AASHTOPavementThicknessDesignGuide

Whendesigningpavementthicknessforflexibleandrigidpavements,thefollowingconsiderations
shouldbeused.
1. Performancecriteria(serviceabilityindexes).Conditionofpavementsareratedwithapresent
serviceabilityindex(PSI)rangingfrom5(perfectcondition)to0(impossibletotravel).
a. Initialserviceabilityindex(Po)PoisconsideredtobethatPSIimmediatelyafterthe
pavementisopen.AASHTOvaluesare4.5forrigidpavementand4.2forflexiblepavement.
b. Terminalserviceabilityindex(Pt)PtisconsideredtobethatPSIthatrepresentsthelowest
acceptablelevelbeforeresurfacingorreconstructionbecomesnecessary.

Pt=2.00forSecondaryRoads,LocalResidentialStreets.
Pt=2.25forMinorCollectors,IndustrialandCommercialStreets.
Pt=2.50forMajorCollectorsandallArterials.

c. Serviceabilityloss(dPSI)dPSIisthedifferencebetweenPoandPt(PoPt).ThedPSIisthe
basisforthepavementdesign.

2. Designvariables

a. Analysisperiod(n)nistheperiodoftimeforwhichtheanalysisistobeconducted.
Normally50yearsforconcreteand30yearsforasphalt.
b. DesignTraffic(ESALs)ESALsistheestimateofnumberofEquivalent18kipSingleAxle
Loads(ESALs)duringtheanalysisperiodisrequired.Thisvaluecanbeestimatedbasedon:

TheAverageAnnualDailyTraffic(AADT)inthebaseyear
Theaveragepercentageoftrucksexpectedtousetheroad
Theaverageannualtrafficgrowthrate,and
Theanalysisperiod
ToestimatethedesignESALs,thefollowingproceduremaybeused.
1.) ObtainanestimateofthedesignAADTforthebeginning,orbaseyearofthe
analysisperiod.
2.) ObtainanestimateoftheaveragepercentageoftheAADTthatwillbetrucks.
3.) CalculatetheESALsforthebaseyear.
4.) Calculatethegrowthfactorbasedontheannualtrafficgrowthrate(r%)andthe
analysisperiod(n).GrowthFactor=(((1+r)^n)1)/r
5.) MultiplythebaseyearESALsbytheGrowthFactortoobtainthetotalESALsforthe
analysisperiod.

c. Reliability(R%)/NormalDeviation(ZR)Ristheprobabilitythatthedesignwillsuccedfor
thelifeofthepavement.Thefollowingreliabilityandnormaldeviation(ZR)valuesare
recommended.
LocalStreets: R=80%,ZR=0.841
CollectorStreets: R=88%,ZR=1.270
ArterialStreets: R=95%,ZR=1.645

d. Overallstandarddeviation(So)SoisthecoefficientwhichdescribeshowwelltheAASHTO
RoadTestdatafitstheAASHTODesignEquations.Thelowertheoveralldeviation,the
bettertheequationsmodelthedata.Thefollowingrangesarerecommended.

RigidPavements: 0.30to0.40
FlexiblePavements: 0.40to0.50

3. Materialpropertiesforstructuraldesign

a. Roadbedsoilresilientmodulus(MR)MRisthepropertyofthesoilwhichindicatesthe
stiffnessorelasticityofthesoilunderdynamicloading.MRisalsoadjustedforseasonal
fluctuationfromtemperatureetc.

b. Modulusofsubgradereaction(kandkc)kisthemodulusofthesubgradesoil.

c. ApproximaterelationshipofktoMR: k=MR/19.4

d. Compositemodulusofsubgradereaction(kc)kcisthecompositemodulusofthesubbase
materials,whichwilltakeintoaccountanybaseplacedontopofthesubgrade.Ifabaseis
usedkcisinputintotheequationratherthank.
TypeofSoil Subgrade
Strength
KValueRange
(pci)
(Rigid
Pavement)
Resilient
Modulus
MR,(psi)
(Flexible
Pavement
CBR
Siltsandclaysofhighcompressibility(liquid
limit>=50),naturaldensity(notrecommended
forsubgradeswithouttreatment)
VeryLow 50 100 10002700 3or
less
Finegrainsoilsinwhichsiltandclaysize
particlespredominate(lowcompressibility,
liquidlimit<50)
Low 100 150 27004000 3to
5.5
Poorlygradessandsandsoilsthatare
predominatelysandywithmoderateamountsof
siltsandclays(welldrained)
Medium 150 220 40005700 5.5
to12
Gravelysoils,wellgradedsands,andsandgravel
mixturesrelativelyfreeofplasticfines
High 220 250+ >5700 >12

Approximatecompositemodulusofsubgradereaction(kc)forvariouspavementconditions.
SubgradekValue UntreatedSubbaseDepthvskc,pci,(LS=1)
4in 6in 8in 10in
50 27 31 34 37
100 43 47 51 56
150 57 62 66 71
200 70 74 78 85

Crushedstoneusek=100andkc=150for6to12inofthickness.

SubgradekValue BituminousSubbaseDepthvskc,pci,(LS=0)
4in 6in 8in 10in
50 84 112 141 170
100 144 198 243 288
150 221 277 334 392
200 284 351 419 487

SubgradekValue CementTreatedSubbaseDepthvskc,pci,(LS=0)
4in 6in 8in 10in
50 101 145 193 245
100 185 258 334 414
150 265 360 460 563
200 341 457 577 700

SubgradekValue LeanConcreteSubbaseDepthvskc,pci,(LS=1)
4in 6in 8in 10in
50 104 156 205 262
100 192 271 354 443
150 274 378 488 603
200 353 480 612 750

e. ConcretepropertiesModulusofElasticity(Ec)andModulusofRupture(Sc).Scisthe28
dayFlexuralStrengthoftheconcrete.EccanbederivedfromScasfollowsEc=5700(Sc).
FlexuralStrength(Sc)canalsobeapproximatedfromcompressivestrength(fc)asfollows:
Sc=2.3fc^0.667(psi).
f. Layercoefficients.Structurallayercoefficients(ai)arerequiredforflexiblepavement
design.Avalueforthesecoefficientsisassignedtoeachlayermaterialinthepavement
structureinordertoconvertactuallayerthicknessintostructuralnumber(SN).

Component Coefficient Minimum

Thickness
Surface/IntermediateCourse
HotMixAsphaltwithTypeAAggregate 0.44 2
HotMixAsphaltwithTypeBAggregate 0.40 2
BaseCourse
3

TypeBHotMixAsphalt 0.40 2
AsphaltTreatedBaseClassI 0.34 4
BituminousTreatedAggregateBase 0.23 6
AsphaltTreatedBaseClassII 0.26 4
ColdLaidBituminousConcreteBase 0.23 6
CementTreatedGranular(Aggregate)Base 0.20 6
SoilCementBase 0.15 6
Crushed(Graded)StoneBase 0.14 6
MacadamStoneBase 0.12 6
PortlandCementConcreteBase(New) 0.50
OldPortlandCementConcrete 0.40
CrackandSeatedPCC 0.250.30
RubblizedPCC 0.20
ColdinPlaceRecycled 0.220.27
SubbaseCourse
SoilCementSubbase 0.10 6
SoilLimeSubbase 0.10 6
GranularSubbase 0.10 4
SoilAggregateSubbase 0.05 4

4. Pavementstructuralcharacteristics
a. Coefficientofdrainage(CdorMi)Cdisthecoefficientofdrainageforrigidpavement
designusedtoaccountforimprovedordecreasedqualityofdrainage.Miisthecoefficient
ofdrainageforflexiblepavementdesignusedtomodifylayercoefficients.Waterunder
pavementisoneoftheprimarycausesofpavementfailure.Thiswillcontributeto
pavementpumpingunderlargenumbersofheavyloads.

Thefollowingdefinitionsareusedasaguide:

ExcellentdrainageMaterialdrainedto50%ofsaturationin2hours.
GooddrainageMaterialdrainedto50%ofsaturationin1day.
FairdrainageMaterialdrainedto50%ofsaturationin7days.
PoordrainageMaterialdrainedto50%ofsaturationin1month.
VerypoordrainageMaterialdoesnotdrain.

BasedonthesedefinitionstheCdorMivalueforFairdrainagewouldbe1.00.Avalueof
1.00wouldhavenoimpactonpavementthickness.Lowervaluesincreasetherequired
pavementthickness;highervaluesdecreasetherequiredpavementthickness.

RecommendedvaluesofCdforrigidpavement
PercentofTimePavementstructureisexposedtomoisturelevelsapproachingsaturation
Qualityof
Drainage
<1% 1 5% 5 25% >25%
Excellent 1.251.20 1.20 1.15 1.15 1.10 1.10
4

Good 1.201.15 1.15 1.10 1.10 1.00 1.00

Fair 1.151.10 1.10 1.00 1.00 0.90 0.90
Poor 1.101.00 1.00 0.90 0.90 0.80 0.80
VeryPoor 1.000.90 0.90 0.80 0.80 0.70 0.70

RecommendedvaluesofMiformodifyingstructurallayercoefficientsofuntreatedbaseand
subbasematerialsinflexiblepavements
PercentofTimePavementstructureisexposedtomoisturelevelsapproachingsaturation
Qualityof
Drainage
<1% 1 5% 5 25% >25%
Excellent 1.401.35 1.35 1.30 1.30 1.20 1.20
Good 1.351.25 1.25 1.15 1.15 1.00 1.00
Fair 1.251.15 1.15 1.05 1.00 0.80 0.80
Poor 1.151.05 1.05 0.80 0.80 0.60 0.60
VeryPoor 1.050.95 0.95 0.75 0.75 0.40 0.40

b. Loadtransfercoefficientsforjointedandcontinuousreinforcedpavements.Theoneitem
whichdistinguishesconcretepavement,isthetypeofjointusedtocontrolcrackingand
whetherornotsteeldowelsareusedinthejointforloadtransfer.Eachdesignprovidesa
differentleveloftransferofloadfromonesideofpavementjointtotheother.Toadjust
projectedpavementperformanceforvariousdesigns,theloadtransfercoefficient(J)is
used.

LoadTransfercoefficients(J)fortypicaldesigns
E18sMillions Doweled&Mesh Aggregate
InterlockEdge
Support
Continuous
Reinforcement
Class
No Yes No Yes No Yes
Upto0.3 3.2 2.7 3.2 2.8 Local
Streets/Roads
0.3to1 3.2 2.7 3.4 3.0 Local
Streets/Roads
1to3 3.2 2.7 3.6 3.1 Local
Streets/Roads
3to10 3.2 2.7 3.8 3.2 2.9 2.5 Arterials/Highways
10to30 3.2 2.7 4.1 3.4 3.0 2.6 Arterials/Highways
Over30 3.2 2.7 4.3 3.6 3.1 2.6 Arterials/Highways

c. Lossofsupportfactor(LS)LSisincludedinthedesignofrigidpavementstoaccountfor
thepotentiallossofsupportarisingfromsubbaseerosionand/ordifferentialverticalsoil
movement.

TypicalrangesofLSforvarioustypesofbasematerials.
TypeofMaterial LossofSupport(LS)
CementTreatedGranularBase
(E=1,000,000to2,000,000psi)
0.0 1.0
CementAggregateMixtures 0.0 1.0
5

(E=500,000to1,000,000psi)
AsphaltTreatedBase
(E=350,000to1,000,000psi)
0.0 1.0
BituminousStabilizedMixtures
(E=40,000to300,000psi)
0.0 1.0
LimeStabilized
(E=20,000to70,000psi)
1.0 3.0
UnboundGranularMaterials
(E=15,000to45,000psi)
1.0 3.0
FineGrainedorNaturalSubgradeMaterials
(E=3,000to40,000psi)
2.0 3.0

5. PavementReinforcement

a. General.Therearetwotypesofreinforcedrigidpavements.JointedReinforcedConcrete
Pavement(JRCP)andContinuouslyReinforcedConcretePavement(CRCP).Themajor
differenceisthatJRCPhasjointsandCRCPdoesnot.

b. JRCP

1) Slablength(L)distancebetweentransversejoints.
2) Steelworkingstress(fc)typicallyavalueequivalentto75%ofthesteelyieldstrength
isusedforworkingstress.ForGrade40andGrade60steel,thefcwouldbe30,000psi
and45,000psi,respectively.
3) Frictionfactor(F)Faccountsforthefrictionalresistancebetweenthebottomofthe
slabandthetopoftheunderlyingsubbaseorsubgradelayerandisbasicallyequivalent
toacoefficientoffriction.

Recommendedfrictionfactors(F)
TypeofMaterialBeneathSlab FrictionFactor(F)
SurfaceTreatment 2.2
LimeStabilization 1.8
AsphaltStabilization 1.8
CementStabilization 1.8
RiverGravel 1.5
CrushedStone 1.5
Sandstone 1.2
NaturalSubgradeMaterials 0.9