FLEXIBLE PAVEMENTS
Name: Ahmad Naji
Course: CVLE 464, Highway engineering
ID: 201403067
Prof Name: Dr. Amani Abdallah
Date: April, 20, 2017
Abstract:
A highway pavement is a structure consisting of superimposed
layers of processed materials above the natural soil sub-grade,
whose primary function is to distribute the applied vehicle
loads to the sub-grade. The pavement structure should be able
to provide a surface of acceptable riding quality, adequate
skid resistance, favorable 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 of the
sub- grade. Two types of pavements are generally recognized
as serving this purpose, namely flexible pavements and rigid
pavements. This PROJECT will cover about RIGID
PAVEMENTS their functions, and pavement failuresetc
Table of content: Pages
1. Requirements of a pavement: 4
2.Flexible pavement
Overview 4
Types of flexible pavements 5
Typical layers 7
Failure of flexible pavements 11
3. Bibliography 12
1. Requirements of a pavement: [1]
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,
Smooth surface to provide comfort to road users even at
high speed,
Produce least noise from moving vehicles,
Dust proof surface so that traffic safety is not impaired
by reducing visibility.
2. Flexible pavement: [2]
1- Overview
Flexible pavements will transmit wheel load stresses to the
lower layers by grain-to-grain transfer through the points of
contact in the granular structure.The wheel load acting on
the pavement will be distributed to a wider area, and the
stress decreases with the depth. Taking advantage of this
stress distribution characteristic, flexible pavements normally
has many layers. Hence, the design of flexible pavement
uses the concept of layered system. Based on this, flexible
pavement may be constructed in a number of layers and
the top layer has to be of best quality to sustain maximum
compressive stress, in addition to wear and tear. The lower
layers will experience lesser magnitude of stress and low
quality material can be used. Flexible pavements are
constructed using bituminous materials. Flexible pavement
layers reflect the deformation of the lower layers on to the
surface layer .In the case of flexible pavement, the design is
based on overall performance of flexible pavement, and the
stresses produced should be kept well below the allowable
stresses of each pavement
layer.
Typical cross section of rigid
pavement:
2- Types of flexible pavements:
The following types are:
Conventional layered flexible pavement.
Full - depth asphalt pavement.
Contained rock asphalt mat (CRAM).
1. 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.
2. Full - depth asphalt pavements are constructed
by placing bituminous layers directly on the soil sub-
grade. This is more suitable when there is high traffic
and local materials are not available.
3. 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
3- Typical layers:
1. Seal Coat: Seal coat is a thin surface treatment used to
water-
proof the surface and to provide skid resistance.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. Surface course: The layer directly in contact with traffic
loads and generally contains superior qualitymaterials.
They are usually constructed with dense concr.
The functions and requirements of this layer are:
It provides characteristics such as friction,
smoothness, drainage, etc.
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.
5. Binder course:
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.
6. Base course:
The base course is the layer of material immediately
beneath the surface of binder course,
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.
7. Sub-Base course:
The sub-base course is the layer of material beneath the
base course,
The primary functions are to provide structural
support, improve drainage, and reduce the intrusion of fines
from the sub-grade in the pavement structure If the base
course is open graded, then the sub-base course with more
fines can serve as a filler between sub-grade and the base
course
A sub-base course is not always needed or used. For
example, a pavement constructed over a high quality, stiff sub-
grade may not need the additional features covered by a sub-
base course. In such situations, sub- base course may not be
provided.
8. 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
Preparetion of subgrade Preparetion of subbase and base layer
Asphalt laying Compacting surface layer
4- Failure of flexible pavements:
The major flexible pavement failures are fatigue cracking,
rutting,thermal cracking
The fatigue cracking of flexible pavement is due to
horizontal tensile strain at the bottom of the asphaltic
concrete. The failure criterion relates allowable number of
load repetitions to tensile strain and this relation can be
determined in the laboratory fatigue test on asphaltic
concrete specimens.
Rutting occurs only on flexible pavements as indicated by
permanent deformation or rut depth along wheel load path.
Thermal cracking
2. Bibliography: [3]
http://muhendislik.istanbul.edu.tr/insaat/wp-
content/uploads/2016/10/Introduction-to-Pavements.pdf
http://nptel.ac.in/courses/105101087/downloads/Lec-
19.pdf
