PART I1

PAVEMENT DESIGN PROCEDURES

FOR NEW CONSTRUCTION
OR RECONSTRUCTION
 CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
This chapter first discusses the background relative
to the development of pavement design procedures for
new construction and reconstruction. This is followed
by a brief discussion of the scope of Part 11. Next, the
limitations of the design procedures are discussed
followed by the concluding section, which briefly dis-
cusses the organization of this Part.
It is assumed in this text that the reader has studied
Part I, “Pavement Design and Management Prin-
ciples’’ prior to applying the design procedures de-
scribed herein. The basic principles are contained in
Part I.
1.1 BACKGROUND
One of the major objectives of the AASHO Road
Test was to provide information that could be used in
developing pavement design criteria and pavement de-
sign procedures. Accordingly, following completion
of the Road Test, the AASHO Design Committee,
through its Subcommittee on Pavement Design Prac-
tices, developed the AASHO Interim Guide fur the
Design of Rigid and Flexible Pavements. The Guide
was based on the results of the AASHO Road Test
supplemented by existing design procedures and, in
the case of rigid pavements, available theory.
After the Guide was used for a few years by the
states, the AASHTO Design Committee, in 1972, is-
sued the AASHTO Interim Guide for Design of Pave-
menr Structures that incorporated experience that had
accrued since the original issue of the Guide. In 1981,
the rigid pavement portion of the Guide (Chapter III)
was revised.
This issue of the Guide contains the following mod-
ifications to the 1981 version, which were defined by
the Subcommittee on Pavement Design Practices:
(1) The following modifications are included in
the flexible pavement design procedures:
(a) The soil support number is replaced by
the resilient modulus to provide a ra-
tional testing procedure that may be used
by an agency to define the material prop-
erties.
The layer coefficients for the various
materials are defined in terms of resilient
modulus as well as standard methods
(CBR and R-value).
The environmental factors of moisture
and temperature are objectively included
in the Guide so that environmental con-
siderations could be rationally accounted
for in the design procedure. This ap-
proach replaced the subjective regional
factor term previously used.
Reliability is introduced to permit the de-
signer to use the concept of risk analysis
for various classes of roadways.
Stage construction (i.e., planned re-
habilitation) design procedures are
incorporated.
following modifications are made in the
design procedures for rigid pavements:
(a) Reliability concepts identical to those
used for the flexible pavements are in-
troduced.
(b) The environmental aspects of design are
introduced in the same format as for
flexible pavements.
(c) The design procedure is modified to in-
clude such factors as tied shoulders, sub-
base erosion, and lean subbase designs.
The material from the 1972 version is reorganized
and presented in a new format, as described in Part I
of this Guide. Basically, the approach is to describe
the input, present the design equation (nomographs,
etc.), and, finally, describe the results of the design
process.
1.2 SCOPE
The procedure contained herein is basically an ex-
tension of the algorithms originally developed from
the AASHO Road Test. The extensions provide the
designer with the opportunity to use the latest state of
the art techniques. If all the inputs of the AASHO
Road Test are entered into the design procedures, the
11-3
11-4
results will be the same as from those equations devel-
oped at the AASHO Road Test.
The material contained in this Part deals with the
design of a new roadway or reconstruction of an exist-
ing one. The concepts of stage construction are also
presented to provide the designer with the option of
examining numerous alternatives for selection of an
optimum pavement design strategy for a facility.
Part I1 also permits the designer to account for
pavement serviceability loss resulting from both traf-
fic loads and environment. The environmental aspects
are considered in terms of both their direct and indi-
rect effects on the serviceability index. The direct
environmental effects are in terms of swelling and
frost heave of the roadbed soil, while the indirect ef-
fects are in terms of the seasonal variation of material
properties and their impact on traffic load associated
serviceability loss. The designer has the option of not
considering either of these environmental factors, if
so desired.
1.3 LIMITATIONS
The limitations inherent in the original AASWO
Road Test equations are still applicable:
(1) specific set of pavement materials and one
roadbed soil,
(2) single environment,
(3) an accelerated procedure for accumulating
traffic (a 2-year testing period extrapolated to a
10- or 20-year design), and
(4) accumulating traffic on each test section by
operating vehicles with identical axle loads
Design of Pavement Structures
and axle configurations, as opposed to mixed
traffic.
These basic limitations are reduced to some extent
by experiences of various agencies which have been
incorporated into this edition of the Guide, as well as
into previous editions.
1.4 ORGANIZATION
Basically, the material contained herein is pre-
sented in a modular form. First, the procedures for
major highways are presented. These are then fol-
lowed by the design procedures for low-volume roads.
Although this Guide is not intended to be a user’s
manual for computer application, the material is
presented in a format suitable for utilization with the
computer. Computer programs are available for solv-
ing the basic equations and generating multiple design
strategies so that the designer may select an optimum
economical solution. These programs are not, how-
ever, documented in this Guide. Thus, the designer
must refer to other AASHTO documents for user man-
uals. The version presented in this Part is basically a
simplified approach in which nomographs are used to
solve the basic equations. If the designer solves an
extensive array of problems, he will arrive at the same
optimum solution as the computer approach.
In addition to the design chart procedure, a simpli-
fied approach is provided for the design of low-
volume roads. Basically, it consists of a catalog of
designs which requires a minimum of user input. This
is intended to be used as a guideline by those agencies
with minimal available funds for design. It is not in-
tended to serve as a replacement for a rigorous design
procedure.