Pavement Technology

a. Purpose and Function of Pavement

Pavement must serve two basics functions – it must perform as engineering structure
and at the same time meet functional requirements.
In terms of structural performance, pavement must be of sufficient thickness, and be
composed of materials of sufficient quality, to be able to withstand the various loads that
are applied to it by heavy vehicles.
In terms of functional performance, pavement must have a good riding quality to ensure
comfortable travel for the road user and in the case of surfaced pavements, a surface
having adequate drainage, skid resistance, reflectivity and line markings to ensure safe
travel. The surfaces must also be capable of resisting both vertical and horizontal
surface stresses in order to maintain its integrity. If the surface is lost, or cracked, then
ride comfort is affected and water can enter the underlying base layers. It must also be
capable of withstanding environmental loads, including oxidation of bituminous binders.

Figure 1 Pavement Structure and Its Role in the Road Formation

b. Pavement Types and Components

Pavements are classified as either flexible (unbound granular and/or stabilized materials
and/or asphalt) or rigid (concrete pavement with joints and/or steel reinforcement).

Flexible pavement including unbound pavements with thin bituminous surfacing and
bound (stabilized and asphalt) pavements. Rigid pavement including a relatively high
strength concrete base and one of a range of subbase materials (lean mix concrete,
cement stabilized crushed rock, unbound granular material, etc.). The various concrete
base formats are jointed unreinforced (plain concrete), jointed reinforced, continuously
reinforced, and steel fiber reinforced.
These need to be considered along with construction constraints, material availability
and costs, and the need to optimize the costs of the overall pavement system.

Figure 2 Components of Flexible and Rigid Pavement Structures

Wearing Surfaces
The primary function of the surface course is to withstand the prevailing loading and
environmental (moisture, dust, etc.) effects and hence provide a safe and functional
riding surface with reduced spray and noise while at the same time protecting the
underlaying pavement courses from moisture ingress.

The sprayed bituminous seal (or chip seal) provides an economical solution to surfacing
problem, consist of a thin film of bitumen sprayed on top of a compacted base and
incorporates a layer of a single-sized stone. Whilst spray seal surfacing mainly
contributes to the functional performance of pavements (provide a safe, all-weather
driving surface), asphalt and concrete also have roles to play in terms of the structural
performance of the pavement. Thin (30-50 mm) asphalt surfacing play a role in
delivering functional performance whilst thicker also deliver structural capacity.

Base
Base is the main load carrying course within the pavement. An unbound basecourse
consist of materials which are granular or mechanically stabilized or treated with binders
to improve properties other than strength. The quality of base can be improved using
stabilization; commonly used is cement.
 Subbase
Subbase in flexible pavements is also a load carrying course, its lower quality is related
to economics and the lower stress level than those near surface. The main role is to
provide adequate support to base and reduce the stress/strain applied to subgrade. It
may also be used to reduce the pumping of subgrade fines through joints or cracks onto
the surface of a pavement following the action of traffic or ground water pressure.
In term of rigid pavement, the provision of a bound or lean mix concrete subbase is
recommended to:
 Resist erosion of the subbase and limit pumping at the joints and slab edges
 Provide uniform support under the pavement
 Reduce the magnitude of the deflection at joints and enhance load transfer across
joints, especially if no other load transfer device (dowels) is provided
 Assist in the control of shrinkage and swelling of high-volume-change subgrade soils
Subgrade
Subgrade are inherently variable, reflecting the changes in topography, soil type and
drainage conditions. Improved subgrade is needed so they can provide sufficient support
to the upper layers and withstand the stresses applied to them under load. Other
practical considerations include the need to provide adequate access to construction
traffic. Improvement can be achieved through stabilization of the parent material or the
introducing an imported material placed over the parent material.
c. Pavement Materials
Unbound granular materials
It consists of gravels or crushed rocks which have a grading that makes them
mechanically stable, workable, and compactable. Their performance is largely governed
by their shear strength, stiffness, and resistance to material breakdown under
construction and traffic loading. The most common modes of distress are rutting and
shoving due to insufficient resistance to deformation through shear and densification,
and disintegration through breakdown.
Modified granular materials
It consists of granular material to which small amounts of stabilizing binder have been
added to improve stiffness or to correct other deficiencies, such as high plasticity,
without causing a significant increase in tensile capacity.
Bound materials
it consists of particle that are strongly bound together by binders such as lime, cement,
or bitumen. Under loading, they are able to develop tensile stresses without material
separation.
1. Stabilized materials
It involves mixing a chemical binding agent into pavement material and then
compacting and curing the material to form a bound pavement layer. The stabilizing
binder consist of lime, Portland cement, blended cement, bitumen or other
pozzolanic materials. The amount of binder added must be in sufficient quantity to
produce a bound layer with significant tensile strength.
i. Lime stabilized materials
It refers to the use of hydrated or quicklime (calcium hydroxide) rather than
agricultural lime (calcium carbonate). It is widely use to improve clay material
 having plasticity index (PI) values greater than 10. The result is an
immediately increase in strength, makes the soil more friable and reduce its
moisture sensitivity.
ii. Cement stabilized materials
Hydration of cement occurs in association with cement-clay interaction, the
hydrated cement fills void in the soil by both diffusion and volumetric growth
of the resulting compounds. Once the cement has been added, the material
should be compacted before the process of hydration is complete.
iii. Bitumen stabilized materials
Bituminous products like foamed bitumen, emulsion, etc. can be used to
stabilized a wide range of pavement materials. They will act as glue-like
cohesion agents in granular materials and as water-proofers. It is generally
used with granular materials rather than clay materials because mixing is
easier and the required strength gains are not as large.
iv. Recycled materials
Concrete and byproducts such as fly ash, bottom ash and ground granulated
blast furnace slag can be used, for example fly ash consists of fine siliceous
or aluminous and can react with other materials in presence of water to form
cementing compounds.
2. Asphalt
It is a mixture of bituminous binder and single-sized aggregate fractions. Open
graded asphalt is used as a skid resistance and also to reduce tire/road noise. The
drainage provided by this surface also reduces the spray hazard. The
strength/stiffness of asphalt is derived from friction between aggregate particles, the
viscosity of the bituminous binder under operating condition and the cohesion within
the mass resulting from the binder itself, and the adhesion between the binder and
the aggregate. The most common modes of distress are rutting and shoving due to
insufficient resistance to permanent deformation, and cracking, either due to fatigue
under applied loading or environmental factors (oxidation)
3. Concrete
It is a homogenous mixture of hydraulic cement, fine and coarse aggregate, water
and chemical admixtures. It can be used as a subbase in flexible pavement and as a
base or subbase in rigid pavement.
d. Pavement Type in Use Today
1. Unbound Granular Pavements
The design of unbound granular pavements with thin bituminous surfacing is
empirically based. Structurally, the granular pavement materials spread the load to
the foundation through its interparticle friction and shear strength. The demand for
smoother, dust free pavements to cater for higher speed pneumatic-tired vehicles,
and mechanized construction, led to the development of the maximum density
grading where a range of stone size was used to pack together into a dense, tight
mass. The need was also recognized for adequate compaction of the pavement
before traffic, to achieve a stable surface shape.
2. Asphalt pavements
Asphalt has a relatively low tensile strength for a bound pavement material, about
one-fifth of concrete but it has a high strain capacity, about double of concrete. The
bitumen binder in asphalt gives it its viscoelastic properties which are dependent on
 temperature and loading. The performance of asphalt surfacing can therefore be
greatly influenced by temperature, heavy vehicles, and traffic speed. Flexural fatigue
life improves rapidly as the asphalt layer thickness either increases from about 10 cm
or decreases from about 5 cm. With thick layer, the use of stiffer binder can improve
both the fatigue life and the rutting properties.
3. Rigid pavements

Figure 3 Typical longitudinal section of plain concrete pavement (PCP) steel fiber reinforced
concrete is sometimes used for PCP

Figure 4 Typical longitudinal section of jointed reinforced concrete pavement (JRCP)

Figure 5 Typical longitudinal section of continuously reinforced concrete pavement

Figure 6 Typical cross section of dowelled plain concrete pavement (PCP-D) steel fiber
reinforced concrete is sometimes used for PCP-D

In concrete pavements, shrinkage cracking is largely controlled to limit crack openings

and hence maintain load transfer across cracks and/or moisture ingress. At longitudinal
joints, tie bars hold the joint together while allowing slab warping to occur with the
 temperature changes. If used, continuous reinforcement constrains the concrete
shrinkage so that transverse cracks are closely spaced and therefore fine, ensuring
durability. For plain concrete pavement, transverse cracking is induced by saw cutting to
form joints, which are sealed but free to move with temperature changes.
With un-dowelled transverse joints, the degree of shrinkage must be controlled to
provide some load transfer by grain interlock at the joints; a concrete subbase is
required to compensate for the discontinuity.
Concrete strength and base thickness are very sensitive design parameters, as a 105
decrease in thickness or strength can result in a 90% reduction in pavement life.
Concrete pavement technology is relatively rigorous and requires strict quality control
during construction.
4. Pavements Strengthening Treatments
Pavements overlay
Thin bituminous overlays, such as slurry seals, sand asphalt or micro surfacing, are
regarded as non-structural overlays, while structural overlays involve the use of
either granular materials or asphalt at least 4 cm thick.

A non-structural overlay is used to address deficiencies in the functional performance

of a pavement (shape, ride quality, surface texture). While a structural overlay is
used to address distress and structural deficiencies.

Current overlay types:

 Granular overlays on flexible pavements
 Asphalt overlays on flexible pavements
 Asphalt overlays on rigid pavements
 Concrete overlays on flexible or rigid pavements

In situ stabilization
Stabilization is defined as the process of improving material to achieve a long-term
increase in its load bearing properties. Stabilization by modifying the material is
preferred when there are deficiencies in material quality not pavement thickness.

Current main method of stabilization:

 Granular (mechanical) stabilization
 Cementitious stabilization
 Lime stabilization
 Bitumen stabilization
 Other chemical stabilizing binders such as dry powdered polymers
5. Unsealed Roads
e. Pavement Behavior Under Load
The basic function of pavements is to support the applied traffic loading within
acceptable limits of riding quality and deterioration over its design life. Pavement
structure must spread the concentrated wheel loads to the foundation, under peak and
accumulated traffic loads:
 Pavements materials and subgrade do not deform excessively
  Pavement courses don not crack excessively
The pavement structure must be protected from the effects of environment. Pavement
layer thickness and stiffness to disperse the concentrated surface load to stress level
acceptable for the various materials. On unbound granular materials, the load spreading
effect is essentially through inter-particle friction and shear strength, which depend on
the presence of horizontal confining stresses. On bound layer, it tends to spread the load
through slab action, as significant horizontal tensile stresses can be sustained at the
bottom of the layer.

Figure 7 Dispersion of surface load through a granular pavement structure

Because of flexible pavement deform under load, horizontal tensile strains are produced.
The vertical compressive strains in the pavement and subgrade produce the deformation
in unbound layers and asphalt which lead to rutting, whereas the horizontal tensile strain
can induce cracking in bound layers. Loading applied to rigid pavement, result in a
relatively uniform distribution of strain on subgrade.

Figure 8 Responses of different bound pavement types to load

f. Structural Analysis
1. Flexible pavement
Structural analysis is to quantify the critical strains and/or stresses which are induced
by the traffic loading in the trial pavement configuration. It is usual to represent
pavements as a series of layers of different thickness and elastic properties
 (modulus). The result of the structural analysis is used to estimate the allowable
loading of the pavement configuration.
2. Rigid pavement
Structural analysis is to quantify the critical stresses and joint displacement which are
induced by the traffic loading in the trial pavement configuration. The design
thickness of the base is a function of the traffic loading, material properties, thermal
effects, and the cumulative stiffness of the subbase and subgrade. The concrete
base layer should be longitudinally and laterally uniformly supported by the subbase
and subgrade layers.
g. Pavement Life Cycle Costing
The life of road pavement for pavement design purposes is usually taken to be the time
from its initial construction to its first reconstruction, which can be considered as the start
of the new life. During this life, the serviceability of the pavement is maintained by
undertaking maintenance activities in response to deterioration due to time,
environment, and traffic loading.

For the purposes of the economic evaluation a set analysis period (40 years) is chosen
regardless of the life of the road pavement, and all cost and benefits occurring over this
analysis period are considered.

The present value of pavement life cycle cost occurring over the analysis period that
must be estimated to enable the evaluation of each alternatives includes:
1. The initial cost of construction of the pavement
2. The cost of maintenance, rehabilitation, and reconstruction activities carried out over
the analysis period and the time at which each activity occurs
3. The vehicle operating cost due to travel delays from lanes closures required for
future pavement maintenance and rehabilitation
4. The salvage value at the end of the analysis period
h. Pavement Structural Design
The aim of pavement design is to select the most economical pavement thickness and
composition which will provide a satisfactory level of service for the anticipated traffic.
Lightly-trafficked roads usually comprise unbound granular pavements with thin
bituminous surfacing. Where an asphalt surfacing is provided it is common for the
thickness of asphalt to be 25 – 50 mm.

More heavily trafficked roads may require the asphalt to extend to more than the surface
layer, with the asphalt commonly supported by a granular subbase.

Heavy-duty pavements commonly have a design traffic loading exceeding 10 7 ESA,

often used in conjunction with high materials standards, supported by higher strength,
stable materials consisting of granular subbase and/or selected subgrade materials,
such as:
1. Deep strength asphalt, with thick asphalt on cement stabilized granular subbase
2. Flexible composite, comprising a thick asphalt on lean-mix concrete subbase
3. Full depth asphalt
4. Unbound granular with sprayed seal surfacing
5. Jointed plain (unreinforced) concrete pavement
6. Jointed reinforced concrete pavement
7. Continuously reinforced pavement
Granular pavements with sprayed seal surfacing - It comprise the majority of light and
moderately trafficked rural roads and have also been successfully used on heavily-
trafficked road, subject to suitable materials, environment and construction and
maintenance standards, is extensively used due to its low initial cost.
Cemented granular base with sprayed seal surfacing – it is more commonly associated
with the rehabilitation treatment of granular pavements, due to significant performance
issues associated with shrinkage cracking. The use of slow-setting cementitious binders
has the benefit of producing more closely spaced, finer cracks. This inhibits the
occurrence of cracking reflecting through the surfacing and allows more time for
placement, compaction, and trimming. For moderately and heavily-trafficked roads a
geotextile reinforced sprayed seal may be provided to inhibit reflecting cracking.
Granular pavement with thin asphalt surfacing – the asphalt makes little contribution to
the overall strength of the pavement but provides greater resistance to minor traffic
damage as well as a smoother and more durable surface. It suited to residential streets
and other light traffic urban applications where risk of fatigue cracking is lower. But with
suitable quality of materials and construction standards, these pavements are
sometimes used for urban collector and occasionally main roads. Thin asphalt surfacing
can also be used on light to moderately trafficked rural road where sprayed seals do not
provide adequate serviceability, and where the risk of fatigue cracking is acceptable, or
to provide improved ride quality. it is important to have a primed or initial sealed surface
beneath the asphalt surface to aid bonding of the asphalt layer to the granular material, it
will also improve the waterproofing of the pavement. The most common surfacing types
are dense graded asphalt 7 or 10 mm in size for lightly-trafficked or lower speed
environment, and 10 or 14 mm for more heavily-trafficked applications.
Asphalt over granular pavement – the pavements comprise multiple asphalt layers over
a granular base and/or subbase, the purpose of asphalt layer is to provide a wearing
surface and to make a significant contribution to the structural capacity of the pavement.
Where the asphalt thickness is less than 150 mm, the granular base layer provides a
substantial proportion of the load carrying capacity and both deformation and fatigue
distress mechanism are possible. The main application for asphalt on granular pavement
is on medium traffic urban roads, it may also be suitable for rural highways and main
roads depending on climate and traffic roads. The most common surfacing type is 14
mm graded asphalt except where open graded asphalt or stone mastic asphalt is
needed due to functional requirements. Binder type and mix design requirement will vary
according to traffic loading. Moisture retained in asphalt surfacing can increase the risk
of
Figure 9 Components of Flexible and Rigid Road Pavement Structures