Trafifc Loading

Nikhil Saboo, BITS Pilani

Methods

Traffic is the most important parameter for pavement design

Fixed Traffic
Fixed Vehicle
Variable traffic and vehicle
Fixed Traffic

Thickness of the pavement = f(Single wheel load).

Repetitions of the load is NOT considered.
The heaviest wheel is taken for design
Most frequently used for airport or highway pavements with heavy
loads.
Not used nowadays.
Fixed Vehicle

No. of repetition of standard single axle load of 80 kN.

If the axle load is not 80 kN or consists of tandem or tridem axles, it must be
converted to an 80kN single-axle load by an equivalent axle load factor (EALF) .
The number of repetitions under each single- or multiple-axle load must be
multiplied by its EALF to obtain the equivalent effect based on an 80 kN single-
axle load.
A summation of the equivalent effects of all axle loads during the design period
results in an equivalent single-axle load (ESAL).
Variable traffic and vehicle

Load can be divided into number of groups and stresses and strains
under each load can be seen separately and used for design.
This method has long been employed by the PCA with the use of
design charts.
Equivalent axle load factor (ESAL)

Defined as the damage per pass to a pavement by the axle in question relative
to the damage per pass of a standard axle load, usually the 80kN single-axle
load.
ESAL =
=1
Where, m is the number of axle load groups, is the EALF for the ith-axle load
group, and is the number of passes of the ith-axle load group during the
design period.
EALF depends upon the type of pavement, thickness or structural capacity and
terminal conditions.
EALF for flexible pavements

EALF can be determined from the failure criteria.

Nf = f1 * (t)-f2 * (E1)-f3
18 4
EALF = =( )
18

Where, is the tensile strain at the bottom of asphalt layer due to

an x-axle load and 18 is the tensile strain at the bottom of asphalt
layer due to an 80-kN axle load
EALF for flexible pavements

If, is a single axle, strainaxle load

4
EALF = ( )
18
4
A general equation: EALF = ( )

Where, LS is the load in kip on standard axles which have the same number of axles
as Lx .
4
EALF between A and B = ( )

4
EALF for B = ( )

4 4
EALF for A = ( ) * ( )

 Traffic Analysis

To design the pavements, it is essential to predict the number of load repetitions of

each axle load group during the design period.
ni = Total number of load repetitions of ith load group.
= (no)i * G * D * L * 365 * Y
Where,
(no)i is the initial number of repetitions per day for the ith load group,
G is the growth factor,
D is the directional distribution factor, which is usually assumed to be 0.5 unless
the traffic in two directions is different,
L is the lane distribution factor which varies with the volume of traffic and the
number of lanes and
Y is the design period in years .
Traffic Analysis

If the design is based on ESAL,

(no)i = (piFi)(ADT)o(T)(A)
Where, pi is the percentage of total repetitions for the ith load
group, F is the equivalent axle load factor (EALF) for the ith load
group, (ADT)o is the average daily traffic at the start of the design
period, T is the percentage of trucks in the ADT, and A is the
average number of axles per truck.
Cumulative ESAL = ( =1 piFi)

(ADT)o(T)(A)(G)(D)(L)(365)(Y)
Traffic Analysis

=1 piFi) * A = Truck factor = VDF

(
1+ 1
G*Y =

1+ 1
Cumulative ESAL = 365 * [ ]* L*D*T*VDF*(ADT)o