Pavement Engineering

4. Traffic Characteristics

1
• Traffic is the most important factor in pavement
design. The consideration of traffic should
include both the loading magnitude and
configuration and the number of load
repetitions.
• There are three different procedures for
considering vehicular and traffic effects in
pavement design:
– Fixed traffic,
– fixed vehicle, and
– variable traffic and vehicle. 2
 Fixed traffic
• In fixed traffic, the thickness of pavement is
governed by a single wheel load and the number
of load repetitions is not considerable as a
variable. If the pavement is subjected to multiple
wheels, they must be converted to an equivalent
single wheel load (ESWL) so the design method
based on a single wheel can be applied.
• This method has been used most frequently for
airport pavements or for highway pavements with
heavy wheel loads but light traffic volume. Usually
the heaviest wheel load anticipated is used for
design purposes 3
 Fixed vehicle
• In fixed vehicle procedure, the thickness of
pavement is governed by the number of repetitions
of a standard vehicle or axle load, usually the 80kN
single axle load.
• If the axle load is not 80kN 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 loads must be multiplied by its EALF to
obtain the equivalent effect based on an 80kN
single axle load.
4
 Fixed vehicle…..
• A summation of the equivalent effect of all
axle loads during the design period results in
an equivalent single axle load (ESAL), which is
the single traffic parameter for design
purposes.
• Due to the great varieties of axle loads and
traffic volumes and their intractable effects on
pavement performance, most of the design
methods in use today are based on the fixed
vehicle concept. 5
 Variable Traffic and Vehicle
• In the variable traffic and vehicle procedure, both traffic
and vehicle are considered individually, so there is no
need to assign an equivalent factor for each axle load.
• The loads can be divided into a number of groups and
the stresses, strains, and deflections under each load
group can be determined separately and used for design
purposes.
• This procedure is most suited for the mechanistic
methods of design, wherein the responses of pavement
under different loads can be evaluated by using a
computer
6
 1. Equivalent single wheel load
• The ESWL can be determined from
theoretically calculated or experimentally
measured stress, strain or deflection.

7
 Equal vertical stress criterion
• Based on a theoretical consideration of the
vertical stress, Boyd and Foster presented a
semi-rational method for determining ESWL,
which had been used by the Corps of
Engineers to produce dual wheel design
criteria from single wheel criteria. The method
assumes that the ESWL varies with the
pavement thickness, as shown in figure.

8
9
• For thicknesses smaller than half the clearance
between dual tires, the ESWL is equal to one
half the total load, indicating that the sub-grade
vertical stresses caused by the two wheels do
not overlap.
• For thicknesses greater than twice the center to
center spacing of tires, the ESWL is equal to the
total load, indicating that the sub-grade stresses
due to the two wheels overlap completely.
10
• By assuming a straight-line relationship
between pavement thickness and wheel load
on logarithmic scales, the ESWL for any
intermediate thickness can be easily
determined.

11
12
• Instead of plotting, it is more convenient to
compute the ESWL by

Pd = load on one of dual tires

z = pavement thickness
d = clearance between dual tires
Sd = center to center spacing between dual tires.

13
• Example 4.1
• A set of dual tires has a total load of 9000 lb,
a contact radius a of 4.5 inch, and a center to
center spacing between dual tires of 13.5
inch as shown in figure . Determine the ESWL
by Boyd and Foster’s method for a 13.5 inch
pavement.

14
 4500 lb 4500 lb

4.5 in. 4.5 in.

13.5 in.

13.5 in.

15
 2. Equivalent Axle load factor
• An equivalent axle load factor ( EALF) defines
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 18 kip
(80 kN) single axle load.
• The design is based on the total number of
passes of the standard axle load during the
design period, defined as the equivalent single
axle load (ESAL) .
16
 Calculation of ESAL

• m = the number of axle load groups,

• Fi = the EALF for the ith axle load group,
• ni = the number of passes of the ith axle group
during the design period.

17
 Flexible pavements
• AASHTO equivalent factors:

18
Lx = Is the load in kip on one single axle, one set of tandem axles, or
one set of tridem axles.

19
• SN= structural number, which is a function of the
thickness and modulus of each layer and the drainage
conditions of base and subbase. (SN=5 by AI)
• pt = the terminal serviceability, which indicates the
pavement conditions to be considered as failures. (Pt
= 2.5 by AI)
• Gt = a function of pt.
• β18 = the value of βx when Lx is equal to 18 and L 2 is
equal to one

20
• Then:

21
• Example 4.2
• Given pt = 2.5 and SN = 5, determine the EALF
for a 32-kip tandem axle load and a 48-kip
tridem axle load.

22
 Asphalt institute’s equivalent axle load factors
Equivalent axle load factor Equivalent axle load factor
Tandem Tridem Tandem Tridem
Axle load(lb) Single axles axles axles Axle load(lb) Single axles axles axles
1000 0.00002 41000 23.27 2.29o.540
2000 0.00018 42000 25.64 2.51 0.597
3000 0.00072 43000 28.22 2.76 0.658
4000 0.00209 44000 31 3 0.723
5000 0.005 45000 34 3.27 0.793
6000 0.01043 46000 37.24 3.55 0.868
7000 0.0196 47000 40.74 3.85 0.948
8000 0.0343 48000 44.5 4.17 1.033
9000 0.0562 49000 48.54 4.51 1.12
10000 0.0877 0.00688 0.002 50000 52.88 4.86 1.22
23
 Asphalt institute’s equivalent axle load
factors……………
Equivalent axle load factor Equivalent axle load factor
Axle Single Tandem Tridem Axle Single Tandem Tridem
load(lb) axles axles axles load(lb) axles axles axles
11000 0.13110.01008 0.002 51000 5.23 1.32
12000 0.189 0.0144 0.003 52000 5.63 1.43
13000 0.264 0.0199 0.005 53000 6.04 1.54
14000 0.36 0.027 0.006 54000 6.47 1.66
15000 0.478 0.036 0.008 55000 6.93 1.78
16000 0.623 0.0472 0.011 56000 7.41 1.91
17000 0.796 0.0608 0.014 57000 7.92 2.05
18000 1 0.0773 0.017 58000 8.45 2.2
19000 1.24 0.0971 0.022 59000 9.01 2.35
20000 1.51 0.1206 0.027 60000 9.59 2.51
24
 Asphalt institute’s equivalent axle load
factors………….
Equivalent axle load factor Equivalent axle load factor
Axle Single Tandem Tridem Single Tandem Tridem
load(lb) axles axles axles Axle load(lb) axles axles axles
21000 1.83 0.148 0.033 61000 10.2 2.07
22000 2.18 0.18 0.04 62000 10.84 2.85
23000 2.58 0.217 0.048 63000 11.52 3.03
24000 3.03 0.26 0.057 64000 12.22 3.22
25000 3.53 0.308 0.067 65000 12.96 3.41
26000 4.09 0.364 0.08 66000 13.73 3.62
27000 4.71 0.426 0.093 67000 14.54 3.83
28000 5.39 0.495 0.109 68000 15.38 4.05
29000 6.14 0.572 0.126 69000 16.26 4.28
30000 6.97 0.658 0.145 70000 17.19 4.52
25
 Asphalt institute’s equivalent axle load
factors…………
Equivalent axle load factor Equivalent axle load factor
Axle Single Tandem Tridem Axle Single Tandem Tridem
load(lb) axles axles axles load(lb) axles axles axles
31000 7.88 0.753 0.167 71000 18.15 4.77
32000 8.88 0.857 0.191 72000 19.16 5.03
33000 9.98 0.971 0.217 73000 20.22 5.29
34000 11.18 1.095 0.246 74000 21.32 5.57
35000 12.5 1.23 0.278 75000 22.47 5.86
36000 13.93 1.38 0.313 76000 23.66 6.15
37000 15.5 1.53 0.352 77000 24.91 6.46
38000 17.2 1.7 0.393 78000 26.22 6.78
39000 19.06 1.89 0.438 79000 27.58 7.11
40000 21.08 2.08 0.487 80000 28.99 7.45

26
• Deacon(1969) conducted a theoretical analysis
of EALF :

=the tensile strain at the bottom of asphalt layer due to an x-

axle load
=the tensile strain at the bottom of asphalt layer due to an
18-kip axle load

27
• If Wtx is also a single axle, it is reasonable to
assume that tensile strains are directly
proportional to axle loads:

Lx is the load in kip on a single axle

This equation is valid only when Lx is on a single axle

28
• For tandem or tridem axles, a more general
equation is

In which Ls is the load in kip on standard axles which have the same
number of axles as Lx .
If the EALF for one set of tandem or tridem axles is known, that for
other axles can be determined by this equation.

29
• Example 4.3
• Given pt = 2.5 and SN = 5, determine the EALF
for 5000-lb and 50,000-lb single axles.
• If the EALF of 32-kip tandem axle is o.857,
determine the EALF for 15,000-lb and 80,000-
lb tandem axles.

30
 Rigid pavements:

• AASHTO equivalent factors

Where: D is the slab thickness in inches.

If the thickness is not known in the design stage, a value of D equal to 9 can
be used. 31
 Equivalent axle load factors for rigid pavements
Equivalent axle load factor Equivalent axle load factor
Axle Tandem Tridem Axle Tandem Tridem
load(kips) Single axles axles axles load(kips) Single axles axles axles
2 0.0002 0.0001 0.0001 48 56.8 7.73 2.49
4 0.002 0.0005 0 50 67.8 9.07 2.94
6 0.01 0.002 0.001 52 10.6 3.44
8 0.032 0.005 0.002 54 12.3 4
10 0.082 0.013 0.005 56 14.2 4.63
12 0.176 0.026 0.009 58 16.3 5.32
14 0.341 0.048 0.017 60 18.7 6.08
16 0.604 0.082 0.028 62 21.4 6.91
18 1 0.133 0.044 64 24.4 7.82
20 1.57 0.206 0.067 66 27.6 8.83
22 2.34 0.308 0.099 68 3.3 9.9
24 3.36 0.444 0.141 70 35.3 11.1
32
 Equivalent axle load factors for rigid
pavements…………..
Equivalent axle load factor Equivalent axle load factor
Axle Single Tandem Tridem Axle Single Tandem Tridem
load(kips) axles axles axles load(kips) axles axles axles
26 4.67 0.622 0.195 72 39.8 12.4
28 6.29 0.85 0.265 74 44.7 13.8
30 8.28 1.14 0.354 76 50.1 15.4
32 10.7 1.49 0.463 78 56.1 17.1
34 13.6 1.92 0.596 80 62.5 18.9
36 17.1 2.43 0.757 82 69.6 20.9
38 21.3 3.03 0.948 84 77.3 23.1
40 26.3 3.74 1.17 86 86 25.4
42 32.2 4.55 1.44 88 95 27.9
44 39.2 5.48 1.74 90 105 30.7
46 47.3 6.53 2.09
33
• Example 4.4
• A flexible pavement with SN =5 is subjected
to a single axle load of 12-kip and a tandem
axle load of 40-kip. Based on a pt of 2.5, what
are the single and tandem axle loads on 9
inch rigid pavement that are equivalent to
those on the flexible pavement?

34
 Traffic Analysis
• To design a heavy pavement, it is necessary to
predict the number of repetitions of each axle
load group during the design period.
Information on initial traffic can be obtained
from field measurements.
• The initial daily traffic is in two directions over
all traffic lanes and must be multiplied by the
directional and lane distribution factors to
obtain the initial traffic on the design lane.
35
 Average traffic during the design period,
ni= (n0)i(G)(D)(L)(365)(y)
• (n0)i =the initial number of repetitions per day for
the ith group load,
• G = the growth factor
• D=directional distribution factor which is usually
assumed to be 0.5 unless the traffic in two
directions is different.
• L= the lane distribution factor which varies with the
volume of traffic and the number of lanes
• Y =the design period in years.
36
• If the design is based on the equivalent 18-kip single
axle load, then the initial number of repetitions per day
for the ith load group can be computed by:
(n0)i =(piFi)(ADT)0(T)(A)

• Pi = the percentage of total repetitions for the ith load

group
• Fi = the equivalent axle load factor (EALF) for the ith
group
• (ADT)0 = the average daily traffic at the start of the
design period
• T = the percentage of trucks in the ADT
• A = the average number of axles per truck 37
• Substituting equations and summing over all
load groups, the equivalent axle load for the
design lane is :

38
• In computing ESAL, it is convenient to combine
the first and fourth terms in equation to form
a new term called the truck factor:

In which Tf is the truck factor, or the number of 18-kip single

axle load applications per truck.

39
• Thus:

40
 Growth factor
• One simple way to project the growth factor is
to assume a yearly rate of traffic growth and
use the average traffic at the start and end of
the design period as the design traffic.

• In which r is the yearly rate of traffic growth.

41
• The Portland Cement Association applies the
traffic at the middle of the design period as
the design traffic:

42
growth factors for 20 and 40 year design periods
Annual growth rate 20- year design 40-year design
(%) period period
1.0 1.1 1.2
1.5 1.2 1.3
2.0 1.2 1.5
2.5 1.3 1.6
3.0 1.3 1.8
3.5 1.4 2.0
4.0 1.5 2.2
4.5 1.6 2.4
5.0 1.6 2.7
5.5 1.7 2.9
6 1.8 3.2 43
• The asphalt institute and the AASHTO design
guide recommend the use of traffic over the
entire design period to determine the total
growth factor, as indicated by

If the growth rate is not uniform, different growth rates should be

used for different load groups or types of vehicles

44
• To determine the annual growth rate, the following factors
should be considered:
1. Attracted or diverted traffic due to the improvement of
existing pavement
2. Normal traffic growth due to the increased number and
usage of motor vehicles
3. Generated traffic due to motor vehicle trips that would not
have been made if the new facility had not been constructed.
4. Development traffic due to changes in land use as a result of
the new facility

45
• Example 4.5
• For an annual growth rate of 3.5% and a
design period of 30 years, compute the
growth factors by above equations

46
 Lane distribution factor
• For two lane highways, the lane in each
direction is the design lane, so the lane
distribution factor is 100%. For multilane
highways, the design lane is the outside lane.

47
 Truck distribution
• Table shows on a multiple-lane highway based
on 129 counts from 1982 to 1983 in six states.
• For four-lane highways with two lanes in each
direction, the lane distribution factors range
from 66 to 94%. For multiple lane highways
with three or more lanes in each direction, the
lane distribution factor range from 49 to 82%

48
 Truck distribution for multiple-lane
Two lanes in each directions Three or more lanes with each directions
One-way ADT
Inner Outer Inner Center Outer
2000 6 94 6 12 82
4000 12 88 6 18 76
6000 15 85 7 21 72
8000 18 82 7 23 70
10000 19 81 7 25 68
15000 23 77 7 28 65
20000 25 75 7 30 63
25000 27 73 7 32 61
30000 28 72 8 33 59
35000 30 70 8 34 58
40000 31 69 8 45 57
50000 33 67 8 47 55
60000 34 66 8 39 53
70000 - - 8 40 52
80000 - - 8 41 51
100,000 - - 9 42 49
49
• Example 4.6
• A two lane major rural highways has an
AADT of 4000 during the first year of traffic,
25% trucks, 4% annual growth rate, and 50%
on the design lane. If the truck factor is 0.38
compute the ESAL for a design period of 20
years.

50