CHAPTER 2

FLEXIBLE ROAD
PAVEMENTS

1
2
3
Pavement failure

4
Fatigue cracking

5
Temperature cracking

6
7
 2.2 Flexible pavement design
•THE DESIGN PROCESS

There are three main steps to be followed in designing a new road

pavement. These are:
(i) Estimating the amount of traffic and the cumulative number of equivalent standard axles that will
use the road over the selected design life;
(ii) Assessing the strength of the subgrade soil over which the road is to be built;
iii) Selecting the most economical combination of pavement materials and layer thicknesses that will
provide satisfactory service over the design life of the pavement

8
 Traffic Analysis
• The deterioration of paved roads by traffic results both from
• Magnitude of Load
• Repetition of Load
• Hence, to design a paved highway, it is necessary to consider
• the traffic volume or the total number of vehicles that will use the road &
• to predict the number of repetitions of each axle load group (or wheel load
group) during the design period.
• The traffic volume is converted into cumulative equivalent standard axle loads
(ESAL or CESAL) using equivalency factors (EALF).
• CESAL is one design parameter in pavement design

9
Design Period
The length or duration of time during which the pavement structure is expected to
function satisfactorily without the need for major intervention (rehabilitation such as
overlays or reconstruction) or the duration in time until the pavement structure reaches its
terminal condition (failure condition). Selecting appropriate design period depends on
Functional importance of the road

Traffic volume

Location and terrain of the project

Financial constraints

Difficulty in forecasting traffic

10
ERA recommended: Design Period
Road Classification Design Period (years)

Trunk Road 20
Link Road 20
Main Access Road 15
Other Roads 10

11
Determine Traffic Volume (ADT, AADT)
i) Vehicle classification
 
 Small axle loads from private cars and other light vehicles do not cause significant pavement
damage.
 Damage is caused by heavier vehicles (commercial vehicles)
ERA Vehicle Classification

Vehicle Type of Vehicle Description

Code
1 Small car Passenger cars, minibuses (up to 24-passenger seats), taxis, pick-ups,
    and Land Cruisers, Land Rovers, etc.
     
2 Bus Medium and large size buses above 24 passenger seats
     
3 Medium Truck Small and medium sized trucks including tankers up to 7 tons load
     
    Trucks above 7 tons load
4 Heavy Truck  
    Trucks with trailer or semi-trailer and Tanker Trailers
5 Articulated Truck
12
 Traffic Count necessary:
 To assess the traffic-carrying capacity of different types of roads
 Examine the distribution of traffic between the available traffic lanes
 In the preparation of maintenance schedules for in-service roads
 In the forecasting of expected traffic on a proposed new road from traffic studies on the
surrounding road system

Traffic volume data determined from

o Historical traffic data available in relevant authorities (ERA conducts regular 3 times a year (Feb.,
Jul., Nov.) traffic counts on its major road network) and/or
o By conducting classified traffic counts:

 On the road to be designed – if the road is an existing road and the project is Upgrading,
Rehabilitation, Maintenance, reconstruction, etc.
 On other parallel routes and/or adjacent roads – for new roads
13
 Traffic volume data may vary daily, weekly, seasonally.

 Hence to avoid error in traffic analysis and capture the average yearly trend,
minimum 7 days count recommended

 ERA recommended procedure

o Conduct 7 days classified traffic count
 5 days for 16 hrs

 Minimum 2 days for 24 hrs (one week day and one weekend)

• For long projects, there may be large difference in traffic volume along the road
and hence it is necessary to make the traffic counts at several locations

14
ADT (Average Daily Traffic)
 ADT is determined from the traffic count data as follows
o Adjust the 16hrs traffic count data into 24hr data by multiplying with the
average night adjustment factor
 Night adjustment factor = (24hr traffic)/(16hr traffic) :- obtained from the two days 24hr
count data.

o (ADT)o = the current Average Daily Traffic = Average of the 7 days 24 hr

traffic volume data

15
(AADT)o (Annual Average Daily Traffic = total
annual traffic in both directions divided by 365)
 In order to capture the average annual traffic flow trend, adjustment must be
made for seasonal traffic variation,

 Hence traffic count as above must be made at different representative seasons

(ERA conducts traffic counts on February, July and November)

 Make adjustment to (ADT)o – based on the season at which the current traffic
count belongs to and based on seasonal adjustment factors for the road (or similar
roads) derived from historic traffic data (ERA or other regional/national sources)

 (AADT)o = (ADT)o adjusted for seasonal variation

16
Traffic Forecast – determining traffic
growth rate over the design period
 Very uncertain process

 Requires making analysis and forecast of past and future traffic growth trends,
social and economic development trends, etc

 In forecasting, Traffic categorized into the following:

 Normal Traffic: Traffic that would pass along the existing road or track even if no
new or improved pavement were provided.
o Forecasted by extrapolating data on traffic levels and assume that growth will remain either
 Constant in absolute terms i.e. a fixed number of vehicles per year, or
 Constant in relative terms i.e. a fixed percentage increase.
o Growth rate can also be related linearly to anticipated Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

17
 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.
o Origin and destination surveys (O/D survey) should preferably be carried out to
provide data on the traffic diversions likely to arise.
•  
 Generated Traffic:
o Additional traffic which occurs in response to the provision or improvement of the
road.
o It may arise either because a journey becomes more attractive by virtue of a cost or
time reduction or because of the increased development that is brought about by the
road investment.
o Generated traffic is also difficult to forecast accurately and can be easily
overestimated.

18
Axle Load Survey
 Carried out together with the traffic count
 Portable vehicle(wheel) weighing devices or weigh in motion (WIM)
devices can be used for survey
 Each axle of the vehicle is weighed and EALF computed for each axle
4.5
 Lx 
EALF   
 80 

Each axle of a tandem axle or tridem axle assembly is considered as one

repetition and EALF calculated for each axle i.e. a tandem axle constitutes
2 load repetitions and a tridem axle constitutes 3 load repetitions.
(according to ERA Pavement design manual) 19
EF = (L/8160)n (for loads in kg) or
EF = (L/80)n (for loads in kN)
Where:
EF = number of equivalentstandard axles (ESAs)
L = axle load (in kg or kN)
n = damage exponent (n = 4.5).

20
  Truck factor
o Truck factor can be computed for each vehicle by summing up the number of
ESAL per vehicle
o Average truck factor can be computed for each vehicle category (for example for
Buses, Light Trucks, Medium Trucks, etc.), by summing up the ESAL of all the
vehicles in each category and dividing by the number of vehicles (of that
category) weighed:
n

 ESAL
j 1
j

TFi  (3.29)
n
Where TFi = Truck factor for the ith vehicle category
n = number of vehicles weighed (of the ith vehicle category) during the axle load
survey
ESALj = number of equivalent standard axle loads for the jth vehicle

21
Design Traffic Loading
• The data and parameters obtained from the studies discussed in the
preceding sections can now be used to estimate the design cumulative
design traffic volume and loading.
• 
i) Adjustment for Lane and Directional Distribution of Traffic – the
AADT should be adjusted as follows
Lane Distribution Factor (P): accounts for the proportion of
commercial vehicles in the design lane. For two lane highways, the
lane in each direction is the design lane, so the lane distribution factor
is 100%. For multilane highways, the design lane is the heavily loaded
lane (outside lane).
22
 Table 3-2: Lane Distribution Factors (ERA/AASHTO)

Number of Lanes Percent Traffic (ESAL)

in each direction in design Lane
1 100
2 80 – 100
3 60 – 80
4 50 – 75
Directional Distribution Factor (D): factor that accounts for any directional variation
in total traffic volume or loading pattern. It is usually 0.5 (50%). However, could be
adjusted based on actual condition (if there is directional tendency to commercial
vehicle distribution (volume or loading); for example if the heavy vehicles in one
direction are loaded and come back empty in the other direction).

23
i) Calculating (AADT)1

 AADT1 = Annual Average Daily Traffic (both directions) at year of Road Opening
(year at which construction works are completed and the whole road is made open for
traffic).

 If time between traffic count year (design time) and estimated year of road opening =
x, then
• AADT1 = AADT0 (1+r)x (3.30)

 Note that AADT1 is used as the Design Traffic Parameter for Gravel Roads (ERA
Pavement Design Manual)
24
Cumulative Traffic Volume (T) – can be computed for all traffic (T) or for each vehicle class (Ti)
Ti = 365 (P) (D) AADT1i [(1+ri)N – 1] / ( ri )

Ti = cumulative volume of traffic for the ith commercial vehicle class in the design lane over the
design period (adjusted for lane distribution and direction).
ri = annual growth rate for the ith commercial vehicle class
P = Lane distribution factor; D = Directional distribution factor
N = Design Period in years
Design Traffic (Cumulative Equivalent Standard Axle Load - CESAL) – is computed by
multiplying the total traffic volume for each vehicle category (Ti) by its corresponding truck factor
(TFi)

25
 Design Traffic Load = CESAL=∑(Ti x TFi) (3.32)
i) The CESAL is used to determine the traffic class to be employed for pavement design.
Table 2-5: ERA Traffic Classes for Flexible Pavement Design
Traffic classes Range (106 ESAs)
T1 <0.3
T2 0.3 – 0.7
T3 0.7 – 1.5
T4 1.5 – 3
T5 3–6
T6 6 – 10
T7 10 – 17
T8 17 – 30

26
Design Example
Initial traffic volumes in terms of AADTs have been established for 2001 for a section of
a trunk road under study, as follows:

Vehicle classification 2001 AADT

 
Car 250
Bus 40
Truck 130
Truck-trailer180
 
The anticipated traffic growth is a constant 5%, and the opening of the road is scheduled
for 2005. In addition, an axle load survey has been conducted, giving representative axle
loads for the various classes of heavy vehicles, such as given below for truck-trailers (it
is assumed that the loads are equally representative for each direction of traffic): 27
 Axle loads (Kg)
Vehicle No Axle 1 Axle 2 Axle 3 Axle 4

1 6780 14150 8290 8370

2 6260 12920 8090 9940
3 6350 13000 8490 9340
4 5480 12480 7940 9470
5 6450 8880 6290 10160
6 5550 12240 8550 10150
7 5500 11820 7640 9420
8 4570 13930 2720 2410
9 4190 15300 3110 2450
10 4940 15060 2880 2800

The projected AADTs in 2005 can be calculated as (AADTs in 2001) x (1.05)3, and the
corresponding one-directional volumes for each class of vehicle in 2005 are:
28
Vehicle classification One-directional traffic volume in 2001
 
Car 145
Bus 23
Truck 75
Truck-trailer 104

Selecting, for this trunk road, a design period of 20 years, the cumulative number of
vehicles in one direction over the design period is calculated as:

Vehicle classification Cumulative no. of vehicles in one direction over 20 years

Car 365x145[(1.05)20-1]/0.05=1750016
Bus 365x23[(1.05)20-1]/0.05=277589
Truck 365x75[(1.05)20-1]/0.05=905180
Truck-trailer365x104[(1.05)20-1]/0.05=1255184
29
Equivalency factors for the sample of truck-trailers, and a mean equivalency factor for that
class of heavy vehicles, can be calculated as outlined below:

Vehicle No Axle 1 Axle 2 Axle 3 Axle 4 Total

Load Factor Load Factor Load Factor Load Factor Factor
1 6780 0.43 14150 11.91 8290 1.07 8370 1.12 14.54
2 6260 0.30 12920 7.91 8090 0.96 9940 2.43 11.60
3 6350 0.32 13000 8.13 8490 1.20 9340 1.84 11.49
4 5480 0.17 12480 6.77 7940 0.88 9470 1.95 9.77
5 6450 0.35 8880 1.46 6290 0.31 10160 2.68 4.80
6 5550 0.18 12240 6.20 8550 1.23 10150 2.67 10.28
7 5500 0.17 11820 5.30 7640 0.74 9420 1.91 8.12
8 4570 0.07 13930 11.10 2720 0.01 2410 0.00 11.18
9 4190 0.05 15300 16.92 3110 0.01 2450 0.00 16.99
10 4940 0.10 15060 15.76 2880 0.01 2800 0.01 15.88
Mean equivalency factor for truck-trailers = 11.47
30
•For the sake of this example, it will be assumed that similar calculations have been performed,
giving mean equivalency factors for buses and trucks of 0.14 and 6.67 respectively.
 
•Finally, the cumulative numbers of ESAs over the design period are calculated as follows,
using the cumulative numbers of vehicles previously calculated and the equivalency factors:
 
Vehicle classification Cum. no. of vehicles Equivalency factor 106 ESAs
 
Car 1750016 0.00 0.0
Bus 277589 0.14 0.0
Truck 905180 6.67 6.0
Truck-trailer1255184 11.47 14.4
Total ESAs = 20.4

•Based on the above analysis, the trunk road under study would belong to the traffic class T8
for flexible pavement design.

31
Design Subgrade Strength
To determine the subgrade strength for the design of the road pavement, it
is necessary to first determine the density-moisture content-strength
relationship(s) specific to the subgrade soil(s) encountered along the road
under study.

It is then necessary to select the density which will be representative of the

subgrade once compacted and to estimate the subgrade moisture content
that will ultimately govern the design, i.e. the moisture content after
construction.
32
Design CBR and Design Subgrade Strength
Class
Figure below shows a detailed dry density/moisture content/CBR
relationship for a sandy-clay soil that was obtained by compacting
samples at several moisture contents to three levels of compaction.

By interpolation, a design subgrade CBR of about 15 per cent is

obtained if a relative density of 100 percent of the maximum dry
density obtained in the ASTM Test Method D 698 Test is specified and
the subgrade moisture content was estimated to be 20 percent.
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
ROAD DRAINAGE
Surface Drainage
Aspects of surface drainage that require special consideration for drainage design include:
• Aquaplaning (e.g. pavement widening may create a problem where before there
was none);
• The application of super elevation in the initial stage may need to suit the ultimate
stage;
• Use of crowned multi-lane one-way carriageways to reduce aquaplaning will
impact on drainage design (e.g. a third lane added to the median inside of a twolane carriageway may be
crowned and so drain towards the median); and
• Addition of kerbing / kerb and channelling in the future (e.g. channelling of
unchannelled intersection, when widening a two-lane carriageway to three lanes).
44
• When rain falls on a sloped pavement surface, it forms a thin film of
water that increases in thickness as it flows to the edge of the
pavement. Factors which influence the depth of water on the
pavement are the length of flow path, surface texture, surface
slope, and rainfall intensity.
• As the depth of water on the pavement increases, the potential
for vehicular hydroplaning increases. For the purposes of road
drainage, a discussion of hydroplaning is presented and design
guidance for the following drainage elements is presented:
• Longitudinal pavement slope;
• Cross or transverse pavement slope;
• Curb and gutter design;
• Roadside and median ditches;
• Bridge decks.
45
Sub-Surface Drainage
Aspects of sub-surface drainage that require special consideration
for drainage design
include:
• Location and capacity of sub-soil drains;
• Location of outlets and cleanout points to allow for ultimate shape; and
• Changes to the water table and groundwater flows.

46
• Paved and unpaved roads are subjected to problems associated with
excess water within the foundation structure of the roadway.
• This excess water originates from water infiltrating along the
roadway surface, groundwater seeping in from upslope areas, high
water in roadway ditches or groundwater rising up from beneath the
roadway.
• Sub-surface drainage of highway pavements comprises the measures
incorporated in the design in order to control levels of
groundwater, and drain the road foundation.
• Subsurface drainage is normally necessary in order to remove any
water which may permeate through the pavement layers of roads in
both cut and fill situations.

47
The key factors determining the need for subsurface drainage may be categorized
as:
• Traffic loads, which include volume and weight (axle):
• Factors influencing the amount of free water entering the pavement system,
which include:
o Climatic factors of rainfall and temperature (freezing and thawing);
o Ground water;
o Roadway geometry;
o Pavement type and condition;
• Factors that increase potential for moisture-related pavement damage, such
as;
o Subgrade type, strength, and condition ;
o Type of pavement material used; and
o Design features such as pavement thickness, etc.
48
49
 VEHICLE CATAGORIES
year(G.C) Cars L/R S/B L/B S/T M/T H/T T/T
2007 46 484 466 188 272 180 294 50
2008 48 500 472 202 256 192 316 68
2009 58 508 526 276 288 220 338 78
2010 54 562 498 196 268 186 314 108
2011 76 628 530 202 242 286 444 140
2012 118 636 610 184 298 252 314 88
2013 146 746 610 186 386 188 286 80
2014 172 776 628 212 410 202 344 102
2015 188 800 654 230 448 248 338 136
2016 216 788 664 242 464 296 376 170

50
 Questions!

I thank you all!

51