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Chapter 3: Introduction to Pavement Design

Traffic is the most important factor in pavement design and stress analysis. Traffic constitutes the
load imparted on the pavement causing the stresses, strains and deflections in the pavement layers
and the subgrade. Hence the pavement design must account for the amount of traffic load expected
over its design life.

The traffic loads on pavement can be characterized by:

 Magnitude of load (wheel load or axle load)

 Configuration of load (axle and wheel configuration – single/dual wheel, single/tandem/tridem
axle, wheel and axle spacing):- these relate to the number of contact points per vehicle (no.
of wheels) and their spacing. As spacing between wheels gets smaller, then their influence
areas will overlap and one has to consider the combined effect of all interacting wheel loads
instead of dealing with a single wheel load.
 Load repetitions: Loads, along with the environment, damage pavement over time. Each
individual load (from commercial vehicles) inflicts a certain amount of unrecoverable damage.
This damage is cumulative over the life of the pavement and when it reaches some maximum
value the pavement is considered to have reached the end of its useful service life.
 Other considerations include tire pressure, contact area, vehicle speed, and traffic distribution
across the pavement etc.

In this section, method of determining the traffic volume and CESAL with reference to Ethiopian
Roads Authority (ERA) Pavement Design Manual will be discussed.

3.1. Traffic Analysis

 The deterioration of paved roads by traffic results both from

o Magnitude of Load
o Repetition of Load
 Hence, to design a paved highway, it is necessary to consider
o the traffic volume or the total number of vehicles that will use the road &
o to predict the number of repetitions of each axle load group (or wheel load group) during the
design period.
o The traffic volume is converted into cumulative equivalent standard axle loads (ESAL or
CESAL) using equivalency factors (EALF).
o CESAL is one design parameter in pavement design
 Gravel Roads - mechanism of deterioration of gravel roads different from that of paved roads.
o Design of thickness of gravel roads is more related to the number of vehicles using
the road rather than the CESAL.
o The Traffic Volume in terms of initial AADT is used in the design of unpaved roads
(gravel roads),

The following Parameters and Considerations/Steps are involved in Traffic Analysis for pavement
design.

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3.1.1. Design Period

The length or duration of time during which the pavement structure is expected to function
satisfactorily without the need for major intervention (rehabilitation such as overlays or re-
construction) or the duration in time until the pavement structure reaches its terminal condition
(failure condition). Selecting appropriate design period depends on
 Functional importance of the road
 Traffic volume
 Location and terrain of the project
 Financial constraints
 Difficulty in forecasting traffic

Longer Design Period – for important roads, high traffic volume, roads in difficult location and terrain
where regular maintenance is costly and difficult due to access problems or lack of construction
material

Short Design Period – if there is problem in traffic forecasting, financial constraints, etc.
ERA recommended: Design Period

Road Classification Design Period (years)

Trunk Road 20
Link Road 20
Main Access Road 15
Other Roads 10

3.1.2. Determine Traffic Volume (ADT, AADT)

i) Vehicle classification

 Small axle loads from private cars and other light vehicles do not cause significant pavement
damage.
 Damage caused by heavier vehicles (commercial vehicles)
 Hence, important to distinguish
o the proportion of vehicles which cause pavement damage (commercial
vehicles) from total traffic
 To do this, we need to have a vehicle classification system –
o To distinguish between commercial vehicles and small cars
o Distinguish between the different types of commercial vehicles and group them
according to their type, size (loading), configuration, etc.
 ERA vehicle classification system

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Table 3-1: ERA Vehicle Classification

Vehicle Type of Description

Code Vehicle
1 Small car Passenger cars, minibuses (up to 24-passenger seats),
taxis, pick-ups, and Land Cruisers, Land Rovers, etc.

2 Bus Medium and large size buses above 24 passenger seats

3 Medium Truck Small and medium sized trucks including tankers up to 7

tons load

4 Heavy Truck Trucks above 7 tons load

5 Articulated Trucks with trailer or semi-trailer and Tanker Trailers

Truck

ii) Traffic Count

Traffic Count necessary

 To assess the traffic-carrying capacity of different types of roads
 Examine the distribution of traffic between the available traffic lanes
 In the preparation of maintenance schedules for in-service roads
 In the forecasting of expected traffic on a proposed new road from traffic studies on the
surrounding road system

Traffic volume data determined from

o Historical traffic data available in relevant authorities (ERA conducts regular 3 times a
year (Feb., Jul., Nov.) traffic counts on its major road network) and/or
o By conducting classified traffic counts:
 On the road to be designed – if the road is an existing road and the project is
Upgrading, Rehabilitation, Maintenance, reconstruction, etc.
 On other parallel routes and/or adjacent roads – for new roads
 Traffic volume data may vary daily, weekly, seasonally.
 Hence to avoid error in traffic analysis and capture the average yearly trend, minimum 7 days
count recommended
 ERA recommended procedure
o Conduct 7 days classified traffic count
 5 days for 16 hrs
 Minimum 2 days for 24 hrs (one week day and one weekend)
 For long projects, there may be large difference in traffic volume along the road and hence it
is necessary to make the traffic counts at several locations.

iii) ADT (Average Daily Traffic)

 ADT is determined from the traffic count data as follows

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o Adjust the 16hrs traffic count data into 24hr data by multiplying with the average night
adjustment factor
 Night adjustment factor = (24hr traffic)/(16hr traffic) :- obtained from the two
days 24hr count data.
o (ADT)o = the current Average Daily Traffic= Average of the 7 days 24 hr traffic volume
data

iv) (AADT)o (Annual Average Daily Traffic = total annual traffic in both directions divided
by 365)

 In order to capture the average annual traffic flow trend, adjustment must be made for
seasonal traffic variation,
 Hence traffic count as above must be made at different representative seasons (ERA
conducts traffic counts on February, July and November)
 Make adjustment to (ADT)o – based on the season at which the current traffic count belongs
to and based on seasonal adjustment factors for the road (or similar roads) derived from
historic traffic data (ERA or other regional/national sources)
 (AADT)o = (ADT)o adjusted for seasonal variation

3.1.3. Traffic Forecast – determining traffic growth rate over the design period
 Very uncertain process
 Requires making analysis and forecast of past and future traffic growth trends, social and
economic development trends, etc
 In forecasting, Traffic categorized into the following:

 Normal Traffic: Traffic that would pass along the existing road or track even if no new or
improved pavement were provided.
o Forecasted by extrapolating data on traffic levels and assume that growth will
remain either
 constant in absolute terms i.e. a fixed number of vehicles per year, or
 constant in relative terms i.e. a fixed percentage increase.
o Growth rate can also be related linearly to anticipated Gross Domestic Product
(GDP).
 Diverted Traffic: Traffic that changes from another route (or mode of transport) to the
project road because of the improved pavement, but still travels between the same origin
and destination.
o Origin and destination surveys (O/D survey) should preferably be carried out to
provide data on the traffic diversions likely to arise.

 Generated Traffic:

o Additional traffic which occurs in response to the provision or improvement of the

road.
o It may arise either because a journey becomes more attractive by virtue of a cost or
time reduction or because of the increased development that is brought about by the
road investment.

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o Generated traffic is also difficult to forecast accurately and can be easily

overestimated.
 From thorough analysis of economic, social and development trends, determine overall
growth rate r for all vehicle categories or separate growth rate ri for each vehicle category.

3.1.4. Axle Load Survey

 Carried out together with the traffic count
 Portable vehicle(wheel) weighing devices or weigh in motion (WIM) devices can be used for
survey
 Each axle of the vehicle is weighed and EALF computed for each axle
4.5
L 
EALF   x 
 80 
 Each axle of a tandem axle or tridem axle assembly is considered as one repetition and
EALF calculated for each axle i.e. a tandem axle constitutes 2 load repetitions and a tridem
axle constitutes 3 load repetitions. (according to ERA Pavement design manual)
 AASHTO pavement design procedure considers each passage of a tandem or tridem axle
assembly as one repetition and EALF calculated correspondingly.
 Truck factor
o Truck factor can be computed for each vehicle by summing up the number of ESAL
per vehicle
o Average truck factor can be computed for each vehicle category (for example for
Buses, Light Trucks, Medium Trucks, etc.), by summing up the ESAL of all the
vehicles in each category and dividing by the number of vehicles (of that category)
weighed:
n

 ESAL
j 1
j

TFi 
n
Where TFi = Truck factor for the ith vehicle category
n = number of vehicles weighed (of the ith vehicle category) during the axle
load survey
ESALj = number of equivalent standard axle loads for the jth vehicle

3.1.5. Design Traffic Loading

The data and parameters obtained from the studies discussed in the preceding sections can now be
used to estimate the design cumulative design traffic volume and loading.

i) Adjustment for Lane and Directional Distribution of Traffic – the AADT should be adjusted as
follows

Lane Distribution Factor (P): accounts for the proportion of commercial vehicles in the design
lane. For two lane highways, the lane in each direction is the design lane, so the lane
distribution factor is 100%. For multilane highways, the design lane is the heavily loaded lane
(outside lane).

Table 3-2: Lane Distribution Factors (ERA/AASHTO)

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Number of Lanes Percent Traffic (ESAL) in

in each direction design Lane
1 100
2 80 – 100
3 60 – 80
4 50 – 75

Directional Distribution Factor (D): factor that accounts for any directional variation in total
traffic volume or loading pattern. It is usually 0.5 (50%). However, could be adjusted based on
actual condition (if there is directional tendency to commercial vehicle distribution (volume or
loading); for example if the heavy vehicles in one direction are loaded and come back empty in
the other direction).

ii) Calculating (AADT)b

 AADTb = Annual Average Daily Traffic (both directions) at year of Road Opening (year at
which construction works are completed and the whole road is made open for traffic).
 If time between traffic count year (design time) and estimated year of road opening = x, then
AADTb = AADT0 (1+r)x
 Note that AADTb is used as the Design Traffic Parameter for Gravel Roads (ERA Pavement
Design Manual)

iii) Cumulative Traffic Volume (T) – can be computed for all traffic (T) or for each vehicle class (Ti)

Ti = 365 (P) (D) AADTbi [(1+ri)N – 1] / ( ri )

Ti = adjusted cumulative volume of traffic for the ith commercial vehicle class in the design
lane over the design period (adjusted for lane distribution and direction).
ri = annual growth rate for the ith commercial vehicle class
P = Lane distribution factor; D = Directional distribution factor
N = Design Period in years

iv) Design Traffic (Cumulative Equivalent Standard Axle Load - CESAL) – is computed by
multiplying the total traffic volume for each vehicle category (T i) by its corresponding truck factor
(TFi)

Design Traffic Load = CESAL=∑(Ti x TFi)

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v) The CESAL is used to determine the traffic class to be employed for pavement design.

Table 2-5: ERA Traffic Classes for Flexible Pavement Design

Traffic classes Range (106 ESAs)
T1 <0.3
T2 0.3 – 0.7
T3 0.7 – 1.5
T4 1.5 – 3
T5 3–6
T6 6 – 10
T7 10 – 17
T8 17 – 30

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Design Example

Initial traffic volumes in terms of AADTs have been established for 2018 for a section of a trunk road under
study, as follows:

Vehicle classification 2016 AADT

Car 250
Bus 40
Truck 130
Truck-trailer 180

The anticipated traffic growth is a constant 5%, and the opening of the road is scheduled for 2021. In addition,
an axle load survey has been conducted, giving representative axle loads for the various classes of heavy
vehicles, such as given below for truck-trailers (it is assumed that the loads are equally representative for each
direction of traffic):

Axle loads (kg)

Vehicle No Axle 1 Axle 2 Axle 3 Axle 4

1 6780 14150 8290 8370

2 6260 12920 8090 9940
3 6350 13000 8490 9340
4 5480 12480 7940 9470
5 6450 8880 6290 10160
6 5550 12240 8550 10150
7 5500 11820 7640 9420
8 4570 13930 2720 2410
9 4190 15300 3110 2450
10 4940 15060 2880 2800

The projected AADTs in 2021 can be calculated as (AADTs in 2021) x (1.05)3, and the corresponding one-
directional volumes for each class of vehicle in 2021 are:

Vehicle classification One-directional traffic volume in 2019

Car 145
Bus 23
Truck 75
Truck-trailer 104

Selecting, for this trunk road, a design period of 20 years, the cumulative number of vehicles in one direction
over the design period is calculated as:

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Vehicle classification Cumulative no. of vehicles in one direction over 20 years

Car 365x145[(1.05)20-1]/0.05=1750016
Bus 365x23[(1.05)20-1]/0.05=277589
Truck 365x75[(1.05)20-1]/0.05=905180
Truck-trailer 365x104[(1.05)20-1]/0.05=1255184
Equivalency factors for the sample of truck-trailers, and a mean equivalency factor for that class of heavy
vehicles, can be calculated as outlined below:

Vehicle No Axle 1 Axle 2 Axle 3 Axle 4 Total

Load Factor Load Factor Load Factor Load Factor Factor
1 6780 0.43 14150 11.91 8290 1.07 8370 1.12 14.54
2 6260 0.30 12920 7.91 8090 0.96 9940 2.43 11.60
3 6350 0.32 13000 8.13 8490 1.20 9340 1.84 11.49
4 5480 0.17 12480 6.77 7940 0.88 9470 1.95 9.77
5 6450 0.35 8880 1.46 6290 0.31 10160 2.68 4.80
6 5550 0.18 12240 6.20 8550 1.23 10150 2.67 10.28
7 5500 0.17 11820 5.30 7640 0.74 9420 1.91 8.12
8 4570 0.07 13930 11.10 2720 0.01 2410 0.00 11.18
9 4190 0.05 15300 16.92 3110 0.01 2450 0.00 16.99
10 4940 0.10 15060 15.76 2880 0.01 2800 0.01 15.88
Mean equivalency factor for truck-trailers = 11.47

For the sake of this example, it will be assumed that similar calculations have been performed, giving
mean equivalency factors for buses and trucks of 0.14 and 6.67 respectively.

Finally, the cumulative numbers of ESAs over the design period are calculated as follows, using the
cumulative numbers of vehicles previously calculated and the equivalency factors:

Vehicle classification Cum. no. of vehicles Equivalency factor 106 ESAs

Car 1750016 0.00 0.0
Bus 277589 0.14 0.0
Truck 905180 6.67 6.0
Truck-trailer 1255184 11.47 14.4
Total ESAs = 20.4

According to the above analysis, the trunk road under study would belong to the traffic class T8 for
flexible pavement design.

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Based on the ESAL, ERA pavement design manual classifies the traffic in to eight classes for flexible
pavement design as shown below.

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Traffic Class ESAL range in 10

T1 < 0.3

T2 0.3 – 0.7

T3 0.7 – 1.5

T4 1.5 – 3.0

T5 3.0 – 6.0

T6 6.0 – 10.0

T7 10.0 – 17.0

T8 17.0 – 30.0

 There are two basic pavement design methods:

1. Empirical method
2. Mechanistic –Empirical method
3.
1. Empirical Method
It is very common and widely used method.
There are different forms of Empirical methods. Some of them include
 AASHTO Empirical Method
 ERA/TRL Catalogue Method

Catalogue Method / ERA

 Before the catalog is used, the elements described regarding traffic and subgrade should
be considered.
 Simultaneously, the information regarding availability, costs and past experience with
materials should be gathered.

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 The catalog offers in eight different charts, alternative pavement structures for
combinations of traffic and subgrade classes.
 The various charts correspond to distinct combinations of surfacing and road-base
materials, as shown in Tables below.

 Summary of Material Requirements for the Design Charts

 All the charts provide alternate pavement structures for all subgrade classes (S1 through
S6). They are not however suitable for all classes of traffic, as some structures would be
neither technically appropriate nor economically justified.
 Although the thicknesses of layers should follow the design charts whenever possible, some
limited substitution of materials between sub-base and selected fill is allowable based on the
structural number principles outlined in the AASHTO Guide for Design of Pavement
Structures. Where substitution is allowed, a note is included with the design chart.
 In Charts 3, 4 and 7 where a thin surfacing of asphalt concrete is defined, it is important that
the surfacing material should be able to withstand some deformation and that the granular
road-base be of the highest quality crushed stone.
 This latter point is particularly important for the higher classes of traffic (classes T5 through
T8).
 For the asphalt concrete, the mix design should favor durability over seeking a high stability.
 The above requirement for high quality road-base also applies to classes of traffic T5 and
higher in Charts 1 and 2 using surface treatment as surfacing, but a gravel road-base may be
considered for the lower classes (T1-T4).
 The same requirement always applies to the granular road-base of Chart 5 and to the granular
road-base component of the composite road-base of Chart 6.
 For lime or cement-stabilized materials (Charts 2, 4, 6 and 8), the charts define the layers with
different symbols and thereby indicate the underlying assumptions regarding the strength of
material.

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 The choice of chart will depend on a variety of factors but should be based on minimizing
total transport costs.
 Factors that will need to be taken into account in a full evaluation include:
 the likely level and timing of maintenance
 the probable behavior of the structure
 the experience and skill of contractors and the availability of suitable equipment
 the cost of the different materials that might be used
 other risk factors
 The charts have been developed on the basis of reasonable assumptions concerning the first
three of these and therefore initial choice should be based on local costs of feasible options.
 If any information is available concerning the likely behavior of structures under the local
conditions, then a simple risk analysis can also be carried out to select the most appropriate
structure.
Example 3:
 Determine a pavement layers and thicknesses for a road whose ESAL
calculated in the previous example 2 and the sub-grade CBR value of 7%.
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Solution: Based on the ESAL=20.65*10 the traffic class is: T8 and the Subgrade with CBR 7% belongs
to S3.

Traffic class

6
Traffic Class ESAL range in 10

T1 < 0.3

T2 0.3 – 0.7

T3 0.7 – 1.5

T4 1.5 – 3.0

T5 3.0 – 6.0
T6 6.0 – 10.0
T7 10.0 – 17.0
T8 17.0 – 30.0

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Subgrade class
Sub grade class CBR % Range

S1 2

S2 3-4

S3 5-7

S4 8 -14

S5 15 -29

S6 30+

 with the T8/S3 combination of traffic and subgrade strength classes, the design charts 4 to 7
indicate the possible alternative pavement structures as:
 Design Example: Alternative Possible Pavement Structures

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