Pavements Rigid

1
PAVEMENTS - RIGID
DESIGN FACTORS AND DESIGN IRC:58
Tuesday, April 27, 2021

2 RIGID PAVEMENT
3 GOVERNING FACTORS
• Axle Load Characteristics

• Wheel Base Characteristics
• Design Period
• Traffic Considerations
• Temperature Considerations
• Embankment soil, sub-grade and sub-base Characteristics
• Concrete strength
4 AXLE LOAD CHARACTERISTICS
• Legal axle load limits in India

• Single axle – 10.2 tonnes; tandem axle – 19.0 tonnes; tridem axle – 24.0 tonnes
• Loading and overloading effects

• Axle Load survey – 48 hours continuous
• Sample size – 10% if CVPD>6000; 15% if 3000<CVPD<6000; 20% if CVPD<3000
• If spacing of consecutive axles (wheel bases) is more than 2.4 m then each axle is
considered as a single axle
5 TYRE PRESSURE AND DESIGN PERIOD
• Range 0.7 MPa to 1.0 MPa – Design value taken as 0.8 MPa
• If thickness of concrete pavement is equal to or more than 200 mm then tyre pressure
does not have significant effect on stresses in pavement
• Design period 30 years or more

6 WHEEL BASE CHARACTERISTICS
• Wheel base and axle load can cause top-down fatigue cracking during night period
• Curling of pavement due to negative temperature differential
• Spacing of axles v/s spacing of transverse joint – If spacing between a pair of consecutive axles
is less than the spacing of transverse joint then it will cause cracking
• Axles with spacing more than 4.5 m (in general transverse joint spacing) will not contribute to
top-down fatigue cracking
• Percent CVPD with spacing between front and rear axle less than the spacing of the
transverse joint in the concrete slab is found from axle load survey
7 TRAFFIC CONSIDERATIONS
• Design lane – A lane that carries maximum number of heavy commercial vehicles
• Two-lane Two-way highway – both lanes
• Multi-lane highway – median lane or outer lane
• Design traffic – 7 day count; Average Daily traffic (ADT)

• Growth rate for commercial vehicles – 5% minimum
• Day and night trends (causes bottom-up and top-down cracking respectively)
• Wheel Positioning and Stresses –

• Bottom-up cracking – Maximum edge flexural stress is caused when tyre imprint of outer
wheel touches the longitudinal edge; If tyre position is 150 mm or more away from
longitudinal edge then stress in edge region reduces substantially
• When wheels are close to transverse joint then the edge flexural stress is small
• Design Traffic for Fatigue Damage Analysis

• 25% of total two-way commercial traffic on a two-way two-lane road for fatigue analysis
• For multi-Lane highways 25% of total commercial traffic in direction of predominant traffic
• Top-down cracking – Design traffic ~ 50% of design traffic for bottom-up cracking
• Commercial vehicles with spacing between the front axle and the first rear axle less than the
spacing of transverse joint
• Design traffic –
• The cumulative number of repetitions of axles of commercial vehicles during the design
period:
• C = [365xA{(1+r)n-1}] / r
Where A=initial number of axles per day in the year when the road is opened to traffic
r = annual rate of growth of commercial traffic volume (in fractions)
n = design period in years
• Design traffic adjusted for average number of axles per vehicle (based on single, tandem
and triden axles)
• Front axle with single wheel on either side causes negligible bottom-up fatigue damage
• For heavy traffic condition
• Dowel bars are provided across transverse joints for load transfer
• Shoulders are also tied with main pavement slab
• For smaller traffic condition (< 450 commercial vehicles/day)
• Tied concrete shoulders and dowel bars are not warranted
11 TEMPERATURE CONSIDERATIONS
• Temperature differential
• A function of solar radiation, wind velocity, thermal diffusivity of concrete, latitude, longitude,
elevation of a place, etc.
• The temperature differential for Uttarakhand (1974 data)
Slab Thickness 150mm 200mm 250mm 300mm to 400mm
‘t’ oC 12.5 13.1 14.3 15.8
• Temperature variation with depth of the pavement slab is non-linear during the day time and linear
during night hours
• Temperature differentials are positive when top surface has tendency to have a convex surface
during the day time and are negative when it is concave during the night time.
• Zero Stress Temperature Gradient

• After laying out the concrete slab during night time (low temperature and differential), the slab
will go through positive temperature differential during the day time (due to solar radiation).
But during this hardening process the slab remains flat as it is in plastic state. This causes the
slab to remain stress free. With higher temperature at top surface and lower temperature at
bottom surface a temperature gradient is set in the slab. This is known as ‘zero stress
temperature gradient’.
• Even in this condition there is a possibility of causing a permanent curl in the slab. This is
equivalent to the curl being caused due to negative temperature differential of 5oC.
• This is considered to arrive at the temperature differential required to compute stresses.
• Zero Stress Temperature Gradient

• E.g. maximum positive temperature differential during daytime = 20oC; Then temperature
differential for stress computation is = 20 + (-5) = 15oC
• E.g. maximum negative temperature differential during night time = 15oC; Then temperature
differential for stress computation is = -15 + (-5) = |20oC|
• For Cumulative Fatigue Damage Analysis – Constant temperature differential
• Maximum positive temperature differential – 10 AM to 4 PM
• Maximum negative temperature differential – 0 AM to 6 AM
• Slab is assumed to be free of curling stresses during rest 12 hours period: insignificant fatigue damage due to
load and temperature differential stresses
14 EXAMPLE-1
• Four-lane divided National Highway, design life 30 years, lane width 3.5 m, transverse joint
spacing 4.5 m.
• Commercial vehicles per day 6000, directional traffic 50:50
• Annual growth rate 7.5%,
• Categorisation of vehicles = 40 single axle dual wheel, 50 tandem axle, 10 tridem axle
• Commercial vehicles travelling during night (6 PM to 6AM) = 60%;
• Commercial vehicles with spacing between the front axle and the first rear axle less than 4.5
m = 55%
• Calculate design traffic for top-down and bottom-up cracking analysis
15 EXAMPLE CONTD.
• A = 6000 cvpd; r = 0.075; n = 30

• Total 2-way commercial vehicles during design period
• C = [365*6000*(1+0.075)30]/0.075 = 226444692 cv
• Average number of axles per vehicle = [steering+single+tandem+tridem]/Nos = [100+40+50*2+10*3]/100 = 2.70

• Total 2-way axle load repetitions during the design period = 226444692 * 2.70 = 611400668 axles
• Number of axles in a predominant direction = 611400668 * 0.5 = 305700334
• Adjusted traffic regarding lateral placement of axles = 305700334 * 0.25 = 76425084
• Night time traffic axle repetitions = 76425084 * 0.60 = 45855050
• Day time traffic axle repetitions = 76425084 * 0.40 = 30570034
16 EXAMPLE CONTD.
• Design traffic axle repetitions for BUC (for 6 hours 10AM to 4 PM) = 30570034*0.5 = 15285017
• Night time 6-hour axle load repetitions = 45855050 * 0.5 = 22927525
• 6-hour night time traffic axle repetitions for TDC (wheel base <4.5m) = 22927525 * 0.55 = 12610139
• Category wise axle load repetitions
• Category proportion BUC axles TDC axles
• Front steering axle 50 7642509 6305070
• Single axle rear 20 3057003 2522028
• Tandem axle 25 3821254 3152535
• Tridem axle 05 764251 630507
17 SOIL CONSIDERATIONS – SUBGRADE & BASE
• Improvement of Drainage
• Base course helps in elevating the pavement above the water table
• Open-graded base course can carry the seeping water through pavement cracks and
joints
• Internal drainage system is essential
• Control of Shrinkage and Swell
• Base course acts as a surcharge load to control shrinkage and swell due to change in
moisture in subgrade.
• Dense graded or stabilized base course will act as a waterproofing layer, and open
graded base course as drainage layer
18 EMBANKMENT AND SUBGRADE SOIL
• Effective CBR and ‘k’ value – 500 mm of select subgrade

• Embankment foundation – should rest on stabilised soil; expansive soils should be allowed to
expand and stabilised; use of stabilizing compounds, surcharge load, geo-textiles
• Soil should not be allowed to dry out excessively before placing GSB and other layers
• Soil sub-grade
• Winkler foundation – Foundation made up of springs supporting the concrete slab
• Strength defined by ‘modulus of subgrade reaction’ i.e. ‘k’ value (MPa/m)
• 750 mm diameter plate; 1.25 mm deflection
• Relationship: k750 = kD*(1.21*D+0.078); when plate of diameter ‘D’ (in meter) is used
19 SUBGRADE SOIL
• Relationship between k-value and CBR (Soaked) of soil subgrade

Soaked CBR 2 3 4 5 7 10 15 20 50 100
K-value, MPa/m 21 28 35 42 48 55 62 69 140 220
• Minimum CBR of 8% for 500 mm of the select soil

• Relationship with DCP, 60o cone:
• Log10 CBR = 2.465 - 1.12*log10 N; N = mm/blow
• In case k-value tested on wet condition of the subgrade is less than 6.0 kg/cm2/cm,
cement concrete pavement should not be laid directly over the subgrade.
20 SUBGRADE SOIL
• Effective CBR –
• If CBR of 500 mm of
subgrade is >> CBR of
embankment soil below
21 SUB-BASE
• GSB – A separation and drainage layer above soil subgrade; Prevents

• Excessive softening of subgrade
• Erosion of subgrade and sub-base under adverse moisture condition and heavy dynamic loads
• Layer grading and drainage layer design – already discussed
• Open graded drainage layer – unsuitable under construction traffic; to be stabilized using
either 1.5 to 2.0% bitumen, 2.0 to 2.5% cement, 3.0% bituminous emulsion, synthetic geo-
composites
• Blanket course in addition to subbase – for problematic subgrades
22 SUB-BASE
• DLC –
• Minimum 7-day average compressive strength 7 MPa for highways if laid over GSB
• Minimum 7-day average compressive strength 10 MPa if bonded with PQC
• 28-day compressive strength as 7 MPa for cement treated subbases
• Minimum thickness 150 mm for highways; 100 – 150 mm with PQC
• De-bonding layer of BC over CTGSB allows expansion and contraction of slab and gives good
performance
• Upper limit of effective k-value of 300 MPa/m is recommended considering the loss of
subgrade support caused by heavy traffic
23 SUB-BASE
• DLC –
‘k’ value of subgrade MPa/m 21 28 42 48 55 62
Effective ‘k’ over 100 mm DLC, MPa/m 56 97 166 208 278 300
Effective ‘k’ over 150 mm DLC, MPa/m 97 138 208 277 300 300
• Separation layer between DLC and PQC – Minimum 125 micron

• Reduces inter-layer friction and allows relative movement thus preventing reflection cracking
in the slab
• Plastic sheet, wax based compounds; BC G-2 can be used
24 CONCRETE STRENGTH
• The modulus of elasticity ‘E’ of concrete

• Determine experimentally or take 3.0 × 105 kg/cm2 or 30,000 MPa
• Poisson’s ratio ‘µ’ = 0.15
• Coefficient of thermal expansion ‘α’ = 10 × 10−6 per oC.
• Flexural strength Fcr = 0.7 × 𝑓𝑐𝑘 MPa = 4.5 MPa (45 kg/cm2) at 28-days
• Where fck characteristics compressive strength of cube, MPa
• Target Mean Flexural strength F’cr = Fcr + z ;
• Where, z = factor related to confidence level; and  = standard deviation of samples
• 90 days flexural strength can be considered for pavement slab (= 1.10 Fcr = 4.95 MPa),
reasons being:
• Pavement is opened to traffic long after construction
• Initial period has less number of repetitions of traffic loads
• Cumulative fatigue damage is very low in initial period
• Stress analysis is done for terminal condition when load transfer efficiency of transverse joint
or tied joints is quite low
• Stress Ratio – Ratio of applied flexural stress and the flexural strength of concrete
• If this is high then micro cracks may appear in the slab; with high SR the number of load
repetitions required to cause cracking will reduce
• If SR (stress ratio) < 0.45, the concrete is expected to sustain infinite number of repetitions
𝑁 = 𝑈𝑛𝑙𝑖𝑚𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑑 For SR<0.45

4.2577
𝑁 = [𝑆𝑅−0.4325]3.268 For 0.45<SR<0.55
0.9718−𝑆𝑅
𝑙𝑜𝑔10 𝑁 = For SR>0.55
0.0828
27 STRESS EQUATIONS
• Maximum Tensile Stress at the bottom of the slab – BUC, Day time
MPa
• Single axle, Pavement with tied concrete shoulders, for k≤80 m :
𝛾ℎ2 𝑃ℎ
𝑆 = 0.008 − 6.12 + 2.36 + 0.0266∆𝑇
𝑘𝑙 2 𝑘𝑙 4
• Maximum Tensile Stress at the top of the slab – TDC, night time
𝐵𝑃ℎ ℎ2
𝑆 = −0.219 + 1.686 4 + 168.48 + 0.1089∆𝑇
𝑘𝑙 𝑘𝑙 2
28 STRESS EQUATIONS
• S = flexural stress in slab, MPa

• T = Maximum Temperature Differential in oC during day time for BUC
• = Sum of maximum night time negative temperature differential and built-in negative temperature
differential in oC for TDC
• h = thickness of slab, m
• k = effective modulus of subgrade reaction of foundation, MPa/m
• E = elastic modulus of concrete, MPa
• μ = Poisson’s ratio of concrete
• γ = unit weight of concrete (24 kN/m3), density = 2400 kg/m2
29 STRESS EQUATIONS
• l = radius of relative stiffness, m
• P = Axle load = For BUC – single/tandem rear axle load, kN

= For TDC – 100% of rear single axle, 50% of rear tandem axle, 33% of rear
tridem axle ( front axle weights are taken as 50% of the above values)
• B = Beta Factor = 0.66 for transverse joint with dowel bars (load transfer efficiency
taken as 50%)
= 0.9 for transverse joint without dowel bars (load transfer efficiency taken as
10%)
30 CONCRETE STRENGTH - SR
31 STRESS CONSIDERATIONS
• Stress Conditions –
• Outer wheel touches the longitudinal edge – edge flexural stress induces bottom-up cracking
• Outer wheel at 150 mm or more from longitudinal joint – edge flexural stress reduces sharply
• Wheels close to transverse joint – edge flexural stress is small / negligible
• Front axles with single wheel on either side – negligible bottom-up fatigue damage
• 50% of traffic considered for bottom-up cracking is taken as design traffic for top-down
cracking
• Axle load stresses – computed for fatigue analysis – when slab is curled (Temp. day/night)
32 STRESS CONSIDERATIONS
• Stress Conditions –
• Top-down cracking: effective negative temperature gradient caused due to traffic loads and
night time negative temperature differential
• Effect of moisture change is opposite to that of temperature change and is not normally
considered critical for thickness design
• Slab may be assumed to be free of curling stresses between 6 AM and 10 AM, and between 4
PM and 0 AM – Not to be considered for fatigue damage analysis
33 CRITICAL STRESS CONDITION
• Bottom-up (BUC)
• Mid day condition
• Positive non-linear temperature differential
• Axle loading at midway
• Curling of pavement slab
• Loss of support in centre
• Flexural stress at the bottom of slab is
maximum at this time - Tensile
• Case of with/without tied slabs with

different loading conditions
• Tangential to longitudinal joint
• Outer wheel imprint along the edge, the
one towards front wheel in case of
tandem and tridem axle configuration
• Spacing of multi-axles ~ 1.3 to 1.4 m
• Stress: single>tandem>tridem
• Top-down cracking (TDC)

• During night hours
• Negative linear temperature differential
• Axles close to transverse joints
• Warping of slab
• Loss of support at ends
• Temperature tensile stresses in top surface –
due to self-weight of slab and restrain caused by
dowel bars
• Location of axles with respect to the

transverse joint and shoulder with or
without restrain
• Front and rear axle is placed within slab
area for single and front and first rear axle
falls within one slab area, with outer
wheels near to longitudinal joint for multi-
axle vehicle
• Front axle load = 50% of load on one rear
axle
37 FINAL CRITICAL STRESS CONDITIONS
• Bottom-up cracking
• Pavement with tied concrete shoulders for single rear axle
• Pavement without concrete shoulders for single rear axle
• Pavement with tied concrete shoulders for tandem rear axle
• Pavement without concrete shoulders for tandem rear axle
• Top-down cracking
• Pavement with and without dowel bars having front steering axle with single tyres and the
first axle of the rear axle unit (single/tandem/tridem) placed on the same panel
38 FINAL CRITICAL STRESS CONDITIONS
• Terminal Load Transfer Efficiencies (LTE)

• For dowelled transvers joints and tied shoulders – 50% and 40% respectively
• In stress computations conservative values are taken as 60% and 50% respectively
39 DESIGN CRITERIA – CUMULATIVE FATIGUE

DAMAGE
• Cumulative Fatigue Damage – flexural stress at the edge condition
𝑗 𝑛𝑖
CFD = σ𝑖 To be safe: TCFD (due to BUC and TDC) <= 1.0
𝑁𝑖
• Where, n = predicted number of load repetitions

N = allowable number of load repetitions
i = ith load group out of ‘j’ groups
• BUC - for between 10 Am and 4 PM; positive temperature differential, axle loads
• TDC – for between 0 Am and 6 AM; negative temperature differential, axle loads
40 PROCEDURE FOR SLAB DESIGN
• Stipulate design values of parameters

• Select a trial design thickness of slab
• Compute repetitions of axle loads (categories) for design life
• Calculate proportion of axle load repetitions during day and night time
• Calculate axle load repetitions in the six-hour period during day time. Maximum positive
temperature differential is assumed to be constant during this period
• Calculate axle load repetitions in the six-hour period during night time. Maximum negative
temperature differential is taken as half of the maximum temperature differential in day time +
built-in negative temperature differential of 5oC
41 PROCEDURE FOR SLAB DESIGN
• Consider only those vehicles having spacing between front axle and first rear axle less than the spacing
of transverse joint for TDC analysis
• Compute flexural stress at the edge due to single and tandem axle loads for combined effect of axle
loads and positive temperature differential in day time (BUC).
• Compute stress ratio (SR) and evaluate the CFD for single and tandem axle loads
• Compute the maximum flexural stress in the top surface of the slab with front axle approaching
transverse joint and rear axle close to the following joint (negative temperature differential - TDC).
• Compute stress ratio (SR) and evaluate the CFD for different axle loads
• SUM CFD for BUC and TDC. If < 1.0 pavement is safe against fatigue cracking
42 EXAMPLE-2
• Concrete pavement is to be designed for a 4-lane divided National highway in the state of
Uttarakhand. Consider the following data and calculate as mentioned.
• T = 12.5 for 150 mm; 13.1 for 200 mm; 14.3 for 250 mm; and 15.8 for 300 to 400 mm
• Effective CBR of compacted subgrade = 8%; E = 30000 MPa; Day time T = 16.8oC
• μ = 0.15; γ = 24 kN/m3 Transverse joints are provided with dowel bars
• Flexural strength 90-day, minimum = 4.95 MPa; compressive strength 90-day = 48 MPa
• Expected number of repetitions of different axles: For BUC
• Rear single axle = 362191; Rear tandem axle = 482256; Rear tridem axle = 86103
• Examine the possible depth of slab that may be safe for a design period of 30 years.
43 EXAMPLE-2
• Solution:
• Modulus of subgrade reaction for effective CBR of 8% = 50.3 Mpa/m
• Let us provide 150 mm of GSB and DLC, each. Provide debonding layer of 125 thick
polythene sheet.
• Minimum 7-days compressive strength of DLC = 7 MPa
• Effective modulus (subgrade+GSB+DLC) = 285 MPa/m (from table)
• Cumulative Fatigue Damage (CFD) Analysis:
• Max Day time temperature differential for BUC = 16.8oC
• Max night time temperature differential for TDC = (16.8oC/2) + 5oC = 13.4oC
44 EXAMPLE-2
• Solution:
• Cumulative Fatigue Damage (CFD) Analysis: Case ‘Tied concrete shoulder with dowel bars’
• Let trial thickness = 280 cm = 0.28 m
• Radius of relative stiffness ‘l’ = 0.66621 m; Beta factor for TDC and dowelled transverse joint = 0.66
Axles Expected Rep Flexural stress Stress Ratio Allowable Rep. Fatigue damage
Rear single-BUC 362191 2.503 MPa 0.506 588331 0.616
Rear tandem-BUC 482256 2.118 0.428 infinite 0.000
Rear single-TDC 298808 2.399 0.485 1768731 0.169
Rear tandem-TDC 397862 2.427 0.490 1267085 0.314
Rear tridem-TDC 86103 2.353 0.475 3370878 0.026
• Total Fatigue Damage = 0.616+0.000+0.169+0.314+0.026 = 1.125 > 1.0, Hence thickness is not acceptable.
45
THANK
YOU

Pavements Rigid

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Pavements Rigid

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

1

Tuesday, April 27, 2021

• Axle Load Characteristics

4 AXLE LOAD CHARACTERISTICS

• Legal axle load limits in India

• Loading and overloading effects

5 TYRE PRESSURE AND DESIGN PERIOD

• Design period 30 years or more

6 WHEEL BASE CHARACTERISTICS

• Design traffic – 7 day count; Average Daily traffic (ADT)

• Wheel Positioning and Stresses –

• Design Traffic for Fatigue Damage Analysis

• Zero Stress Temperature Gradient

• Zero Stress Temperature Gradient

• A = 6000 cvpd; r = 0.075; n = 30

• Average number of axles per vehicle = [steering+single+tandem+tridem]/Nos = [100+40+50*2+10*3]/100 = 2.70

17 SOIL CONSIDERATIONS – SUBGRADE & BASE

18 EMBANKMENT AND SUBGRADE SOIL

• Effective CBR and ‘k’ value – 500 mm of select subgrade

• Relationship between k-value and CBR (Soaked) of soil subgrade

• Minimum CBR of 8% for 500 mm of the select soil

• GSB – A separation and drainage layer above soil subgrade; Prevents

• Separation layer between DLC and PQC – Minimum 125 micron

• The modulus of elasticity ‘E’ of concrete

𝑁 = 𝑈𝑛𝑙𝑖𝑚𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑑 For SR<0.45

• S = flexural stress in slab, MPa

• l = radius of relative stiffness, m

• P = Axle load = For BUC – single/tandem rear axle load, kN

33 CRITICAL STRESS CONDITION

34 CRITICAL STRESS CONDITION

• Case of with/without tied slabs with

35 CRITICAL STRESS CONDITION

• Top-down cracking (TDC)

36 CRITICAL STRESS CONDITION

• Location of axles with respect to the

37 FINAL CRITICAL STRESS CONDITIONS

38 FINAL CRITICAL STRESS CONDITIONS

• Terminal Load Transfer Efficiencies (LTE)

39 DESIGN CRITERIA – CUMULATIVE FATIGUE

• Where, n = predicted number of load repetitions

40 PROCEDURE FOR SLAB DESIGN

• Stipulate design values of parameters

41 PROCEDURE FOR SLAB DESIGN

You might also like

• Average number of axles per vehicle = [steering+single+tandem+tridem]/Nos = [100+40+502+103]/100 = 2.70