directions and divided by
365.
May 24, 2023 Pavement Design 11
 Estimating Traffic Flow Cont……
• It is usually obtained by recording actual
traffic flows over a shorter period from which
the ADT is then estimated.
• For long projects, large differences in traffic
along the road may make it necessary to
estimate the flow at several locations.
• It should be noted that for structural design
purposes the traffic loading in one direction is
required and for this reason care is always
required when interpreting ADT.
May 24, 2023 Pavement Design 12
 In order to reduce error, it is recommended that traffic counts to
establish ADT at a specific site conform to the following
practice:
(i) The counts are for seven consecutive days.
(ii) The counts on some of the days are for a full 24 hours, with
preferably at least one 24-hour count on a weekday and one
during a weekend. On the other days 16-hour counts should
be sufficient. These should be grossed up to 24-hour values in
the same proportion as the 16-hour/24-hour split on those
days when full 24-hour counts have been undertaken.
(iii) Counts are avoided at times when travel activity is abnormal
for short periods due to the payment of wages and salaries,
public holidays, etc.

May 24, 2023 Pavement Design 13

 Traffic forecasting
(a)Normal traffic: Traffic which would pass along
the existing road or track even if no new
pavement were provided.
(b) Diverted traffic: Traffic that changes from
another route (or mode of transport) to the
project road because of the improved
pavement, but still travels between the same
origin and destination.
(c) Generated traffic: Additional traffic which
occurs in response to the provision or
improvement of the road.
May 24, 2023 Pavement Design 14
 EQUIVALENT FACTORS

• The damaging effect of an axle passing over the

pavement is expressed by the equivalency factor
related to an equivalent standard axle (E80] of 8160 kg
load:

• The Vehicle Equivalency Factor (VEF) for every vehicle

in the axle load survey is determined and an average
value is subsequently calculated for each heavy vehicle
category, for each lane separately.
• The average VEF for each heavy vehicle category, for
each lane, can then be applied to the results from
traffic counts to give the cumulative E80S.
May 24, 2023 Pavement Design 15
 Axle loaded to above 13 tonnes
• The proportion of the design traffic loading as a result
of axles loaded to above 13 tonnes shall be calculated
from axle load survey data.
• If this proportion is 50% or higher then the design
traffic loading is defined as Heavy(-H).

• The axle load data from the lane with the highest value
of E80 shall be used.

May 24, 2023 Pavement Design 16

May 24, 2023 Pavement Design 17
May 24, 2023 Pavement Design 18
 Traffic Load distribution between Lanes

May 24, 2023 Pavement Design 19

 Estimation of Design traffic loading
Design traffic loading is estimated based on
cumulative number of equivalent standard axles
(CESAL), E80, given by:-

Where: t1 = average daily number of standard

axles in the year of traffic survey
r = annual growth rate, and
n = calculated period in years.
 
May 24, 2023 Pavement Design 20
 Traffic Load Classes

May 24, 2023 Pavement Design 21

 Traffic Load Classes

May 24, 2023 Pavement Design 22

 Subgrade Strength Classes

May 24, 2023 Pavement Design 23

 Estimation of Traffic Loading

Example

Given
Design life = 15 years
Growth rate = 4.5%
Average daily number of standard axles = 760
Determine the CESAL

May 24, 2023 Pavement Design 24

May 24, 2023 Pavement Design 25
May 24, 2023 Pavement Design 26
 Design Traffic Loading

May 24, 2023 Pavement Design 27

May 24, 2023 Pavement Design 28