Road Pavements 1

An Overview to the
Construction of Road Pavements

Hiranya Sandeepana Perera

Ms. Yao ZHANG

06 July, 2017
 Road Pavements 2

Abstract

Pavement design is the major component in the road construction. A pavement is a strong

structure consisting of layers of processed materials. The pavement structure should be able

to provide a surface of acceptable riding quality, adequate skid resistance, favourable light

reflecting characteristics, and low noise pollution. The ultimate aim is to ensure that the

transmitted stresses due to wheel load are sufficiently reduced, so that they will not exceed

bearing capacity. Two types of pavements are generally recognized as serving this purpose,

namely flexible pavements and rigid pavements. This chapter gives an overview of pavement

types, layers, and their functions, and pavement failures. Improper design of pavements leads

to early failure of pavements which affects the riding quality.

Key words: Road Pavement Layers Quality

 Road Pavements 3

Introduction to the pavement structure

In its most general sense, a road is an open, generally a public way for the passage of

vehicles, people, and animals. Covering these roads with a hard-smooth surface

(pavement) helped make them durable and able to withstand traffic and the

environment.

Subgrade vs Pavement

The “subgrade” is the material upon which the pavement structure is placed. Although

there is a tendency to look at pavement performance in terms of pavement structure

and mix design alone, the subgrade can often be the overriding factor in pavement

performance.
 Road Pavements 4

A subgrade’s performance generally depends on two interrelated characteristics:

1. Load bearing capacity. The subgrade must be able to support loads transmitted

from the pavement structure. This load bearing capacity is often affected by

degree of compaction, moisture content, and soil type. A subgrade that can

support a high amount of loading without excessive deformation is considered

good.

2. Volume changes. Most soils undergo some amount of volume change when

exposed to excessive moisture or freezing conditions. Some clay soils shrink

and swell depending upon their moisture content, while soils with excessive

fines may be susceptible to frost heave in freezing areas (not really a concern

in Hawai’i). Ash, especially on the Big Island, can present volume change

problems.

Poor subgrade should be avoided if possible, but when it is necessary to build over weak soils

there are several methods used to improved subgrade performance. They are,

• Removal and replacement (over-excavation). Poor subgrade soil can simply be

removed and replaced with higher quality fill. Although this is simple in

concept, it can be expensive.

• Stabilization with a cementitious or asphaltic binder. The addition of an

appropriate binder (such as lime, portland cement or emulsified asphalt) can

increase subgrade stiffness and/or reduce swelling tendencies.

• Additional base layers. Marginally poor subgrade soils may be made

acceptable by using additional base layers. These layers spread pavement

loads over a larger subgrade area.

 Road Pavements 5

The overall strength and performance of a pavement is dependent not only upon its design

(including both mix design and structural design) but also on the load-bearing capacity of

the subgrade soil. Thus, anything that can be done to increase the load-bearing capacity (or

structural support) of the subgrade soil will most likely improve the pavement load-bearing

capacity and thus, pavement strength and performance. Additionally, greater subgrade

structural capacity can result in thinner (but not excessively thin) and more economical

pavement structures. Finally, the finished subgrade should meet elevations, grades and slopes

specified in the contract plans.

Factors for Design of pavements

• Climate: Rain fall, Temperature, Frost action

• Traffic: Repetitions, Speed, Wheel Loads, Contact pressure, Volume of traffic,

No of vehicles per day

• Subgrade Soil: Decides thickness of pavement

• Pavement material: They have to resist climatic conditions, durability and

maintenance

• Pavement structure

Requirements of a pavement

An ideal pavement should meet the following requirements:

• Sufficient thickness to distribute the wheel load stresses to a safe value on the sub-

grade soil.

• Structurally strong to withstand all types of stresses imposed upon it.

• Adequate coefficient of friction to prevent skidding of vehicles.

 Road Pavements 6

• Smooth surface to provide comfort to road users even at high speed.

• Produce least noise from moving vehicles.

• Dust proof surface so that tra_c safety is not impaired by reducing visibility.

• Impervious surface, so that sub-grade soil is well protected.

• Long design life with low maintenance cost.

Types of pavements

There are two types of pavements based on design considerations i.e. flexible pavement and

rigid pavement. Difference between flexible and rigid pavements is based on the manner in

which the loads are distributed to the subgrade.

Flexible Pavements: (Asphalt pavements)

Flexible pavement can be defined as the one consisting of a mixture of asphaltic or

bituminous material and aggregates placed on a bed of compacted granular material of

appropriate quality in layers over the subgrade. Water bound macadam roads and stabilized

soil roads with or without asphaltic toppings are examples of flexible pavements.
 Road Pavements 7

The design of flexible pavement is based on the principle that for a load of any magnitude,

the intensity of a load diminishes as the load is transmitted downwards from the surface by

virtue of spreading over an increasingly larger area, by carrying it deep enough into the

ground through successive layers of granular material.

Thus, for flexible pavement, there can be grading in the quality of materials used, the

materials with high degree of strength is used at or near the surface. Hence, the strength of

subgrade primarily influences the thickness of the flexible pavement.

Types of Flexible Pavements

The following types of construction have been used in flexible pavement:

1. Conventional layered flexible pavement

2. Full - depth asphalt pavement

3. Contained rock asphalt mat (CRAM)

• Conventional flexible pavements are layered systems with high quality expensive

materials are placed in the top where stresses are high, and low quality cheap

materials are placed in lower layers.

 Road Pavements 8

• Full - depth asphalt pavements are constructed by placing bituminous layers directly

on the soil subgrade. This is more suitable when there is high traffic and local

materials are not available.

• Contained rock asphalt mats are constructed by placing dense/open graded aggregate

layers in between two asphalt layers. Modified dense graded asphalt concrete is

placed above the sub-grade will significantly reduce the vertical compressive strain on

soil sub-grade and protect from surface water.

 Road Pavements 9

Typical layers of a Flexible pavement

Typical layers of a conventional flexible pavement include seal coat, surface course, tack

coat, binder course, prime coat, base course, sub-base course, compacted sub-grade, and

natural sub-grade.

• Seal Coat: Seal coat is a thin surface treatment used to water-proof the surface and to

provide skid resistance.

• Tack Coat: Tack coat is a very light application of asphalt, usually asphalt emulsion

diluted with water. It provides proper bonding between two layer of binder course and

must be thin, uniformly cover the entire surface, and set very fast.

• Prime Coat: Prime coat is an application of low viscous cutback bitumen to an

absorbent surface like granular bases on which binder layer is placed. It provides

bonding between two layers. Unlike tack coat, prime coat penetrates into the layer

below, plugs the voids, and forms a water tight surface.

• Surface course: Surface course is the layer directly in contact with traffic loads and

generally contains superior quality materials. They are usually constructed with dense

graded asphalt concrete(AC). The functions and requirements of this layer are:
 Road Pavements 10

▪ It provides characteristics such as friction, smoothness, drainage, etc.

Also, it will prevent the entrance of excessive quantities of surface

water into the underlying base, sub-base and sub-grade

▪ It must be tough to resist the distortion under traffic and provide a

smooth and skid- resistant riding surface

▪ It must be water proof to protect the entire base and sub-grade from the

weakening effect of water.

• Binder course: This layer provides the bulk of the asphalt concrete structure. It's chief

purpose is to distribute load to the base course The binder course generally consists of

aggregates having less asphalt and doesn't require quality as high as the surface

course, so replacing a part of the surface course by the binder course results in more

economical design.

• Base course: The base course is the layer of material immediately beneath the surface

of binder course and it provides additional load distribution and contributes to the

sub-surface drainage It may be composed of crushed stone, crushed slag, and other

untreated or stabilized materials.

• Sub-Base course: The sub-base course is the layer of material beneath the base course

and the primary functions are to provide structural support, improve drainage, and

reduce the intrusion of fines from the sub-grade in the pavement structure

• Sub-grade: The top soil or sub-grade is a layer of natural soil prepared to receive the

stresses from the layers above. It is essential that at no time soil sub-grade is

overstressed. It should be compacted to the desirable density, near the optimum

moisture content.
 Road Pavements 11

Failure of Flexible pavements

If any one of the above- mentioned layers becomes unstable or weak then it will result in

failure of flexible pavement. Therefore, it is very important to design and construct each layer

with utmost care.

Different types of failure encountered in flexible pavements are as follow.

1. Alligator cracking or Map cracking (Fatigue)

2. Consolidation of pavement layers (Rutting)

 Road Pavements 12

3. Shear failure cracking

4. Longitudinal cracking

5. Frost heaving
 Road Pavements 13

6. Lack of binding to the lower course

7. Reflection cracking

8. Formation of waves and corrugation

 Road Pavements 14

9. Bleeding

10. Pumping

Rigid Pavements: (Concrete Pavements)

A rigid pavement is constructed from cement concrete or reinforced concrete slabs. Grouted

concrete roads are in the category of semi-rigid pavements.

The design of rigid pavement is based on providing a structural cement concrete slab of

sufficient strength to resists the loads from traffic. The rigid pavement has rigidity and high

modulus of elasticity to distribute the load over a relatively wide area of soil.
 Road Pavements 15

Minor variations in subgrade strength have little influence on the structural capacity of a rigid

pavement. In the design of a rigid pavement, the flexural strength of concrete is the major

factor and not the strength of subgrade. Due to this property of pavement, when the subgrade

deflects beneath the rigid pavement, the concrete slab is able to bridge over the localized

failures and areas of inadequate support from subgrade because of slab action.

Types of Rigid Pavements

Rigid pavements can be classified into four types:

1. Jointed plain concrete pavement (JPCP)

2. Jointed reinforced concrete pavement (JRCP)

3. Continuous reinforced concrete pavement (CRCP)

4. Pre-stressed concrete pavement (PCP)

• Jointed Plain Concrete Pavement: are plain cement concrete pavements constructed

with closely spaced contraction joints. Dowel bars or aggregate interlocks are

normally used for load transfer across joints. They normally have a joint spacing of 5

to 10m.
 Road Pavements 16

• Jointed Reinforced Concrete Pavement: Although reinforcements do not improve the

structural capacity significantly, they can drastically increase the joint spacing to 10 to

30m. Dowel bars are required for load transfer. Reinforcements help to keep the slab

together even after cracks.

• Continuous Reinforced Concrete Pavement: Complete elimination of joints are

achieved by reinforcement.

• Pre-stressed concrete pavement: A form of concrete used in construction which is

"pre-stressed" by being placed under compression prior to supporting any loads

beyond its own dead weight. This compression is produced by the tensioning of high-

strength "tendons" located within or adjacent to the concrete volume, and is done to

improve the performance of the concrete in service.

Failure of rigid pavements

Failure in rigid pavement (or cement concrete pavement) can be identified by formation of

cracks on the pavement surface. The two prime factors responsible for rigid pavement failure

are

1. Use of poor quality material

• Poor quality of material consists of following items

1. Using soft aggregate

2. Poor quality of sub-grade soil

3. Poor joint filler R sealer materials

 Road Pavements 17

2. Inadequate stability of the pavement structure

• Inadequate stability of the pavement structure can be due to following reason

1. Inadequate pavement thickness

2. Lack of sub-grade support

3. Improper compaction of sub-grade

4. Improper spacing of joints

5.

The following five forms of failures are commonly found in rigid pavement

1. Scaling of cement concrete

2. Shrinkage cracks
 Road Pavements 18

3. Joint spalling

4. Pumping

5. Warping cracks
 Road Pavements 19

Comparison between Flexible pavements vs Rigid pavements

Flexible Pavements Rigid Pavements

Deep foundations/ Multi- layer construction Single layer

Load distribution (Wide area) Load distribution (Wide area)

Bituminous surface Concrete surface

Load carry capacity from load distribution Load carry capacity from the structural

characteristic of the layered system strength of concrete due to high rigidity

Shorter life span Generally last longer

Thickness design influenced by strength of Minor variation in subgrade strength have

pavement little influence on structural capacity

Higher maintenance cost and increasing cost May require asphalt topping due to noise/

of asphalt due to high oil prices comfort issue

Rolling of surface is needed Rolling of surface is not needed

Damaged by oils and certain chemicals No damage by oils and greases

Road can be used for traffic within 24 hours Road cannot be used until 14 days of curing

Force of friction is less Force of friction is high

 Road Pavements 20

Conclusion

Pavements form the basic supporting structure in highway transportation. Each layer of

pavement has a multitude of functions to perform which has to be duly considered during the

design process. Different types of pavements can be adopted depending upon the traffic

requirements. Improper design of pavements leads to early failure of pavements affecting the

riding quality also.

 Road Pavements 21

Reference

Mathew, T.V and Rao, K. (2007) Introduction to Transportation Engineering

Retrieved from: http://civilblog.org/2016/01/27/5-forms-of-failure-in-rigid-pavement/

Retrieved fromhttp://civilblog.org/2015/09/18/10-different-types-of-failures-of-flexible

-pavement/

Cushman, A.S. (1909) Science, New Series