Pavement Structure

Cross section of Typical Rural Road

Cross section of Typical Pavement Structure

Definition of a Pavement

Pavement refers to the hard paved part of the road that carries the vehicular traffic. Though in some British literature the term means only footpath, pavement is also known as carriageway or crust. A highway pavement is a structure consisting of superimposed layers of selected and processed materials which supports applied traffic loads and distributes that load to the soil. The pavement is a special type of structure where its major part is kept below the surface but the top portion is exposed to traffic and different environmental effects. There are two basic functions of a pavement i) to support the applied traffic load and ii) to enable the vehicles to move over the surface smoothly and safely

Pavement design is concerned with developing the most economical combination of pavement layers that will ensure that stress and strains transmitted from top layers do not exceed supportive capacity of each layer. The effects of the major parameters that are to be considered in pavement design are soil strength, traffic, sub-surface as well as outside environment, and materials.

Types of Pavements
Primarily there are two types of pavements A flexible pavement is a pavement structure that maintains intimate contact with the sub-grade. The structural mechanics of flexible pavement is such that the pressure is transmitted to the sub-grade through the lateral distribution of the applied load depending upon depth. The aggregate interlock, particle friction and cohesion distribute the load and contribute to the stability to the pavement structure. A classical flexible pavement has a number of unbound and / or bituminous bound granular layers that are topped by a bitumen bound surface layer. Internationally now-a-days flexible pavement refers to any pavement other than cement concrete one. Water bound macadam road, bituminous roads are examples of flexible pavements.

A rigid pavement on the other hand distributes load by beam and slab actions. When the sub-grade deflects beneath a rigid pavement the concrete slab is able to bridge over localized failures and the areas of inadequate support by its structural capabilities. A cement concrete pavement is the example of rigid pavement. Composite Pavement When a pavement is formed with layers of bitumen and cement bound materials the structure is often referred to as a composite pavement.

Wearing Course
Binder Course Base Course Sub-base Course Compacted Subgrade

Concrete Slab Base/Sub-Base

Compacted Subgrade

Components of a Flexible Pavement

Typical

Components of a Typical Rigid Pavement

Comparison of Flexible and Rigid Pavement

Characteristics Design Life Capital cost Maintenance Cost Basic Design method Stage Construction Construction period Material Surface type Water penetration Visibility Utility maintenance and repair Rigid Pavement 30-40 years High Flexible Pavement 10-20 years Low [cost for High quality bituminous road is not much higher than RP Low High Mechanistic Empirical Not possible Possible Required 28 days before May be opened after rolling opening to traffic Main item cement is Bitumen is imported, other indigenous materials are locally available Smooth, non skidding, Susceptible to quick discomfort at joints deterioration Impervious except joints Not fully impervious Cause glare Glare effect less To be provided after Well planning is not essential well planning

Properties of Good Pavement

A good pavement structure should have the following properties: Adequate Stability: - Stability of a pavement means the ability to resist the lateral deformation. Adequate Durability: - Durability is the ability to retain stability for long time in varying traffic and environmental conditions. Adequate Load Distribution Ability: - This is the load carrying mechanism of each layer of the pavement to distribute the load to the lower layer. Adequate Strength of the Soil: - The soil over which the pavement to be built should have adequate strength to carry the load that comes from the main pavement structure.

Good Pavement Surface: - the good surface should have the following properties: a) Smooth, b) Skid resistant, c) Easy drainage of rain water, d) Good visibility and resistant to glare and light reflection, e) low noise, f) Protection to the underlying layers of the pavement from abrasion, impact and disturbing forces of traffic and environmental effect.