Design of Roads

and Highways:
Rigid Pavements

Engr. Jefferson R. Vallente Jr., CE, M.TSSP, M.EASTS

Asst. Instructor, Civil Engineering Dept.

Binder
Course
Temperature
Steel

Asphalt
Overlay
Expansion
Joint

Concrete
Cement
Dowel bar
Base Course:
Gravel
Subbase: Soil
Subgrade:
Soil

Typical Rigid Pavement Layers

I. Materials Used in Rigid Pavements

Portland Cement
Passing
No.200

About
1538C

0.028m^3 or
42kg

I. Materials Used in Rigid Pavements

Coarse Aggregates

I. Materials Used in Rigid Pavements

Fine Aggregates, most

common is sand
(AASHTO Designation
M6)
Cleanliness,
maximum amount of
silt is usually 2 to 5
percent.
Organic materials
reduce hardening of
concrete

I. Materials Used in Rigid Pavements

Water, which is suitable for drinking
As long as quantity of organic
matter, oils, acids and alkalis are not
greater than allowable amounts.

I. Materials Used in Rigid Pavements

Reinforcing Steel
Temperature steel, bat
mat or wire mesh used
to control cracking
Dowel bars, load
transfer mechanisms
across joints
Tie bar, tie two sections
of the pavement
Tie bar

Temperature
Steel

Dowel bar

I. Joints in Concrete Pavements

Joints
Expansion Joints

Joints
Contraction
Joints

I. Materials Used in Rigid Pavements

Joints
Hinge Joints

Joints
Construction
Joints

III.
Pumping
Pavements

of

Rigid

Visual Manifestation:
Discharge of water from cracks and joints
Spalling near the centerline of the pavement
and a transverse crack or joint
Mud boils at the edge of the pavement
Pavement surface discoloration
Breaking of pavement at the corners
Prevention:
-Limit number of expansion
joints
-Replace soil or by soil
stabilization

IV.
Stresses
in
Rigid
Pavements
Factors contributing to stresses:
Action of traffic wheel loads
Expansion and contraction of the concrete
due to temperature changes
Yielding of the subbase or sibgrade
Volumetric changes
Simplifying assumptions:
Concrete pavements are unreinforced beams. Any
flexural strength added by rebars are neglected.
Flexural and direct tensile stresses will inevitably
result in transverse and longitudinal cracks.
Supporting subbase and/or subgrade layer acts as
an elastic material.

IV.
Stresses
Pavements

in

Stresses induced by bending

y, deflection

P = ky,
k, modulus of subgrade
reaction

Rigid

IV. Stresses in Rigid

Pavements

General differential equation relating the moment at any

section

Basic differential equation for the deflection on an elastic

foundation

IV. Stresses in Rigid

Pavements

IV. Stresses in Rigid

Pavements
Stiffness of slab, D

Radius of relative stiffness, Westergaard

IV.
Stresses
in
Rigid
Pavements
Stresses due to Traffic Wheel Loads
Westergaard equation is most commonly used to
determine the flexural stresses in concrete pavements
due to traffic wheel load.

IV. Stresses in Rigid Pavements

Simpler analysis using Westergaard

Interior
eqns;
Edge

Corner

 Seatwork!!! Or Assignment

IV.
Stresses
Pavements

in

Rigid

Stresses due to Temperature Effects

Per unit length

temperatu
re

Expansion
h

time

f, Friction
Force

Stresses due to Warping Effects

Interior
Edge

Corner

V. Thickness
Pavements

Design

of

Rigid

AASHTO Design Method (Only

discussion)
Alternate Design Method
PCA Design Method
Mechanistic-Empirical Design Guide
Method
DPWH D.O. No.22 s. 2011 Minimum
Pavement Thickness and Width of
National Roads (Required)

AASHTO Design Method

Factors:
Pavement Performance
Subgrade Strength
Subbase Strength
Traffic
Concrete Properties
Drainage
Reliability

Pavement Performance

Measured as serviceability
performance using the Present
Serviceability Index (PSI)

Pavement Performance
Failure at PCI = 1.0

AASHTO Design Method:

Subbase Strength

AASHTO Design
Method:
Subgrade
Strength

AASHTO Design Method:

Traffic
Number of repetitions of
an 18,000-lb (80 kilonewtons KN) single-axle
load.
Usually referred as
equivalent single-axle load
(ESAL).
Dual tires are represented
as two circular plates each
114mm radius spaced
345mm apart equal to
12.25KN/m

Ex:

Note:

S, Single
19.3a)

(refer

to

AASHTO Design Method:

Traffic

In Determining ESAL, number of

different types of vehicles needs to
established.
Surveys needed:
Traffic Volume Count
Vehicle Classification Survey

AASHTO Design Method:

Given in terms of
Traffic
percentage

Table 19.4
Give
n

Give
n Table
19.3a/b

AASHTO Design Method:

Traffic
Total ESAL is determined also after
the design period and traffic
growth factors are known.
Flexible highways are designed for
10 to 20-year period.

AASHTO Design Method:

Concrete Properties

AASHTO Design Method:

Drainage & Reliability

Definition of drainage quality and finding

recommended mi values
Time required to
drain the
base/subbase
layer to 50%
saturation.

Step 1

If Fair and
25%
exposure,
then mi is
0.90.
1.25-1.20

Step 2

Reliability
Since ESAL values are dependent on growth rate
factors which may not be accurate reliability
needs to be measured.

This determines the assurance level

So ranges within 0.4 to 0.5 for flexible

pavement

The reliability factor (FR) is computed using:

The Reliability design level (R%), which
determine assurance levels that the pavement
section designed using the procedure will survive
for its design period (it is a z-score from the
standard normal distribution
the standard deviation (So) that accounts for
the chance variation in the traffic forecast and
the chance variation
in do
actual
pavement
Why
we have
a negative sign here? Are ZR
performance for a given
values design
negative?period
Why not traffic,
ZRSo! Well the clue
log
F

Z
S
10. R
R o
is in Eq. 20-13 and the bell curve shown
W18
below.
One-sided
Z-score is
used here.

Fail

Surviv
e

SD, So
Flexible
pavements

0.40-0.5

Rigid
pavements

0.30-0.40

DPWH D.O. No.22 s. 2011:

PCCP
A. For new road construction,
rehabilitation or upgrading, the
minimum thickness of the pavement
shall be 280 mm. However, a
thickness of less than 280 mm., but
in no case less than 230 mm., may
be adopted if the Cumulative
Equivalent Single Axle Load (CESAL)
is not more than 7.0 x 106.

DPWH D.O. No.22 s. 2011 :

PCCP
B. For pavement rehabilitation using
the crack and seat method, a
minimum thickness of 260 mm. shall
be adopted for the new pavement
that will be constructed on top of the
deteriorated concrete pavement.

DPWH D.O. No.22 s. 2011 : PCCP

C. For pavement reblocking, the
thickness of the new pavement shall
be the same as the replaced blocks.

DPWH D.O. No.22 s. 2011 : Asphalt

Pavement
A. For overlaying works, the minimum
thickness of the overlay shall be 50
mm.
B. On grounds of economy, pavement
thickness of more than 50 mm. shall
be considered only if the cost of the
asphalt pavement of such thickness is
less than the cost of a 230 mm. thick
PCCP.

DPWH D.O. No.22

Pavement Width

s.

2011

1. In new construction, the minimum

width of the carriageway shall be 6.70
meters.
2. In rehabilitation or upgrading works
involving a length of at least 500
meters, the minimum width of the
carriageway to be adopted shall be
6.70 meters, provided that such works
will not require right-of-way acquisition.

DPWH D.O. No.22 s. 2011 Procedure

DPWH D.O. No.22 s. 2011 Procedure

DPWH D.O. No.22 s. 2011 Procedure