THE HIGHWAY AND ITS DEVELOPMENT

STRUCTURAL

DESIGN OF

HIGHWAY

BY GROUP 4
 I. STRUCTURAL DESIGN OF HIGHWAY
Difference between Rigid and Flexible Pavement
Functions of Pavement
Requirement of Pavement Structure

II. RIGID PAVEMENT

In this Layers of Rigid Pavement

Components of Rigid Pavement

Presentation
Parameters for Design of Rigid Pavement
Stresses considered for design of Rigid Pavement

Here's what we'll cover: III. FLEXIBLE PAVEMENT

Layers of Flexible Pavement
Components of Flexible Pavement
Parameters for Design of Flexible Pavement
Stresses considered for the design of Flexible

Pavement
Structural Design of

Highway
Pavements are among the costliest items
associated with highway construction and
maintenance. Because the pavement and
associated shoulder structures are the most
expensive items to construct and maintain, it Paved surface performs two basic functions:
is important for highway engineers to have a
basic understanding of pavement design It helps guide drivers by giving them a
principles. visual perspective of the horizontal and
vertical alignment of the traveled path

It support vehicle loads.

Difference Between Rigid and Flexible

Pavement
Rigid Pavement
Flexible Pavement
(Concrete) (Asphalt)
Load Transfer not exists Load is transferred by grain to grain

High Strength Low Strength

Life span is more Low life span

Low Maintenance Cost High Maintenance Cost

Rolling Surface is not needed Rolling Surface is needed

No damage by oils and greases Damaged by oils and certain

chemicals
 A multilayer system that distributes the

vehicular load over a larger area as not to

damage the subgrade

Provide all weather access to the vehicles.

functions of
Provide soft smooth and comfortable ride to

PAVEMENT the road users.

Reduce the wear and tear of the vehicles.

A pavement’s function is to distribute the

traffic load stresses to the soil (subgrade) at
a magnitude that will not shear or distort the
soil.
 Sufficient thickness to spread loading to

the subgrade which can tolerate the

pressure intensity.

Sufficiently strong to carry imposed stress

Requirements of

due to traffic load.

Pavement
Sufficient thickness to prevent the effect of

frost susceptible subgrade.

Structure Pavement material should be impervious to

the penetration of surface water which

weakens the subgrade and subsequently

the pavement.

Pavement surface should be skid resistant.

 Surface Course (Item 311)
- pavement of Portland Cement Concrete
(PCC), with or without reinforcement
constructed on the prepared base in
accordance with the DPWH specification and
the lines, grades, thickness and typical cross

Layers of Rigid section shown on the Plans.

Pavement Base Course (Item 201)

- shall consist of furnishing, placing,
compacting an aggregate base course on a
prepared subgrade/subbase in accordance
with the DPWH specification and the lines,
grades and cross sections shown on the plans,
or as directed by the engineer.
Subbase Course (Item 200)
- shall consist of furnishing, placing and
compacting an aggregate subbase course on a
prepared subgrade in accordance with the
DPWH specification and the lines, grades and
cross sections shown on the plans, or as

Layers of Rigid
directed by the Engineer.

Pavement
Subgrade Course (Item 105)
- consist the preparation of the subgrade of the
support of overlying structural layers. It shall
extend to full width of the roadway.
Layers of Rigid
Pavement
Components of Rigid Pavement
Longitudinal and Transverse Joints
- they can be found between the slabs
- longitudinal joints are parallel to the direction
of the road while transverse are perpendicular

Tie Bars and Dowel Bars Components of

- put mid-depth of the slab
- tiebars are typically deformed steel bars with Rigid Pavement
epoxy coating and are placed across the
longitudinal joints
- dowel bars are smooth, round shaped steel
bars with epoxy coating and are placed across
the transverse joints
- tiebars prevent the separation of lanes while
the dowel bars transfers loads from one slab to
another
Parameters for Design of Rigid Pavement
Load spectrum of commercial vehicles in terms of single, tandem, and
tridem axels vehicles.

Tyre pressure and CBR.

Lane configuration of the road for deciding slab lane width.

Climatic factors

Design period
Stresses considered for design of

Rigid Pavement

Bottom up cracking during

Top down cracking during

day time night time

The flexural stresses due to simultaneous application of traffic loads and

temperature differentials between top and bottom fibres of concrete slab is

considered for design of pavement thickness

Bottom up cracking during
Top down cracking during

day time (BUC) night time (TDC)

During night time top surface is cooler than

The flexural stress at the bottom layer of the

the bottom surface and the ends curl up in

concrete slab is maximum during mid day

concave shape. The flexural stress at the top

because of the positive temperature gradient.

layer of the concrete leads to the Top down

cracking.
Layers of
FLEXIBLE PAVEMENT

Topmost layer i.e. surface course (ITEM 307) is

the layer directly in contact with traffic loads
and generally contains superior quality
materials

Second layer - Binder course ( ITEM 310 ) is the bulk of asphalt concrete structure to distribute
load to base course with less asphalt and quality as compared to the surface course.

Third layer - Base course ( ITEM 201) provides additional load distribution and contributes to the
sub-surface drainage.
 Layers of
FLEXIBLE PAVEMENT

Fourth layer – sub-base course ( Item 200 )has primary functions such as to provide structural
support, improve drainage, and reduce the intrusion of fines from the sub-grade in the pavement
structure.

Sub-grade ( Item 105 ) is a layer of natural soil compacted to the desirable density, near the optimum
moisture content

Tack coat ( Item 302) is an asphalt emulsion to provide proper bonding between the binder course
and the surface course

Prime coat ( Item 301 ) is a low viscous bitumen Layer over granular bases to provide the better
bonding.
Structural Components of
FLEXIBLE PAVEMENT
Parameters for Design of Flexible Pavement
The Californian Bearing Ratio (CBR) test is a penetration test used to
evaluate the subgrade strength of roads and pavements.

Elastic modulus of materials used in various layers.

Lane configuration of the road for distribution factor.

Traffic for the period of the considered pavement life (CVPD).

Vehicle damage factor, Poisson’s ratio, Wheel load, Tyre Pressure and
Radial distance.
Stresses Considered for Design of Flexible
Pavement
Wheel load stresses - Westergaard's stress equation

Temperature stresses - caused by:

daily variation resulting in a temperature gradient across the
thickness of the slab (results in warping stresses)
seasonal variation resulting in overall change in the slab
temperature (results in frictional stresses)
Stresses Considered for Design of Flexible
Pavement
Warping Stresses

Frictional Stresses
Stresses Considered for Design of Flexible
Pavement
Combination of stresses
• Summer, mid-day: The critical stress is for edge region given by
σcritical = σe + σte − σf

• Mid-nights: The critical combination of stress is for the corner region

given by σcritical = σc + σtc