The University of Lahore

Department of Civil Engineering

Assignment

Submitted by: Abdul Rehman Qadir

Registration No: BSCE01173116

Submitted to: Sir Abdul Aziz

Section: C

 
 Flexible and Rigid Pavement

What is Pavement?
• Pavement or carriageway is that part of the road or highway which supports the
wheel loads imposed on it from traffic moving over it.

• It ought to be strong enough to resist the stresses that are being developed as a
result of traffic.

• Pavement should also be thick enough to distribute the external loads on the
earthen sub-grade so that sub-grade can safely bear these external loads.

• The pavement consists of a few layers of pavement materials over a prepared

soil sub-grade

• Pavement consists of one or more layers. A simple classification of layers as per

Indian practice is shown in fig no-1

Sub Grade Fig No-1

• The surfacing is the topmost layer, which should be smooth, abrasion-resistant,

dustproof, and strong. The base course immediately below the surfacing is a
medium to distribute the stress evenly.

• The sub-base course gives additional help in distributing the stress. Sub-grade is
the compacted earth below the sub-base course. Pavement should be even. It
should have light-reflecting materials for night visibility.
• The layer surfacing is the topmost layer, which should be smooth, abrasion-
resistant, dustproof, and strong. The base course immediately below the
surfacing is the medium to distribute the stress evenly.

• Sub-base the base course that gives additional help in distributing the stress.
Sub-grade is the compacted earth below the sub-base course. Pavement should
be even.

• It should have light-reflecting materials for night visibility.

• Based on location, materials of construction, a fund available, necessity, use,

traffic volume, roads are classified into different types of roads like earth road,
gravel road, water-bound macadam (WBM) road, bituminous or blacktop road,
and cement concrete road.

Flexible Pavement
• Flexible pavements are such, which on the whole have Minimal or Low flexural
strength and therefore are rather flexible at their structural action under the
loads

• The flexible pavement layers reflect this deformation of these lower layers on-to
that the top layer of the layer.

• Therefore, if the lower layer of the pavement or soil subgrade is undulated.

• The flexible pavement surface also gets undulated. Flexible pavement consists
of four components:

1 Subgrade (Prepared Road Bed)

2 Sub base Course

3 Base Course 4 Surface Course

Schematic of a Flexible Pavement Fig No-02

• The flexible pavement layers transmit this vertical or compressive stresses to

the lower layers by grain transfer through the points of contact at the granular
structure.

• A well-compacted granular structure consisting of strong graded aggregate

(interlocked aggregate structure with or without binder materials) can move the
compressive stresses through a wider area, and so forms a good flexible
pavement layer this load spreading ability of this layer, therefore, depends on the
type of the mix design and the materials factors.

• Bituminous concrete is among the best flexible pavement layer materials Other
materials that fall under the group arc, All granular materials without a
bituminous binder, granular base and sub-base course materials such as the
Water Bound Macadam, crushed gravel, aggregate, soil-aggregate mixes, etc.

•The vertical compressive Pressure is equal to the pavement surface directly

under the wheel load and also is equivalent to the contact pressure under the
wheel because of the ability to distribute the pressures to a larger area from the
shape. Of a truncated cone, the pressures decreased at the lower layer

• Hence by taking full advantage of the Pressure distribution characteristics of the

flexible pavement, the layer system concept has been developed,
• According to this. The flexible pavement might be constructed in many layers,
and the top layer was the strongest as the highest compressive stresses should be
sustained by this layer, along with the tear and wear as a result of the traffic.

• The lower layers have into take up only lesser magnitudes of stresses, and
there’s not any direct wearing action because of traffic loads. Therefore inferior
materials with lower cost can be used in the lower layers.

• The lowest layer is the prepared surface consisting of the local soil itself, called
the subgrade.

• A typical cross-section of a flexible pavement structure is shown in as per below

fig. no-1; this consists of a wearing surface on top, below which is the base course
followed with the sub base course and the lowest layer consists of the soil
subgrade that has the lowest stability one of the four typical flexible pavement
components.

• Each of the flexible pavement layers above the subgrade, viz. sub-base, base
course, and the surface course may consist of one or more layers of the same or
slightly different materials and specifications.

Rigid Pavement
• Rigid pavements are those that possess noteworthy flexural strength or flexural
rigidity. The pressures aren’t transferred from grain with the lower layers, as in
the ease of flexible pavement layers.

• The rigid pavements are made with Portland cement concrete-either plain,
reinforced or prestressed concrete the plain cement concrete slabs are expected
to take-up roughly 40 kg/sq. Cm. Flexural stress.

• The rigid pavement has the slab action and is capable of transmitting the wheel
load stresses through a wider area below.

• The main point of difference in the structural behavior of rigid pavement

compared to the flexible pavement is the critical condition of stress from the rigid
pavement is that the maximum flexural stress was occurring from the slab
because of wheel load and the temperature changes where-as from the flexible
pavement It’s the distribution of compressive stresses.

• Since the rigid pavement slab has tensile strength, tensile stresses are
developed due to the bending of the slab under a wheel load and temperature
variations.

• So the types of pressures developed and their distribution inside the concrete
slab that is concrete are quite different.

• The rigid pavement doesn’t get deformed into the shape of the surface as it
could bridge the minor variations of the lower layer.

• The cement concrete pavement slab may very well serve as a wearing surface in
addition to an effective base course.

• Therefore generally, the rigid pavement structure is made up of cement slab

that is concrete, below that the granular base or sub-base-course can be provided
(see above fig. 2).

• Although the cement concrete slab may also be laid directly over the soil
subgrade, this isn’t preferred, particularly when the subgrade, consists of fine-
grained soil.

• Supplying a good base or sub-base course layer below the concrete slab that is
concrete increases the pavement life considerably and thus works out more
economical in the long run.

• The rigid pavements are often designed,along with the stresses are analyzed
using the elastic theory and assuming the pavement within an elastic plate resting
over an elastic or a viscous foundation.
Difference Between Rigid Pavement and Flexible Pavement
• Design of rigid pavement is based-scientific design stresses of concrete on
whereas flexible pavement design is mostly empirical in nature.

• Life of rigid pavement is more than the flexible one.

• Maintenance of well deigned rigid pavement is practically very small, whereas

the bituminous surface of flexible pavement needs frequent maintenance.

• The initial cost of rigid pavement is much more than the flexible one.
Considering the stage of construction, flexible pavement is preferred to the rigid
pavement. The selection of a types of pavement depends on the availability of
materials of construction.

• Surface characteristics play another role in the selection of a types of pavement.

A good cement surface is smooth, free from potholes and corrugations. Flexible
pavement does not possess the above facilities.

• An impervious layer of the pavement is essential for the sub-grade. Preference

will always be the rigid pavement as concrete is impervious.

• Traffic dislocation during construction for about a month takes place as

concrete requires a minimum of 28 days for curing and setting. Inflexible
pavement traffic is allowed to move on the pavement once it is rolled.