DESIGN OF FLEXIBLE PAVEMENT

IRC 37 History

IRC: 37 - 1970 & 1984 => Empirical (Experienced based approach), based on subgrade
strength (CBR) and Traffic (CV with laden wt>3 tonnes /day)

IRC: 37 – 2001 => Semi Mechanistic approach (Mechanistic – empirical), Use of FPAVE
Software, concept of linear elastic layered pavement systems developed, Design for
traffic less than 150 msa.

IRC: 37 – 2012 => Mechanistic – Empirical performance models for rutting in subgrade
and bottom up cracking in bituminous layer, Fatigue criteria included for CTB, design for
traffic more than 150 msa.

IRC: 37 – 2018 => recommendation of better performing bituminous mix, guidelines for
selection of appropriate elastic moduli, minimum thickness of granular and CTB layers
from functional requirements.
 DESIGN PRINCIPLES
• For satisfactory functional and structural performance of the pavement during is intended service
life.
• Performance of Pavement
• 1. Purely empirical (based on past experience)
• 2. Mechanistic – Empirical
Mechanistic - Using Linear Elastic Layered Theory to calculate Deflection/ strain
Empirical - Using Past experience to calculate stress/ strains

Linear Elastic Layered Theory

• Pavement is considered as a multi-layered system
• Subgrade (bottom most layer) is considered as semi-infinite.
• Upper layers are considered infinite in horizontal extent and finite in thickness
 DESIGN PRINCIPLES
• Input Parameters – Elastic Modulus, Poisson’s Ratio, thickness of each
layer.
• Output data – Stress, Strains and Deflections produce by applied surface
load.
• Use of IITPAVE software (Updated version of FPAVE)

Critical Mechanistic Parameters

• Vertical compressive strain – Top of Subgrade Layer
(For controlling Subgrade Rutting)
• Horizontal Tensile strain – Bottom of bottom bituminous layer
(For controlling bottom-up cracking in bituminous layers)
• Tensile stress and strain – Bottom of CTB layer
(For controlling Fatigue Cracking)
 PERFORMANCE CRITERIA
Rutting Criterion for Subgrade

• An average rut depth of 20 mm or more, measured along the wheel paths, is

considered in these guidelines as critical or failure rutting condition.

• Analysis is done for

 Standard axle load of 80 kN (each wheel carrying 20 kN)
 Centre to centre spacing between the wheels = 310 mm
 Uniform vertical contact stress = 0.56 MPa
 Contact pressure for CTB layer = 0.8 MPa
 Shape of contact area of the tyre is assumed to be circular
 The layer interface condition assumed to be fully bound
Rutting Criterion for Subgrade
The equivalent number of standard axle load (80 kN) repetitions that can be
served by the pavement, before the critical average rut depth of 20 mm or
more occurs, is given by equations below respectively for 80% and 90%
reliability levels

NR = 4.1656 x 10-08 x [1/εv] (80 per cent reliability)

4.5337
(90 per cent reliability)
NR = 1.41 x 10-08 x [1/εv] 4.5337

Where,
NR = Number of cumulative standard axles,
and
εv = Vertica l compressive strain in the
subgrade.
Rutting
Criterion
 Fatigue Cracking Criteria – Bituminous Layer
• The occurrence of fatigue cracking (appearing as inter connected cracks), whose total
area in the section of the road under consideration is 20 % or more than the paved
surface area of the section, is considered to be the critical or failure condition.
• The equivalent number of standard axle (80 kN) load repetitions that can be served by the
pavement, before the critical condition of the cracked surface area of 20 % or more occurs, is
given by equations below respectively for 80 % and 90 % reliability levels.

N f = 1.6064*C*10 -04 *[1/ε t ] 3.89 x [1/M Rm ] 0.854 (for 80 % reliability)

N f = 0.5161*C*10 -04 *[1/ε t ] 3.89 x [1/M Rm ] 0.854 (for 90 % reliability)
Where,
C = 10 M , and M = 4.84 ,

V = % air voids in bottom bituminous layer, V = % effective bitumen in the mix

a be
N f = Cumulative std. Axle load repetitions.
ε t = Maximum horizontal tensile strain at the bottom of bituminous layer
 Fatigue Criteria – Cementitious
layers
The equation to control this fatigue deformation of cementitious layer can be expressed
as

N = RF x [(113000/E 0.804 + 191)/ε t ] 12

Where,
RF = Reliability factor for cementitious materials for failure against fatigue.
= 1 for Expressways, National Highways, State Highways and Urban Roads and for
other roads having Design traffic > 10 msa.
= 2 for others cases
N = Fatigue life of the cementitious material.
E = Elastic modulus of cementitious material (MPa).
ε t = tensile strain in the cementitious layer, (microstrain).
 Reliability

• 90% reliability recommended for Expressways, National Highways,

State Highways and Urban Roads
• For other category of roads
 90% reliability recommended for design traffic of 20 msa or more
 80% reliability recommended for design traffic of less than 20
msa
 Analysis of Flexible Pavements – using IITPAVE
Analysis Conditions
Material response model Linear elastic model
Layer interface condition Fully bonded (all layers)
No. of Wheels Dual wheel
Wheel Loads 20 kN on each single wheel (two wheels)
Contact stress for critical 0.56 MPa for tensile strain in bituminous layer and
parameter analysis vertical compressive strain on subgrade; 0.80 MPa
for Cement treated base
Critical Mechanistic Parameters
Bituminous layer Tensile strain at the bottom
Cement Treated Base Tensile stress and tensile strain at the
bottom
Subgrade Compressive strain at the top
Pavement Section with Bituminous Layers, Granular Base and GSB showing the locations
of Critical strains
Pavement Section with Bituminous Layers, Crack Relief Layer, CTB and CTSB showing the
locations of Critical strains
Performance Criteria – IRC:37-
2018
Flexible Pavements should be designed to ensure that unacceptable
levels of distresses do not occur during life time of pavement.

Cracking in 20 per cent area has been considered for traffic up to 30

msa
and 10 per cent for traffic beyond that to prevent fatigue cracking.

The limiting rutting is recommended as 20 mm in 20 per cent of the

length for design traffic up to 30 msa and 10 per cent of the length for
the design traffic beyond.
 Material Characterization for
Design

20kN
20kN h1 E1
μ1

h2 E2
μ2
310mm E3
E1 > E2 > μ3
E3
Loading Consideration:
Standard axle load (80 kN) – only one dual wheel is
considered. Tyre Pressure – 0.56MPa to 0.80MPa.

Since pavement is modeled as an elastic multilayer structure , elastic moduli

and Poisson Ratio values of the three layers are required as inputs for design.
Loading Condition

Circular loaded contact area is assumed

Critical tensile strain occurs under the center of the loaded

area. horizontal surface stresses considered to be zero for

analysis.

A uniform vertical pressure is applied on the surface of

pavement.
Resilient
Modulus
The resilient modulus MR is the elastic modulus based on the recoverable strain
under repeated loads, and is defined as
σd
MR
= εr

σ d = deviator stress
εr = recoverable elastic
strain
 Resilient Modulus- Subgrade & Subbase
Resilient modulus is the measure of its elastic behaviour determined from repeated
triaxial test on representative soil sample for soil subgrade and granular layer.

In the absence of the equipment the default resilient modulus can be determined
from
generally acceptable correlations

Subgrade Soil:
M RS (MPa) = 10 x CBR for CBR <= 5%
= 17.6 x (CBR) 0.64 for CBR > 5%
M RS = Resilient modulus of subgrade soil.
Granular Layer:
MRgranular = 0.2 x h 0.45 x MR subgrade
Where h = thickness of granular sub-base and base in mm
Resilient Modulus – Bituminous
Layer
Different types of bituminous mixes used in India are

 Bituminous Concrete (BC)

 Semi Dense Bituminous Concrete (SDBC)

 Dense Bituminous Macadam (DBM)

 Bituminous Macadam (BM)

 Mixes prepared using emulsion/foamed bitumen and modified

binders
 Resilient Modulus – Bituminous
Layer
• Resilient Modulus depend Upon Grade of Binder, Frequency of
Load, Air Voids, Shape of Aggregate, Bitumen Content etc.
• Average annual pavement temperature 35 0 C is considered in India.
• Poisson’s Ration is considered to be 0.35.
Resilient Modulus – Bituminous
Layer
Indicative Values of Resilient Modulus (Mpa) of Bituminous Mixes
Elastic Modulus - Cementitious base and
Subbase
Elastic Modulus E, can be determined from the unconfined compressive strength of
the cementitious material.
The laboratory-based E value is given by the following equation:
Ec tsb/ctb = 1000 * UCS
Where UCS = Unconfined compressive strength of the cementitious granular material.

In case of cementitious granular sub-base having a 7-day UCS of 1.5 to 3 MPa. If

the stabilized soil sub-bases have 7-day UCS values in the range 0.75 to 1.5 MPa,
the recommended E value for design is 400 MPa .

Cemented base layers may consist of aggregates or soils or both stabilized with chemical
stabilizers such as cement, lime, lime-flyash or other stabilizers which are required to give a
minimum strength of 4.5 to 7 MPa in 7/28 days.
Recommended Material Properties for Structural Layers
PERPETUAL PAVEMENT

• Having Design Life of 50 years or longer.

• In Indian context, pavement with design traffic > 300msa may be designed as Long-
Life Pavements.
• As per Asphalt institute, MS-4, 7th edition
 If Tensile strain (Bituminous layer) < 70 microstrain, then bituminous layer will
never crack
 If vertical subgrade strain < 200 microstrain, there will be practically very little
rutting in the subgrade.
Design Traffic
Following information is required for computation of design traffic

 Initial traffic after construction in terms of number of Commercial

Vehicles per day (CVPD) (Commercial vehicle > 3 tonnes gross weight)
 Traffic growth rate during the design life in percentage.
 Design life in number of years.
 Spectrum of axle loads.
 Vehicle Damage Factor (VDF).
 Distribution of commercial traffic over the carriageway

Commercial vehicles having gross vehicle weight of 3 tonnes or more and their
axle-loading is considered for pavement design.

Traffic count is made in accordance with IRC: 9-2015 on seven-day 24-hour traffic
volume count.
Design Traffic
Traffic Growth Rate
• To be estimated as per IRC: 108 (2016)
• Assume 5% if no data is available.

Design Period
• NH, SH and Urban Roads - 20 Years
• Other category of Roads - 15 Years
• High Density Corridors - 30 Years
(more than 300 msa)
 Design Traffic
Lateral Distribution of commercial traffic
Single - lane road - 100% of two-way traffic
2-lane single carriageway - 50% of two-way traffic
4-lane single carriageway - 40% of two-way traffic

Dual Carriageway roads

Dual 2-lane carriageways - 75% of traffic in each direction
Dual 3-lane carriageways - 60% of traffic in each direction
Dual 4-lane carriageways - 45% of traffic in each direction

Traffic in each direction assumed to be half the total traffic if

directional distribution is not known.
Vehicle Damage Factor
Vehicle Damage Factor (VDF) - Multiplier to convert the number of
commercial vehicles of different axle loads and axle configuration
into the number of repetitions of standard axle load (80 kN).

Minimum Sample Size for Axle Load Survey

Vehicle Damage Factor

• Equivalency Factor =
• Doubling the load means 16 times more damage than the standard load.

Axle Standard Load, kN Wheel Configuration

Single axle with single wheel 65
Single axle with dual wheel 80
Tandem axle with dual wheel 148

Tridem axle with dual wheel 224

 Vehicle Damage Factor

Example

Tandem axle Tridem axle

Single axle
Dual wheel Dual wheel
Single wheel

Say, Axle
Load 70 160 kN 300 kN
kN
4 160 4 300 4
VDF 70 [ ] [ ]
[ ] 148 224
Calculation 65
=1.35 =1.37 =3.22

Hence, Total VDF = 5.95

Design
Traffic
The design traffic is computed terms of the cumulative number of standard axles to
be
used during the design life of the road should be analyzed by the following equation:
NDes = [365 x {(1 + r)n – 1}]
xAx D x F
r
Where
,
NDes = Cumulative number of standard axles to be catered for in the design in terms of
msa. A = Initial traffic in the year of completion of construction in terms of the number
of
Commercial vehicles per day (C VPD).
D = Lane distribution factor.
F = Vehicle Damage Factor
(VDF). n = Design life in years.
r = Annual growth rate of
commercial vehicles in decimal.
A = P (1 + r)x
Where,
EXAMPLE
DATA:
Two-lane single = 500
ca rriageway CV/day
(sum of both directions)
Initial traffic in a year of completion of
construction

Traffic growth rate per = 5 percent

annum = 15 years
Design life = 2.5 (standard axles
Vehicle damage factor per commercial
vehicle)

Design CBR value of sub-grade soil = 4

%
EXAMPLE
Distribution factor = 0.5
Cumulative number of standard axles to be catered
for in the design

365 x [(1+0.05) 15 –1]

N= x 500 x 0.5 x 2.5
0.05
=4922609.82 x 10 -6 msa = 4.92msa
Adopt traffic 5msa
Design CBR value of sub-grade soil = 4 %
Total Pavement thickness for = 620 mm
SDBC=25mm,
DBM=60mm,
G.Base=250mm,
GSB=285mm
 EXAMPLE
Data:
i) 4-lane divided carriageway

Initial traffic in each directions in the year of= 5600 C V /

day
Completion of
c onstruction =15yr
iii) Design life s
iv) Design CBR of sub-grade =5
soil %
vi) v)
Vehicle
Trafficdamage
growth rate
factor = 4.5 (Found out
= 8 from axle
road survey axles per CV on existing road)
% Determine
the thickness of pavement.
Pavement Composition

Granular Base and Granular Subbase

Pavement Composition

Bituminous Pavements with Cemented Base and Cemented Subbase

with Crack Relief Interlayer of Aggregate
Pavement Composition

Cemented Base and Cemented Subbase with Sami at the Interface

of Cemented Base and the Bituminous Layer
Pavement Composition

Foamed Bitumen/Bitumen Emulsion Treated Rap/Aggregates Over Cemented

Subbase
Pavement Composition

Cemented Base and Granular Subbase with Crack Relief Layer of

Aggregate
Pavement Composition – Non Bituminous
Layer

CBR value of the subgrade is less than 2 per cent, the design should be based on
subgrade CBR value of 2 per cent ad a capping layer of 150 mm thickness of material
with a minimum CBR of 10 percent shall be provided in addition to the sub – base.

Recommended minimum thickness of granular base is 100 mm for traffic upto 5msa and
200 mm for traffic exceeding 5 msa.

The thickness of any layer to be stabilized shall be not less than 100 mm
when
compacted.
Pavement Composition – Bituminous
Layer
Bituminous Layer = Wearing Course
or
= Wearing course + Binder course

Wearing Courses - Bituminous concrete(BC), Semi-dense bituminous

concrete(SDBC), Surface dressing, Open-graded premix carpet, Mix
seal surfacing.

Binder Course - Bituminous Macadam (BM) and Dense Bituminous

Macadam (DBM).
Design
Software
IITPAVE
KENPAVE
BISAR
MICH-
PAVE