PAVEMENT DESIGN

for DUMMIES

Boulder County Resource Conservation Glasphalt Research Project

prepared by LBA Associates, Inc. November 2006 (draft)

Draft 11/2/06 1
 U.S. Highways (2001 data)
8.21M lane miles in place
Truck traffic increasing faster than
passenger vehicle traffic
93% asphalt pavement
7% concrete pavement

Note: pavement discussions in this presentation are limited

to asphalt pavement as glasphalt research is the
ultimate goal of Boulder Countys project.

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(Paved) Roadway Functions
Carries vehicle loads that
unpaved roads cannot
Provides drainage away from
driving surface
Add smoothness to allow higher
vehicle speeds and greater
drivability
Provide skid resistance for
vehicles
Provides a relatively dust-free
surface
High-speed surface
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 Definitions
Aggregate = natural sand, gravel & stone
Asphalt = petroleum residue (naturally
occurring or from distillation of crude oil)
Asphalt pavement = aggregate + asphalt
+ air
Concrete pavement = aggregate +
cement + water + air

Will have samples to circulate to audience

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Part I: Road Construction

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 Subgrade
Existing materials quality
based on strength, gradation &
drainage capacity good
soils will retain most of their
load-bearing capacity when
wet
If poor soil (e.g., swelling
soils);
Remove to reach better soils
below
Replace with better material
Stabilize to increase stiffness
Compaction of subgrade
materials is key

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 Base Courses
Provides load distribution, drainage & frost
resistance
Materials are moderately stiff to help carry traffic
& minimize deflection of pavement materials
Subbase Course is optional - typically includes
relatively fine aggregate (minus ) & 12 thick
Base Course - typically includes moderately
coarse aggregate (minus 1-1/2) & 6-12 thick
Can be aggregate only (loose, unbound) OR
Aggregate bound with asphalt (pavement)

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 Load Bearing by
Flexible v. Rigid Pavement

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 Surface Course
(in contact with traffic)
Surface Course = aggregate + asphalt
Includes highest quality & stiffest materials to
absorb loads
Aggregate is typically
minus 3/8
Placed in 8 layers
prior to compaction

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 Asphalt Pavement

Also known as Less construction

blacktop, flexible costs than concrete
pavement or pavement may have
bituminous concrete shorter life & greater
Typically used in maintenance
lower load Support loads by
applications flexing & distribution
through bottom layers

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HMA
Hot Mix Asphalt
(HMA) is the most
common type of
asphalt pavement
HMA is made
principally from
aggregate and
asphalt binder at
elevated temper-
atures at plant
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Part II: Materials

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 Aggregate
1. Found in floodplains, stream terraces and alluvial fans
also excavated from quarries
2. Described in terms of size gradation
Well graded aggregate (preferred) = wide range of
sizes
Fine aggregate = minus 3/16
Coarse aggregate = > 3/16

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 Aggregate, cont
3. Other Characteristics
Toughness resists crushing or disintegration when
tested, stockpiled, transported or made into HMA
Durability resists damage from wetting & drying
Particle Shape/Texture cubic & angular with rough
surfaces
Clean free of contaminants (vegetation, clay
lumps, soft particles, dust)

U.S. produced more than 3B tons in 2001 at value of $14.2B

highways consumed 40% of this material

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 Preparing Aggregate
Excavated dug or
blasted
Size-reduced
crushed & screened
Washed - to remove
undesired small
particles
Stockpiled

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Asphalt
1. Also called asphalt
binder or bitumen
2. Natural Characteristics
Waterproof
Thermoplastic
Elastic
Adhesive

U.S. produced more than 35M

tons in 2001 at value of $6B
highways consumed 85%
of this material

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 Asphalt, cont
3. Other Characteristics
Durable - ages well with time
Rheology or deformation with temperature
Too warm/too much flow can cause rutting
Too cold/too little flow can cause cracking
Purity pure bitumen

Most current asphalt pavement design approach is based

on specifying asphalt in terms of maximum & minimum
temperatures it will be exposed to

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 Asphalt Modifiers
May be added to:
Lower viscosity (thickness) & increase
workability
Increase viscosity & decrease rutting
Increase adhesion between aggregate and
binder (especially in presence of moisture)
decrease stripping

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Part III: Pavement Design

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 Pavement Design Considerations
Loads penetrate 2-3
Quantity/repetition of traffic
Type of traffic passenger,
trailer, construction
Type of vehicles tire
pressure, load, wheel
configuration
Vehicle speed
Road configuration
(curvatures)

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Pavement Design, cont
Environment
Temperature impacts on binder
rheology (extremes lead to rutting &
cracking)
Frost action subgrade heaves, thaw
weakening
Moisture

Design mitigation = increase pavement to

frost depth, replace frost-susceptible &
weak (expansive) subgrade soils,
increase drainage
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 Pavement Design, cont
Drainage
Surface HMA relatively
impermeable if well
compacted
Need cross slopes of 2%
Subsurface facilitate
good permeability with
subgrade soils and base
course design

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 Aggregate + Asphalt
Aggregate Asphalt Binder
92-96% by weight 4-8% by weight

30% of cost of HMA 25-30% cost of HMA

pavement pavement

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 HMA Manufacturing

Manufacturing = blending & heating components to job specifications

Batch plant (older technology)
Continuous drum plant (can product 100-900 tph)

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 HMA Placement
Equipment transfer vehicles & asphalt
paver;
Paver is self-propelled unit
Includes tractor, hopper & floating screed

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 Placement, cont
Compaction most
important factor for
performance
75-85% maximum
density achieved by
screed
Remainder achieved
by rollers steel or
pneumatic tires, may
use vibration
Must compact prior to
cooling (rutting)
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 Part IV: Other Asphalt
Pavement Applications
Pavement Placement improve placement
success
Leveling layer
Tack coat
Surface Treatment increase smoothness,
appearance, safety; reduce noise; correct
defects
Fog & slurry seals
Overlays
Repair address specific defects
Crack & slurry seals (crack seals often contain crumb
rubber)
Patching
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 Other Applications, cont
Rehabilitation improve
strength or salvage stressed
pavement
Overlays
Hot In Place Recycling old
pavement is heated,
scarified/removed, modified,
placed & compacted
Cold in Place Recycling old
pavement removed,
pulverized, modified, placed &
compacted
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Recycled Asphalt Pavement (RAP)
The most recycled materials in U.S. -
approximately 80M tpy
Can be used to make new HMA (10-30% by
weight), in cold mix, as fill or other
Recycled in place used to resurface
existing pavement or pulverized for base
material

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 Part V: The Glass Alternative
Colorado Aggregate
80% of Colorados aggregate is sand & gravel
found in drainage areas along the Front Range
20% is crushed rock mined from quarries in the
mountains
Haul costs significant where source is not
located near aggregate plant or project

How long before land use & environmental constraints

cause an aggregate shortage?

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 Glass Blended w/ Aggregate
Characteristics similar
to natural aggregate
(hard, durable, drains
well & dries fast)
Higher heat retention
(good with frost
penetration but may
take longer to cure
during placement)

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 Glass in HMA
Reflective properties (good & bad)
Decreased skid resistance if gradation
is too large
Does not stay bound to asphalt well
without anti-stripping agent (raveling)
Real & perceived issues with glass in
surface

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 Glass Preparation Requirements
Blended w/ Aggregate
Crushing - most states
require all glass at minus
3/8 (but < 8% passing
No. 200 sieve)
Cleaning debris
threshold may be < 5%
Transporting - to
aggregate production site
Blending with aggregate
Used in HMA
All of above except that
gradation & debris
threshold may be tighter
Mix glass/aggregate w/
binder (also reqd w/o
glass)
Add anti-stripping agent
May require adjustments
during pavement
placement

Note: health & safety issues

associated with crushing glass
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Glasphalt Economics
Many pilot project in 1970s to 1990s -
earliest projects findings were
promising
Several states allowed glass to be used
with roadway aggregate (a few also
allowed in HMA)
As alternative glass markets developed
economics were less favorable
Today very few state/federal roads
utilize glass in roadways

Feasibility still exists in areas where public

agencies are building roads, limited local glass
markets exist and/or regional climates require
additional road base fill
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 Questions to Ask
Are there any obstacles to using natural
aggregate in the region? (availability, cost,
engineering properties or other)
Are there significant advantages to using a new
material? (same reasons, plus the ability to
develop an end market for glass)
Are there net benefits with using glass?
Are enough quantities of glass produced to
make the investigation worthwhile for both
recyclers & aggregate/HMA producers?

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 Thanks To
The following references were used to develop
this presentation:
The Washington Asphalt Pavement Associations
Asphalt Pavement Guide
USGS Front Range Infrastructure Resources Project
Bicycling Magazine (September, 2006)
MidAmerica Recycling & Strategic Materials websites

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