PAVEMENT DESIGN

1. Typical pavement sections

Typical pavement from Roman Empire

Typical modern pavement

2. Pavement Types

2.1 Flexible pavements

! Generally consists of a relatively thin wearing surface built over

a base course and sub-base course resting upon a compacted
subgrade.
! Load carrying capacity is brought about by the load distributing
characteristics of the layered system. The thick layers distribute
the load over the subgrade rather than by the bending action of a
slab.
! The thickness is influenced by the strength of the subgrade.
Thus, if the asphalt pavement has high stiffness combined with
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 excellent subgrade characteristics, it will behave essentially as a
rigid pavement

2.2 Rigid Pavements

! Applies to wearing surfaces constructed of Portland (or other

suitable type) cement concrete. It consists of the concrete slab
and the sub-base layer resting on compacted subgrade.
! Three types: plain concrete (most common in the Philippines),
reinforced concrete and pre-stressed concrete.
! Due to its rigidity and high modulus of elasticity, rigid
pavements tend to distribute loads over a relatively wide area of
soil. Thus, a major portion of structural capacity is supplied by
the slab itself (i.e., structural strength of concrete).
! Minor variations in subgrade strength have little influence upon
the structural capacity of the pavement.

3. Road Materials

3.1 Aggregates

! “Shall consist of hard durable particles or fragments of crushed

stone, crushed slag or crushed or natural gravel.” – DPWH
Standard Specifications
! In order for aggregates to be classified as good quality, various
tests must be undertaken:
1) Test of strength (AASHTO T-96 also known as the Los
Angeles Rattler Test) – to determine coefficient of wear by
determining amount of loss through the rattler test.
2) Test for soundness (AASHTO T-104) – to determine
resistance to deterioration from the effects of action like
freezing and thawing using sodium or magnesium sulfate.

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 3) Test for affinity and swell (AASHTO T-165) – to determine
if the material has the tendency to strip or swell under the
effects of water. Note that strong and durable pavement must
have a binder that adhere or stick firmly to the aggregate
particles. If the binder separates of strips off from the
aggregate, the pavement will eventually disintegrate.
4) Test for shape and texture :
a. Relatively rounded smooth aggregates like natural
gravel is recommended for Portland cement concrete
pavements because the mixture is workable.
b. Angular or cubical shape and rough surface texture
aggregates are excellent materials for asphalt
pavements because it has strong interlocking action plus
well adherence of asphalt binder to the particles.
c. Thin or elongated pieces of dirt are considered
undesirable material.
5) Test for resistance to polishing – one good criterion for
pavement design is the high coefficient of friction between
the tire and the road surface. Some considerations include:
a. If in so short a time, the aggregate surface of the road
becomes polished and slippery, the coefficient of
friction will be dangerously low.
b. The skid resistance is directly related to polishing and
measurement may be necessary as part of the road
inventory.
c. Aggregates from limestone are susceptible to polishing
while those from sandstone or fine grained igneous
types are not.
d. Limestone coarse aggregates containing large amounts
of sand that are insoluble in diluted hydrochloric acid
are resistant to polishing.
e. Friction factor between the tire and the road will be
increased substantially if silica sand is included in the
mixture.

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 6) Degradation Test (AASHTO T-210) – to determine
degradation in the presence of water

4. Determining Strength and Stiffness of the Subgrade

4.1 Importance of subgrade strength

! It is required that the layers of pavement and the subgrade

foundation be capable of sustaining the stresses applied to them
by repeated vehicle loading without suffering permanent
deformation.
! When a vehicle wheel load is applied to a road surface, the
resulting stresses are distributed through the pavement layers to
the ground and the load is spread over an increasing area as it
is transmitted downwards.
! There must be a thick enough pavement over the subgrade to
ensure that the soil is not overstressed.
! The greater strength of the soil, the thinner the pavement
layers need to be.
! The load carrying capacity of the subgrade is a principal factor
for determining the required pavement thickness.

4.2 California Bearing Ratio

! It is the most common method of assessing strength and
stiffness of both subgrade and pavement materials.
! Test procedure is relatively simple and practical.
! The test involves measuring resistance of soil to penetration by a
standard cylindrical piston, expressed as a percentage fraction of
a standard resistance that was originally measured in test on
good quality crush rock. [Thus, to say that the soil has a CBR
value of 20 means that in the condition tested, the resistance to
penetration of the standard piston was 20% of the standard

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 resistance of a compacted crushed rock (3,000 lbs load at a
penetration of 0.1 inch).]
! CBR depends not only on the nature of the material but to a
large extent on its moisture content and its state of compaction.
[Note that some clays can produce CBR values in excess of 100
when dry and hard and as low as 1 when saturated.]
! It is important to make sure that the CBR test is conducted on
samples that are:
a. Truly representative of the soils that will form the
subgrade of the road;
b. Compacted to the same dry density as may be reasonably
be expected to be produced by compaction equipment in
the field; and
c. At a moisture content representing the worst equilibrium
conditions in the subgrade under the pavement.

4.3 Effective Roadbed Soil Resilient Modulus (MR)

! Basis for subgrade soil property;

! Estimated from Roadbed Soil Modulus and the corresponding
relative damage value, uf

The Asphalt Institute published equations relating MR and CBR:

MR (kPa) = 10,340 CBR (SI units) [Eq. 1]
MR (psi) = 1,500 CBR (US units) [Eq. 2]

5. Design Methods
5.1 Cases
Design cases applicable to highway projects:
(1) New construction of flexible pavements;
(2) New construction of rigid pavements; and
(3) Reconstruction of existing pavements

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5.2 TRRL Design Method

5.2.1 New bituminous surfaced flexible pavements to carry

traffic up to 2.5 million standard axles

Chart 1 provides the appropriate thicknesses for the different

pavement layers.

Chart 1: Design chart for flexible pavements carrying up to 2.5

million standard axles

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! The thickness of sub-base requirement is governed by the CBR
of the subgrade and the cumulative number of standard axles to
be carried. If the CBR of the subgrade is 25% or more, no sub-
base is required. If it is less than 25%, a thickness of 100mm
(minimum practicable for construction) is required for CBRs of
8 to 24%.
! Types of base course material:
a) Mechanically-stable natural gravel or crushed gravel;
b) Crushed rock;
c) Cement or lime stabilized soil;
d) Asphalt-stabilized sand;
e) Natural rock asphalt

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5.2.2 New flexible pavements to carry heavier traffic
(> 2.5 million axles)

a. Sub-base thickness

If the CBR value of the subgrade exceeds 30%, there is no need to

use any sub-base. When the CBR is between 8% to 29%, a
minimum thickness of sub-base of 150mm should be used.

Chart 2: Sub-base thickness for flexible pavements carrying

over 1 million standard axles

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b. Base course thickness

The base course may comprise one or a combination of the

following materials:
1) Crushed aggregates; 3) Natural rock asphalt;
2) Cement treated aggregates; 4) Bituminous plant-mix.

c. Surface thickness

The minimum surface thickness corresponding to the base course

thickness is also shown in the following Charts 3, 4 and 5.

Chart 3: Crushed Aggregate Base Course

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 Chart 4: Cement Treated Base Course

Chart 5: Bituminous Plant Mix Base Course

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5.2.3 New construction of rigid pavements

! The rigid pavement consists of a cement concrete slab resting on

a granular sub-base.
! The major stress producing factors are vehicle loading and
temperature changes.
! The most critical time is the 3-day period immediately following
the laying because tensile strength is at its lowest.
! The first stages of disintegration may begin within the first day.

a. Sub-base thickness

Table 1: Recommended sub-base thickness in relation to CBR

Subgrade
<2% 2 to 4% 4 to 6% 6 to 15% >15%
CBR
Sub-base
280 mm 180 mm 130 mm 100 mm 100 mm*
thickness
* If subgrade is free draining and has a CBR over 15%, then no sub-base is required.

b. Slab thickness

Chart 6:
Cement Concrete Pavements: minimum thickness of slabs

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5.3 AASHTO Design Method

5.3.1 Flexible pavement design

The following parameters are required under the AASHTO

method:
a) Terminal Serviceability Index (Pt);
b) Reliability (R)
c) Cumulative standard axle load;
d) Overall Standard Deviation (So);
e) Regional Factor (RF);
f) Effective Roadbed Soil Resilient Modulus (Mr)
g) Structural Number (SN); and
h) Layer coefficients (a1, a2, and a3).

Reliability (R) – predetermined level of assurance that pavement

sections will survive the period for which they were designed.

Overall standard deviation (So) – accounts for standard variation

in materials and construction, the chance variation in traffic
prediction, and the normal variation in pavement performance.

Initial serviceability index (Pi) – function of pavement

construction quality [From AASHO road test: flexible – 4.2;
rigid – 4.5]

Terminal serviceability index (Pt) – lowest index that is tolerable

for a pavement before it requires rehabilitation [2.5 for major
highways; 2.0 for other pavements]

Change in Serviceability (∆PSI) – difference between initial

serviceability and terminal serviceability; should also include
the loss of serviceability during the design period due to the
potential subgrade swelling

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Effective Roadbed Soil Resilient Modulus (Mr) – basis for
subgrade soil property; estimated from Roadbed Soil Modulus
and the corresponding relative damage value, uf

Recall: The Asphalt Institute published equations relating Mr and CBR:

Mr (kPa) – 10,340 CBR (SI units)
Mr (psi) – 1,500 CBR (US units)

Determination of Design Structural Number (SN)

! Use nomograph constructed from the equation on top of the
figure as shown in Chart 7.

Selection of Pavement Thickness Designs

SN = a1D1 + a2D2m2 + a3D3m3 [Eq. 3]

Where: ai = layer coefficient of layer i
Di = thickness of layer i
mi = drainage modifying factor for layer i

Table 2: Structural Layer Coefficients

Pavement Component Layer Coefficient
Asphalt Concrete, good condition 0.38*
Asphalt Concrete, fair condition 0.20 – 0.30
Asphalt Concrete, bad condition 0.15
Bituminous Surface Treatment 0.20
Bituminous Macadam 0.20
Cement Concrete, good condition 0.44**
Cement Concrete, fair condition 0.35**
Cement Concrete, bad condition 0.20**
Cement Concrete, very bad condition 0.15**
Cement Treated Base, 4.5 MN/m2 0.23
Cement Treated Base, 2.8 – 4.5 MN/m2 0.20
Cement Treated Base, 2.8 MN/m2 0.17***
Crushed Gravel Base 0.15***
Broken Stone Macadam Base 0.14

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 Pavement Component Layer Coefficient
Granular Sub-base 0.11
Sub-base 0.07
Remarks:
* Reduced from AASHTO
** Not included in AASHTO Guide, The values were estimated from the Asphalt Institute
Manual MS-17.
*** Increased from AASHTO’s 0.15 and 0.14, respectively

Table 3: Recommended mi values for modifying structural

layer coefficients of untreated base and sub-base materials in
flexible pavements
Percent of the time pavement structure is
Quality of exposed to moisture levels approaching
drainage saturation
< 1% 1% - 5% 5% - 25% >25%
Excellent 1.40 – 1.35 1.35 – 1.30 1.30 – 1.20 1.20
Good 1.35 – 1.25 1.25 – 1.15 1.15 – 1.00 1.00
Fair 1.25 – 1.15 1.15 – 1.05 1.00 – 0.80 0.80
Poor 1.15 – 1.05 1.05 – 0.80 0.80 – 0.60 0.60
Very Poor 1.05 – 0.95 0.95 – 0.75 0.75 – 0.40 0.40

Table 4: Regional Factors

Regional
Roadbed condition
Factor
Located in an area with low degree of rainfall
1.0
(Average yearly rainfall is less than 900mm)
The soil is porous
1.0
(with porosity of more than 10.5 m/s)
General condition with sufficient drainage 1.5 – 2.0
Insufficient drainage due to terrain condition, or it
does not function in flood season and the soil water 2.5 – 3.5
reaches the sub-grade level periodically
Swampy area where the soil surface or sub-grade
4.0 – 5.0
is wet through the year
*In the Philippines, it is suggested that a Regional Factor of 1.0 is used.

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Pavement Design
15

Chart 7: Design Chart for Flexible Pavements Based on Using Mean Values for Each Input
General Procedure for Selection of Layer Thickness

The procedure for estimating the pavement layer thickness usually

starts from the top:

1) Using E2 (modulus of the base course) as Mr and Chart 7,

determine SN1 required to protect the base, and compute the
thickness of layer 1 (D1):
SN 1
D1* ≥
a1

SN1* = a1 D1* ≥ SN1

2) Using E3 (modulus of the sub-base course) as Mr and Chart 7,

determine SN2 required to protect the sub-base, and compute the
thickness of layer 2 (D2):

* SN 2 − SN 1*
D ≥
2
a 2 m2

(SN *
1 + SN 2* ) = (a1 D1* + a2 D2*m2 ) ≥ SN 2

3) Using the roadbed soil resilient modulus Mr and Chart 7,

determine SN3 required to protect the subgrade, and compute the
thickness of layer 3 (D3):]

* SN 3 − SN 2* − SN 1*
D ≥
3
a 3 m3

(SN *
1 + SN 2* + SN 3* ) = (a1 D1* + a2 D2*m2 + a3 D3*m3 ) ≥ SN 3

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Additional Charts for the AASHTO Design Method
The following charts were developed by the AASHTO for the
estimation of the structural layer coefficients (ai):

Chart 8: Chart for estimating structural layer coefficient of

dense-grade asphalt concrete based on the elastic (resilient)
modulus. [Source: AASHTO]

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 Chart 9: Variation in layer coefficient (a2) for bituminous-
treated bases with base strength parameter.
[Source: AASHTO]

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Chart 10: Variation in granular base layer coefficient (a2) with
various base strength parameters. [Source: AASHTO]

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 Chart 11: Variation in granular sub-base layer coefficient (a3)
with various sub-base strength parameters.
[Source: AASHTO]

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 Chart 12: Variation in a2 for cement –treated bases with base
strength parameters. [Source: AASHTO]

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Example application of the AASHTO and TRRL Design
Methods for Pavement Design

#1 Flexible pavement design

Design the flexible pavement for a certain road section given the
following:
Load = 2.2 million ESA’s (cumulative over 10 years)
R = 95%
So = 0.35
∆PSI = 1.9
Subgrade CBR = 5%

A. AASHTO Method

From the formula relating MR and CBR:

MR = 0.05 (100) (1,500) = 7,500 psi

! Surface layer will be of asphalt concrete (a1 = 0.38)

! Base layer will be of granular material. (a2 = 0.15)
! Sub-base material will also be of granular material. (a3 = 0.11)
! Assume local conditions for the drainage modifying factors and
the Regional Factor.

1) Using the modulus of the base course (i.e., using Chart 10, this
would be about 32,500 psi) as MR and Chart 7, determine SN1
required to protect the base, and compute the thickness of layer
1 (D1):
SN1 22.3.2
D1* ≥ ≥ ≥ 56..81”
" (6.5”~ 170mm)
(6” ~ 160mm)
a1 0.38

SN1* = a1 D1* ≥ SN1

SN1* = 00.38(6.5)
.38 ⋅ 6 = 2.=282.47
≥ 2.2> 2.3

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2) Using the modulus of the sub-base course (i.e., using Chart 11,
this would be about 15,000 psi) as MR and Chart 7, determine
SN2 required to protect the sub-base, and compute the thickness
of layer 2 (D2):
SN 2 − SN1* 33.0-2.47
.0 − 2.28
*
D ≥
2 ≥ ≥ 43.6” (4.0”
.8" (5” ~ 110mm)
~ 130mm)
a2m2 0.15

(SN *
1 + SN 2* ) = (a1 D1* + a2 D2*m2 ) ≥ SN 2

(SN *
1 + SN 2* ) = (0.38(6.5)
0.38 ⋅ 6 + 0+ ⋅ 5) = 3.=
.150.15(4) 033.07
≥ 3.0> 3.0

3) Using the roadbed soil resilient modulus MR and Chart 7,

determine SN3 required to protect the sub-grade, and compute
the thickness of layer 3 (D3):
SN 3 − SN 2* − SN1* 3.9
3.9 -− 2.47
2.28 −- 0.60
0.75
*
D ≥
3 ≥ ≥ 77.6”
.9" (8.0” ~ 210mm)
(8” ~ 210mm)
a3m3 0.11

SN3* ≥ a1D1* + a2D2* + a3D3*

2.47
2.28++0.60
0.75 ++ 8(0.11) 3.95 ≥>3.9
= 3.91
0.11(8) = 3.9
Summary:

Asphalt Concrete Surface

D1 = 170 mm or
160 mm or 66.5 inches
inches

Granular Base
110 mm
D2 = 130 mmor
or54inches
inches

Granular Sub-base
D3 = 210 mm or 8 inches

Pavement Design 23
B. TRRL Method

1) Using Chart 1, with CBR = 5% and load = 2.2 million ESA’s,

Sub-base thickness = 280 mm

2) Using the same Chart 1,

Base thickness = 150 mm

3) Using the annotations in Chart 1,

Surface thickness = 50 mm

Summary:

D1 = 50 mm
A.C. Surface

D2 = 150 mm
Crushed Stone Base

D3 = 280 mm
Crushed Gravel Sub-base

Pavement Design 24