Module-2

PAVEMENT DESIGN
Pavement

• Pavement is the upper part of roadway, airport or

parking area structure.

• It includes all layers resting on the original ground.

• It consists of all structural elements or layers,

including shoulders.
Design
• Conceived/developed plan for something to serve a specific function.

Pavement design
It is the process by which the structural components of a road segment are
determined, taking into account the nature of the subgrade, density and
traffic composition.

‘Or’
It is the process of developing the most economical combination of
pavement layers (in relation to both thickness & type of materials) to suit
the soil foundation and the traffic to be carried, during the design life.
 ‘Or’
It is a process of selection of appropriate pavement and
surfacing materials to ensure that, the pavement performs
adequately and requires minimal maintenance under the
anticipated traffic loading for the design period adopted. This
selection process involves adoption of material types,
thicknesses and configurations of the pavement layers to meet
the design objectives.

Goal
To provide the most cost-effective structure while optimizing
the level of service provided to road users.
 Pavement Design Phases
Highway design consists of three stages
• Geometric design
(route selection or alignment design)
• Capacity design
(number of lanes to meet traffic demand)
• Structural design
(to withstand loads and environment)

Structural design consists of 3 steps

• Selection of materials (types of pavement)
• Proportioning of materials
• Layer thickness design
 Pavement Design Principles
Design objectives
• To provide safe and comfortable riding conditions to all road
users, being motor vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians,
optimized for the road’s intended functions and the level of
use.
• To provide low cost of ownership (i.e. minimum whole of
life cost) to the Government.
• Comply with the Standards and relevant State Road
Authorities’ Guidelines and/or Standards.
 Fundamental Parameters
Following are the fundamental
parameters to be considered:

• Subgrade
• Loads
• Environment
 Subgrade
Characterized by strength
and/or stiffness
• California Bearing Ratio (CBR)
• Measures shearing resistance
• Units: percent
• Typical values: 0 to 20
• Resilient Modulus (MR)
• Measures stress-strain relationship
• Units: psi or MPa
• Typical values:3,000to40,000 psi
 Subgrade
Some Typical Values

Classification CBR MR (psi) Typical Description

Gravels, crushed stone and
sandy soils. GW, GP, GM, SW,
Good ≥ 10 20,000 SP, SM soils falls in this
category.

Clayey gravel and clayey sand,

Fair 5–9 10,000 fine silt soils.  GM, GC, SM, SC
soils falls in this category.

Fine silty sands, clays, silts,

organic soils.  CL, CH, ML, MH,
Poor 3–5 5,000 CM, OL, OH soils falls in this
category.
 Loads
Load characterization
• Tyre loads
• Axle and tyre configurations
• Load repetition
• Traffic distribution
• Vehicle speed
 Environment
• Temperature extremes
• Frost action
 Secondary Parameters
Following are the secondary parameters for
pavement design;

• Soil Classification
• Soil horizons
• Parent materials
• Moisture-solid relationship
• Material Characterization
• Soil and Base Stabilization
• Sub-grades Strength Studies
• Compaction
• Strength-Density-Moisture Considerations
 Secondary Parameters
• Base and Sub-base Courses
• Feasibility
• Grading
• Construction
• Surfaces
• Functions
• Types of materials
• Skid qualities
• Cracking
• Materials Considerations
General Framework of Pavement Design