1

Dr. Wasala Bandara

Pavement is defined as a road or highway with hard, smooth,

and leveled surface made using a suitable material such as
Portland cement concrete or asphalt concrete

Asphalt concrete pavement

Portland cement concrete pavement

2

In the west; Romans were the pioneer road makers, who use elaborate techniques
as far back as 312 B.C. They construcred the three kinds of roads as follows:

Levelled earth roads

Compacted gravel road

Stone block-paved roads

The Romens practiced the removal of all soft material under a pavement
and building up the road from the hard stratum. Therefore these road had
pavement thickness varying from 0.75m to 2.5m.

The next stage in the development of road making came in the 18th century when
the French engineer Tresaguset (1716-1796) introduced the concept of cross
chamber for surface water drainage.
This method of construction consisted of preparing a convex road bed or sub
grade and laying two layers of hand-packed foundation stones.

Telford (1757-1834), the founder and first president of the Institution of Civil
Engineers proposed a new method of construction in the early 19th century.

He believed in the principle of effecting surface drainage by a cross slope aopte by

Tresaguest, but obtained it by laying foundation stone of varying sizes on a flat
subgrade.

In 1827 Jhon Mc Adam, the forerunner of the modern highway

introduced a completely different method of road construction
based on scientific observations
1.

The earth based or subgrade that the road is built on, ultimately carried the total
load

2.

Any well rained compacted good soil could carry such a load. Hence subgrade
drainage under a pavement is important

3.

Structure stability of the pavement structure

4.

Stones on the surface layer should be smaller than the width of the wheel or
else loosening of the surface could occur

 Defined by users (drivers)

Develop methods to relate physical attributes to driver ratings

Result is usually a numerical scale

From the AASHO Road

Test (1956 1961)

Pavements are classified as flexible or rigid or composite

depending on how they distribute surface loads

Pavement

Flexible

Rigid

Composite

Constructed using
granular material
and bitumen

Constructed of
Portland cement
concrete (PCC)

Base layer of PCC

and a surface layer
of hot-mix asphalt
12

Flexible pavements are those which are surfaced (i.e.,

paved) with bituminous materials such as asphalt concrete
Asphalt concrete possess a lower stiffness (EI) than
Portland cement concrete due to lower modulus of
elasticity of asphalt concrete as compared to Portland
cement concrete
Due to lower stiffness of asphalt concrete the total
structure of a flexible pavement "bends" or "deflects"
under traffic loads. This is the logic behind calling such a
pavement as "flexible pavement

13

Flexible pavements distribute the wheel load over a coneshaped area under the wheel, reducing the imposed unit
stresses as depth increases

Load distribution under a

flexible pavement

Stress at lower depth is

higher than the stress
at higher depth
14

Rigid pavements are those which are surfaced (i.e., paved)

with Portland cement concrete
Portland cement concrete possess a substantially higher
stiffness (EI) than asphalt concrete due to higher
modulus of elasticity of Portland cement concrete as
compared to asphalt concrete
Due to high stiffness of Portland cement concrete the
total structure of a rigid pavement "bends" or "deflects"
very little under traffic loads. This is the logic behind
calling such a pavement as rigid pavement

15

Rigid pavements act as flexural members and distribute the

wheel load fairly uniformly over the area under the pavement
slab

Load distribution under

a rigid pavement

16

Structure
Surface course
Base course

Subbase course
Subgrade

17

 Subgrade: Prepared roadbed consisting of natural or

imported soil
Subbase course: This is the layer (or layers) under the
base layer. A subbase is not always needed and
therefore may often be omitted .
Base course: This is the layer directly below the
Portland cement concrete layer and generally consists
of aggregate or stabilized subgrade.
Surface course: This is the top layer and the layer that
comes in contact with traffic. It consists of the
Portland cement concrete slab
18

Jointed Plain Concrete Pavement (JPCP)

19

Continuously Reinforced Concrete Pavement (CRCP)

20

Slip form

Fixed form

21

Structure

Surface (Wearing) course

Base course
Road-base course
Sub-base course
Subgrade

22

 Subgrade: Prepared roadbed consisting of natural or imported

soil
Sub-base course: A layer between the subgrade and the roadbase course, made from materials superior to that of subgrade.
In case of a good quality of subgrade, the subbase course is
omitted.
Road-base course: A layer between the sub-base and the base
course
Base course: This is the layer directly below the asphalt
concrete layer and generally consists of aggregate (either
stabilized or unstabilized).
Surface course: This is the top layer and the layer that comes
in contact with traffic. It may be composed of one or several
different asphalt concrete sub layers
23

Dense-graded

Open-graded

Gap-graded
24

25

26

The functions of the different layers of flexible pavement are as follows

1. Wearing course
a)
b)
c)
d)

Withstands direct traffic loading.

Provides smooth riding
Provides skid resistant surface
Waterproofs the pavement

2. Base-course
(a) Supports wearing course
(b) Assists protecting layers below

3. Road-base
(a) Main load spreading layer of the pavement structure

4. Sub-base
a) Assists load spreading
b) Assists subsoil drainage
c) Acts as temporary road for construction traffic

27

Granular sub-base, called Type 1

Graded Granular sub-base, called Type 2

(Crushed rock; slag; or other hard material such as smaller size material
other than what specified in Type 1. Therefore, natural sands and gravels.)

Type 1 is stronger
It has good particle distribution and hence good
interlocking quality
28

Sieve size
75 mm
37.5 mm
10 mm
5 mm
600 m
78 m

Percentage passing
Type 1

Type 2

100
85-100
40-70
25-45
8-22
0-10

100
85-100
45-100
25-85
8-45
0-10

29

Upper Sub-base

Soil Type
Liquid Limit (LL)
Plasticity Index (PI)
Maximum Dry Density
4-days soaking CBR at
98% MDD
Layers thickness
Compaction using
Optimum moisture content
Degree of Compaction

Flexible
Rigid
Type I & II
Not to exceed
Not to exceed
40%
25%
Not to exceed
Not to exceed
15%
6%
Not less than 1,750 kg/m3

Not less than 30%

Lower Sub-base
( Capping layer or
Selected Subgrade)
Flexible
Type I & II
Not to exceed 40%
Not to exceed 15%
Not less than 1,650 kg/m3

Not less than 15%

Not exceed 225 mm

8-10 tonne smooth wheel roller
2%
98%
95%

Standard Specification for Construction and Maintenance of Roads and Bridges (ICTAD- SCA/5)
30

Wet mix macadam

Crushed rock graded and mixed with 2-6% water. Laid in 200 mm layers and
compacted or rolled

Dry bound macadam

37.5 mm to 50.0 mm single size crushed rock laid in 75-100 mm thick

layers and rolled
A 25mm thick 4.7mm down crushed rock layer is laid on top and vibrated
into the course layer
Repeat until no more smaller material can be worked in. Excess fines
removed and additional course layers are laid to build the required
thickness of road-base

Dense bituminous macadam

Crushed rock (fines <3.35 mm 38%) mixed with bitumen (10 pen to 200
pen, 50 58C ect). Good load spreading properties
31

Rolled asphalt

Well graded crushed rock (35% fine aggregate and 65% coarse
aggregate) plant mixed with 50 70 % pen grade bitumen

Lean concrete

Cement bound road-base

Soil cement and cement bound granular road base.

Mixtures of soil or granular material and cement, laid
full depth in one layer and rolled.

32

Single sized aggregate

base

Water bound &

Dry bound
macadam
bases

Dense graded
aggregate bases

Penetration Macadam bases Bitumen bound bases

Material

Broken or crushed stone

nominal single size 50mm
or 37.5mm and 20mm or
14mm respectively

Broken or crushed
stone nominal
single size 50mm
or 63mm and
crusher fines

Shall be graded
crushed rock nominal
single size 37.5mm or
28mm or 20mm

Coarse aggregate shall be

50mm or 37.5 mm and key
aggregate shall be 20mm or
14mm
Bituminous binder shall be
80-100 penetration grade
bitumen or 10-20 % cutback
bitumen or MC 800 or
MC3000 cutback bitumen or
bitumen emulsion CRS-2

Thickness of
base course
(compacted)

75mm-50mm aggregate
& 20mm choker stone
55mm- 37.5 mm
aggregate & 14mm
choker stone
150mm- 100mm
aggregate, 50mm
aggregate & 20mm
choker stone
130mm- 100mm
aggregate, 37.5mm
aggregate & 14mm
choker stone

Not less than

75mm and shall
not normally
exceed 200mm

Not less than 75mm

and shall not normally
exceed 200mm

75 mm- 50mm aggregate

55mm- 37.5mm aggregate

Compaction
using

8-10 tonne steel wheel

8-10 tonne steel
8-10 tonne steel wheel 8-10 tonne smooth wheel roller
roller or approved vibratory wheel roller or
roller or approved
rollers
approved vibratory vibratory rollers
rollers

Optimum
moisture content
Degree of
Compaction

2%

2%

2%

Not less than 98%

Not less than 98%

Not less than 98%

Coarse aggregate shall

be 37.5 mm or 20mm
and fine aggregate shall
conform to general
requirements
Binder shall be 60-70
penetration grade
bitumen

Max 100mm
Min 60mm

92%

Standard Specification for Construction and Maintenance of Roads and Bridges (ICTAD- SCA/5)

33

Base-course

Open textured macadam

Coarse graded, no fines <3.35 mm

Thickness 60 80 mm for 40mm
Thickness 35 50 mm for 20mm

Dense base-course Well graded crushed rock

(35% fine aggregate and 65% coarse aggregate),

Thickness 60 80 mm for 40mm

Thickness 50 60 mm for 28 mm
Thickness 35 50 mm for 20mm

Rolled asphalt base-course

50 75 mm layer of rolled asphalt

34

Wearing course
Bituminous

surface dressing and a layer of

chippings <10 mm.

Rolled and excess chippings removed.

Double bituminous surface treatment (DBST)

Tack coat, aggregate layer, rolled.
Bitumen layer, aggregate later rolled followed
by bituminous surface dressing
35

Wearing course
Hot rolled asphalt
The Strongest and durable.

Made of high fines

Laid 40 mm thick with 20 mm coated chippings rolled into the surface
for better skid resistance.

36

 The strength of the sub-grade - California Bearing Ratio

(CBR) is one measure of sub-grade strength

The number of wheel load applications on the

pavement during the design life

An empirical relationship, layer thicknesses have

with CBR value of sub-grade and number of wheel

load applications
Locally available materials for construction
37

CBR is a measure of
resistance of material to
penetration of a plunger under
controlled
density
and
moisture conditions

Most universally accepted

pavement design methods

A standard penetration-type load-deformation test is

carried out, and using the values obtained from the
test from an empirical design chart, the pavement
thickness are calculated

38

Apparatus

Surcharge weight

A balance

Detachable base plate

Cylindrical mould
Spacer Disc

Test sieves

Slotted weight
Rammers
ventilated oven - Thermostatically
controlled to maintain a temperature
of 105 5 C.

Loading machine
5000kg (rate
1.25mm/min)

39

Filter paper

Procedure
The specimen is mixed with enough water to dampen it
to achieve the required laboratory moisture ratio. It is
then left to cure for as long as it takes for the water to be
thoroughly mixed into and uniformly distributed
Compact into mould using modified compaction
Dynamic compaction
Light Comp.

Heavy Comp.

Rammer weight

2.6 kg

4.89 kg

Fall

31 cm

45 cm

56

56

No. of layers

Blows/layer

Load is applied on the sample by a standard plunger

at the rate of 1 0.2 mm/min

40

Results
Plot the load penetration curve

41

Results

x
CBR 100
y
x = material resistance or the unit load on
the piston (pressure) for 2.5 mm or 5
mm of penetration
y = standard unit load (pressure) for well
graded crushed stone.
For 2.5 mm of penetration = 13.2 kN
For 5.0 mm of penetration = 19.5 kN

42

Results
Read the force value in N at penetrations of 2.5mm and
5.0mm and calculate the bearing ratio for each by
dividing by 13.2kN and 19.5kN respectively, then
multiplying by 100
The greatest value calculated for penetrations at 2.5mm
and 5.0mm will be recorded as the CBR

43

New origin
2.5
5.0

44

California Bearing Ratio Vs

Moisture content
California Bearing
Ratio Equipment

45

USC-Unified Soil Classification

General Soil Type

Clean gravels
Gravels with fines
Clean sands
Sands with fines

Silts and clays

USC Soil Type

CBR Range

GW

40 80

GP

30 60

GM

20 60

GC

20 40

SW

20 40

SP

10 40

SM

10 40

SC

5 20

ML

15 or less

CL

15 or less

OL

5 or less

MH

10 or less

CH (LL>50%)

15 or less

OH

5 or less

46

The flow chart leading to the design

of flexible pavement using steps
discussed in road note 31
Overseas Road Note 31
A guide to the structural design of
bitumen-surfaced roads in tropical and
sub tropical countries published by
Transport Research Laboratory (TRL),
United Kingdom gives a simple but
adequate design procedure for most
Sri Lankan roads

47

Several typical methods

CBR Method

Asphalt Institute method

California Method

AASHTO Method

Mechanistic design Method

48

In this method, the CBR values are used to determine the

total thickness of the flexible pavement and its various layers

KEY TO STRUCTUREAL CATALOGUE

Traffic Classes
Traffic class

106 esa Range

Sub-grade strength classes

Sub-grade strength class

Range of CBR %

T1

< 0.3

S1

T2

0.3 - 0.7

S2

34

T3

0.7 - 1.5

S3

5 -7

T4

1.5 - 3.0

S4

8 14

T5

3.0 6.0

S5

15 29

T6

6.0 10

S6

30 +

T7

10 17

T8

17 - 30

49

Wheel load applications

The required data for pavement design

CBR value

The number of times wheel loads are applied to the pavement

This is based on the design life, the anticipated number of different

types of vehicles using the pavement during the design life and the
equivalent factors (EF) for each vehicle type which converts an
axle loading to a standard axle loading

50

EF per Vehicle

5.11
5
4
3
1.85

1.35

1
0

0.0007

0.10

Car

Delivery Truck

Loaded 18Wheeler

Loaded 40' Bus

Loaded 60'
Articulated Bus
51

Equivalent standard axles (esa)

Base year traffic flow is the Annual Average Daily Traffic

(AADT) of the base year

The number of vehicles is converted into equivalent standard

axles (esa)

=
Use growth factor (r) for each vehicle class and the assigned design
life (n years) to calculate cumulative esa

+
=

52

53

Directional factor (fD)

Directional Distribution

Directional factor fD

50/50

1.00

60/40

0.94

70/30

0.89

80/20

0.83

54

55

KEY TO STRUCTUREAL CATALOGUE

Traffic Classes
Traffic class

106 esa Range

Sub-grade strength classes

Sub-grade strength class

Range of CBR %

T1

< 0.3

S1

T2

0.3 - 0.7

S2

34

T3

0.7 - 1.5

S3

5 -7

T4

1.5 - 3.0

S4

8 14

T5

3.0 6.0

S5

15 29

T6

6.0 10

S6

30 +

T7

10 17

T8

17 - 30

56

According to road note 31

Shows the flow chart leading to the design of flexible using steps
discussed in road note 31

57

shows the legend of description of pavement materials necessary to refer

T1

T2

T4

T5
SD

T6
SD

T7
SD
225

SD

SD

150

150

200

175

225*

200

250*

300*

325*

300

300

300

300

300

300

SD

SD

SD

S1

T3

200

200

SD

S2

SD
150

SD
150

SD
200

200
275*
225*

150

200

175

200

200

200

200

SD

S3

SD
150
200

SD

SD

150

200

250

225

225

200

200

200

SD

300*

200

SD
225

200

275*

325*

SD

SD

200

200

200

250

350*

SD

S4

SD
150

SD

SD

150

200

175

150

225

275
125

SD

S5

S6

SD

SD

SD

SD

SD
225
150

150

150

175

200

100

100

100

125

SD

SD

SD

SD

150

150

175

200

SD
225

250

GRANULAR ROADBASE /
SURFACE DRESSING
Notes
1. Up to 100mm of sub-base
may be substituted with
selected fill provided the subbase is not reduced to les
than the road-base thickness
or 200mm whichever is the
greater. The substitution ratio
of sub-base to selected fill is
25mm-32mm.
2. A cement or lime stabilized
sub-base may also be used.

175
SD
250

58

COMPOSITE ROADBASE
(UNBOUND AND CEMENTED)
/ SURFACE DRESSING
Notes
1. Sub-base to fill substitution
not permitted.

59

GRANULAR ROADBASE /
SEMI-STRUCTURAL
SURFACE
Notes
1. * Up to 100mm of sub-base
may be substituted with
selected fill provided the subbase is not reduced to les
than the road-base thickness
or 200mm whichever is the
greater. The substitution ratio
of sub-base to selected fill is
25mm-32mm.
2. A cement or lime stabilized
sub-base may also be used.
60

COMPOSITE ROADBASE /
SEMI-STRUCTURAL
SURFACE
Notes
1. Sub-base to fill substitution
not permitted

61

GRANULAR ROADBASE /
STRUCTURAL SURFACE
Notes
1. * Up to 100mm of sub-base
may be substituted with
selected fill provided the subbase is not reduced to les
than the road-base thickness
or 200mm whichever is the
greater. The substitution ratio
of sub-base to selected fill is
25mm-32mm.
2. A cement or lime stabilized
sub-base may also be used.
62

COMPOSITE ROADBASE /
STRUCTURAL SURFACE
Notes
1. Sub-base to fill substitution
not permitted.

63

BITUMINOUS ROADBASE /
SEMI-STRUCTURAL
SURFACE
Notes
1. * Up to 100mm of sub-base
may be substituted with
selected fill provided the subbase is not reduced to less
than the road-base thickness
or 200mm whichever is the
greater. The substitution ratio
of sub-base to selected fill is
25mm-32mm.
2. A cement or lime stabilized
sub-base may also be used.
64

BITUMINOUS ROADBASE /
SEMI-STRUCTURAL
SURFACE
Notes
1. A granular sub-base may
also be used.

65

Road note 31

66

Road note 31

67

Road note 31

68

Road note 31

69

Road note 31

70

Example: Design a flexible for the AADT values given in the table and a soil with CBR 6.5.
Step1:Base Year Equivalent Standard Axles ( )
Axle load of
vehicle class (KN)

AADT of vehicle
class

Equivalent Factor
(EF)

3.0
4.0
5.0
6.0
7.0
8.0
9.0
10.0
11.0
12.0

450
380
250
100
85
75
40
35
25
15

0.01
0.04
0.11
0.25
0.50
0.91
1.55
2.50
3.83
5.67

1643
5548
10038
9125
15513
24911
22630
31938
34949
31043

71

Step2: Calculation of cumulative esa

Axle load of
vehicle class

3.0
4.0
5.0
6.0
7.0
8.0
9.0
10.0
11.0
12.0
Total

Base year esa

Growth
Factor
(%)

Design
life (n
years)

1643
5548
10038
9125
15513
24911
22630
31938
34949
31043

4
3
3
4
5
5
3
4
4
5

10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10

Cumulative esa
( )

19726
63602
115074
109556
195121
313328
259428
383451
419601
390456
2269343

72

Step 3: Find the traffic & sub grade strength class

1. The traffic class is T4
2. Sub grade strength class is S3

Step 4: Refer the charts:

73

GRANULAR ROADBASE /
SEMI-STRUCTURAL
SURFACE
Notes
1. * Up to 100mm of sub-base
may be substituted with
selected fill provided the subbase is not reduced to les
than the road-base thickness
or 200mm whichever is the
greater. The substitution ratio
of sub-base to selected fill is
25mm-32mm.
2. A cement or lime stabilized
sub-base may also be used.
74

COMPOSITE ROADBASE /
SEMI-STRUCTURAL
SURFACE
Notes
1. Sub-base to fill substitution
not permitted

75

BITUMINOUS ROADBASE /
SEMI-STRUCTURAL
SURFACE
Notes
1. * Up to 100mm of sub-base
may be substituted with
selected fill provided the subbase is not reduced to less
than the road-base thickness
or 200mm whichever is the
greater. The substitution ratio
of sub-base to selected fill is
25mm-32mm.
2. A cement or lime stabilized
sub-base may also be used.
76

Type

Structure

Granular road-base /
semi-structural surface
Notes

Composite road-base
/ semi-structural
surface
Bituminous road-base
/ semi-structural
surface
Notes

Notes
1. * Up to 100mm of sub-base may be substituted with selected fill provided the sub-base is not reduced to less
than the road-base thickness or 200mm whichever is the greater. The substitution ratio of sub-base to selected
fill is 25mm-32mm.
77

2.

A cement or lime stabilized sub-base may also be used.

How to do the economical design

Notes
1. * Up to 100mm of sub-base may be substituted with selected fill provided the
sub-base is not reduced to less than the road-base thickness or 200mm
whichever is the greater. The substitution ratio of sub-base to selected fill is
25mm-32mm.
2.

A cement or lime stabilized sub-base may also be used.

Road base thickness

= 175 mm
Minimum Sub base thickness = 175 mm or 200mm whichever is the grater = 200 mm
Substituted layer thickness ( capping layer)
= 325mm 200 mm
= 125 mm (but maximum capping layer thickness is 100mm)
= 100 mm
New sub base thickness

=325 mm 100 mm = 225 mm

Actual thickness of capping layer

= 100/25 X 32 (The substitution ratio of sub-base to selected
fill is 25mm-32mm)
78
= 128 mm

The section of economical design

Normal design

Economical design

225
128

79

Upper Sub-base
Liquid Limit (LL)

Not to exceed 40%

Plasticity Index (PI)

Not to exceed 15%

Not less than 1,750
kg/m3

Maximum Dry Density

4-days soaking CBR at 98%
MDD
Layers thickness
Compaction using
Optimum moisture content
Degree of Compaction

Not less than 30%

Lower Sub-base
( Capping layer or Selected
Subgrade)
Not to exceed 40%
Not to exceed 15%
Not less than 1,650 kg/m3

Not less than 15%

Not exceed 225 mm

8-10 tonne smooth wheel roller
2%
98%
95%

Standard Specification for Construction and Maintenance of Roads and Bridges (ICTAD- SCA/5)
80