Structural Design Of

Pavements
Dr. Md. Mizanur Rahman

CE 6505
Staged Construction of Flexible
Pavement
Staged Construction of Flexible
Pavement
Staged Construction of Flexible
Pavement
Staged Construction of Flexible
Pavement
 Staged Construction of Flexible
Pavement
Example:
 Solution:

Determine ESAL for first 10 years and ESAL for the 20 years
design period.

Growth factor for 10 yrs = 12.58 (from Table 18.6)

Growth factor for 20 yrs = 33.06 (from Table 18.6)
n1 = 60000*12.58 = 754800
n2 = 60000*(33.06-12.58) = 1228800
N1 = 1.67 * 754800 = 1260516
N2 = 2.5 * 1228800 = 3072000
From Figure 18.5 Required thickness for first stage h1=7.5 in
Required thickness for second stage h2=9.5 in
Depth of Overlay = (9.5-7.5) = 2 in
 AASHTO Design Method of Flexible
Pavement
# The AASHTO method for design of highway pavements is based
primarily on the results of the AASHTO road test.

# The factors considered in the AASHTO procedure for the

design of flexible Pavement are:

Pavement performance
Traffic
Sub-grade materials
Materials of Construction
Environment
Drainage
Reliability (reflects the degree of certainty that the
pavement will perform satisfactorily over its design life)
 AASHTO Road test
• The AASHTO Road Test is one of the most
significant experiments in highway
engineering history.

• It laid the foundation for modern

pavement design methods used around the
world, especially in the U.S. and countries
that adopt AASHTO standards.
 What Is the AASHTO Road Test?
• Full Name: American Association of State
Highway Officials (AASHO) Road Test
• Period: 1958–1960
• Location: Ottawa, Illinois, USA
• Conducted by: AASHO (later renamed
AASHTO)
• Purpose: To determine how different
pavement structures respond to repeated
axle loads and environmental conditions.
 Objectives
• Evaluate the performance of flexible and rigid
pavements under controlled traffic loading.
• Develop empirical relationships between load
repetitions, pavement design, and
serviceability.
• Provide a scientific basis for highway
pavement design in terms of durability,
deflection, and failure.
 Test Setup
• 6 loops of test tracks (five for vehicles, one for control).
• 468 test sections with different:
Pavement types (flexible/asphalt, rigid/concrete)
Base/subbase materials
Layer thicknesses
• Repeated loading by truck convoys with controlled axle
loads (e.g., 6,000 lbs to 30,000 lbs)
• Monitored factors:
Cracking, rutting, faulting
Ride quality (serviceability) – measured using the PSI
(Present Serviceability Index)
 Test Setup

Loop 5 and 6 AASHO Road Test layout

(redrawn from Highway Research Board, 1961)
 Key Results
• AASHTO Flexible Pavement Design Equation
• Serviceability Index
• Initial Serviceability Index (PSI) = 4.2 (perfect
ride)
• Terminal PSI ≈ 2.0 (unacceptable ride)
• This index became the basis for evaluating
pavement lifespan.
• Structural Number (SN) Concept
• Load Equivalency Factors (LEFs)
 Legacy and Global Impact
✅ Formed the foundation for AASHTO pavement
design used in the U.S. and many countries
✅ Introduced key concepts like ESALs (Equivalent
Single Axle Loads)
✅ Influenced pavement management systems and
life-cycle costing
✅ Used in development of Mechanistic-Empirical
Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG)
 AASHTO Design Method of Flexible
Pavement (Example)
A Flexible pavement for an urban interstate highway is to be designed
using AASHTO Design method to carry a design ESAL of 2 X 106.
It is estimated that it takes about a Week for water to be drained from
within the pavement and the pavement structure will be exposed to
moisture levels approaching saturation for 30% of the time.

The following additional information is available:

Resilient modulus of asphalt concrete at 68 F = 450000 psi

CBR value of base course materials = 100
CBR value of sub-base course materials = 22
CBR value of sub-grade materials = 6
Initial Serviceability index Pi = 4.5
Terminal serviceability index Pt =2.5
Determine a suitable pavement structure.
The Structural Number (SN) represents the overall structural
requirement needed to sustain the design’s traffic loadings.

It is an abstract number that expresses the structural strength

of a pavement required for given combinations of soil support (MR),
total traffic expressed in ESALs, terminal serviceability and environment.

The following equation can be used to relate individual material

types and thicknesses to the structural number:

SN = a1D1 + a2D2m2 + a3D3m3

a1, a2, a3 = structural-layer coefficients of the wearing

surface, base, and subbase layers, respectively,
D1, D2, D3 = thickness of the wearing surface, base, and subbase
layers in inches, respectively, and
m2, m3 = drainage coefficients for the base and subbase, respectively.
 Solution:

Reliability level ( R ) = 99 percent from Table 18.17

Standard deviations (So) = 0.49 (For Flexible Pavement range 0.4 – 0.5)
Mr = (6*1500) 9000 psi for roadbed/subgrade
Serviceability Loss = Pi – Pt = 4.5 - 2.5 = 2
Determine Design Structural Number SN = 4.4 from Figure 18.20
Determine the appropriate structural layer coefficient for each
construction Materials :

a1 = 0.44 (Mr of asphalt cement = 450000 psi, From Figure 18.17)

a2 = 0.14 (CBR of base course material = 100, From Figure 18.16)
a3 = 0.10 (CBR of subbase course material = 22, From Figure 18.15)

Determine appropriate drainage coefficient mi from Table 18.15 and 18.16.

Value of m2 = m3 =0.8 (Since only one set of conditions is given for both
the Base and Subbase)

Several values of D1 D2 D3 can be obtained to satisfy the SN value of 4.40.

Layer thickness, however, are usually rounded up to the nearest 0.5 in.
For Mr = 31000 psi SN1 = 2.6 from figure 18.20

SN1=a1D1 => D1 = SN1/a1 = 2.6/.44 = 5.9 in

D*1= 6 in
Using 6 in Surface course
SN1* = 0.44*6 =2.64 > 2.6

For Mr = 13500 psi SN2 = 3.8 from Figure 18.20

SN2=SN1* + a2m2D2
=> D2=(SN2-SN1*)/a2m2 =10.36 in D*2=12in
Use 12 in
SN2*=0.14*.8*12 + 2.64 = 1.34 + 2.64 = 3.98 > 3.8

SN3 = SN1* + SN2* +a3m3D3

D3= (SN3 – SN2*)/a3m3 = 5.25 in D3*=6 in

Use 6 in

SN3*= 2.64+1.34+.8*.1 = 4.46 > 4.4

 99

Standard Deviation, So

Flexible Pavements 0.49 0.40 – 0.50

Rigid Pavements 0.30 – 0.40
Reliability level, R = 99%, Overall Standard Deviation, So = 0.49, ESAL = 2 X 106
Resilient Modulus of Sub-grade = 9000psi, Serviceability Loss PSI = 4.5-2.5 = 2

Design SN = 4.4
 0.44

Figure 18.17
 0.14

Figure 18.16
 0.10

Figure:
18.15
Table 18.15
6”
12”
6”
THE DESIGN PROCESS

There are three main steps to be followed in designing a new

road pavement These are:

(i) estimating the amount of traffic and the cumulative

number of equivalent standard axles that will use the road
over the selected design life;

(ii) assessing the strength of the sub-grade soil over which

the road is to be built;

(iii) selecting the most economical combination of pavement

materials and layer thicknesses that will provide satisfactory
service over the design life of the pavement (It is usually
necessary to assume that an appropriate level of
maintenance is also carried out).
This method considers each of these steps in turn and puts
special emphasis on five aspects of design that are of
major significance in designing roads in most tropical
countries:
• The influence of tropical climates on moisture conditions
in road sub-grades.
• The severe conditions imposed on exposed bituminous
surfacing materials by tropical climates and the
implications of this for the design of such surfacing.
• The interrelationship between design and maintenance. If
an appropriate level of maintenance cannot be assumed. it
is not possible to produce designs that will carry the
anticipated traffic loading without high costs to vehicle
operators through increased road deterioration.
• The high axle loads and tyre pressures which are common
in most countries.
• The influence of tropical climates on the nature of the
soils and rocks used in road building.
Definition of Pavement Layers
The Pavement Design Process
Traffic Classes used in Design
Sub-grade Classes used in Design
Index of Structural Catalogue
Structural Catalogue (1)
Structural Catalogue (2)
Structural Catalogue (3)
Structural Catalogue (4)
Structural Catalogue (5)
Structural Catalogue (6)
Structural Catalogue (7)
Structural Catalogue (8)
CBR Requirements of various Pavements layers in
the RHD Specifications
Design Life and Traffic Growth Rates
Determining Cumulative ESAs Over
the Pavement Design Life
Design Chart of RHD (Flexible Pavements)
Determination of Improved
Sub-grade Thickness
Road Design and Pavement
Standard of LGED
Current Practice