March 2014

INDIAN HIGHWAYS
A REVIEW OF ROAD AND ROAD TRANSPORT DEVELOPMENT

Volume 42
Number 3 March 2014
Contents
ISSN 0376-7256
Page
2-3
From the Editors Desk - Roads - Engine of Growth for Economy, Employment & Empowerment
4-5
Membership Form A-1
Membership Form A-2
KUDOS to IRC Secretariat
New Publications Released
Effect of Type and Quantity of Binder on Rutting Characteristics of Bituminous Mix

Vijay B. Kakade and M. Amaranatha Reddy
15

Properties of Porous Friction Course Mixes for Flexible Pavements

A.U. Ravi Shankar, S.N. Suresha and G.M.V.S. Saikumar
26

Benefits of Mechanistic Approach in Flexible Pavement Design

Nagrale Prashant P and More Deepak
34

Design, Construction and Performance of Porous Asphalt Pavement for Rainwater Harvesting
Prithvi Singh Kandhal and Sapan Mishra
50

Innovative Idea to Calculate the Tilt of a Well

KNSP Kamaraju
53

Acceleration and Deceleration Behaviour of Truck on Indian Highway

P.S. Bokare and A.K. Maurya
69

Dispute Avoidance Practices on Construction Contracts

S.K. Dhawan
73-79
Circular Issued by MORT&H
80
Tender Notice of NH Circle, Madurai
81
Tender Notice of NH Circle, Tirunelveli
82
Tender Notice of NH Circle, Tirunelveli
The Indian Roads Congress

E-mail: secretarygen@irc.org.in/indianhighways@irc.org.in
Founded : December 1934

IRC Website: www.irc.org.in
Jamnagar House, Shahjahan Road,

New Delhi - 110 011
Tel : Secretary General: +91 (11) 2338 6486
Sectt. : (11) 2338 5395, 2338 7140, 2338 4543, 2338 6274
Fax : +91 (11) 2338 1649
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New Delhi - 110 022
Tel : Secretary General : +91 (11) 2618 5303
Sectt. : (11) 2618 5273, 2617 1548, 2671 6778,
2618 5315, 2618 5319, Fax : +91 (11) 2618 3669
No part of this publication may be reproduced by any means without prior written permission from the Secretary General, IRC.
Edited and Published by Shri Vishnu Shankar Prasad on behalf of the Indian Roads Congress (IRC), New Delhi. The responsibility of the
contents and the opinions expressed in Indian Highways is exclusively of the author/s concerned. IRC and the Editor disclaim responsibility
and liability for any statement or opinion, originality of contents and of any copyright violations by the authors. The opinions expressed in the
papers and contents published in the Indian Highways do not necessarily represent the views of the Editor or IRC.
From the Editors Desk
ROADS ENGINE OF GROWTH FOR ECONOMY,

EMPLOYMENT & EMPOWERMENT
Dear Readers,
Do the road sector deserve a better attention and more importance than what it has been given? Do we really
take into account the positivities which may emerged if higher attention along with higher level of investment
in terms of budgetary support is given to road sector? How these issues connected with the road sector have
relevance on the economic growth and empowerment of the people may be the question(s) which may come
in any ones mind. This requires a deeper introspection on the opportunities and potential of growth which
gets generated by the road sector.
How many times do we consider the road sector as a potentially job creating sector? Normally it is perceived
as a sector to create majority of job for unskilled/semi-skilled work force. However, the time has changed and
with every passing day it is opening up more and more opportunities for skilled and high skilled work force
in the allied areas like material conservation, environment conservation & protection, tourism, healthcare,
textiles, capital goods, automobiles, financing, etc. The rate of return to the economy on every percentage of
comparative investment made in the road sector over a time period needs quantification both in direct and
indirect terms. However till that is achieved, the perceptible difference it is making on a broader assessment
prospective clearly justifies the continuous increase in attention to be paid and investment to be made in the
road sector.
Can we dream of empowering people in the villages or in remote areas without providing them connectivity
with better roads? Can they be empowered if they are not connected with the tehsil or district headquarters
or with educational or healthcare institutions or with market/mandis, etc. How do we ensure the inclusive
development of people in real sense if the essential road connectivity having fair level of efficiency is not
provided? These issues are enumerated to provoke thoughts in respect of the level of attention the road sector
deserves & needs to be given on regular basis to allow realistic empowerment of people at grass root level.
In the current difficult economic scenario both at the national level as well as at the global level, it may be
a wise view if due consideration is given for capturing the smallest possibility of increasing the economic
growth as well as improving the employment opportunities. The road sector offers not a small but a very big
scope of taking the contracting economy to a growth path. With the recent introduction of guidelines by IRC,
the road sector can become a major player of creating wealth from the waste. There has been a lot of concern
about the disposal of plastic waste and the concern have reached to that level at which the related industrial
units are getting closed down resulting into the contribution towards unemployed work force. The road sector
today with the new guidelines comes to the rescue of not only this industrial segment but also offers new
employment opportunities which gets created from the usage of waste plastic in the road construction. The
direct and indirect saving to the economy resulting to contribution towards economic growth needs to be
given due consideration in the policy and programme framework.
Similarly, huge scope is available for use of other type of waste/byproducts generated from industrial/mining
activities and also from municipality areas. The potentiality of their usage require intensive and extensive
research activities across country so as to cater to different spectrum of traffic intensity, soil conditions &
geological conditions, etc. This in turn result into employment opportunities both at the research institutions
2
INDIAN HIGHWAYS, March 2014
EDITORIAL
level as well as in industrial units which may come up as a result of capitalizing /commercializing the
research results. There is a need to bridge the gap between the lab and the field in the road sector, which
may get addressed if the opportunities as existed are duly considered and captured. This may also require
corresponding skills development for the technicians and supporting manpower. This cascading generation
of employment opportunities by the road sector at different levels may help to some extent the absorption of
existing unemployed work force. A win-win situation for the economy.
There are number of similar openings which road sector has the potential to offer to the economy provided these
chances do not go wanting. The scepticism which is coming in the way of introducing and encouraging new
technology, methodology, technique and material through experimental pilot projects needs to be overcomed.
The road sector is not a short term investment sector. In the process of road building, the assets are created for
the society and for the nation. Such asset creating activities should not be perceived with a myopic vision but
with a vision of creating the asset which should serve the purpose over the design life period without carrying
out major augmentation/realignment. The two concepts namely life cycle cost of facility & technical audit
of financial decisions are the need of the hour which needs to be practiced in the road infrastructure sector
in todays context.
Do we have ever quantified the scope of adding into the GDP growth rate, if the rate of accidents as well
as the rate of road accidents deaths is reduced by 50% within the period of 3 years which is achievable and
not impossible. The creation of safer roads and safe road transport system may not only results in saving of
unwarranted expenditure but may also result into channelizing huge investment including surplus (resulting
from safe roads) into other productive segments of the economy. How much we are saving by curtailing the
safety features in the road & road transport segment(s) and how much we are losing in terms of GDP growth
by creating unsafe roads & road transport system based on myopic concepts needs a thorough review. The
safer roads on a broader assessment may result in positive contribution of 2 to 3 % in terms of GDP which
should be considered on top priority in the current scenario.
The road sector not only deserves a better consideration alongwith out of box thinking to overcome the
unwarranted impediments and bottlenecks, which are resolvable in a productive manner. The perception
about road sector requires a thorough overhaul, as it not only provides employment opportunities in the core
sector related activities but also has abundant scope of providing commercial opportunities and employment
in large number of allied areas including that of energy conservation which may also boost the economy
besides resulting into inclusive growth leading to empowerment of people at large.
Through effective and efficient road network connectivity to the remotest areas of the country, the dream of
having Panchayati Raj system along with inclusive growth & development of people can be achieved at a
faster pace.
Vision without action is a day dreaming
Action without vision is a nightmare

Place : New Delhi

Dated : 20th February, 2014
(A Japanese proverb)
Vishnu Shankar Prasad

Secretary General
KUDOS to IRC Secretariat

To,
18-02-2014
The Editor,
Indian Highways,
Delhi
What an amazing task! 74th annual session of IRC concluded on 24-1-2014 and its Report has appeared in
February 2014 issue of Indian Highways which is being published in the first week of every month. This
means that the compilation, editing, finalisation of the Report in all respects has been achieved in a record
time of mere 10 days. An impossible task has been accomplished by Secretary General and his supporting
staff. Besides the quality of Report is also not a sketchy one. It is complete and flawless covering the
proceedings of the entire session, from first to finish including photographs with their captions. This is an
onerous task almost beyond anybodys physical and mental capacity. Please accept my congratulations.
N.G. Vakharia
Ahmedabad, Gujarat
LM - 2922
E-mail: vakhariapatel@yahoo.com
New Publications RELEASED

1. IRC:6-2014 - Standard Specifications and Code of Practice for Road Bridges, Section-II Loads and
Stresses (Revised Edition) (Price Rs.700/- + Rs.40/- for postage & packing charges)
2. IRC:78-2014 - Standard Specifications and Code of Practice for Road Bridges, Section VII- Foundations
and Substructures (Revised Edition) (Price Rs.700/- + Rs.40/- for postage & packing charges)
3. IRC:115-2014 - Guidelines for Structural Evaluation and Strengthening of Flexible Road Pavements
Using Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD) Technique (Price Rs.300/- + Rs.30/- for postage & packing
charges)
4. IRC:SP:55-2014 - Guidelines on Traffic Management in Work Zones (First Revision) (Price Rs.900/+ Rs.40/- for postage & packing charges)
5. IRC:SP:62-2014 - Guidelines for Design and Construction of Cement Concrete Pavements for Low
Volume Roads (First Revision) (Price Rs.600/- + Rs.30/- for postage & packing charges)
6. IRC:SP:100-2014 - Use of Cold Mix Technology in Construction and Maintenance of Roads Using
Bitumen Emulsion (Price Rs.900/- + Rs.40/- for postage & packing charges)
7. HRB SR No.23-2014 State-of-the-Art Report: Design and Construction of Rockfall Mitigation Systems
(Price Rs.900/- + Rs.40/- for postage & packing charges)
EFFECT OF TYPE AND QUANTITY OF BINDER ON RUTTING

CHARACTERISTICS OF BITUMINOUS MIX
Vijay B. Kakade* and M. Amaranatha Reddy**
ABSTRACT
Rutting is one of the most common type of failure observed on
high volume bituminous pavements in India and Viscosity Grade
bitumen (VG 30) is a most common binder used for construction
and these could not provide desirable performance. Modified
binders, both polymer and crumb rubber, have been also used in
the construction mainly to address rutting failures. Though these
binders have shown improved performance over VG 30 binders,
it is not clearly understood the effect of type and amount of
modified binder on the performance of mixes. Although rutting in
bituminous mix depends on many factors such as size, gradation,
surface texture of aggregates, type and amount binder etc, it is
important to find out the role of the binder in the performance of
the mixes.
Keeping the above in view, performance of three commonly used
modified binders were evaluated for binder rheological parameter
G*/sin associated with rutting behaviour using dynamic shear
rheometer. Bituminous mixes prepared at 0.5% incremental
binder contents either side of the optimum binder content were
evaluated to study the effect of type and quantity of binder on
rutting performance of the mixes. A mid-point aggregate gradation
of a wearing course of Indian highways, bituminous concrete, as
per Indian Roads Congress specifications was considered. Rut
tester was used to evaluate the relative rutting susceptibility of the
mixes. Correlation between rut depth measured and binder content
or air voids for each type of binder was developed. Relative rutting
performance of bituminous concrete mix at different binder
content for all types of binders was evaluated and presented.
Based on the study it was observed that Polymer Modified Binder
(PMB 40) performed better compared to other binders considered
in this study. Also with increase in binder content beyond certain
limit, rutting susceptibility of the bituminous mixes increased
irrespective of type of binder used but the effect was less in case
of PMB 40 mixes.
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background
Permanent deformation or rutting in bituminous
mixes depends on numerous factors such as aggregate
gradation, shape and quality of aggregate, quantity and
Research Scholar
**
Associate Professor, E-mail: manreddy@iitkgp.ac.in
quality of binder, volumetrics of mix such as amount

of air voids and Voids in Mineral Aggregates (VMA),
film thickness, temperature, construction practices and
environmental conditions ((Lynn et al, 2007; Sengoz
and Topal, 2007; Lee et al, 2008). Of these, quantity
of binder is one the most important parameters that
should be carefully chosen for better pavement
performance. Variation in the binder content for given
type of aggregate and gradation results in change in
air voids content in the mix. Studies reported that
air voids less than 3% led to failures such as rutting
and bleeding (Archilla and Madanat, 2001) and more
than 8% resulted in oxidation, moisture damage etc
(Brown, 1990; Solaimanian et al, 1993; Williams
et al, 1999). Excess asphalt binder or low air void
content in the mix leads to loss of internal friction
between aggregate particles and thereby rutting due to
shear deformation occurs. Uzarowski et al. (2004) and
Archilla and Madanat (2001) reported that high level
of asphalt content was more susceptible to rutting than
the low asphalt contents and modified binder showed
better resistance to rutting than neat binder.
Although the rutting tendencies of a pavement
are influenced primarily by aggregate and mix
properties, type and properties of binders are most
important parameters that have significant affect
on mix properties (Lundy and Sandoval- Gil, 2004;
Uzarowski et al 2004, Jun et al 2005). In order to
minimize rutting and raveling distresses, it is a general
practice to restrict the air voids in the mix to around
8% during construction (in-place) and upon secondary
compaction by the traffic (in-service) to 3% (Roberts
et al, 1996). Being an important parameter, some of
the mix design procedures have adopted air void as the
main criteria for selection of optimum binder content
Civil Engineering Department, Indian Institute of Technology,

Kharagpur-721 302, India
TECHNICAL PAPERS
(MS-2, 1994; SP-2, 2001). However the mix design
criteria practiced in India as per Ministry of Road
Transport and Highways guidelines (MoRT&H, 2001)
considers stability, flow and other volumetrics of mix
including air voids as the selection criteria for arriving
at Optimum Binder Content (OBC) expecting the mix
to perform better in resisting both fatigue and rutting
at OBC. However majority of the Indian highways,
designed and constructed under stringent quality
control, have shown premature failures such as rutting
and bleeding indicating the need of proper mix design,
including re-look into criteria for selection of optimum
binder content (Interim Report, Reddy, 2007). Use of
incorrect amount of binder that affects air voids in the
mix was the causative factor for failures of some of
the pavements in India (Rao, 2009). Limited studies
have been conducted to find out effect of binder
content on performance of Indian mixes. Awanthi
et al, 2008 evaluated fatigue and rutting performance
of mixes prepared with different binders under varied
compaction efforts to get different air voids. However
no studies have been reported on effect of different
modified binders and variable binder contents on
rutting susceptibility of mixes.
Variation in air voids in the mix is possible by
changing either binder content or compaction effort
(Brown, 1990). Limited studies have been carried on
tolerance limits of binders that vary air voids in the
mix. Therefore, the main focus of the present work
is to study the effect of binder content on rutting
characteristics of the mix as it addresses the use of
improper quantity of binder in the mix which is a
common problem in India.
In the present study, three types of commercially
available modifier binders PMB-40, PMB-70 (SBSpolymer with 4% content) and CRMB-60 (Crumb
Rubber Modified Binder- rubber content of 6%) were
considered. Rheological parameters such as complex
modulus (G*) and phase angle () of these binders were
evaluated using dynamic shear rheometer. Bituminous
Concrete (BC) samples for mid-point aggregate
gradation as per MoRT&H guidelines (2001), were

prepared with same source of aggregates and three
modified binders at binder content of 0.5% increment
on either side of optimum binder content. The samples
were prepared using same compactive effort (75 blows
from Marshall hammer) and same source of aggregates
and gradation but at different binder content. An
indigenously developed wheel tracker, IITKGP Rut
tester was used to evaluate the rutting susceptibility of
mixes. Correlations were developed between air voids
content and rutting observed from the mixes. From
the test results, conclusions were drawn on effect of
type of binder and variation in binder content on the
rutting performance of mixes.
2 Experimental Details
2.1 Aggregate
Crushed coarse aggregate, fine aggregate and mineral
filler were procured from Rampur quarry in the state
of West Bengal, India. Table 1 presents the properties
of aggregates considered in the present study.
Table 1 Physical Properties of Aggregates
Test
Result
(%)
Specifications
MoRT&H
(2001) (%)
Aggregate Impact value
12.0
Max 24
Los Angeles Abrasion value
17.3
Max 30
Flakiness Index
23.5
Max 30
Elongation Index
24.4
Max 30
Water Absorption
0.90
Max. 02
2.8735
Property Tested
Specific gravity
2.2 Aggregate Gradation Adopted

Mid-point gradation for Bituminous Concrete (BC)
gradation-I, a dense gradation, as per MoRTH
guidelines (2001) was selected for the present
investigation. Fig. 1 show the aggregate gradation
used along with suggested upper and lower limits as
per MoRT&H guidelines.
9
TECHNICAL PAPERS
Table 2 Properties of Binder Considered
Property Evaluated
Types of Binder
PMB40
PMB70 CRMB-60
Penetration @ 25C,
100 gm, 5 sec, (dmm)
Softening Point, (C)
41
58
43
74
63
65
Viscosity at 150C,
(Poise)
8.2
4.8
8.9
2.4 Marshall Mix Design for Optimum Binder

Content
Fig. 1 Aggregate Gradation used for Bituminous Concrete Mix
2.3 Binders Used

Two SBS Polymer Modified Binder (PMB- 40#,
PMB -70#) and one Crumb Rubber Modified
Binder (CRMB-60*) were used in the investigation.
Properties of binders are given in Table 2. # 40 and
70 refers to penetration value; * 60- refer to softening
point value.
Table 3 presents the Marshall parameters and resulting

optimum binder content for mix prepared with
bituminous concrete mid-point aggregate gradation
with different binders.
From the above results, it was observed that optimum
binder content for all binder mixes is close to 5%
(by weight of mix). Air voids are ranging from 4.0 to
5.1% and these are almost in the range of MoRT&H
guidelines (2001) i.e 3 to 5%.
Table 3 Marshall Parameters and Optimum Binder Content for Mixes Prepared with Different Binders
Mix Type
(Binder Used)
PMB 40
PMB 70
CRMB 60
MoRT&H
Specification
2.5
Stability
(kg)
1780
1605
1495
9.0 (min)
Flow
(mm)
3.6
3.9
4.6
2 to 4
OBC
(%)
4.85
4.85
4.90
---
Rheological Studies on Binders
Rheological parameters such as G*/ sin and zero

shear viscosity and Multiple Creep Stress Recovery
(MCSR) are some of the parameters used to explain
the rutting potential of binders. Superpave binder
specification uses G*/ sin parameter to address rutting
failure (SP1, 2003). In addition to the above, number
of researchers have tried to correlate binder rutting
parameter (G*/sin ) with mix rutting evaluated by
wheel tracking devices (Stuart and Izzo 1995; Stuart
et al. 2000; Shenoy et al. 2003; DAngelo and Dongre
2004; Youtcheff et al. 2004). Therefore, in the present
10
Bulk Density
(kg/m3)
2.550
2.541
2.530
----
Air Voids
(%)
5.1
4.8
4.6
3 to 6
VMA
(%)
15.6
15.8
16.4
14 (min)
VFB
(%)
66.3
70.0
68.1
65--75
study, rutting potential of binder was evaluated by

means of G*/ sin values of unaged binders.
Binder tests were conducted in the temperature range
of 40 to 82C at 6C increment with angular frequency
of 10 rad/s using Dynamic Shear Rheometer (DSR).
Generally higher the G*/ sin signifies more resistance
to rutting.
2.6 Evaluation of Bituminous Mixes Using IIT
KGP Rut Tester
The indigenously developed IIT KGP Rut Tester was
used to perform the rutting test on the bituminous
TECHNICAL PAPERS
mix samples (Reddy, 2011). Mixes were prepared at
optimum binder content and other binder contents as
well with 0.5% intervals. The test was performed at
50C and a load of 2000 N was applied (back and forth)
through a steel wheel of 50 mm diameter for 5000 to
study the relative rutting performance of the mixes.
Three samples were prepared and tested to include the
sample variation for each type of bitumen.
3 Experimental
discussion
results
3.1 Superpave
(G*/sin )
Rutting
Binder
and
Parameter
Fig. 2 show the variation of G*/sin value with test

temperature for unaged binders measured at 10 rad/s
angular frequency.
the samples. Relative rutting test results measured at

50C using IIT KGP rut tester are given in Table 4.
Table 4 Rutting Test with Different Types of Binders
and Binder Content
Mix
(Binder
Type)
Rutting (mm) in Mixes with Binder

Content (%)
4.0
4.5
5.0
5.5
6.0
CRMB 60
3.85
3.58
3.42
4.68
5.12
PMB 40
3.28
2.75
3.85
4.27
4.64
PMB 70
3.36
3.14
3.38
4.67
4.94
Effect of binder type and content on rutting

susceptibility of BC mixes is shown in Fig. 3.
Fig. 3 Effect of Binder Type and Content on Rutting

Susceptibility of BC Mixes
Fig. 2 G*/sin Versus Temperature at Frequency of
10 Rad/s for Different Binders
From the above figure, it was observed that PMB40 has highest G*/sin value as compared to other
modified binders (PMB-70; CRMB-60). Therefore,
PMB 40 binder showed higher resistance to rutting at
all temperatures. As per Superpave specifications, G*/
sin value for unaged binders should have a minimum
of 1 kPa. From the results on binders considered in
the present study, all binders are satisfying the above
requirement up to 76C.
With decrease in binder content from OBC, all the

mixes have resulted in increase in rutting but less
compared to rutting Observed for Binder Content
above OBC (5%). Generally for a low binder content
mix will have higher air voids and low air voids for
high binder content. At lower air voids, bitumen acts
as lubricant and thereby more rutting at higher binder
contents. Mixes prepared using with PMB 40 have
resulted in less rutting at all binder contents (lower and
higher of OBC) and showed less effect even beyond
OBC compared to other mixes.
3.3 Effect of Binder Type on Rutting
3.2 Effect of Binder Content on Rutting

Binder content was varied from 4 to 6% with 0.5 %
increment (by weight of the total mix) while preparing
As optimum content of bituminous concrete mix

considered in the present study using different binders
was found to be close to 5% by weight of mix, samples
11
TECHNICAL PAPERS
were prepared at this binder content and evaluated for
relative rutting susceptibility at 50C. Fig. 4 shows the
test results.
From the test results, mix prepared using PMB 40
binder found to be better than CRMB 60 mix.
Fig. 6 Air Voids Vs Rut Depth for PMB 40 Mix
Fig. 4 Rutting at Obinder Content of Different Binders
3.4 Effect of Air Voids on Rutting

In order to study the effect of air voids on rutting of
bituminous concrete mixes, varying binder content
(4 to 6%) were considered keeping the aggregate
gradation and compactive effort same during
preparation of mix samples to get different air voids in
the mix. Samples were subjected to rutting evaluation
using rut tester under same test condition. The results
of air voids content of bituminous mixes for different
types of binders and binder content are shown in
Figs. 5 to 8 along with rut depths.
Fig. 7 Air Voids Vs Rut Depth for CRMB 60 Mix
Fig. 8 Air Voids Vs Rut Depth for all Binders
Fig. 5 Air Voids Vs Rut Depth for PMB 70 Mix
12
The correlations between rut depth and air voids have

showed similar trends for all types of binders. At low
void content, the rut depth observed was more and
this value decreased till 8% air voids and beyond this
there was increase in rutting value. This implies that at
higher binder content (lower air voids) than optimum
binder content the severity of rutting was found to be
TECHNICAL PAPERS
higher than that of lower binder contents for all types
of binders. At air void content, modified binders have
shown lower resistance to rutting implies that excess
binder leads to problems.
The rutting values for three mixes below 3% and
above 7% are shown in Figs. 9 and 10.
Fig. 9 Air Voids (<3%) Vs Rut Depth for Different Mixes
Fig. 10 Air Voids (>7%) Vs Rut Depth for Different Mixes
From Fig. 9 and 10, it is clear that the rut depth, for
air voids below 3%, rutting in the mixes was more
compared to air voids greater than 7% for all mixes
indicating that at lower air voids in the mixes leads to
higher rutting. However performance of the PMB 40
mix was found to be better at both lower and higher
air voids compared to other binders.
4
Conclusions
An effort has been made in this study to find out the
effect of type of modified binder and quantity of binder
on relative rutting susceptibility of Indian bituminous
mixes. For three types of modified binders considered,
rutting characteristics were evaluated using Dynamic
Shear Rheometer. Bituminous concrete mixes were
prepared at varied binder content to obtain different
air voids in the mix and evaluated for their rutting
susceptibility. Correlations were developed for air
voids and resulting rut depth of the mix. From these
studies, following conclusions have been drawn.

From the Dynamic Shear Rheometer

test results on binders, it was found that
at a 10 rad/s PMB 40 binder offered
high rutting resistance (higher G*/ sin
value) at all temperatures. This indicates
that performance of PMB 40 expected to
be better in rutting than other modified
binders.
From rut tester results on bituminous
concrete mixes prepared at OBC, PMB40 mix demonstrated lower rutting
susceptibility followed by PMB-70,
CRMB-60. Similar conclusion was made
from binder study also.
At higher binder content (air voids <
3%), all mixes resulted in higher rutting
compared to lower tolerance limit (air
voids >7%) indicating the severity
of rutting at higher binder content
due to shear deformation. However,
performance of PMB 40 mix was found
to be better at all air voids contents
compared to CRMB 60 and PMB 70
mixes.
From the study conducted on mixes,
it can be concluded that binder content
limit beyond optimum has effect on
rutting. However, PMB 40 binder
appears to perform better compared to
other modified binders even at both lower
and higher binder contents of the range
considered.
13
TECHNICAL PAPERS
References
1.
2.
3.
Awanti, S, Amarnath, M, S & Veeraragavan, A., 2008.

Effect of Air Voids on Permanent Deformation
Characteristics of SBS Polymer Modified Asphalt
Concrete Mixtures for Paving Applications. Proc., of 5th
International Transport Conference, Wuppertal, Germany.
Archilla, A, R., & Madanat, S, M.( 2001). Estimation
of Rutting Models by Combining Data from Different
Sources, Journal of Transportation Engineering, American
Society of Civil Engineers, 126(4), 291-299.
Brown, E,R. (1990). Density of Asphalt Concrete-How
Much is Needed?, NCAT (90-3), National Center for
Asphalt Technology, Auburn University, Auburn, USA.
4.
D Angelo, J., & Dongre, R. (2004). Development of a

Performance Based Binder Specifications in the United
States, Proc., of 3rd Eurasphalt and Eurobitume Congress,
Vienna.
5.
Jun, Y, Haibin Z., Juan, C., Guochao, Q., Weiyu, P., &
Yiwen, Y.( 2005). Study of Rutting Resistance of Asphalt
Surfacing Mixtures, Proc., of the 24th Southern African
Transport Conference (SATC2005), Pretoria, South
Africa, 768-777.
6.
Lee, S,J., Amirkhanian, S,N., Known, S,Z. (2008). Effect

of Compaction Temperature on CRM Mixture Made
with the SGC and the Marshall Compactor, Journal of
Construction and Building Materials, (22), 1122-1128.
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8.
Lynn, T., Robert, S., Peter, J, Wu, Y., & Jared, D. (2007).
Effect of Aggregate Gradation on Volumetric Properties
of Georgias Hot Mix Asphalt, Transportation Research
Record 1998, Transportation Research Board, Washington
D.C, 123-131.
Lundy, J, R., & Sandoval-Gil, J,A. (2004). Permanent
Deformation Characteristics of Oregon Mix Using the
Asphalt Pavement Analyzer, Report (340), Oregon
Department of Transportation, Research Unit 200,
Hawthorne SE, USA.
9.
MoRT&H(2001). Specification for Road and Bridge

Works, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways,
4th Edition, Indian Roads Congress, New Delhi, India.
10.
MS-2 (1994). Mix Design Methods for Asphalt Concrete

and Other Hot Mixes, Asphalt Institute, 6th Edition, USA.
11.
Rao, S,K.(2009). Asphalt Paving Mix Design for Heavily

Trafficked Roads, Proc. of Short Term Course on Pavement
Materials, Design and Evaluation, Indian Institute of
Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur.
12.
Reddy, K,S. (2007). Interim Report-Investigation of

Rutting Failure in Some Sections of National Highway-2
Between KM. 317 and KM. 65, Transportation Engineering
Section, Civil Engineering Department, IIT Kharagpur,
India.
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13.
Reddy, I.S., & Reddy M.A. (2011). Low Cost Device for
Evaluating Rutting Characteristics of Bituminous Mixes,
Journal of Indian Roads Congress, New Delhi, Vol.39 (3),
51-62.
14.
Roberts, F. L., Kandhal P, S., Brown, E, R., Lee, D, Y.,

& Kennedy, T, W. (1996). Hot Mix Asphalt Materials,
Mixture Design, and Construction. NAPA Education
Foundation, Lanham, MD. 2nd Edition.
15.
Sengoz, B., & Topal, A.(2007). Minimum Voids in Mineral

Aggregate in Hot-Mix Asphalt Based on Asphalt Film
Thickness, Journal of Building and Environment (42),
3629-3635.
16.
Shenoy, A., Stuart, K., & Mogawer, W. (2003). Do Asphalt

Mixtures Correlate Better with Mastics or Binders in
Evaluating Permanent Deformation? Transportation
Research Record 1829, Transportation Research Board,
Washington, D.C., 16-25.
17.
Solaimanian, M., Kennedy, T.W., & Elmore, T.W.(1993).

Long Term Evaluation of Stripping and Moisture Damage
in a Asphalt Pavements Treated with Lime and AntiStripping Agents, Texas Department of Transportation,
Report (CTR 0-1286-1F), Center of Transportation
Research, University of Texas at Austin, USA.
18.
SP-1(2003). Superpave Performance Graded Asphalt

Binder Specification and Testing, Superpave Series No. 1,
3rd edition, Asphalt Institute, USA.
19.
SP-2(2001). Superpave Mix Design, Superpave Series

No. 2, 3rd Edition, Asphalt Institute, USA.
20.
Stuart, K, D., & Izzo, R, P.(1995). Correlation of

Superpave G*/ sin with Rutting Susceptibility from
Laboratory Mixture Tests, Transportation Research Record
1492, Transportation Research Board, Washington,
D.C., 176-183
21.
Stuart, K, D., Mogawer, W, S., & Romero, P.(2000).

Validation of Asphalt Binder and Mixture Tests that
Measure Rutting Susceptibility, Report of FHWA(RD-99-204), Federal Highway Administration, U.S.
Department of Transportation.
22.
Williams, R, C., & Prowell, B,D.(1999). Comparison

of Laboratory Wheel-Tracking Test Results to West
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1681, Transportation Research Board, Washington D.C,
121-128.
23.
Uzarowski, L., Paradis, M., &Lum, P.(2004). Accelerated

Performance Testing of Canadian Asphalt Mixes using
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Transportation Association of Canada (TAC) Annual
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24.
Youtcheff, J, Stuart, K., Al-Khateeb, G., & Shenoy,

A.(2004). Understanding the Performance of Polymer
Modified Binders, Proc., of the 3rd Eurasphalt and
Eurobitume Congress, Vienna.
PROPERTIES OF POROUS FRICTION COURSE MIXES FOR

FLEXIBLE PAVEMENTS
A.U. Ravi Shankar*, S.N. Suresha** and G.M.V.S. Saikumar***
ABSTRACT
Porous Friction Courses (PFCs) are open-graded
bituminous mixtures used as surfacing or wearing courses
over sound dense bituminous mix surfaces of highway and
runway pavements. These are provided to serve as surface
drainage layers to improve the pavement skid-resistance
and to mitigate hydroplaning effect during wet-weather
conditions, in addition to attenuation of vehicle tyre noise.
Number of research findings on characterization of PFC
mixes reported the use of Superpave Gyratory Compactor
(SGC). Major differences were observed in the design
gyrations (Ndesign) and the design aggregate gradations.
This paper summarizes the laboratory investigation on
effect of aggregate gradation on the mix design (with
regard to volumetric properties, permeability, unaged
abrasion loss, and drain down) and performance properties
(including aged abrasion loss, moisture susceptibility, and
rutting) of PFC mix with neat bitumen and waste plastic
as modifier.
INTRODUCTION
Open-graded mixes are composed of relatively

uniform graded aggregate and bitumen or modified
binders, and are mainly used to serve as drainage
layers, either at the pavement surface or within the
pavement structure (FAA 2001). Open-graded mixes
used as surface drainage layers are termed as Porous
Friction Courses (PFC). Normally, the thickness
of PFCs varies in the range of 25-40 mm with a
minimum air voids content of 18 percent. PFCs are
also called by different names by various agencies
around the world, like Porous Asphalt (PA), OpenGraded Friction Course (OGFC), Open Graded
Asphalt (OGA), etc. (Suresha et al. 2007). PFCs
are found to offer multiple benefits like, better skidresistance, reduced splash and spray, and improved
night-visibility during wet-weather conditions, in
Prof. & Head, E-mail: aurshankar@yahoo.com
**
Asst. Prof., E-mail: sureshasn@nitk.ac.in
*** P.G. Student, E-mail: gmvsskumar@gmail.com
addition to mitigation of hydroplaning (Halstead

1978; Nicholls 1997; Huber 2000). Moreover, the
negative-texture of PFC surfaces enables considerable
reduction in traffic tyre-noise (Suresha et al. 2007).
Open-graded mixes are highly recommended for
high-speed road-corridors (Huber 2000) and runway
pavements (FAA 1997).
These mixes are designed to resist mainly two modes
of deterioration i) raveling, and ii) clogging of
pores. Verhaeghe et al. (1994) carried out studies on
porous asphalt mixes and suggested that the selected
aggregate gradation should result in at least 20% voids
in the compacted mix. Mallick et al. (2000) conducted
studies on OGFC mixes with different percentages of
materials passing 4.75 mm sieve and reported that a
gradation with not more than 20% passing 4.75 mm
sieve is sufficient to achieve stone-on-stone contact
conditions, capable of providing adequate permeability
in OGFC mixes. Use of larger-sized aggregate grading
provides superior performance than finer graded mixes
in terms of hydraulic conductivity (Nicholls 1997).
Current design procedures also include a method of
evaluating the degree of stone-on-stone contact. An
OGFC must have a skeleton of coarse aggregate with
stone-on-stone contact to minimize rutting (Brown
and Cooley 1999). The aggregate gradation and binder
content plays a major role in ensuring the hydraulic
efficiency and durability of the mix.
The lower surface area due to the use of uniformly
graded aggregates and the low quantity of filler
materials used result in the draining of bitumen-mastic
(draindown) from PFC mixes during mixing, storage,
transport, and laying operations. To mitigate the
Department of Civil Engineering, National Institute of Technology

Karnataka, Surathkal
15
TECHNICAL PAPERS
problem of draindown, use of fibres or waste plastics
as modifiers (stabilizers) to the mixes are widely
recommended (Huber, 2000). This consequently
requires an increase in the binder content, which
further improves the durability of the mix. Further, it
increases the stiffness of bitumen-mastic minimizing
the amount of draindown.
Many road agencies in the United States recommend
the use of these layers for safety (Huber 2000), while
many European countries widely use these as quiet
pavements. Road agencies in countries like Japan
(Nielsen et al. 2005), Australia (NAS 2004), New
Zealand (TNZ 2007), and South Africa (Sabita 1995)
recommend the open-graded mixes to achieve both
safety and tyre-noise-attenuation. OGFCs have been
experimented widely in the United States over the past
50 years (Huber 2000). European experiences with
porous mixes demonstrated its potential applications
on high-speed road facilities that also produced
exceptionally quiet pavements (Focus 2005). Porous
pavements of Japan are known for their structural and
acoustic durability (Nielsen et al. 2005). The Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA) recommends PFCs
as one of the technique for improvement of runway
pavement skid-resistance and mitigation of potential
of hydroplaning (FAA 1997).
Research findings on open-graded mixes are rarely
reported from India (Suresha 2004; Jain et al. 2007).
The findings reported by Punith et al. (2004) and
Sridhar et al. (2005) seems to be foremost, which
are based on the studies conducted to characterize
polymer and fibre modified open-graded friction
course mixtures (Suresha 2004). Suresha (2008)
performed an extensive research on various aspects
of PFC mixes and findings of the same can be found
elsewhere (Suresha et al. 2009a, 2009b, 2009c, 2010a,

2010b, 2010c).
2 Objective and Scope
The main objective of this study is to evaluate the
mix design and performance properties of PFC
mixes corresponding to the gradation suggested by
Suresha (2008). The mix design properties considered
are volumetric properties, permeability, unaged
abrasion loss, and draindown. The performance
properties considered are aged abrasion loss, moisture
susceptibility, and rutting. Various tests were
performed on the cylindrical shape PFC specimens
prepared by the Superpave Gyratory Compactor
(SGC) to evaluate all the properties as mentioned
above, except resistance to rutting.
3 Materials and Methodology
3.1 Materials
The Porous Friction Course (PFC) mixes corresponding
to aggregate gradation shown in Table 1 were
investigated. Coarse and fine aggregates obtained from
(Granite aggregate) local stone crushing plants were
used in this study. Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC)
blended with stone dust, was used as the mineral filler.
The quantity of OPC was limited to 2% by mass of the
total aggregates. Straight-run paving grade bitumen
used in the present investigation, was supplied by
the Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited
(MRPL), Mangalore. The physical properties of
coarse aggregates, and paving-grade bitumen were
determined in accordance with Indian Standard
(IS) test methods. The test results are presented in
Table 2.
Table 1 Aggregate Gradation Recommended by Suresha (2008)
IS Sieve Size, mm
% Passing
16
19
100
13.2
90 - 95
9.5
25 - 65
4.75
10 - 17.5
2.36
7.5 - 11.5
0.075
2-5
TECHNICAL PAPERS
Table 2 Properties of Coarse Aggregate and Bitumen
Material
Coarse
Aggregate
Bitumen
Properties
IS test method
Test results
Combined flakiness and elongation index, %
2386 P(1)
28.1
Aggregate impact value, %
2386 P(4)
20.1
Los Angles abrasion value, %
2386 P(4)
26.6
Water absorption, %
2386 P(3)
0.15
Soundness: Magnesium sulphate, %
2386 P(5)
0.2 1
Specific gravity, at 27C
1202
1.01
Penetration at 25C, 100 g, 5 s., 1/10 mm
1203
89
Penetration at 4C, 200 g, 60 s., 1/10 mm
1203
43
Softening point, (R&B), C
1205
46
Ductility at 27C, cm
1208
90
9382
62
Loss on heating, thin film oven test, percent by mass

Retained penetration after thin film oven test, 25C,
100 g, 5 s., 1/10 mm, % of original
3.2
Concept of Aggregate Locking Point
The design of PFC mix was carried out by using the

Superpave Gyratory Compactor (SGC). From the SGC
approach, it is found that the design gyrations (Ndesign)
have been specified by various agencies. Varadhan
(2004) and Jaiswal (2005) adopted the compaction level
corresponding to the gyration at the aggregate locking
point (NLP), at which the aggregate skeleton locks
together and further compaction results in aggregate
degradation without any significant achievement of
compaction (Prowel and Brown 2007). The aggregate
locking point concept was first proposed by the Illinois
Department of Transportation (Pine 1997), in order to
prevent over-compaction and subsequent degradation
of aggregates in the SGC. Vavrik and Carpenter (1998)
provided a refined definition for NLP, where it is said to
correspond to the first gyration in the first occurrence
of three gyrations of the same height proceeded by
two sets of two gyrations with the same height. The
NLP can be taken as (Ndesign) for SGC approach.
3.3 Experimental Design
PFC mix corresponding to the gradation and
three Binder Contents (BC) of neat bitumen were
investigated. Cylindrical specimens of 100 mm in
diameter for the selected PFC mix were prepared by
the Superpave Gyratory Compactor with 50, 80, 120
& NLP gyrations. To prepare a cylindrical specimen

of 100 mm Diameter (D), loose hot PFC mix was
compacted by applying at different gyrations, using a
Superpave Gyratory Compactor (SGC). Each specimen
thus prepared constituted 1000 g of the aggregate in
addition to pre-defined quantities of BC. In total, 96
cylindrical PFC specimens that constituted minimum
of three replicate specimens for the experimental mix
were prepared to evaluate the volumetric properties,
coefficient of permeability (K), Cantabro abrasion loss
(Unaged (UAL), Aged (AAL), Wet (WAL)) abrasion
losses, and moisture-susceptibility.
4 Evaluation of PFC Mix
4.1 Aggregate Locking Point
The influence of gyration levels on the mix
corresponding to the gradation and for the binder
contents of 4.5, 5.0 and 5.5% by mass of the total
mix was evaluated. In total, nine PFC specimens
with three replicates for each were compacted using
the SGC to a maximum gyration level of 120 (N120).
The locking point (NLP) for each mix was identified
and presented in Table 3. The NLP of most of PFC
mixes tested were found to vary between 50 and 75. A
similar study performed by Vardhan (2004) on friction
course mixes with granite-aggregates has reported NLP
17
TECHNICAL PAPERS
values in the range of 76 - 96, where the NLP values
were identified according to the recommendations
of Vavrik and Carpenter (1998). It may be observed
that in the present study, the Los Angeles Abrasion
(LAA) value of aggregates used was lesser than 30%,
while Vardhan (2004) adopted aggregates with LAA

values up to 50%. The difference in the results of
the NLP is inferred to be mainly due to the above
reason.
Table 3 Gyrations Corresponding to Locking Point (NLP)
Binder content, %
NLP of individual specimens
4.2
62
4.5
63
58
Volumetric Properties
G
Va = 100 1 mb
Gmm
VCAd =
66
... (1)
GCA w s

GCA w
... (2)
67
5.5
70
67
VCAm = 100 mb PCA

GCA
The volumetric properties of compacted specimens

tested included the bulk specific gravity (Gmb),
percent air voids (Va), and the Voids in Coarse
Aggregate (VCAm). The Gmb was determined using
the geometric measurements of the diameter (D) and
mean Length (L), and the mass of the specimen in
air. The theoretical maximum density (Gmm) of the
uncompacted mix was determined in accordance
with ASTM D 2041(2011). Va was then determined
using the corresponding values of Gmb and Gmm using
Eq.(1). Presence of stone-on-stone contact condition
in the compacted PFC mix was evaluated based on the
VCAm and the percentage of voids in coarse aggregate
of the coarse aggregate alone (VCAd) determined
using the dry-rodded test procedure. The VCAd and
VCAm values were computed using Eqs. (2) and (3),
respectively. Stone-on-stone contact condition in the
mix was confirmed when the ratio of VCAm to VCAd
was found to be lesser than unity.
5.0
65
70
... (3)
Where,

GCA = bulk specific gravity of the coarse

aggregate;
s = bulk density of the coarse aggregate fraction

in the dry-rodded condition;
w = density of water;
PCA = percentage of coarse aggregate in the total

mixture.
For tests conducted on mix, the mean values of test

results corresponding to the Gmb, ratio of VCAm to
VCAd, and Va are presented in Table 4. The mean value
of VCAd is 52.56%. The mean bulk specific gravity
of compacted mixes (Gmb) ranged between 1.933 g/
cc and 2.040 g/cc. The mean values of Va for the mix
varied from 23.8% and 27.8%, The mean voids in
coarse aggregate mix VCAm ranged between 43.8%
and 46.5%. The ratios between VCAm and VCAd
presented in Table 4, confirm the presence of stoneon-stone contact condition in the coarse aggregate
skeleton in all the experimented mix combinations
tested. Thus, the mix ensures adequate stability to
resist the plastic deformation.
Table 4 Volumetric Properties

BC
(%)
Gmb at
Va (%) at
VCAm (%) at
VCAm/VCAd
N50
NLP
N80
N120
N50
NLP
N80
N120
N50
NLP
N80
N120
N50
NLP
N80
N120
4.5
1.97
2.00
2.02
2.01
26.2
25.10
24.6
24.8
45.4
44.60
44.1
44.4
0.872
0.85
0.84
0.84
5.0
1.97
1.98
2.03
1.99
26.4
26.1
24.1
25.8
45.5
45.3
43.8
45.0
0.870
0.86
0.83
0.86
5.5
1.93
2.02
2.01
2.04
27.8
24.5
25.6
23.8
46.5
44.1
44.4
43.6
0.88
0.84
0.85
0.83
18
TECHNICAL PAPERS
4.3
Permeability
The hydraulic conductivity of compacted specimens

tested is expressed in terms of the coefficient of
permeability (K), determined using the fallinghead method. PFC specimens prepared using SGC,
at gyrations of 120, were inserted into the standard
Marshall mould. The circumferential contact area
between the specimen and the mould was covered
using paraffin wax on either side to prevent the
leakage of water. Care was taken to avoid clogging of
voids due to paraffin wax in the specimen. The collar
placed on the mould-specimen assembly, made water
tight at the interface, acted as a water reservoir. Water
was then allowed to flow through the specimen and
the average time (tm) taken for a drop in water level
from 70 mm to 30 mm was recorded in seconds. The
typical setup for permeability test using falling-head
method is shown in Fig. 1.
K = 198.9792 (a L/A tm) Tc log10[(h+h1)/(h+h2)]
... (4)
Where,

a and A are cross-sectional areas of collar

(internal) and specimen respectively (mm2); h
is the thickness of specimen (mm); and Tc is the
temperature correction for viscosity of water
(= 0.83- 0.89, for the test temperature in the
range of 25 - 28C).
The individual permeability (K) values for the mix

tested varied in the range from 45 to 155 m/day. Thus,
the mix satisfied the permeability criteria that K should
be more than 8.7 m/day (0.01 cm/s) for good drainage
condition (Chen et al. 2004). Table 5 indicates the
mean K values of 12 mixes tested. It is generally
accepted that the permeability is directly proportional
to the porosity (percent air voids, Va). Here too, the
variations in the permeability seem to be similar to
that of trends of air voids.
Table 5 Permeability (K) Values
Binder content, %
4.5
5.0
5.5
Mean values of K (m/day)
146
136
47
4.4
Fig. 1 Typical Permeability Test Setup
The coefficient of permeability (K, m/day) of the

cylindrical specimen of 100 mm diameter (D)
and of mean length (L, mm) was calculated using
the expression as in Eq. (4) for the falling-head
permeability approach.
Cantabro Abrasion Test
The Cantabro abrasion test method is used to ensure

adequate durability of the compacted PFC specimen.
Nowadays, most of the agencies recommend this test
as a compulsory or as an optional test for the mix
design of PFCs. The SGC compacted, at NLP, PFC
cylindrical specimens were directly tested according
to Cantabro abrasion test method. This test can be
conducted on unaged specimens, aged specimens,
and wet conditioned specimens and the corresponding
abrasion losses are termed as Unaged Abrasion Loss
(UAL), Aged Abrasion Loss (AAL), and Wet Abrasion
Loss (WAL) respectively.
4.4.1 Unaged Abrasion Loss (UAL)
The unaged abrasion loss of PFC mix tested by placing
a compacted specimen in a Los Angeles abrasion drum
(Fig. 2 (C)) without any abrasive charges, and machine
is operated at a speed of 30 to 33 revolutions per
19
TECHNICAL PAPERS
minute for 300 revolutions. The operating temperature
should be 25 5C. Fig 2 (a) and (d) shows how the
condition of specimen before subjecting to Cantabro
abrasion and after the abrasion respectively. Before
placing the specimen in Los Angles Abrasion drum
initial weight of specimen is taken (A) and later after
300 revolutions final weight of specimen is taken (B).
Loss in the specimen weight is expressed in percentage

of ratio of weight of disintegrated particles to the
initial weight of the specimen (Eq. 5) and expressed as
the abrasion loss. Table 6 indicates the mean unaged
abrasion loss values.
(a) Unaged PFC Specimen
(b) Specimens Subjected to Aging Process
(c) Specimens (Unaged/Aged) Subjected to Abrasion Test
(d) Specimens After Abrasion Test
% Loss = (( A B ) / A ) * 100
... (5)
Fig. 2 Specimen Before and After the Cantabro Test
Table 6 Unaged Abrasion Loss (UAL) Values

Binder content, %
4.5
5.0
5.5
Mean values of UAL (%)
22.2
19.9
19.1
4.4.2 Aged Abrasion Loss (AAL)

Aging is accomplished by placing triplicate specimens
in a forced draft oven, set at 60C, for 168 h (7 days).
The specimens are then cooled to 25C and stored for
20
4 h prior to conducting the Cantabro abrasion test.

Fig. 2(b) shows the cylindrical specimen placed in
oven for simulating aging. Table 7 indicates the mean
aged abrasion loss values.
Table 7 Aged Abrasion Loss (AAL) Values
Binder content, %
Mean values of AAL (%)
4.5
5.0
5.5
32.97
23.28
22.26
TECHNICAL PAPERS
4.4.3 Wet Abrasion Loss (WAL)
Specimens were saturated by submerging in water
and kept at a temperature of 4C for period of
15 h (Fig. 3). These specimens were immediately
transferred into the hot water bath for thawing to a
temperature of 60C for a period of 24 h (Fig. 4).
This cycle of freeze-thaw was performed twice. After
two cycles of moisture-conditioning, the specimens
were kept in a cold water bath to bring down the
temperature to 25C before subjecting to the Cantabro
abrasion test. Table 8 indicates the mean wet abrasion
loss values of moisture-conditioned specimens.
Fig. 3 Specimens in Freezer
NLP, as per the experimental design. Three of the six

replicates, were subjected to indirect tensile strength
tests in dry-condition (ITSd). The remaining, three
specimens of each mix was then subjected to wetconditioning, and the indirect tensile strengths (ITSw)
were evaluated. The wet-conditioning of the compacted
PFC specimens was performed as per AASHTO T 283
with minor modifications. The specimens were first
saturated by submerging in water and kept at water
freezing temperature for about 15 h. The frozen
specimens were immediately transferred into the hot
water bath for thawing to a temperature of 60C for 24
h. After two such cycles of moisture conditioning, the
specimens were kept in a cold water bath to bring down
the temperature to 25C before testing. The mean ITS
values of each mix for the dry and wet conditioned
specimens were used to compute the tensile strength
ratio (TSR). The following equations were used to
compute ITS and TSR.
2 Pu

... (6)

ITS =
L D
ITS w
100
... (7)

TSR =
ITS d
Where,

Pu = ultimate load required to fail specimen in

the indirect tension test;
ITSw = mean indirect tensile strengths of wet

conditioned specimens; and
ITSd = mean indirect tensile strengths of dry

conditioned specimens.
The mean Indirect Tensile Strengths (ITS) of dry

and wet conditioned PFC specimens and the Tensile
Strength Ratios (TSR) of mixes are provided in
Table 8.
Fig. 4 Specimens in Hot Water Bath
4.5 Moisture-Susceptibility
The moisture-susceptibility of PFC mixes was also
evaluated using the retained tensile strength or Tensile
Strength Ratio (TSR) method. In total six replicate
specimens were prepared for each mix, compacted at
The individual values of ITSd for the mixes were found

to be in the range from 133 to 154 kPa. When, triplicate
specimens were subjected to wet conditioning, the
individual ITSw value was found varied between 126
and 154 kPa. According to ASTM D 7064(2004), the
Tensile Strength Ratio (TSR) of PFC mixes should be
at least 80%, so as to ensure resistance to moisturesusceptibility.
21
TECHNICAL PAPERS
Table 8 Results of Moisture Susceptibility Tests
BC (%)
ITSd (kPa)
Individual
ITSw (kPa)
Mean
151
4.5
5.0
133
Mean
137
146
Individual
154
144
98.8
142
136
151
29.0
153
148
Mean
126
139
94.5
142
26.5
--
28.4
29.6
Draindown Test
The PFC mixes are featured by coarser gradation and

with higher binder contents compared to conventional
dense bituminous mixes. The coarser gradation ensures
higher air voids ratio and good hydraulic conductivity,
while higher binder content imparts durability to
the mix by providing a thicker binder film over the
aggregates. Increase in the binder content in PFC mixes
will have a tendency to cause draindown of bitumen
binder during mixing, storage and/or transportation.
This will cause non-uniform distribution of bitumen
and deficient binder mix that result in raveling. Mixes
with excessive binder content causes bleeding, loss
in permeability, and flushing and rutting (Kandhal
and Mallick 1999). Hence, it is necessary to limit the
binder content to avoid the subsequent problems of
binder draindown.
The draindown characteristics of uncompacted
bituminous mixes are evaluated using basket
drainage test [(AASHTO T305 (2001); ASTM D
6390 (2005); MCSBW (2001)], which is similar to
the Schellenberger basket drainage test. A sample
of the uncompacted hot PFC mix will be placed in
a wire basket, which is placed on a plate of known
weight. The entire test set-up is placed in an oven for a
specified period of time at the production temperature.
At the end of the heating period, the basket containing
the sample is taken out from the oven along with the
plate and the weight of the plate is determined. Fig. 5
shows the sketch of wire-basket, while Fig. 6 shows
the test set-up used.
22
(%)
WAL (%)
153
154
4.6
Individual
TSR
Fig. 5 Sketch of
Wire-Basket
Fig. 6 Basket Drainage

Test Set-up
The amount of draindown is considered to be that

portion of material that separates itself from the
sample as a whole and gets deposited on the plate.
The wire basket to be used for this test is made of
wire-mesh of 6.3 mm opening (0.25 inch). The depth
of the wire-basket is 165 16.5 mm, and the width
is 108 10.8 mm, with a basket bottom 25 2.5 mm
from the bottom of the wire basket assembly. The
binder drainage loss is calculated by using Eq. (8).
Drainage loss, % = [(D-C) / (B-A)] *100
... (8)
Where,

A is the initial weight of empty wire basket

(g);
B is the weight of wire basket and sample (g);
TECHNICAL PAPERS

C is the initial weight of empty catch plate or

container (g); and
D is the weight of catch plate or container plus
drained material.
The draindown tests on uncompacted PFC mix for a

binder content of 5.0% was performed using the basket
drainage test as per ASTM D 6390 (2005). The reason
for performing the drainage test at a binder content of
5.0% was because; the results of volumetric properties,
permeability, and unaged abrasion loss are satisfied.
The tests indicate that the mixes with binder content
in the range from 4.5% to 5.0% satisfied the optimal
mix criteria. Also, the mix with 5.0% binder content
is likely to give a higher draindown value. Hence, the
draindown tests were performed only on mixes with
5.0% binder content. The draindown test revealed
that with neat bitumen the draindown was more than
0.3%. But, using waste plastics with a dosage of 0.4%
of total weight of mix, resulted in the draindown value
less than 0.3%.
4.7
(Xiao et al. 2007; Kandhal and Cooley 2006; Shen

et al. 2005; Jackson and Baldwin 2000). The vertical
deformations under the wheel, at the centre of the
slab specimen were continuously measured by Linear
Variable Displacement Transducers (LVDTs) and
recorded at regular intervals. The mean Rut Depth
(RD) value for each Wheel Pass (WP) was computed
from the two LVDT readings.
The trend between RD and Number of Wheel Passes
(NWP) for the mix is shown in Fig. 7. It is evident
from the figure the mix will undergo post-compaction
consolidation to a depth in the range from 0.5 to
1.5 mm at the end of 500 wheel passes. The stripping of
bitumen from the aggregate surface was not observed
along the wheel path during the entire test period. The
rut depth at 9500 cycles was found to be less than
6 mm.
Rutting
Porous asphalt exhibits a high resistance to permanent

deformation due to stone-on-stone contact condition
in the coarse aggregate skeleton. Huet et al. (1990)
carried out comparative tests on porous asphalt made
with pure bitumen; SBS modified bitumen and pure
bitumen with mineral fibers on a test track. Overall
rut depth after 600,000 cycles was about 5 mm with
a slight advantage going to the SBS modified binders
sections. Mallick et al. (2000) conducted tests on the
four specimens prepared at design bitumen contents,
all of the rut depths were less than 5 mm after 8000
cycles.
In the present study Immersion Wheel Tracking
Device (IWTD) has been used to perform the
rutting simulation. A rectangular slab specimen of
600 200 50 mm dimensions was prepared
for a binder content of 5.0% and bulk density
corresponding to NLP. The rut tests were conducted at
a contact pressure of 0.7 MPa, speed of 0.468 kmph,
and temperature of 50C. The testing was conducted
continuously for about 6000 to 9000 passes (7 to
10 hours). These test conditions (parameters) vary
depending upon the type of wheel-tracking devices
Fig. 7 Rut Depth of PFC Mix
Conclusions
The following conclusions were drawn from the

present study:
1.
2.
3.
The PFC mixes compacted at the gyration

level of N120 has exhibited good volumetric
properties and permeability. Air voids content
were found to be more than 20% and coefficient
of permeability more than 100 m/day for the
mixes at a binder content of 5.0%.
The mixes with Neat Bitumen (NB), for binder
content of 5.0% and compaction level of NLP,
the mean values of UAL and AAL were found
to be within the acceptable limits of 20% and
30% respectively (ASTM D 7064, 2004).
The resistance to moisture-induced damage
was found to be appreciable both in terms of
TSR and WAL.
23
TECHNICAL PAPERS
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Mix modified with the Waste Plastics (WP)

helped in reducing drain down loss to below
0.30%.
The locking points (NLP) of most of the PFC
mixes tested were found to vary between 50
and 75 gyrations, and the mixes compacted at
NLP were found to provide consistent variations
in the volumetric properties.
The results of the Immersion Wheel Tracking
Tests (IWTT) indicated that the PFC mixes offer
better resistance to rutting, when compared to
that of other dense bitumen mixes as reported
(Punith and Veeraragavan 2007; Xiao et al.,
2007; Kandhal and Cooley, 2006; Shen et al.,
2005; Jackson and Baldwin, 2000).
In the IWTT, there was no sign of stripping
observed for the mix tested. Thus, the mix
tested was found to have sufficient resistance to
binder-stripping due to mechanical action and
exposure to moisture.
The mix of this gradation satisfied the stoneon-stone contact condition. This can be related
to the presence of more quantity (> 20%) of
aggregates passing 4.75 mm sieve (Mallick et
al. 2000).
7.
Brown, E.R., and Cooley, L.A. (1999). Designing Stone

Matrix Asphalt Mixtures for Rut-Resistant Pavement.
Report 425, National Cooperative Highway Research
Program, Transportation Research Board, Washington,
D.C.
8.
Chen, J.S., Lin, K.Y., and Young, S.Y. (2004). Effects

of Crack Width and Permeability on Moisture-Induced
Damage of Pavements. J. Materials in Civil Engineering,
16(3), 276-282.
9.
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). (1997).

Measurement, Construction, and Maintenance of SkidResistant Airport Pavement Surfaces. Advisory Circular
No. 150/5320-12C, U.S. Department of Transportation,
Washington, D.C.
10.
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). (2001). Hot

Mix Asphalt Paving Handbook. Advisory Circular No.
150/5370-14A, U.S. Department of Transportation,
Washington, D.C.
11.
Focus (2005). Quiet Pavements: Lessons Learned from

Europe. <www.tfhrc.gov/focus/apr05> (Jul. 18, 2005).
12.
Halstead, W.J. (1978). Open-Graded Friction Courses for

Highways. Synthesis of Highway Practice 49, National
Cooperative Highway Research Program, Transport
Research Board, Washington, D.C.
13.
Huber, G. (2000). Performance Survey on Open-Graded

Friction Course Mixes. Synthesis of Highway Practice
284, National Cooperative Highway Research Program,
Transportation Research Board, Washington, D.C.
14.
Huet, M., Boissoudy, A.D., Gramsammer, J.C., Bauduin,

A., and Samanos, J. (1990). Experiments with Porous
Asphalt on the Nantes Fatigue Test Track. J. Transport
Research Record-1265, 54-58.
15.
IS 1201 1220 (1978). Methods for Testing Tar and

Bituminous Materials. Bureau of Indian Standards,
New Delhi.
16.
IS 2386 (P1 P8)(1963). Methods of Test for Aggregates

for Concrete. Bureau of Indian Standards, New Delhi.
17.
Jackson, N.M., and Baldwin, C.D. (2000). Assessing the

Relative Rutting Susceptibility of HMA in the Laboratory
with the Asphalt Pavement Analyzer. International J.
Pavement Engineering, 1(3), 203-217.
18.
Jain, P.K., Mohan, S., and Sengupta, J.B. (2007).

Optimization of Porous Bituminous Concrete Through
the Use of Special Binders and Development of Design
Guidelines. Highway Research Bulletin, 77, Indian
Roads Congress, New Delhi, India, 11-22.
19.
Jaiswal, L. (2005). Development and Evaluation of

Permeable Friction Course Mix Design for Florida
Conditions. M.E. Thesis, Graduate School of the
University of Florida, F.L.
20.
Kandhal, P.S., and Cooley, L.A. Jr. (2006). Simulative

Performance Test for Hot Mix Asphalt Using Asphalt
Pavement Analyzer. J. ASTM International, 3(5), Paper
ID JAI 12255, 9.
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1.
AASHTO T283. (2007). Standard Method of Test for

Resistance of Compacted Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) to
Moisture-Induced Damage, American Association of State
Highway and Transportation Officials, Washington, D.C.
2.
AASHTO T305. (2001). Standard Method of Test

for Determination of Draindown Characteristics in
Uncompacted Asphalt Mixtures, American Association of
State Highway and Transportation Officials, Washington,
D.C.
3.
AI (2001). Superpave Mix Design. SP-2. 3rd Ed., Asphalt

Institute, Lexington.
4.
ASTM D 2041 (2011). Standard Test Method for

Theoretical Maximum Specific Gravity and Density of
Bituminous Paving Mixtures, West Conshohocken, P.A.
5.
ASTM D 6390. (2005). Standard Test Method for

Determination of Draindown Characteristics in
Uncompacted Asphalt Mixtures, West Conshohocken,
P.A.
6.
ASTM D 7064. (2004). Standard Practice for

Open-Graded Friction Course (OGFC) Mix Design,
West Conshohocken, P.A.
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Kandhal, P.S., and Mallick, R.B. (1999). Design of NewGeneration Open-Graded Friction Courses. Report No.
99-3, National Center of Asphalt Technology, Auburn,
AL.
Mallick, R.B., Kandhal, P.S., Cooley, L.A. Jr., and Watson,
D.E. (2000). Design, Construction, and Performance
of New-Generation Open-Graded Friction Courses.
J. Association of Asphalt Paving Technologists, 69,
391-423.
Manual for Construction and Supervision of Bituminous
Works (MCSBW). (2001). Ministry of Road Transport and
Highways, Indian Roads Congress, New Delhi, India.
National Asphalt Specification (NAS). (2004). 2nd Ed.,
Australian Asphalt Pavement Association, Kew Victoria,
Australia.
Nicholls, J.C. (1997). Review of UK Porous Asphalt
Trials. Transport Research Laboratory: Report 264,
London, U.K.
Nielsen, C.B., Bendtsen, H., Andersen, B., Larsen, H.J.E.
(2005). Noise Reducing Pavements in Japan Study
Tour Report. Danish Road Institute: Technical Note 31,
Road Directorate, Denmark.
Pine, W.J. (1997). Superpave Gyratory Compaction
and the Ndesign Table. Internal Report to the Illinois
Department of Transportation.
Prowel, B.D., and Brown, E.R. (2007). Superpave Mix
Design: Verifying Gyration Levels in the Ndesign Table.
Report 573, National Cooperative Highway Research
Program, Transportation Research Board, Washington,
D.C.
Punith,V., S., and Veeraragavan, A. (2007). Behaviour of
Asphalt Concrete Mixtures with Reclaimed Polyethylene
as Additive. J. Materials in Civil Engineering, 19(6),
500-507.
Punith,V.,S., Suresha, S.N., Veeraragavan, A., Raju, S.,
and Bose, S. (2004). Characterization of Polymer and
Fiber Modified Porous Asphalt Mixtures. 83rd Annual
Meeting (CD-ROM), Transportation Research Board,
Washington, D.C.
Shen, D.H., Kuo, M.F., Du, J.C. (2005). Properties of
Gap-Aggregate Gradation Asphalt Mixture and Permanent
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Southern African Bitumen Association (Sabita). (1995).
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Sridhar, R., Suresha, S.N., Bose, S., and Veeraragavan,
A. (2005). Study of Polymer and Fibre Modified Open
Graded Friction Courses. J. Indian Roads Congress, 514,
66 (2), 291-318.
Suresha, S.N. (2004). Characterization of Polymer and
Fibre Modified Open-Graded Friction Course Mixtures.
M.E. Thesis, Bangalore University, India.
Suresha, S.N, Varghese George and Ravi Shankar, A.U.
(2007). Investigation of Porous Friction Courses (PFC)
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36.
Suresha, S.N. (2008). Experimental Investigations on

the Properties and Developments of Design Guidelines
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Mangalore, India.
37.
Suresha S.N., Varghese George, and Ravi Shankar, A.U.

(2009a). A Comparative Study on Properties of Porous
Friction Course Mixes with Neat Bitumen and Modified
Binders, Construction and Building Materials, 23 (3),
pp. 1211-1217.
38.
Suresha S.N., George Varghese, and Ravi Shankar, A.U.

(2009b). Characterization of Porous Friction Course
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(2009c). Evaluation of Properties of Porous Friction
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40.

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Mixes, International Journal of Pavement Engineering,
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41.

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Plastics Modified Porous Friction Course Mixes. The
Baltic Journal of Road and Bridge Engineering, 5(3),
pp. 156-163.
42.

(2010c). Effect of Aggregate Gradations on Properties of
Porous Friction Course Mixes. Materials and Structures,
43(6), pp. 789-801.
43.
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44.
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45.
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Air Voids at Specified Number of Gyrations in Superpave
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J. Materials in Civil Engineering, 19(6), 475-483.
25
BENEFITS OF MECHANISTIC APPROACH IN FLEXIBLE

PAVEMENT DESIGN
Nagrale Prashant P* and More Deepak**
ABSTRACT
The present work was undertaken to evaluate the benefit of
mechanistic approach in flexible pavement design. Two types of
soils (soil-A and soil-B) were selected in study. The number of
laboratory tests was conducted on these soils for their classification.
The static triaxial test was conducted on these soils as well as on
other pavements layers material at a confining pressure of 40 kPa.
The results obtained from static triaxial test were further used in
finite element modeling of the flexible pavement as per Indian
practice code IRC:37-2001.
To understand the response of pavement, the finite element
modeling is carried out on multilayered flexible pavements resting
on subgrade soil A and B using commercial software ANSYS.
The vertical compressive strain developed at the top of subgrade
soil was further used for estimation of number of cycles taken by
pavement. The study shows that the pavement resting on subgrade
soil - A modeled as per IRC:37-2001 for a traffic intensity of
150 msa may take 694 msa. i.e. almost 4.62 times more than
conventional practices.
NEED
MECHANISTIC
PAVEMENT DESIGN
APPROACH
The flexible pavements in India are designed and

constructed based on CBR value of subgrade soils.
Once the 4 days soaked CBR value of subgrade
soil and traffic intensity for which pavement is to
be designed known is the thickness of other layers
can be directly read out from the chart given by
IRC:37-2001. The major drawback of this method
is that the pavement can be designed upto traffic
intensity of 150 msa. Also, the suitability of
aggregate for the pavement layers is decided based on
Professor & HOD
**
M.E. Student
26
guideline given by Indian Standard Specification.

For example; the aggregate having crushing value
less than 45% can be accepted as a sub base and base
course material.
Suppose there are two aggregates such as aggregate-A
and aggregate-B having crushing value 8% and
44% as per guideline both these aggregates can be
accepted as a sub base and base coarse material but
looking to properties, aggregate-A is much stronger
than aggregate-B and if the pavement designed with
aggregate-A will be over designed. Keeping in view
the above draw backs of existing methods it is urgent
need to develop the mechanistic empirical pavement
(M-E pavement) design approach for design of flexible
pavements. This methodology has better capability to
characterization of different material properties and
loading conditions and has ability to evaluate different
design alternatives on economic basis.
1.1 How Does Mechanistic Pavement Work?
The following description is necessarily somewhat
generic and based primarily on the analysis of flexible
pavement; however the system has been designed in
a modular fashion, which with the modular nature of
the software, allows the same elements of design with
type-specific sub-modules. The M-E pavement design
guide performs a time-stepping process, illustrated in
the figure below:
CED, Sardar Patel College of Engineering, Andheri (W), Mumbai
TECHNICAL PAPERS
2 LITERATURE REVIEW
Stephen F Brown (1997), developed the concept of
effective stiffness deterioration to deal with fatigue
cracking in pavement design, Theyse et.al. (1953),
concluded subgrade permanent deformation based
on the data generated from a series of Heavy Vehicle
Simulator (HVS). Pavement performance data is
generated over the long-term that may be used to
investigate pavement behavior in general and calibrate
mechanistic empirical design models. The mechanistic
empirical method of design is based on the mechanics
of material that relates an input, such as a wheel load,
to an output or pavement response, such as stress or
strain. The response values are used to predict distress
from laboratory test and field performance data.
Dependence on observed performance is necessary
because theory alone has not proven sufficient to
design pavements realistically. With a view to have
unified approach for working out design of flexible
pavement in the country the IRC first brought out
guidelines in 1970 with the name of (IRC:37-1970).
Theses guide line further modified in 1984 and 2001
and published with the name of (IRC:37-1984) and
(IRC:37-2001). Now IRC:37-2001 is in use for design
of flexible pavements in India. This practice code
was developed from original CBR method given by
California Division of Highway in 1934.
Many researchers are of the opinion that the design

of flexible pavement involves the interplay of several
variables such as wheel loads, traffic, climate, and
terrain and subgrade conditions. During the literature
review it was found that a very few research work has
been done in the area of modeling of flexible pavement
and its economics with conventional practice by using
commercial software ANSYS.
3 EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM
Two types of soils were selected for this study. The
soils have been referred to as Subgrade Soil-A and
Subgrade Soil-B. The index properties; liquid limit,
plastic limit, plasticity index, and other important soil
properties as per AASHTO and US soil classification
system have been presented in Table 1. The soil-A
was silty-clay of low plasticity (A-2-4) and soil-B
was sandy- silt (A-3). Chandra and Mehndiratta
(2002), reported that confinment in the pavement
due to shoulder and surrounding soil is in the range
of 26 to 40 kPa, hence Triaxial test were conducted
on subgrade soils as well as different pavement layer
materials at confining pressure of 40 kPa, stress-strain
curve drawn and the value of initial tangent modulus
calculated, the same value further used as input
parameter in Finite Element Modeling of flexible
pavement. Table 2 shows the value of initial tangent
modulus and poisons ratio for subgrade soil and other
pavement layer materials.
Table 1 Properties of the Subgrade Soil
Properties
Maximum Dry Density
Optimum Moisture Content
Specific Gravity
Liquid Limit (%)
Plasticity Index (%)
D50 (mm)
Fraction Passing 75 micron
CBR (%)
Initial Tangent Modulus (kg/cm2)
Classification as per AASHTO
Typical name
Soil - A
17.70
14.00
2.21
28.00
8.10
0.11
32.00
1.96
111.80
A2-4
Silty clay of
Low plasticity
Soil - B
19.30
11.30
2.40
---7.00
6.30
162.10
A-3
Sandy silt
27
TECHNICAL PAPERS
Table 2 Value of Initial Tangent Modulus of other Pavement Layers
E value (kg/cm )
- value
Subbase
701.20
0.30
Base
992.00
0.30
DBM
2696.70
0.50
BC
4033.30
0.50
DBM Dense Bitumenous Macadam, BC Bitumenous concrete

4
FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS
Finite element method was used to analyze the

pavement section resting on subgrade soils. The
software ANSYS was used for finite element
modeling. The pavement section was modeled as a
2-D axisymmetric problem and 8-noded structural
solid element was used for the analysis. The stresses
and deformations within the pavement section and
vertical strain at top of the subgrade were captured.
A five-layer flexible pavement system was modeled
and analyzed. Fig. 1 shows the typical model for fivelayered flexible pavement resting on subgrade soil-A
Similar models were developed for pavement resting
on subgrade soils-B. The thickness of each layer in
the pavement was modelled as per lndian practice
code IRC:37-2001. For design traffic of 150 msa,
the thicknesses of each layer in the pavement section
resting on subgrade soil-A and soil-B are presented in
Table 3.
Fig. 1 2-D Axisymmetric Finite Element Model Used

In Present Study
Table 3 Pavement Composition for Traffic Intensity of 150 msa (IRC:37-2001)
Subgrade
Soil
Soil A
Soil B
CBR
(%)
2
6
Subgrade
(mm)
500
500
Sub base
(mm)
460
260
A pressure equal to single axle wheel load has been

assumed to be applied at the surface and distributed
over a circular area of radius 15 cm. For application of
FEM in the pavement analysis, the layered system of
infinite extent is reduced to an approximate size with
finite dimension. The right hand boundary is provided
at 110 cm from outer edge of the loaded area, which is
more than 7 times loaded area.
28
Base
(mm)
250
250
DBM
(mm)
215
160
BC
(mm)
50
50
Total
(mm)
1475
1220
The elasto-plastic analysis was carried out to evaluate

the primary response of the pavement resting on
subgrade soils. The multilinear isotropic hardening
model (MISO) available in ANSYS was used to
evaluate the stresses, strains and deformations within
the pavement sections. The mixed incremental method
is used in present study for elasto-plastic analysis of
2-D axisymetric finite element model. This method
TECHNICAL PAPERS
combines the advantages of both the incremental and
the iterative schemes. The external load, here, is applied
incrementally, but after each increment, successive
iterations are performed to achieve equilibrium.
In general, for the jth load increment, the state of
deformation, stress and strain at the end of (j 1)th load
increment is known, i.e. {}j1, {}j1, {}j1 are known,
the subscripts (j 1) refers to the load increment. The
general procedure of this method is follows,
i)
For the first iteration of the jth load increment,
j
j
j 1
{F }1 = K {}1
... (1)
j
j
j 1
{}1 = K {F }1
... (2a)
obtain, {}j = [B ]{}j

1
1
and
ii)
j
{}1
j
= [D ]{}1
... (2b)
... (2c)
Accumulated displacements, strains and stresses

at the end of 1th iteration can be expressed as,
{}1 = {}
j 1
+ {}1
... (3a)
j
{}1
j 1
j
+ {}1
... (3b)
j
{}1
iii)
= {}
j 1
= {}
j
+ {}1
0.5
Fj T Fj
{ 1 } { 1 }
0.5
100 Tolerance Limit
... (6)
In general, for any ith iteration of the jth load increment,

force-displacement equation system will be
j
j
j 1
{}i 1 = K {}i
... (7a)
where [K j 1] is the constant stiffness matrix obtained

from the state of stress and strain attained at the end of
the (j 1)th load increment.
Therefore,
which can be solved to obtain,

j T j
{ 1 } { 1 }
... (3c)
j
Obtain the principal stresses, { p } and strains,

1
{ p }1 and then,
j
j
j 1
{}i = K {}i
{}i = [B ]{}i
{}i = [D ]{}i
...(7b)
... (7c)
... (7d)
The accumulated state of deformation, strain and

stress is given by,

j
j 1
j
{}i = {} {}i
{}i = {} {}i
... (8b)
j
j 1
j
{}i = {} {}i
... (8c)
j 1
... (8a)
The state of principal stresses and strains will be given

j
j
Et1j and vt1 = f ({ p }1 ,{ p }1 )
... (4a)
by { p }i and { p }i respectively, and the tangent

j
j
modulii by Eti , vti and the elasticity matrix,
and
j
j
[D ] = D (Et1 , vt1 )
... (4b)
iv)
Equilibrated force vector will then be given

by,
j
{Feq }1 = [B ]
j
[D ][B ]{}1
dv
... (5a)
j
j
[D ] = D (Eti , vti )
... (9)
The equilibrated force vector,

{Feq }i = [B ] [D ][B ]dv

T
... (10)
and the residual force vector,
Therefore, the residual force vector,

j
= ({F }1
j
{}1
v)
Check for convergence,
{Feq } )
1
... (5b)
{}i = {}i 1 {Feq }i
... (11)
The check for convergence will be given by,
29
TECHNICAL PAPERS
j T j
{ i } { i }
0.5
j T j
{ i 1} { i 1}
0.5
100 Tolerance Limit

... (12)
the equilibrium and therefore the convergence for jth

load increment is considered to have been achieved
when this force residual is bellow certain tolerance
level, otherwise iteration are continue until the above
iteration satisfied. Once the convergence is achieved,
the next increment F1 j +1 is applied and the process
is repeated until the final load level is reached. In this
method, the equilibrium can be achieved at the end
of every load increment. It makes use of a variable
stiffness matrix for each new load increment while
maintaining it constant within a given load increment
so as to achieve convergence and therefore the
equilibrium iteratively.
5 EVALUATION OF BENEFITS
The proposed methodology is a mechanistic-empirical
design approach for design of flexible pavement used
to evaluate the number of cycles taken by pavement
with varying layer thicknesses of subbase and base.
It has a better capability of characterizing different
material properties and loading condition, and has
the ability to evaluate alternatives on an economics
basis. Structural failure in a flexible pavement is of two
types, namely surface cracking and rutting. Cracking
is due to fatigue caused by repeated application of load
in the bounded layer generated by the traffic, it is due
to horizontal tensile strain developed at the bottom
of bituminous layer which have been considered as
chief elements of the pavement failure. Rutting is due
to accumulation of pavement deformation in various
layers along the wheel path.The scope of present
study is restricted to rutting being the failure criterion,
IRC:37-2001 considers a rut depth of 20 mm to be a
failure criterion for flexible pavement and the rutting
in the following equation is,
30
1
N20 = 4.1656 10
z
4.5337
... (13)
Where,

N20 = Number of cumulative standard axles to

produce rutting depth of 20 mm.
z = Vertical compressive subgrade strain (micro

strain) at top of subgrade.
5.1
Pavement Response
The 2-D axisymmetric finite element model was

developed for the pavement resting on subgrade
Soil-A and Soil-B in commercial software ANSYS
and pavement response within pavement and vertical
compressive strain developed at the top of subgrade
was captured also the parametric study was carried
out for two different cases.
Case-I: Keeping all other layers constant, the thickness
of sub base varied and vertical compressive strain
developed at top of subgrade soil - A and subgrade
soil B captured.
Case-II: Keeping all other layers constant only the
thickness of base varied and vertical compressive
strain developed at top of subgrade-A and subgrade
B captured.
Table 4 and 5 shows the variation of pavement
response. i.e. vertical compressive strain, vertical
compressive stress and deformation at top of subgrade
Soil - A and Soil B. The result shows that the value
of vertical compressive strain and deformation at the
top of subgrade consistently increases with decrease
in the thickness of subbase for a constant thickness of
Base course and DBM course. Similarly the value of
vertical compressive strain and deformation increase
with decrease in the thickness of base for constant
value of subbase thickness and DBM thickness.
TECHNICAL PAPERS
Table 4 Variation of Pavement Response at the Top of Subgrade Soil - A
Base = 250 (mm), DBM = 215 (mm)
Subbase
z
z
(mm)
(Micron)
(kg/cm2)
460
450
425
400
375
350
325
300
275
250
225
1212.40
1219.50
1238.10
1258.50
1280.60
1304.80
1331.20
1360.20
1391.90
1429.60
1465.40
0.1399
0.1390
0.1418
0.1438
0.1461
0.1485
0.1511
0.1541
0.1573
0.1607
0.1646
z
(mm)
0.556
0.558
0.563
0.568
0.574
0.580
0.586
0.593
0.601
0.610
0.618
Subbase = 460 (mm), DBM = 215 (mm)

Base
z
z
z
2
(Micron)
(mm)
(kg/cm
)
(mm)
250
225
200
175
150
125
100
75
50
25
0
1212.40
1231.30
1252.10
1274.90
1300.10
1328.10
1359.20
1394.00
1433.10
1477.00
1528.40
0.1399
0.1412
0.1433
0.1455
0.1481
0.1509
0.1541
0.1576
0.1616
0.1661
0.1713
0.556
0.561
0.566
0.573
0.579
0.586
0.594
0.604
0.614
0.625
0.638
Table 5 Variation of Pavement Response at the Top of Subgrade Soil-B

Base = 250 (mm), DBM = 160 (mm)
Subbase
z
z
(mm)
(Micron)
(kg/cm2)
260
1184.80
0.1903
250
1202.60
0.1929
225
1250.50
0.1999
200
1303.70
0.2077
175
1363.10
0.2164
150
1429.30
0.2261
125
1503.50
0.2370
100
1586.60
0.2491
75
1679.80
0.2629
z
(mm)
0.473
0.477
0.489
0.501
0.515
0.530
0.547
0.566
0.587
The value of vertical compressive strain at the top of

subgrade soil - A and soil - B for a standard pavement
section modeled as per IRC:37-2001 found to be
1212.40 micron and 1184.80 micron respectively. This
value increase to 1360.20 micron when only subbase
varied from 460 mm to 300 mm and it increase to
1359.20 micron when only base is varied from 250
mm to 100 mm for a pavement resting on subgrade
soil - A also, this value increase to 1586.60 micron
when only subbase varied from 260 mm to 100 mm
and it increase to 1581.80 micron when only base is
varied from 250 mm to 100 mm for a pavement resting
on subgrade soil - B.

Base
z
z
z
(mm)
(Micron)
(kg/cm2)
(mm)
250
1184.80
0.1903
0.556
225
1233.20
0.1974
0.561
200
1287.40
0.2054
0.566
175
1348.20
0.2144
0.573
150
1416.60
0.2245
0.579
125
1494.00
0.2359
0.586
100
1581.80
0.2489
0.594
75
1681.90
0.2637
0.604
50
1796.70
0.2808
0.614
5.2 Effect on Service Life

Considering rutting as a failure criterion, the number
of cycles taken by the pavement section resting on
subgrade soil - A and soil - B is evaluated using rutting
equation and the results shown in Table 6 and 7. The
number of cycles taken by the standard pavement
section resting on subgrade soil A and soil B was
694.301 msa and 770 714 msa. Whereas, for constant
other layers, only subbase thickness was varied to 450
mm, 350 mm and 250 mm, the number of the cycles
taken by the pavement was reduce to 676.169 msa,
497.664 msa and 328.913 msa respectively. Similarly
for constant other layers, only base thickness was
31
TECHNICAL PAPERS
varied to 200 mm, 100 mm and 50 mm. the number of
the cycles taken by the pavement reduced to 599.945
msa, 413.533 msa and 325.699 msa respectively.
Similar variation was observed for pavement section
resting on subgrade soil B and presented in Table 7. It
indicates if the pavement is modelled by mechanistic
empirical approach considering actual properties

of subgrade soils and other pavement layers the
thicknesses of layers required may be much lower
than the pavement designed as per Indian Practice
code IRC:37-2001.
Table 6 Variation of Vertical Compressive Strain at Top of Subgrade and Number of Cycle Taken by Pavement
Resting on Subgrade Soil-A
Base = 250 (mm), DBM = 215 (mm)
Subbase
z
(NR)
(mm)
(Micron)
(msa)
460
1212.40
694.301
450
1219.50
676.169
425
1238.10
631.322
400
1258.50
586.237
375
1280.60
541.747
350
1304.80
497.664
325
1331.20
454.460
300
1360.20
412.157
275
1391.90
371.280
250
1429.60
328.913
225
1465.40
294.023

Base
z
(NR)
(mm)
(Micron)
(msa)
250
1212.40
694.308
225
1231.30
647.284
200
1252.10
599.945
175
1274.90
552.816
150
1300.10
505.873
125
1328.10
459.289
100
1359.20
413.533
75
1394.00
368.751
50
1433.10
325.287
25
1477.00
283.699
0
1528.40
242.942
Table 7 Variation of Vertical Compressive Strain at top of Subgrade and Number of Cycle Taken by Pavement
Resting on Subgrade Soil-B
Base = 250 (mm), DBM = 160 (mm)
Subbase
z
(NR)
(mm)
(Micron)
(msa)
260
1184.80
770.714
250
1202.60
720.331
225
1250.50
603.433
200
1303.70
499.570
175
1363.10
408.196
150
1429.30
329.226
125
1503.50
261.724
100
1586.60
205.078
75
1679.80
158.317
CONCLUSION
From the present study it is observed that mechanistic

approach is a valuable tool for design of flexible
pavement. It gives more realistic thickness of
pavement layers. Following important conclusion are
drawn from the present study.
1.
32

Base
z
(NR)
(mm)
(Micron)
(msa)
250
1184.80
770.714
225
1233.20
642.775
200
1287.40
528.895
175
1348.20
429.052
150
1416.60
342.821
125
1494.00
269.355
100
1581.80
207.914
75
1681.90
157.423
50
1796.70
116.698
The value of vertical compressive strain and

deformation at the top of subgrade consistently
increases with decrease in the thickness of

subbase for a constant thickness of Base course
and DBM course.
2.
The value of vertical compressive strain and

deformation at the top of subgrade consistently
increases with decrease in the thickness of base
for a constant thickness of subbase course and
DBM course.
TECHNICAL PAPERS
3.
4.
5.
The value of vertical compressive strain at the top

of subgrade soil - A and soil B for a standard
pavement section designed as per IRC:37-2001 for
a traffic intensity of 150 msa are 1212.40 micron
and 1184 micron respectively; the corresponding
number of cycles taken by the pavement are
694.301 msa and 770.714 msa respectively.
The number of cycles taken by the standard
pavement section resting on subgrade soil A
was 694.301 msa. For constant other layers, if
only subbase thickness varied from 460 mm to
450 mm, 350 mm and 250 mm. the number of the
cycles taken by the pavement is reduce to 676.169
The number of cycles taken by the standard
pavement section resting on subgrade soil B
was 770.714 msa. For constant other layers, if
only subbase thickness varied from 260 mm to
200 mm, 150 mm and 100 mm. the number of the
cycles taken by the pavement is reduce to 499.57
REFERENCES
1.
Stephen F Brown (1997), Achievements and Challenges

in Asphalt Pavement Engineering, ISAP - 8th International
Conference on Asphalt Pavements - Seattle, pp 1 - 22.
2.
H. L. Theyse, T. P. Hoover, J. T. Harvey, C. L. Monismith

and N. F. Coetzee (1953), A Mechanistic-Empirical
Subgrade Design Model Based on Heavy Vehicle Simulator
Test Results, ASCE Geo Institute, 1801 Alexander Bell
Drive Reston, VA 20191-4400 USA pp 195 202.
3.
S L Webstar (1992),Geogrid Reinforcement Bases Course

for Flexible Pavements for Light Aircrafts, Technical
Report GL 93-6, ASCE Waterway Experiment Section,
Vicksburg Mississippi, USA, pp 886 887.
4.
P P Nagrale, S. Chandra and Prof M N Viladkar (2006),

Benefits of Fibre Reinforced Subgrade Soils in Flexible
Pavement, Journal of the Institute of Engineers India,
vol- 87, May 2006, pp 53 57.
5.
S. Chandra, H. C. Mahindiratta (2002), Effect of Shoulder

on Life of Flexible Pavements, HRB 67, Indian Road
Congress, New Delhi, 2002, pp 37 46.
6.
IRC:37-2001. Guideline for the Design of Flexible

Pavements. Indian Roads Congress, New Delhi, 2001.
7.
Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MORTH).

Specifications for Road and Bridge Works. Indian
Roads Congress, New Delhi, Section 400, pp 100 104.
33
Design, Construction and Performance of Porous

Asphalt Pavement for Rainwater Harvesting
Prithvi Singh Kandhal* and Sapan Mishra**
ABSTRACT
Multi-storied commercial and residential buildings, which
significantly increase the demand for water supply, are increasingly
being constructed in urban India. In many states of India such as
Bihar, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Tamilnadu,
the ground water is plunging at an alarming rate. Responsible
town planners, architects and civil engineers must be proactive
and integrate rainwater harvesting techniques in the design of
all types of buildings, parking lots and low-trafficked roads/
streets. For example, Public Works Department (Buildings and
Roads) engineers can integrate government buildings with porous
asphalt parking lot. This would recharge the ground water in overexploited/critical areas of India. The revolutionary technology
presented in this paper addresses that very need.
The porous asphalt pavement which can be used for parking lot
or low-trafficked roads/streets works like this. The top 75 mm
asphalt layer is specially designed to make it porous. Rainwater
goes through it rapidly without any ponding. The water is then
stored in an underlying open-graded stone bed, which is about
225 mm thick. From there, water percolates slowly into the
underlying soil. The porous parking lot or street can be integrated
with a roof rainwater harvesting system in the buildings adjacent
to it by diverting the roof water to the stone bed. Recently, the
Jaipur Development Authority has constructed the first ever
porous asphalt parking lot in India. This paper gives the details of
its design, construction and performance.
INTRODUCTION
Multi-storied commercial and residential buildings,

which significantly increase the demand for water
supply, are increasingly being constructed in urban
India. However, additional water supply is hardly
available. The Central Ground Water Board (CGWB)
has identified about 800 regions in India in which
ground water level is plunging at an alarming rate.
These regions are located in Rajasthan, Madhya
Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat, Bihar, Delhi and
Tamilnadu.
According to the 2004 data of CGWB, for every 125

units of ground water being taken out in Jaipur, only
100 units are replenished by rain. It is estimated that
the ground water level in Jaipur is falling at the rate of
about one meter every year.
According to the CGWB, all underground water will
be depleted in Jaipur in about 10 years time1. There is
some water in rocks below 100 meters but that water
contains harmful elements in it and may not be safe
for drinking.
There is an urgent need to act now to recharge the
ground water in over-exploited/critical areas of India.
The Ground Water Advisory Council on Artificial
Recharge of the Ministry of Water Resources has
suggested that there is a need to develop separate
technologies for recharge specifically for urban areas.
This paper addresses that very need.
The ground water problem was also felt in the US in
urban areas, where rainwater simply runs off without
charging ground water. The Franklin Institute of
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was tasked in early 1970s
to develop technologies to address the problem of
plunging water table in urban areas. The first author
had the privilege of brainstorming with the Franklin
Institute researchers in developing the concept of
porous asphalt parking lot for urban areas2. This
concept was tried in some pilot projects and was very
successful. The concept was later fully developed in
the 1980s. It was also successfully tried on a road in
Chandler, Arizona. At the present time it is being used
in many states of the US primarily for storm water
Associate Director Emeritus, US National Center for Asphalt Technology, Auburn University, Alabama, USA
E-mail: pkandhal@gmail.com
**
Executive Engineer, Jaipur Development Authority E-mail: sapanmishrajda@gmail.com
34
TECHNICAL PAPERS
management3. The State of California has built over
150 projects since 1980. About 95% of rainwater
falling on a porous asphalt parking lot goes to recharge
ground water. Even in case of open ground with
vegetation in rural areas, only about 33% of rainwater
goes to recharge ground water primarily due to evapotranspiration losses. This percentage is believed to be
significantly lower in hot climate of Rajasthan.
This proven concept of building porous asphalt
pavements was declared Outstanding Engineering
Project in 2000 by the American Society of Civil
Engineers.
Responsible town planners, architects and civil
engineers must be proactive and integrate rainwater
harvesting techniques in the design of all types of
buildings, parking lots and low-trafficked roads/streets.
For example, Public Works Department (Buildings and
Roads) engineers can integrate government buildings
with porous asphalt parking lot4,5. This would recharge
the ground water in over-exploited/critical areas of
India. The revolutionary technology presented in this
paper addresses that very need.
2
CONCEPT OF POROUS
PAVEMENT TECHNOLOGY
A typical cross-section of the porous asphalt pavement

system is shown in Fig. 2. The pavement consists of
the following components from top downwards:
ASPHALT
This technology is based on building porous asphalt

pavements which can be used for parking lots,
recreational areas, or low-trafficked streets and roads.
The porous asphalt pavement works like this Fig. 1.
The top 50-100 mm thick asphalt layer is specially
designed to make it porous. Rainwater goes through
it rapidly without any ponding at the surface. The
water is then stored in an underlying open-graded
stone bed also called stone reservoir. From there,
water percolates slowly into the underlying natural
soil (subgrade). There is hardly any evaporation loss.
Porous parking lots or streets can be integrated with
roof rainwater harvesting systems in the buildings
adjacent to it as explained later. There is no need to
bore deep wells or construct deep pits.
Fig. 1 Schematic of Porous Asphalt Pavement
Fig. 2 Typical Cross-Section of Porous Asphalt Pavement System
Open-graded, porous asphalt course

50-100 mm (typically 75 mm) thick
12.5 mm nominal size aggregate choking

layer 25-50 mm thick (this is placed over
the stone bed so as to stabilize it and
facilitate asphalt paving over it)
Clean, uniformly graded 40-75 mm size

crushed aggregate compacted layer to act
as a water reservoir (typically it is 225
mm thick and contains more than 40%
voids to accommodate rainwater)
35
TECHNICAL PAPERS

Non-woven geotextile to separate the soil

subgrade and water reservoir course so
that soil particles do not migrate from the
subgrade into the stone water reservoir
course thus choking it. Alternately, a
75 mm thick stone filter course consisting
of 10-25 mm size aggregate can be
provided if good aggregate gradation
control can be maintained.
Uncompacted
(bed)
natural
soil
subgrade
As mentioned earlier, rooftop rainwater harvesting

systems of the buildings adjacent to porous parking
lots or streets can be integrated into the porous asphalt
pavement. A typical rooftop rainwater harvesting
system for buildings consists of the following
elements:

1.
Vertical down pipes for carrying the

water from the roof to ground level and a
horizontal pipe system for connecting all
down pipes.
2.
A silting pit fitted with a steel screen
3.
A soaking well with cement ring and

shaft filled with filter media consisting
of large stone, medium size stone and
coarse sand.
If the rooftop rainwater harvesting is integrated with

the porous asphalt pavement, item 3 above is not
required. The water from the rooftop is carried directly
to the stone water reservoir and dispersed there through
a series of perforated water pipes. (Fig. 3). This way,
the stone reservoir does not experience any localized
flooding. This system also means no soaking well or
bore hole which involves considerable cost. In case of
streets, water from the roof top of the buildings on the
street can all be diverted to the stone water reservoir
course. Another major advantage of this technology
is that the water recharging the underground water is
pure and free of contaminants.
36
Fig. 3 Roof Rainwater Harvesting Integrated with Porous

Asphalt Pavement (Courtesy NAPA)
It should also be mentioned that porous cement

concrete can also be used in lieu of porous asphalt but
this paper is limited to the use of the latter.
3
DESIGN,
CONSTRUCTION
MAINTENANCE
GUIDELINES
POROUS ASPHALT PAVEMENTS
AND
FOR
Detailed guidelines for constructing porous asphalt

pavement for parking lots and low trafficked roads or
streets for rainwater harvesting are given in Appendix.
Some brief highlights are given below.
It is recommended that the in-situ soil permeability
infiltration rate is 12.5 mm per hour. However,
2.5 mm per hour is acceptable by suitably increasing
the thickness of the stone reservoir course. In Jaipur,
the infiltration rate of the local soil is significantly
higher than 12.5 mm per hour. Soil investigations
should be carried out by boring and/or test pit to test
for permeability, determining the depth of high water
table, and determining depth to bedrock. Porous asphalt
pavement is not suitable if (a) local soil is clayey; (b)
bedrock is close to pavement; and (c) location has high
water table. Also, porous asphalt pavement should not
be constructed at a location subjected to blowing sand.
That is, the adjacent ground should either be paved or
covered with grass.
Compacted stone reservoir layer should be placed
directly on natural soil subgrade (bed) because fill is
not recommended. Although a flat soil bed is preferred,
slope of natural soil bed should be limited to 5 percent.
TECHNICAL PAPERS
This would ensure that water at the bottom of stone
reservoir layer does not flow; rather it percolates
downwards. If the slope is steeper, a terraced parking
lot can be considered.
The thickness of compacted stone course (containing
about 40% voids) should be designed to accommodate
intensity and amount of rainfall prevailing in the
region. Typical designs are made for 6 months/
24-hour rain storms. Conservative designs are based
on 20-year/24 hour rain storms, which can range
from 35 mm to 400 mm in 24 hours. Typically, stone
reservoir is about 225 mm (9 inches) thick, which can
store 40% of 225 mm = 90 mm (3.7 inches) of rainfall
temporarily. Obviously, the thickness is increased if
additional water (from rooftop or adjacent dense road
surface) needs to be accommodated.
The structural design of the pavement including the
compacted stone reservoir course and porous asphalt
wearing course should be based on traffic using the
facility. Normally, porous asphalt pavements are
recommended for parking lots, recreational areas,
and low-trafficked roads (with limited truck use).
Both the porous asphalt course and the stone bed are
structurally strong to withstand car and occasional
truck traffic. This is because both derive their strength
from stone-on-stone contact6.
Work site should be protected from heavy equipment
so that the natural soil subgrade (bed) is not compacted
otherwise its permeability may be reduced. Before
placing the stone reservoir layer, place a filter fabric
over the soil bed so that soil particles do not migrate
upwards and clog the stone reservoir layer. As an
alternate, a stone filter course consisting of 12.5 mm
stone particles has been found quite suitable. Place the
porous asphalt course last on the entire project so that
it is protected from construction debris. It should also
be protected from soil laden runoff.
Before placing the 50-100 mm thick porous asphalt
course, place 25 to 50 mm thick layer of 12.5 mm size
stone to stabilize the surface of the stone reservoir
course and facilitate paving operation.
The porous asphalt course should be designed as

per established guidelines contained in the US
Manual on Design, Construction and Maintenance
of Open Graded Asphalt Friction Course (OGFC)6.
Incidentally, OGFC is used in the US as a wearing
course on interstate highways, ranging in thickness
from 20 to 25 mm. The objective of laying OGFC
on dense graded asphalt course is to provide a skid
resistant pavement during rains. Rainwater quickly
penetrates the OGFC surface, flows at its bottom and
emerges from its edge on to shoulders. Not only the
OGFC prevents hydroplaning of motor vehicles during
rains, it also provides a quieter pavement throughout
the year6,7,8.
Normally, the asphalt mix would have 6 percent
bitumen by weight of mix. It is recommended to use
polymer-modified bitumen so that there no drain down
of binder in the trucks transporting the porous mix
from plant to paving site. Traffic should be restricted
for 24 hours after construction of the porous asphalt
wearing course.
The dramatic performance of porous asphalt pavements
in the US is clearly visible in Figs. 4, 5 and 6. Fig. 4
shows a parking lot which is porous where the cars are
parked whereas the driveway between the parked cars
is dense asphalt. During rain, water is standing on the
driveway but has percolated into the porous parking
area. Fig. 5 shows two parking lots just after rain. The
one in the background is conventional dense asphalt
parking lot whereas the one in the foreground is a
porous asphalt parking lot. Their relative appearance
after rain is so very clear.
Fig. 6 shows view of a highway in Chandler, Arizona
during rain. The left lanes were constructed with
porous asphalt and the right lanes were constructed
with conventional dense asphalt. After 20 years
in service, the porous asphalt on this highway is
still functional. This highway is in semi arid region
of Arizona with very low rainfall similar to
Rajasthan.
37
TECHNICAL PAPERS
It is absolutely clear that the porous asphalt technology
works. Ninety-five percent of the rainwater falling
on porous asphalt pavement goes to recharge the
ground water. Therefore, its effectiveness in capturing
rainwater is very close to paved catchment areas.
4
Fig. 4 View During Rain: Driveway is Dense Asphalt with Water

Ponding on it; Parking Area on the Right is Porous Asphalt with
no Water (Courtesy NAPA)
DESIGN,
CONSTRUCTION
AND
PERFORMANCE OF POROUS ASPHALT
PARKING LOT IN JAIPUR
The Jaipur Development Authority (JDA) had planned

to construct a conventional dense graded asphalt
parking lot at the Gandhi Nagar Railway Station in
Jaipur. It was decided to include an experimental
porous asphalt area (about 85 m by 4 m) as part of
the large parking lot. It is believed to be the first ever
porous asphalt pavement constructed in India for
rainwater harvesting.
The land where parking was developed by the JDA
was initially a garbage dumping yard. It was cleared
and reclaimed to construct the parking lot to serve
public at large.
Fig. 7 shows the cross section of the porous asphalt
parking lot on the left and that of the conventional
dense graded asphalt parking lot on the right. The
two types of parking lot pavements were divided
by constructing a cement concrete partition wall as
shown in the figure.
Fig. 5 View Just After Rain: Parking Lot in the Background is

Dense Asphalt with Water Still Ponding on it; Parking Lot in the
Foreground is Porous Asphalt (Courtesy NAPA)
Fig. 6 Highway in Chandler, Arizona During Rain; Left Lanes

are Porous Asphalt and Right Lanes are Conventional Dense
Asphalt (Courtesy NAPA)
38
Fig. 7 Cross Sections of Porous Asphalt Parking Lot (Left)

and Dense Asphalt Parking Lot (Right) Partitioned
by a Concrete Wall
TECHNICAL PAPERS
The porous asphalt parking lot for rainwater
harvesting was designed and constructed as follows.
Subgrade
The existing subgrade was tested for its average water
infiltration capacity, which was determined to be
46.5 mm/hour (1.83 inches/hour) which is well above
the minimum reasonable water infiltration rate of
12.5 mm/hour (0.5 inch/hour).
After removing the garbage, excess soil was excavated
to the required level and grade keeping about 150 mm
(6 inches) soil to be excavated last. This was done to
keep the final subgrade relatively uncompacted from
the construction equipment.
Stone Filter Course
It was necessary to provide a stone filter course between
the finished subgrade and the stone reservoir course so
that fines from subgrade do not migrate upwards into
the stone reservoir course thereby reducing its storage
capacity.
The thickness of the stone filter course was 75 mm
(3 inches). The gradation of the aggregate actually
used in this course is given in Table 1; it met the
AASHTO 57 gradation. The filter course was
compacted lightly with a 2-ton steel wheel roller to
maintain its integrity and avoid compacting the natural
subgrade.
Table 1 Gradation of Stone Filter Course
Sieve Size,
mm
37.5
25
12.5
4.75
2.36
Recommended %
Passing
(AASHTO 57)
100
95-100
25-60
0-10
0-5
Actual %
Passing
100
95
36
4
2
Stone reservoir course

The function of the stone reservoir course is to
temporarily store rainwater which percolates slowly
into the natural subgrade below. The actual gradation
of the clean stone used in constructing this course is
given in Table 2 it met the recommended AASHTO 2
gradation.
Table 2 Gradation of Stone Reservoir Course
Sieve Size, Recommended Percent

mm
Passing
(AASHTO No. 2)
75
100
63.5
90-100
50
35-70
38
0-15
19
0-5
0.150
0-2
Actual
Percent
Passing
100
92
48
8
2
1.5
The total thickness of the stone reservoir course was

365 mm (14.4 inches). Being the first ever porous
asphalt parking lot in India, it was designed very much
on the safe side. It was laid and compacted in two
lifts with an 8-ton steel wheel roller. Four roller passes
were applied in static mode and there were no roller
marks. Rolled stone reservoir course was tested for
effectiveness by poring water over it from a bucket;
water disappeared from the surface instantly.
Stone Choking Course
The stone choking layer is placed on the stone reservoir
course so as to fill and level its open large surface
voids and to make it stable and smooth for asphalt
paver. It was placed in 50 mm (2 inches) thick layer
and compacted well with an 8-ton steel wheel roller in
static mode only until a smooth surface was obtained
for paving above it. The gradation of this course was
same as that of the stone filter course as given in
Table 1. The finished, rolled surface was tested by
pouring water over it; water disappeared instantly
from its surface.
39
TECHNICAL PAPERS
The sampled bituminous mix was analyzed for bitumen
content and gradation by conducting extraction test.
Both dry and washed gradations were determined.
Test results are given in Table 3.
Table 3 Gradation of Porous Asphalt Mix Produced
Sieve
Size,
mm
Fig. 8 Stone Reservoir Course Being Spread Over Stone

Filter Course
Fig. 9 Choking Stone Layer in Place (Left) Ready for Laying

Porous Asphalt; Dense Asphalt Completed on Right Side
Porous Asphalt Wearing Course

Different blending proportions of the three aggregates
available at the asphalt batch plant were tried so
that the combined aggregate met the desired range
of gradation for porous asphalt. The following
proportions met the requirement: 15 mm aggregate
(60%); 10 mm aggregate (32%); and stone dust (8%).
A trial batch of 1200 kg was made at the batch plant
with 6 percent bitumen using 720 kg 15 mm aggregate;
384 kg of 10 mm aggregate; and 96 kg of stone dust.
The mix temperature was 120 C (248 F).
40
Required
Percentage
Percentage
Percentage
Passing
Passing
Passing As Per Actual, Dry Actual, Wash
NAPA IS-115 Gradation
Gradation
19.00
100
100
100
12.5
85-100
82
96
9.5
55-75
60
86
4.75
10-25
18
25
2.36
5-10
10
0.075
2-4
1.3
3.2
Type of bitumen: Although VG-30 paving bitumen

meeting IS 73 is used in conventional paving, stiffer
bitumen is needed for porous asphalt parking lot so
that (a) there is no drain down of the asphalt binder
within truck when this open-graded mix with high
bitumen content is transported from the plant to the
paving site, and (b) there is no scuffing when wheels
of a parked vehicle are moved with power steering.
Therefore, Polymer Modified Bitumen (PMB)
Grade 40 complying with IS:15462 was used on
this project. Table 4 gives the test properties of the
bitumen used.
Table 4 Properties of PMB 40 Used on Project
Properties
Penetration at 25C, 0.1 mm
Specification Measured
Value
30-50
45
Softening Point, C, min
60
60.3
Elastic Recovery of half

thread of ductilometer at
25C, % , min
75
66.5
Flash point, C, min
220
285
1.7
Separation , difference in
softening point, C, max
TECHNICAL PAPERS
Specification Measured
Value
Properties
were obtained, which were well below the acceptable

maximum limit of 0.3 percent.
Test of residue
Increase in softening
point, C, max
1.5
Reduction of penetration at
25 C, max.
35
33
Elastic recovery of half

thread in ductilometer at
25 C, percent, min
50
57
Viscosity at 150C,
Poise, min
3.9
5.4
The design bitumen content was 6.0 percent by weight

of the mix. High bitumen content is used in this open
graded mix so that thicker film of bitumen is obtained
to avoid premature oxidation of bitumen. One percent
liquid anti stripping agent by weight of bitumen
was used to minimize stripping. This dosage was
confirmed by conducting 24-hour static immersion
test in distilled water in accordance with IS:6241.
Three mix samples were compacted in Marshall
moulds with 50 blows on each side. The moulds
containing compacted specimens were placed under
water tap for testing relative water infiltration rate.
Table 5 gives the test results for information, which
are reasonable based on visual observation.
Table 5 Relative Water Infiltration Rates for
Compacted Porous Mix
Mix Sample
No.
Mould
Number
I
I
I
II
II
II
1
2
3
1
2
3
Time Taken for 25 mm

Deep Water to Drain,
Seconds
7.60
6.45
6.25
6.27
7.45
5.90
Schellenberg binder drainage test was conducted

(see guidelines for procedure) on two different trial
mix samples. Drain down of 0.12 and 0.14 percent
Fig. 10 Schellenberg Binder Drainage Test
Compacted Marshall specimens were tested for

average bulk specific gravity (Gmb) which was
determined to be 2.070. Maximum specific gravity of
the loose mix (Gmm) was determined by ASTM D 2041
and was found to be 2.471. Air voids were calculated
from Gmb and Gmm values. Average air void content
in compacted Marshall Specimens was determined to
be 16.2 percent, which met the minimum 16 percent
requirement to ensure adequate permeability of the
porous asphalt mix.
Although there is no requirement for Marshall Stability
and flow, these tests were conducted for information
only. The average Marshall stability was determined
to be 323 kg and the average Marshall flow was
determined to be 4.85.
On the day of scheduled laying of porous asphalt, there
was some traffic problem in the city of Jaipur. It was
not certain as to how much time the truck will take to
reach paving site within the city some 25 km away
from the hot mix plant outside the city. Considering
this unforeseen problem and high temperature of the
mix (120 C) it was arbitrarily decided to lower the
bitumen content from 6.0 to 5.5 percent so that there
is no bitumen drain down problem in the truck during
transit. When the truck arrived at the paving site and
41
TECHNICAL PAPERS
emptied the mix on to paver, it was observed that there
was no bitumen drainage at the bottom of the truck.
The porous asphalt was laid in one lift to obtain
compacted thickness of 75 mm. It was compacted
with 8-ton steel wheel roller in static mode. Only four
passes were made and there were no roller marks.
Stone reservoir was provided with an overflow outlet
by extending this course beyond the porous asphalt
course (Fig. 14). This was done so that water does
not exert any pressure underneath the porous asphalt
course in case stone reservoir course gets choked
and its storage capacity is reduced from unforeseen
circumstances.
Fig. 13 Completed Parking Lot: Porous Asphalt on Left and

Dense Asphalt on Right
Fig. 11 Porous Asphalt Paving in Progress Over

Stone Choking Layer
Fig. 14 Extension of Stone Reservoir Course at the Edge of
Parking Lot for Overflow
Fig. 12 Porous Asphalt Lay Down and Compaction
42
Fig. 15 Close-up of Porous Asphalt Pavement Surface
TECHNICAL PAPERS
After the compacted porous asphalt mat cooled to
ambient temperature, its general permeability was
tested by pouring water on it from a bucket. Water
disappeared almost instantly.
The parking lot was completed in October 2012. In
absence of rain at that time, a water tanker was brought
in to check the relative permeability of the porous
asphalt and the conventional dense graded asphalt
pavements. As expected, water from the hose pipe
was rapidly penetrating the porous asphalt surface
and was just flowing on the dense asphalt surface. The
comparison can be seen in Figs. 16 and 17.
almost disappearing on the porous asphalt surface

and was flowing on the conventional dense asphalt.
This relative stark difference can be seen in Figs. 18
and 19. Therefore, it has been verified in the field
that porous asphalt is performing really well as
expected.
Fig. 18 Relative Performance of Porous Asphalt (Right)

and Dense Asphalt (Left) During Monsoon
Rain in June 2013
Fig. 16 Water from Tanker Hose Readily Penetrating Porous

Asphalt Surface
Fig. 17 Water from Tanker Hose Simply Flowing on Dense

Asphalt Surface
Later, the porous asphalt parking lot was observed

during the first two heavy rains of the monsoon
season on 11 and 27 June 2013. Rainwater was
Fig. 19 General View of Porous Asphalt (Right) and Dense

Asphalt During Monsoon Rain in June 2013
43
TECHNICAL PAPERS
It is estimated that this porous asphalt test section
measuring only 85 m by 4 m would recharge the
groundwater by over 2 lakhs liters per year considering
average annual rainfall of 640 mm in Jaipur. If the
whole JDA parking lot (3,545 sq m area) was built
with porous surface it would have recharged the
groundwater by over 22 lakhs liters per year9.
It is hoped public and private agencies in India would
construct porous asphalt parking lots/low-trafficked
streets and roads, in areas where the groundwater
level is depleting.
5
CONCLUSIONS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS
Porous asphalt pavement is one of the responses to

plunging ground water table in Jaipur and elsewhere
in India. It can be integrated with the roof rainwater
harvesting system effectively and economically.
According to experience in the US, properly designed
and constructed porous asphalt pavement can last
more than 20 years. Such a pavement can be used for
parking lots, recreational areas, and low-volume roads
and streets.
The first ever porous asphalt pavement in India for
rainwater harvesting has been constructed successfully
by the Jaipur Development Authority in October 2012.
Its design, construction and performance have been
described in the paper.
Government should encourage (and mandate in critical
areas) construction of porous asphalt pavements
in urban areas. Town planners, architects and civil
engineers should be proactive by incorporating this
unique rainwater harvesting system while designing
government
buildings,
residential
buildings,
commercial buildings, parking lots and roads in new
townships.
44
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Fig. 1 through 6 are courtesy of US National Asphalt
Pavement Association (NAPA). Permission given
by Mr. Kuldeep Ranka, Commissioner, Jaipur
Development Authority for constructing this first ever
porous asphalt parking lot in India is appreciated.
REFERENCES
1.
Mathur, R. P. Regional Director, Central Underground

Water Board. Presentation Made at the Water
Resources Workshop held in Raj Bhawan of Jaipur on 4
November 2009.
2.
Thelen, E. and L. F. Howe. Porous Pavement. The Franklin

Institute Reserch Laboratories, 1978.
3.
Jackson, N. Design, Construction and Maintenance Guide

for Porous Parking Lots. National Asphalt Pavement
Association, Information Series IS-131, October 2003.
4.
Kandhal, P. S. Presentation made at the Water Resources

Workshop Held in Raj Bhawan of Jaipur on 4 November
2009 presided by H. E. Governor S. K. Singh.
5.
Kandhal, P.S. A Revolutionary Technique of Rainwater

Harvesting Integrated into the Design of Buildings and
Parking Lots. Water Digest Magazine, March-April 2011,
New Delhi, India.
6.
Kandhal, P.S. Design, Construction and Performance of

Open-Graded Asphalt Friction Courses. National Asphalt
Pavement Association, Information Series IS-115,
May 2002.
7.
Kandhal, P.S. and R.B. Mallick. Open-Graded Friction

Course: State of the Practice. Transportation Research
Board, Transportation Research Circular Number E-C005,
December 1998.
8.
Roberts, F.L., P.S. Kandhal, E.R. Brown, D.Y. Lee, and

T.W. Kennedy. Hot Mix Asphalt Materials, Mixture
Design and Construction. NAPA Education Foundation,
Lanham, Maryland, Second Edition, 1996.
9.
Kandhal, P.S. Role of Permeable Pavement in Groundwater

Recharge. Presentation at the Rajasthan State Workshop
on Water Conservation: Issues and Challenges. Held in
Jaipur by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE),
7 February 2013.
TECHNICAL PAPERS
APPENDIX
GUIDELINES FOR CONSTRUCTING POROUS ASPHALT PAVEMENT FOR PARKING LOTS
AND LOW TRAFFICKED ROADS OR STREETS FOR RAINWATER HARVESTING
1
Introduction
3 Stone Filter Course

The stone filter course is provided between the
subgrade and the stone reservoir course so that fines
from the subgrade do not migrate upwards into the
stone reservoir thereby reducing its storage capacity.
It also provides some platform for laying the stone
reservoir course.
These guidelines deal with the basic outline for

the design, construction and controls needed for
constructing porous asphalt pavement for parking
lots and low-trafficked roads or streets for rainwater
harvesting. The porous asphalt pavement shall be
constructed as per project drawings under the guidance
of the Engineer.
Note :
The porous asphalt pavement consists of the following

starting from the bottom upwards: subgrade; stone
filter course; stone reservoir course; stone choking
layer; and porous asphalt course. Guidelines for
constructing these different courses or layers are given
below in that order.
Typically, the stone filter course is 75 mm (3 inches)

thick and the following AASHTO 57 gradation given
in Table 1 is used.
2 Subgrade
Subgrade should be allowed to remain natural
and uncompacted to maintain its permeability. No
excessive construction traffic should be permitted on
the subgrade. It is advised to excavate for the desired
subgrade level (at least the last 150 mm or 6 inches)
when all preparations have been made for laying the
stone filter course and the stone reservoir course.
If there are any depressions in the subgrade which
need to be filled and levelled, use permeable sand and
compact it lightly.
The slope of the finished subgrade should not
exceed 5 percent. In case of steeper slope, terraced
parking lots need to be considered. Subgrade soil
should be such that it can drain water within 48 to
72 hours. Infiltration capacity of subgrade soils used
in the past in the US has ranged from 2.5 mm/hour to
76 mm/hour (0.1 inch/hour to 3 inches/hour). A rate of
0.5 inch/hour is considered very reasonable. Subgrade
with clayey soils is not desirable.
Although nonwoven geotextile fabric has been used

between the subgrade and the stone reservoir for this
purpose, some clogging of the geotextile material
has been reported from the fines washed down on its
surface.
Table 1 Gradation of Stone Filter Course

(AASHTO 57)
Sieve Size, mm
37.5 mm (1.5)
25 mm (1)
12.5 mm (1/2)
4.75 mm
2.36 mm
Percent Passing
100
95-100
25-60
0-10
0-5
After spreading the stone filter course aggregate on

the prepared subgrade, only light rolling should be
done with a 2-3 ton roller.
4 Stone Reservoir Course
The function of the stone reservoir course is to
temporarily store rainwater which percolates slowly
into the natural subgrade below. Its AASHTO
Gradation 2 consists of large uniformly graded
aggregate particles 40 mm to 65 mm (1.5 to
2.5 inches) in size with about 40% voids to
accommodate rainwater. The stone should be clean.
Desired gradation is given in Table 2.
45
TECHNICAL PAPERS
Table 2 Gradation of Stone Reservoir Course
(AASHTO No. 2)
Sieve Size, mm
75 mm (3)
63.5 mm (2.5)
50 mm (2)
38 mm (1.5)
19 mm (0.75)
0.150 mm
Percent Passing
100
90-100
35-70
0-15
0-5
0-2
The thickness of this course is designed to hold

rainwater during a 25-year, 24-hour rain storm. Its
minimum thickness is 230 mm (9 inches). It should
empty within 72 hours. Its thickness is designed based
on expected rainfall and desired structural strength.
Stone reservoir course should be laid and compacted
in 150 mm to 180 mm (6 to 8 inches) lifts and rolled
in static mode only with a light roller (about 5 ton)
until no roller marks are visible and it is true to the
desired grade. Test the rolled stone reservoir course
by pouring water over it, water should disappear
instantly from its surface.
Note :
The stone reservoir course should be provided with an

overflow outlet so that in extreme cases such as choking,
water does not exert any pressure underneath the porous
asphalt course thus damaging it. Overflow can be
provided by extending the stone reservoir course like
an apron by about 0.45 to 0.6 m (1.5 to 2 feet) beyond
the overlying porous asphalt pavement course. In case
of kerbed parking lot, a suitable outlet control structure
with internal weir and an outlet channel or pipe should
be provided.
5 Stone Choking Layer

The stone choking layer is placed on the stone reservoir
course so as to fill and level its open large surface
voids and makes it stable and smooth for asphalt paver.
Normally, it is placed in 50 mm (2 inches) thick layer
and compacted well with a light (about 5 ton) roller
in static mode only until a smooth surface is obtained
for paving above it. Test the finished, rolled surface by
pouring water over it, water should disappear instantly
from its surface.
The stone choking layer consists of either a clean,
single size aggregate (12.5 mm) as given in Table 3
or AASHTO 57 gradation given in Table 4.
46
Table 3 Gradation of Stone Choking Layer (Alternate

1- Single Size)
Sieve Size, mm
12.5 mm (1/2)
9.5 mm (3/8)
Percent Passing
100
0-5
Table 4 Gradation of Stone Choking Layer

(Alternate 2- AASHTO 57)
Sieve Size, mm
37.5 mm (1.5)
25 mm (1)
12.5 mm (1/2)
4.75 mm
2.36 mm
6
Percent Passing
100
95-100
25-60
0-10
0-5
Porous Asphalt Course
Do not apply any tack coat before placing the porous

asphalt course; it is likely to reduce its permeability.
The porous asphalt course is usually placed in 75 mm
(3 inches) thickness in one lift. After compaction in
the field it must have at least 16% air voids to provide
the desired porosity and permeability.
Specifications for Dense Graded Bituminous Mixes
IRC:111-2009 shall generally be followed to produce
and lay porous asphalt with the additional/special
requirements noted herein.
6.1
Gradation
It is important that the gradation given in Table 5

is strictly adhered to obtain the desired porosity and
permeability.
Table 5 Gradation of Porous Asphalt Pavement Mix
Sieve Size, mm
19 mm
12.5 mm
9.5 mm
4.75 mm
2.36 mm
0.075 mm
Percent Passing
100
85-100
55-75
10-25
5-10
2-4
TECHNICAL PAPERS
6.2
Type of Paving Bitumen
Although VG-30 paving bitumen meeting IS 73 is

used in conventional paving, stiffer bitumen is needed
for porous asphalt parking lot so that (a) there is no
drain down of the asphalt binder within truck when
this open-graded mix with high bitumen content
is transported from the plant to the paving site, and
(b) there is no scuffing when wheels of a parked vehicle
are moved with power steering. Therefore, a Polymer
Modified Bitumen (PMB) Grade 40 complying with
IS:15462 should be used.
6.3 Bitumen Content
Bitumen content by weight of mix should be 6 percent.
Thicker films of bitumen are necessary in the porous
asphalt pavement with over 16% air void content so
that bitumen does not get oxidized prematurely in
service.
6.4 Anti Stripping Agent
A suitable anti stripping agent should be mixed in
the proposed bitumen. It is necessary because water
will pass through the porous asphalt pavement.
The effectiveness of the anti stripping agent should
be tested with the 24-hour static immersion test in
distilled water as per IS:6241 or 10-minute boiling
test given in Annexure A.
6.5 Mix Temperature
Since the open graded porous asphalt mix contains
relatively higher bitumen content, the bitumen can
drain down to the truck bed if the mix temperature is
too high. That would result in either fatty or too lean
mix spots during paving. It is recommended to make
the mix in 95-120 C (200-250 F) temperature range to
minimize bitumen drain down during transportation.
Establish the mix temperature so that drain down
does not exceed 0.3 percent if determined by the
drain down test given in Annexure B or C. If the drain
down exceeds 0.3 percent even at relatively low mix
temperatures, increase the amount of material passing
0.075 mm sieve but not to exceed 4 percent. Examine
the truck bed after unloading the mix into paver to

confirm there is no actual drain down problem.
6.6 Mix Design
Compact the mix using aggregate gradation given
in Table 5 and 6.0 percent bitumen binder by weight
of mix in Marshall mould with 50 blows on each
side. Make three specimens. Allow the mix to cool
completely in the moulds (in a refrigerator if needed)
before extracting the specimens without any damage.
Determine the bulk specific gravity of the compacted
specimens by geometrical measurements. Determine
the maximum specific gravity of the loose porous
asphalt mix as per ASTM D 2041. Calculate the
percent air voids in compacted specimens using bulk
specific gravity and the maximum specific gravity. Air
voids should be at least 16 percent to ensure reasonable
porosity and permeability.
Before extracting the specimens from the moulds,
conduct an approximate water permeability check.
Hold the mould containing specimen under a water
tap. Water should readily pass through the compacted
porous asphalt. If not, revise the gradation of the
aggregate.
6.7
Paving and Compaction
Trucks carrying the porous asphalt should be covered

with tarpaulin because the mix has tendency to cool at
a faster rate. The 75 mm thick porous asphalt should
be paved in single lift and compacted promptly with
an 8-10 ton roller in static mode only. Only 2-3 passes
are needed to compact the porous asphalt course. Do
not use pneumatic tired roller. Too much compaction
would reduce its porosity and permeability.
Examine the truck bed after the mix has been emptied
on to paver to see if there is any binder drain down. If
so, the paved surface would have either fatty spots or
lean spots. Decrease the mix temperature immediately
to prevent any further drain down.
After the porous asphalt is compacted, make a
permeability check by pouring water on its surface,
the water should disappear immediately. If not, there
47
TECHNICAL PAPERS
is something wrong in terms of mix composition
(bitumen content and gradation) and/or compaction.
Until this test is successful, paving work shall not
proceed any further.
Do not allow any traffic on the paved surface at least
for 24 hours.
3.
After the water resumes boiling, continue

boiling for 10 minutes.
4.
Cool water to room temperature,

decant (drain off) water, and spread the
bituminous mix on a white paper towel.
5.
Examine the mix for bituminous coating.

At least 95% of aggregate surface
should retain bituminous coating. Any
thin, brownish, translucent areas are
considered coated.
6.
Reject the mix if bitumen coating is found

to be less than 95 percent.
7 Maintenance of Porous Asphalt

Parking Lot
Place a sign board at the porous asphalt parking lot so
that its surface is not sealed by any means in future.
If needed, the parking lot can be patched lightly; not
more than 10 percent of the surface area.
The parking lot should be reasonably protected from
excessive wind blown soil or sand; mud tracking from
adjacent areas; and construction debris to maintain its
permeability.
Overflow outlet from the stone reservoir course should
be checked periodically to ensure it is functional.
If the permeability of porous asphalt is reduced
drastically for some unforeseen reason, it can be
reclaimed, recycled and relaid,
ANNEXURE A of APPENDIX
Boiling Water Test for Detecting Presence of Anti
Stripping Agent in Bituminous Mixes (After ASTM
D 3625)
This boiling water test shall be conducted at least twice
at random on each day of bituminous mix production
to detect if an anti stripping agent (such as hydrated
lime or liquid anti strip) has been used in the mix in
required dosage to prevent stripping of the bituminous
mix. Mix samples should also be taken at the paving
site and test conducted everyday right at the paving
site.
Follow the procedure as given below:

48
1.
2.
Boil distilled water in a glass beaker of

1000-2000 ml capacity filled about half.
Place about 250 grams of fresh bituminous
mix into the boiling water.
ANNEXURE B of APPENDIX
Outline of ASTM D 6390, Determination of Drain
Down Characteristics in Uncompacted Asphalt
mixtures
A. Scope and Summary of Test
This method determines the amount of drain down
in an uncompacted asphalt mixture sample when the
sample is held at elevated temperatures, which are
encountered during the production, transportation,
and placement of the mixture. This test is especially
applicable to open-graded asphalt mixtures (such as
open-graded friction course and porous asphalt) and
gap-graded mixtures such as stone matrix asphalt
(SMA).
A fresh sample of the asphalt mixture (either made in
the laboratory or from an asphalt plant) is placed in a
wire basket. The wire basket is hung in a forced draft
oven for one hour at a pre-selected temperature. A
catch plate of known mass is placed below the basket
to collect material drained from the sample. The mass
of the drained material is determined to calculate the
amount of drain down as a percentage of the mass of
the total asphalt mix sample.
B.
Testing Equipment
1.
Forced draft oven, capable of maintaining

temperatures in a range of 120 to 175 C
with +/- 2 C of the set temperature.
TECHNICAL PAPERS

2.
3.
4.
C.
Testing Procedure
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Plates to collect the drained material

Standard wire basket meeting the dimensions
shown in Figure 1. A standard 6.3 mm sieve
cloth shall be used to make the basket. The
dimensions shown in the figure can vary by
+/- 10 percent.
Balance readable to 0.1 gram
For each mixture to be tested, the drain

down characteristics shall be determined at
two temperatures: at the anticipated plant
production temperature and at a temperature
10 C higher than the anticipated production
temperature. Duplicate samples shall be
tested at each temperature. Therefore, a
minimum of 4 samples shall be tested.
Weigh the empty wire basket (Mass A).
Place in the wire basket 1200 +/- 200
grams of fresh, hot asphalt mixture (either
prepared in the laboratory or from an asphalt
plant) as soon as possible without losing its
temperature. Place the mix loosely in the
basket without consolidating it. Determine
the mass of the wire basket plus sample to
the nearest 0.1 gram (Mass B).
Determine the mass of the empty plate to be
placed under the basket to nearest 0.1 gram
(Mass C).
Hang the basket with the mix in the oven
preheated to a selected temperature. Place the
catch plate beneath the wire basket. Keep the
basket in the oven for 1 hour +/- 5 minutes.
Remove the basket and catch plate from
the oven. Let cool to ambient temperature.
Determine the mass of the catch plate plus
the drained material to the nearest 0.1 gram
(Mass D).
Calculate the percentage of mixture which
drained to the nearest 0.1 % as follows:
8.
Fig. 1 Wire Basket Assembly for Drain Down Test
ANNEXURE C of APPENDIX
The Schellenberg Binder Drainage Test

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Drain down (percent) = (D-C)/(B-A) multiplied by 100

Where,

A =

B =

C =

D =

mass of the empty wire basket, g

mass of the wire basket plus sample, g
mass of the empty catch plate, g
mass of the catch plate plus drained
material, g
Average the two drain down results at each

temperature and report the average to nearest
0.1 percent.
Determine the mass (A) of an empty 850-ml

glass beaker, approximately 98 mm diameter
by 136 mm high, to the nearest 0.1 gram.
Pour approximately 1 kg of the mix
immediately into the glass beaker after
mixing at the anticipated field mixing
temperature.
Re-weigh
the
beaker
together with mix (B) to the nearest
0.1 gram.
Place the glass beaker with a glass or tin
cover in an oven maintained at 170 C +
1 C for 1 hour + 1 minute.
At the end of 1-hour period, immediately
remove the glass beaker from the oven and
empty the beaker without the use of any
shaking or vibration. Re-weigh the beaker
(C) to the nearest 0.1 gram.
Calculate the percentage of binder drain
down (defined as the percentage of mass of
the mix deposited in the beaker) as follows:
Binder Drain down (percent) = (C-A) / (B-A) multiplied

by 100
49
INNOVATIVE IDEA TO CALCULATE THE TILT OF A WELL

KNSP Kamaraju*
INTRODUCTION
It is obvious that the tilt of a well steining plays a

crucial role in the safety of the well foundation bridge.
Through the well steining only, the load of the bridge
will be transmitted to the foundation soil. This load
will be transmitted safely to the foundation soil
through the well steining as far as the well steining
is normal/vertical or the tilt is in permissible limits.
Hence, it is very much necessary to ascertain the tilt
judiciously.
As per MORT&H specifications the resultant tilt
should not more than 1 in 80. Up to 1 in 50 is also
allowed with reduction in payment. In no case it is
allowed more than 1 in 50. In case tilt is more than 1
in 50, we must have to resort to the redesign of that
well/well cap in view of the safety.
2
PROCEDURE TO FIND OUT TILT
At present the following procedure is in practice to

find out the tilt of a well.
As per the MORT & H specification, the level difference
of steining on either side of well at the same length
(height) from the bottom of well ie from cutting edge
(A Scale is being painted on all the 4 sides on outer
surface of the well. i.e along X-X & along Y-Y axis as
the sinking is progressing. Scale position is shown in
Fig. 1) will be collected at points E & F as shown in
Fig. 1 and Tilt will be calculated as per the procedure
stipulated below.
ABCD are the 4 initial points on the well on X-X
axis and on Y-Y axis respectively as shown in plan of
*
50
figure 1 while the well is not having any tilt. Let us

assume a small tilt has come in the well while sinking,
so that the positions of points ABCD on the well
will come to the position EFGH. That means A&B
are the initial points on X-X axis will have taken a
position E&F after tilt, which is shown on section of
figure 1. Now we are going to take the levels of the
points of E&F, so that the difference of these levels
will be equivalent to hx.
To calculate the tilt, the factor being used is shown
below from Fig. 1.
i.e.
Tilt along X-X axis (Fig. 1)
Tx = TAN
Half of the difference in reduced level of

same points on steining along X-X axis
Radius of the well
i.e.
(hx/2)

Ty = TAN
Tilt along Y-Y axis (Fig. 1)
Half of the difference in reduced level of

same points on steining along Y-Y axis
Radius of the well
Resultant Tilt : T =
(hy/2)

R
2
(Tx ) + (Ty )
The above calculation is totally dependent on the level

difference of those points on scale hx and hy (since
radius of well R is a constant), which are manually
done by the contractor. But there is a chance of
manipulation by the contractor in the preparation of
scale to show the well is within permissible tilt/no
tilt and generally happens in site. The manipulation
cannot be found by anybody, once the well progresses
down into the soil or ground.
To avoid such manipulation an innovative idea is
formulated to find out the tilt exactly.
General Manager (Structures), GMR Project of Hunugund, Hospet, Karnataka. E-mail: kamraj65@gmail.com
TECHNICAL PAPERS
If there is any tilt in the well, the plumb line will not
touch at the bottom of well at centre O. In other
words the distance between the plumb line and the
inner periphery of the well on either side will not be
equal.
Based on above principle, an innovative Idea has been
developed to calculate the tilt.
4
Fig. 1
3
PRINCIPLE
This works on the principle that normal drawn at the
centre of the cross section of the well at top always falls
at the centre of the bottom of the well as long as there
is no tilt in the well. i.e. If we hang a plumb bob QP
from the top at the centre of the well, it will touch the
bottom at the centre O as shown Fig. 2 as long as
there is no tilt in the well. In other words the distance
between the plumb line and the inner periphery of the
well on either side should be the same.
Fig. 2
INNOVATIVE
PROCEDURE
TO
CALCULATE TILT OF WELL
Dewater the well for at least 3 m of depth from top
of well, if required. Two threads are to be tied along
X-X axis and Y-Y axis dividing the well in 4 equal
sectors along cross section of well as shown in plan of
Fig. 2. Let us call them as Top Thread lines. Tie two
more threads as explained above at approximately two
metre below from the top thread lines with the help of
sticking tape or by any other means. Let us call them
as bottom thread lines. (We can insert steel spikes/
steel rings at the time of casting of steining at every
2 m interval to tie these threads).
Take plumb bob having thread length approximately 3
m. Put a mark on thread line of plumb bob just above
plumb ball as shown in Fig. 3. Now release the plumb
from the centre of the well, which is the intersection
point of top thread lines. The plumb bob will touch at
the intersection point of bottom thread lines, if there
is no tilt in the well. But because of the tilt, it will not
touch the intersection point of bottom thread lines at
centre and hence match the mark on the thread line
of the plumb bob with bottom thread lines along X-X
axis at point R and measure the difference x from
the centre as shown Fig. 2. Similarly, we can measure
the difference along Y-Y axis as y.
Fig. 3
51
TECHNICAL PAPERS
Find out the distance L between the top and bottom
thread lines tied along cross section. This can be
measured along the length of plumb-bob also.
Now the calculation is very simple. The formula is

Tilt along X-X
Tx = TAN =
Difference in X-X direction x

Distance between top & bottom thread lines or
measured length of plumb bob L.

Tilt along Y-Y
Ty = TAN =
CALCULATION
From Fig. 1 Tilt
TAN = hx/ (2R) OR (hx)/D
From Fig. 2 we can observe similar triangles AEQ

and QPR. They are similar triangles because line AB
and line QP are perpendicular to each other. Because
of the tilt in the well the line AB has taken the position
of line EF and line QP has taken position of line QR
and hence they are also perpendicular to each other.
Therefore, angle AQE and angle PQR are equal
from the rules of similar triangles. Assume further
they are equal to .
Difference in Y-Y direction y
Therefore AE/AQ = PR/PQ = TAN
Distance between two thread lines or measured length

of plumb bob L.
Resultant tilt : T =
(Tx ) + (Ty )
This has been achieved from the rule of similar

triangles as shown in Fig. 2 and as per the calculation
explained below:
52
TAN = (h/2)/R = x/L
To find out the we are using x and L instead

of h and R, where h and R being used by the
MORT&H procedure.
With the above procedure we can eliminate the
manipulation error in calculation of Tilt.
Acceleration and Deceleration Behaviour of

Truck on Indian Highway
P.S. Bokare* and A.K. Maurya**
ABSTRACT
Acceleration and Deceleration (A/D) characteristics of vehicles
are important for intersection design, acceleration deceleration
lane design, traffic simulation modeling, vehicular emission
modeling, instantaneous fuel consumption rate modeling, etc.
Heterogeneous traffic stream consists of vehicles with wide
variation in their physical dimensions, weight to power ratio
and dynamic characteristics which affect their acceleration and
deceleration behaviour in traffic stream. Truck is the major
component of traffic composition on Indian highways. The present
study aims to analyze the acceleration and deceleration behaviour
of trucks which are approximately 20% in composition on Indian
roads. This study was conducted on Nagpur-Mumbai Express
Highway at Wardha, India. Drivers were asked to accelerate
their vehicles from stop to their maximum speed and then to zero
speed in shortest time and their speed profiles during acceleration
and deceleration profiles are collected using Global Positioning
System at 1 second time interval. Various A/D parameters like
A/D distance, A/D time, mean and maximum A/D rates and speed
at maximum A/D are reported in study. A negative exponential
model for acceleration and dual regime model for deceleration
are proposed. Various statistical tools are used to validate the A/D
models.
INTRODUCTION
Traffic, in most of the developing countries, including

India, is heterogeneous which consist of vehicles with
wide variation in their physical dimensions, weight
to power ratio and dynamic characteristics. This
heterogeneity results in difference in performance
of various categories of vehicles as regards to
their capacity to accelerate and decelerate. Poorly
accelerating and decelerating vehicles develop
resistance to movement of efficient vehicles. The
Acceleration and Deceleration (A/D) capability of
vehicle, however, depends on its engine capacity,
power to weight ratio, driver behavior, road conditions,
etc. The drivers response to signal or other control
measures depend largely on their A/D capability.
Research Scholar, E-mail: p.bokare@iitg.ernet.in
**
Assistant Professor, E-mail: maurya@iitg.ernet.in
Further, vehicles A/D characteristics play vital role

in vehicular emission modeling, instantaneous fuel
consumption rate modeling, deceleration lane design,
traffic simulation modeling, etc. Hence it is important
to have better understanding of acceleration and
deceleration behavior of vehicles5.
Most of the existing A/D models4; 10; 11; 12; 20 consider
homogenous traffic stream (which is not the case in
India) and are based on A/D behaviour at signalized
intersections. Some of the studies8; 20 formulated A/D
models based on old data sets (of 1968 and 1985)
due to lack of accurate and recent data. The vehicle
technology and driver response to control devices
have changed since then. Literature review yields
limited studies15; 17 related to A/D behaviour for
Indian traffic streams. In these studies, speed data are
collected using either radar gun or based on manual
measurement of travel time which limits their scope
to get complete acceleration or deceleration profiles
of vehicle. Hence there is a need to study the A/D
behaviour of vehicles on Indian roads using advanced
equipments (like GPS) to get accurate and complete
A/D profiles of vehicles. This paper presents the study
of A/D behaviour of trucks (as trucks constitute the
significant proportion of highway traffic18) on straight
and level road using Global Positioning System
(GPS). This study reports typical A/D parameters for
trucks like maximum and mean A/D values, speed at
which they occur, A/D distances and time etc. Existing
A/D models are also evaluated for their suitability in
describing the collected A/D data of trucks on Indian
Highway.
Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology,

Guwahati, Assam
53
TECHNICAL PAPERS
2
REVIEW OF EXISTING A/D MODELS
4; 8; 10; 11; 12; 20; 21
have worked on A/D

Many researchers
modeling of vehicles. Literature review yields two
types of A/D models - kinematic and dynamic. This
study focusses on kinematic models. The section
is divided in two subsections describing various
acceleration and deceleration models.
Constant Acceleration Model: This

model is the simplest among all model
presented in Fig. 1. It assumes that
vehicles keep accelerating at constant
rate (as determined from Equation III-A)
through entire acceleration process.
2.1 Acceleration Models

Kinematic acceleration models reported in literature
can be grouped as follows,

1.
2.
Single regime acceleration model.

Constant acceleration model. Linear
decay acceleration model. Polynomial
acceleration model.
Multi regime acceleration model.
Fig. 1 shows typical acceleration speed plot for above

models11.
... 1
where, aavg is average acceleration rate (m/s2), x is

distance covered, (m) in time t, (s), t is time required
to cover distance x or to reach a velocity from i to f,
i is startup velocity (m/s) and f is velocity (m/s) at
time t.
Field observations on acceleration show that vehicle
acceleration is never constant, however, it continuously
changes over the time, distance and speed8. Studies
reported that vehicles have higher acceleration rates
at lower speeds. Although most of traffic simulation
packages use constant acceleration models for the
sake of simplicity12. Constant acceleration model can
be best suited only when vehicle maneuvers in one
particular gear at maximum acceleration rate. However
the model is greatly in error while accelerating up
through the gears10.

Fig. 1 Speed and Acceleration Profile for Different Models Like

a) Constant Acceleration b) Linear Decay c) Polynomial
d) Dual Regime
2.1.1 Single Regime Acceleration Model

In this group of model, A/D behaviour of vehicles are
described/modelled using single relationship for entire
speed range of vehicles (refer Fig. 1a, 1b and 1c).
54
Linear Decay Model: This model

assumes that acceleration linearly
reduces (from a maximum acceleration
at zero speed) with increase in speed
(refer Fig. 1b). Model presents vehicle
acceleration behavior by a relationship
a = * where a and are acceleration
(m = s2) and speed (m = s) respectively,
represents maximum acceleration when
speed is zero and is slope of the line or
rate at which acceleration decreases with
TECHNICAL PAPERS
increase in speed. Gary Long13 reported
that values of (slope) are similar
for each type of vehicles and value
increases with decrease in weight to
horse power ratio. This indicates that the
maximum accelerating capacity increase
with decrease in weight to horse power
ratio.

Dockerty6 reported that actual motorists

acceleration values are not maximum at
t = 0 but they are zero at t = 0 and
rapidly increase to its maximum value at
a time t after t = 0. Dockerty6 obtained
acceleration values with =1.49
and = 0.1455 for trucks. Dey et al.17
also modeled the acceleration behaviour
of trucks at signalized intersection. They
obtained = 0.4758 and = 0.0312 for
trucks on Indian highways.
Polynomial Model: Ackelik and Biggs20

proposed a nonlinear polynomial relation
between acceleration and time as given
below:
a(t) = ram(1 m)2 m > 5
... 2
where, a(t) is acceleration rate (m/s2) at time t, am

is maximum acceleration (m/s2), is time ratio
t = ta, t is acceleration time (s), ta is total time of
acceleration (s), m is parameter that depends
on initial and final speed, acceleration time and
distance, and r is parameter that depends on
value of m. This model overcomes the unrealistic
assumption of high acceleration at beginning.
They pointed out following requirements for
a realistic acceleration model (as shown in
Fig. 2).

1.
Speed profile should indicate an S shape.
2.
Acceleration rate must be zero at the start

and end of acceleration run.
3.
Jerk (rate of change of acceleration with

time) should be zero at the start and end
of acceleration.
Fig. 2 Acceleration Speed Plot-Polynomial

Model, Akcelik and Giggs, 1987
2.1.2 Multi Regime Acceleration Model

This group of models use a combination of above
single regime models to describe the acceleration
behaviour of vehicles for specific speed ranges. Figure
1d shows a dual regime model which utilizes two
different constant acceleration models for different
speed range to describe acceleration behaviour of
vehicle. Chowdhury15 suggested dual regime model
for vehicle acceleration process in which different
linear decreasing models (linear models with different
slopes) are used for different regime.
Bham and Benekohal8 suggested dual regime model
of following form:

... 3
where, a1 and a2 are acceleration rates for the first and

second regime respectively. This model is similar to
Chowdhury15 model.
55
TECHNICAL PAPERS
2.2
Deceleration Models
Similar to acceleration models, existing deceleration

models can also be grouped in single and multi regime
models. However, literature review yields less studies
on deceleration behaviour of vehicles as compared
to acceleration behaviour. Various studies reported
different deceleration rates for vehicles like Gazi
et al.7 suggested a deceleration rate of 5 m/s2 whereas
Parsonson19 found a deceleration rate of 3 m/s2.
Mean deceleration rate was found to vary from 2.1 to
4.2 m/s2 with a mean approach speed of 50.6 to
62.4 km/h by Wortman et al.25. Studies conducted by
Wortman et al.25 indicated that vehicles do not decelerate
at uniform rate but the deceleration rate depend on
their approach speed. ITEs Traffic Engineering
Handbook2, suggests that a deceleration rate up to 3
m/s2 is comfortable for passengers cars. Akcelik and
Biggs20 also suggested non uniform deceleration rate
depicting a polynomial behavior between deceleration
and speed. Samuels and Jarvis24 suggested a constant
deceleration model. Bennet and Dunn4 found that the
drivers deceleration rate depends on driving speed.
Drivers with higher speed decelerate at higher rate than
drivers at slow speed. They developed a regression
model to show deceleration as a function of approach
speed and deceleration time as given in Equation 4.

= a a0at2
... 4
where, is vehicle speed (km/h), a is approach speed

(km/h), t is deceleration time (s), a0 is a constant
parameter. They concluded that drivers decelerate
over a same distance irrespective of speed, resulting in
higher deceleration rate with higher speed. However,
their conclusion that driver deceleration is maximum
at the end of deceleration maneuver contradicts
the concept of zero jerk at the end of deceleration
maneuver reported by Akcelik and Biggs20.
Later in 2005, Wang et al.10 proposed following
relation between current speed and deceleration time
based on speed profile of vehicles collected by Global
Positioning System (GPS):

56
= 4.6899 + 0:050a 7.583t ,

2
... 5
where, is speed (km/h), a is approach speed (km/h)

and t is relative deceleration time (0 t 1). Relative
deceleration time is ratio of deceleration time of
trip to total deceleration time. No clear relationship
between average and maximum deceleration rates and
approach speed were observed. However drivers with
high approach speed decelerate over a longer time and
distance similar to observation made by Akcelik and
Biggs20. Several other researchers15;18 have reported
acceleration and deceleration values of different
vehicles on Indian roads at specific speeds only (not
for entire speed range). Arasan3 has proposed constant
acceleration model for different speed range. Due to
different A/D rates in different speeds, the number
of discontinuities in model increases. Further, as
highlighted before that to measure the speed of vehicles
these studies uses either radar gun or based on manual
measurement of travel time which limits their scope
to get complete acceleration or deceleration profiles
of vehicle. Further these methods lead to average A/D
values between two data collection points not the
actual A/D values corresponding to a speed.
Though, several attempts were made to model
acceleration and deceleration using various data sets,
owing to variations in methods of collecting data,
vehicle types considered in study, driving conditions,
road conditions and the driver behavior, the suggested
models may not be suitable for traffic plying on Indian
highways. Further the Indian traffic is generally
heterogenous with weak lane discipline which further
reduces the applicability of existing A/D models in
Indian context. A/D studies conducted in India have
used old/traditional method of speed data collection
which may not provide an accurate and complete
acceleration or deceleration profiles of vehicles.
Therefore, in the present work, A/D behaviour of
trucks is analyzed based on speed data collected using
GPS.
3
DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
The assessment of vehicle behaviour can well

estimated by observing it in actual traffic stream.
But owing to limitations of resources sometime it is
TECHNICAL PAPERS
difficult and impossible. In India, traffic stream being
heterogenous with weak lane discipline, it is difficult
to observe consistent acceleration and deceleration
behaviour at intersections. Moreover, the presence of
variety of vehicles with variation in their sizes and
operating characteristics, impact the movement of
other neighboring vehicles. Data collection in such
situation is difficult. Most often the exercise results
in an inconsistent data14. An alternative is to observe
vehicle behaviour over a selected short stretch and
under controlled conditions16. Data collection in
present work is undertaken in controlled manner
and efforts are made to ensure that A/D behaviour
of vehicles is not affected by any external factors.
Drivers were told that collected data will be used
only for study and research purpose and not for
enforcement purpose to reduces the possible bias in
drivers speeding behaviour.
3.1
Data Collection
The study was conducted on 1.5 km stretch of a four

lane (divided) Nagpur-Mumbai Highway on the
outskirts of Wardha Town, about 80 km from Nagpur
(India). The geometry of the road was fairly straight
and vertical layout was fairly level. Entire surface was
fair during data collection. The study was conducted on
sunny days with dry pavement conditions. Test stretch
of road was free from intersection, side encroachment,
pedestrian movements, etc. All types of vehicles (like
trucks, cars, motorized three wheelers and motorized
two wheelers) run over this highway facility. Being
a newly build facility, traffic volume was very low
ensuring free flow condition for vehicles.
GPS were installed in vehicle before conducting
the experiment to collect speed and position data of
vehicle at 1 second logging interval. All the drivers
were asked to speed up from stop condition to achieve
their desired speed (maximum speed at which driver
feel safe for a given road geometry and environmental
condition; hereafter referred as maximum speed)
as early as possible and then they were allowed to
drive at their maximum speed for some time. Further
drivers were asked to slow down to stop condition in

the shortest possible time.
All the trips were made during free flow traffic and
all the vehicles used in this study were randomly
sampled within vehicles of real traffic stream plying
on that road. A total of 66 medium size trucks (10 to
12 tonne capacity) speed profiles data were collected.
Acceleration-deceleration data was computed
from second by second speed data using following
formula:10;11.

where, a(t2) and d(t2) are the acceleration and

deceleration respectively (m/s2) at time t2, 1 and 2
are the speeds (m/s) at time t1 and t2 (sec) respectively.
The acceleration process ended when the increment in
speed is 0.5 m/s continuously for next five seconds.
The starting of deceleration process is defined from
the time onwards where the deceleration values
calculated from formula are 0:1 m/s2 continuously
for next five seconds11. At the end of deceleration
process vehicles speed become zero. Acceleration
and deceleration profiles were separated using
above method. Figs. 3(a) and (b) present speed
profiles (speed-time scatter) during acceleration and
deceleration. Idealized speed profiles (speed values
are averaged over every one second) for acceleration
and deceleration maneuver are also presented in
Figs. 3(c) and (d). Main observations from Fig. 3
are;

1.
Some trips do not start at zero speed

as seen in speed scatter in acceleration
maneuver. Since the logging interval of
GPS is 1 second, the speed data is lost
between successive seconds. Similarly
for the same reason some trips in
deceleration maneuver do not terminate
at zero speed.
57
TECHNICAL PAPERS
(a) Speed Scatter During Acceleration
(b) Speed Scatter During Deceleration
(c) Idealized Plot of Speed-Time During Acceleration
(d) Idealized Plot of Speed-time During Deceleration
Fig. 3 Scatter and Idealized Plot of Speed During acceleration and Deceleraion
2.
Different drivers choose different cruising

speed. This results in different maximum
speed at the end of acceleration maneuver.
The time taken to complete acceleration
maneuver also varies with driver.
3.
For the reason stated in (2) above, the

speed at starting of deceleration maneuver
is different for different drivers.
4.
Maximum speed of vehicle observed

during acceleration maneuver varies
from 15.9 m/s to 9.09 m/s with an average
maximum speed being 13.08 m/s. Other
researchers11;5) also reported similar truck
speed.
58
5.
Time taken to complete acceleration

maneuver (completion of acceleration
maneuver is determined as mentioned
earlier in this section) varied from
45 seconds to 60 seconds. This time
6.
7.
depended on the amount of acceleration

applied by driver during maneuver
(indicated by slope of speed profile in
acceleration maneuver).
Time taken to complete deceleration
maneuver varies from 18 seconds to
47 seconds. This indicates that the
drivers apply different deceleration
rates (indicated by varying slopes of
speed profile of drivers) in deceleration
maneuver.
Idealized speed profiles in acceleration
and deceleration do not follow S
shape (implying zero acceleration at
the beginning and end of acceleration
maneuver) as also reported by Akcelik
and Biggs20. This is because the S shape
profile reported by Akcelik and Biggs is
an ideal case and difficult to obtained in
field experiments.
TECHNICAL PAPERS
3.2
Data Analysis
The GPS speed and position data for 66 truck trips

was collected in free flow condition. A total of 1716
data points in acceleration and 1471 data points in
deceleration were collected. Raw speed data obtained
from GPS is smoothen using exponential smoothing
method to minimize GPS error9.
The acceleration-deceleration speed profile data

was analyzed for various parameters like maximum
and mean speed, acceleration and deceleration time
and distance, maximum and mean acceleration and
deceleration rates and speed at maximum acceleration
and deceleration. Table I presents above parameters
corresponding to acceleration and deceleration
maneuver.
Table I Various Parameters of Acceleration and Deceleration Maneuver

Maneuver
Type
Acceleration
Deceleration
Maximum
Maximum
Speed Range
Speed
(km/h)
(m/s)
Mean
Speed
(m/s)
A/D*
Time
(sec)
A/D*
Distance
(m)
Speed at
Maximum
A/D* (m/s)
Maximum
A/D* Rate
(m/s2)
Mean
A/D* Rate
(m/s2)
20-30
8.18
5.18
11
56.98
2.77
0.75
0.28
30-40
11.05
5.78
17
98.26
1.53
1.01
0.29
40-50
13.24
7.62
34
259.08
1.27
0.96
0.24
50-60
15.95
10.32
35
361.2
1.08
0.87
0.24
20-30
7.51
4.43
13
57.59
4.20
1.02
0.47
30-40
10.46
5.84
18
105.12
3.01
1.01
0.40
40-50
13.26
7.32
18
131.76
4.33
0.92
0.32
50-60
14.55
7.92
25
198.00
5.80
0.88
0.35
* Acceleration/Deceleration
Table I presents the parameters of acceleration

and deceleration maneuver of trucks. Parameters
corresponding to each maximum speed range are
determined after averaging the corresponding
parameters of all trips which falls in that maximum
speed range.
maximum speed range and speed at which maximum

deceleration occurs. No consistent relationship is also
observed between maximum speed and deceleration
(maximum and mean) rate similar to acceleration
maneuver. Fig. 4. presents the acceleration versus
speed plot for truck acceleration maneuver. The main
observations from Fig. 4 are:
It is seen from Table I that there is a marked difference

in acceleration behaviour of trucks with their
maximum speed. Trucks with lower maximum speed
range exhibit lower acceleration distance and time.
Speed at which maximum acceleration is achieved
reduces with increase in maximum speed range. This
implies that drivers driving at higher speed employ
higher acceleration at early stage of their acceleration
maneuver. No consistent relationship is observed
between maximum speed and acceleration (maximum
and mean) rate.
Fig. 4 Acceleration Speed Scatter
Similar to acceleration behaviour, trucks exhibit lower

deceleration distance and time for lower maximum
speed range. No clear trend is observed between
1.
Acceleration value decreases with increase in speed of trucks. This implies
59
TECHNICAL PAPERS
that drivers use higher acceleration
during startup. Similar observation is
also reported by other researchers11;8;9;20.

2.
The maximum acceleration value for

truck observed for any trip is 1.008
m/s2. The maximum accelerations of
all trips are computed and average
maximum
acceleration
value
of
0.73 m/s2 is observed. The average
maximum acceleration values reported
by Arasan3 and Dey17 are 0.79 m/s2 and
0.4758 m/s2 respectively for Indian traffic.
These studies used radar gun or travel
time to measure the speed of vehicle at
definite locations and these speed data
are used to determine the acceleration
values between two locations which
gives average acceleration. Therefore,
these reported maximum acceleration
values are closer to average maximum
acceleration value of current study.
Acceleration studies from other countries
like Gary Long13 reported the maximum
acceleration values are 0.45 m/s2 to
2.95 m/s2 (depending on load to
horsepower ratio) of trucks show higher
than that is observed in the current
study.
1.
The maximum deceleration rate observed

for any truck trip in this study is
1.31 m/s2 which does not exceed
maximum deceleration rate of 3 m/
s2 recommended by ITEs Traffic
Engineering Handbook2 and 3.4 m/s2
recommended by ASHTO1.
2.
Unlike acceleration, deceleration shows

a different trend with speed. At the
beginning of deceleration maneuver (at
higher speed) deceleration increases up
to certain level and then starts decreasing
to become zero at zero speed. The speed
at which maximum deceleration occurs
is termed as critical speed. The critical
speed in case of trucks varies from
3.01 m/s to 5.80 m/s which is
of approach speed (the
approximately
speed at which driver start decelerating).
This is consistent with Wang et al.10
observation that vehicles achieve
maximum deceleration rate at around
11th to 12th second in 15 second
deceleration maneuver.
4 ACCELERATION MODELING
Fig. 5 presents the deceleration versus speed plot for

truck deceleration maneuver. The main observations
from Fig. 5 are:
An idealized plot of acceleration-speed relationship

(refer Fig. 4) is presented in Fig. 6 by averaging
acceleration values over every 1 m/s speed interval.
It can be observed from idealized acceleration-speed
relationship (refer Fig. 6) that employed acceleration
monotonically reduces with increase in vehicle speed
Fig. 5 Deceleration Speed Scatter
Fig. 6 Idealized Plot of Acceleration-Speed
60
TECHNICAL PAPERS
which can be described by single regime models.
Therefore, two single regime models - (i) linear
decay model and (ii) negative exponential model
are proposed to described the observed accelerationspeed behaviour. Both models are calibrated for
present data set and predicted acceleration values are
compared with acceleration values computed from
observed speed values (refer Fig. 6). Residual Sum
of Squares (RSS) and various other error tests, such
as Root Mean Square Percent Error, Mean Percent
Error (MPE), Positive and Negative Percent Errors
(PMPE and NMPE) and Maximum Absolute Error
were used to asses the suitability of both models for
present acceleration data set8. The error tests are used
to assess the suitability of models since error tests do
not need assumption of independence of variables
on each other. Also the assumption of normality of
variables, which forms the basis of many statistical
tests, is not applicable to error tests. The errors are
computed using following formulae8;
quantitative measure of deviation. Since in mean

error the positive and negative error may cancel out
each other, the positive and negative percent error is
calculated separately. These errors indicate overstating
or understating of model. Maximum absolute error is
yet another measure stating the absolute error of each
data point and examining the maximum of that8. The
reason for carrying out number of error tests is that
no single test identifies the problems in model. The
results of error tests for both models are presented
in Table II to compare their suitability. Error test
results of both models (presented in Table II) show
that negative exponential model perform better than
linear decay model (i.e. has lower errors) in all error
tests. Also Pearson Correlation value of 0.719 for
acceleration-speed data indicates low strength for
linear relationship. Hence the negative exponential
model is chosen for description of collected data and
evaluated further in details.
4.1
Negative Exponential Acceleration Model
The general form of the proposed negative exponential

model is as follow:

... 6
where,
is predicted value from model,
is
observed value and N is number of observations.
Percent error provides the deviation of model
values from observed values in percentage and is a
a = k 1 e k2
... 7
where, a is acceleration (m/s2) at time t, is speed

(m/s) at time t and k1, k2 are the model parameters
to be evaluated from field data. Model parameters
k1 and k2 are 0.666 and 0.13 respectively obtained
from linear regression techniques and the coefficient
of regression is 0.92 which indicates good correlation
between acceleration and speed of trucks.
Table II Error Tests on Models

Model Type
RMS
RMS %
% Mean Error
PMPE
NMPE
Absolute
Maximum Error
Linear Model
0.016
22.84
0.12
24.85
14.49
0.22
Negative Exponential
Model
0.011
9.17
0.087
11.23
6.15
0.17
4.2 Acceleration Model Diagnostic
1.
Error terms are independent, and
While ascertaining the statistical correctness of

proposed model following assumptions are tested22,
2.
Error terms are approximately normally

distributed.
61
TECHNICAL PAPERS
Residual analysis is conducted to detect the violations
of independence of errors and quantile plots are used
to detect violation of normality of errors22. Residuals
(difference between acceleration values calculated
from observed speed values and calculated using
model) are computed and plotted against predicted
acceleration values (see Fig. 7a). The plot shows that
residuals are uniformly spread over predicted values
and do not show any trend. This depicts uniform
variance of errors over predicted values, indicating
independence of error terms. Since the data is observed
over time, the residuals are also tested over time.
Fig. 7b presents plot of residuals against time. The
plot shows no trend over time depicting no dependence
of errors over time.
variables are normally distributed. This satisfies

another assumption of regression.
Fig. 8 Quantile Plot
Paired t-test is also conducted to test the means of

acceleration computed using observed speed values and
acceleration computed from model at 5% significance
level. Test result shows that there is no significant
difference in the mean of acceleration computed from
observed speed and mean of acceleration obtained
from proposed model.
4.3 Speed and Position from Acceleration Model
(a) Residual vs Predicted Values
The acceleration model equation reported above

(refer Equation 7) is used to find speed and position of
vehicle at time t. The relations are derived as below;

(b) Residual vs Time

Fig. 7 Residual Analysis
Fig. 8 presents the quantile plot showing observed

acceleration values on X axis and predicted acceleration
values on Y axis. Quantile plot shows satisfactory
clustering around (45) straight line indicating that
62
TECHNICAL PAPERS
The idealized modeled speed and position are then
computed from above equations and compared with
observed idealized speed and position. Figs. 9a and
9b presents the observed idealized position trajectory
(obtained by averaging the position values of different
trips obtained from GPS over every 1 second time
interval) and idealized speed profile (obtained by
averaging speed of different trips over every 1 second
time interval) of a vehicle observed in this study.
Modeled position trajectory and speed profile is also
plotted in Figs. 9a and 9b. Kolmogorov-Smirnov two
sample test is performed to compare the observed
and modeled position trajectory and speed profile.
The test result indicates that both samples come from
populations having identical cumulative frequency
distribution and match with respect to location,
dispersion and skewness.
It can be concluded from above statistical test

results that proposed model suitably describes the
acceleration-speed relationship of present data set.
5
DECELERATION MODELING
Scatter plot of deceleration-speed data points of

truck is already presented in Fig. 5. Idealized plot
of deceleration versus speed is obtained from scatter
plots where deceleration values are averaged over
every 1 m/s speed interval and presented in Fig. 10.
Scatter plot and idealized plot of deceleration-speed
data points (refer Figs. 5 and 10) indicate a strong
relationship between deceleration and speed. Initially
deceleration increases with decrease in speed and
after achieving a maximum value, deceleration starts
decreasing with further decrease in vehicles speed.
Speed at which the maximum deceleration occurs is
referred as critical speed. Hence, it is more logical to
model deceleration as a function of speed rather than
as a function of time. This view is also supported by
Bham and Benekohal8, Long13. Therefore, in present
work, deceleration rate is modeled as a function of
vehicle speed.
(a) Observed and Modeled Trajectories
Fig. 10 Idealized Plot of Deceleration-Speed
(b) Observed and Modeled Speed

Fig. 9 Observed and Modeled Trajectories and Speed Profiles
Literature review yields no model describing

deceleration-speed relationship during deceleration
maneuver. However, Wang et al.10 proposed
deceleration model based on relationship between
approach speed and deceleration time as discussed
earlier (refer Equations 4 and 5). This model is
developed using speed data collected using GPS.
Firstly, this model is calibrated with the present data
63
TECHNICAL PAPERS
set. Later, observed speed values are compared with
computed speed from the Wang et al.10 model. A two
sample Kolmogorov-Smirnov test is applied to check
whether observed and predicted speeds are from same
continuous distribution23. Test results indicates that two
sets (observed and predicted) of speed have different
cumulative distribution. This implies that Wang et al.10
model is not sufficient to describe the present data set.
Therefore, a new model is required to describe the
observed deceleration-speed relationship.
On observation of deceleration-speed relationship,
it is felt that a dual regime model may be suitable
for observed deceleration speed relationship (refer
Fig. 10). Regime I can be referred to the region with
speed > critical speed and regime II can refer to the
region with speed critical speed. Dual regime model
offers computational simplicity and reduces simulation
time as compared to polynomial model model8;10).
Hence the dual regime model is explored in detail in
present study. The regimes are separated at critical
speed (in present data set the critical speed is 3.49 m/s)
where deceleration is maximum. Only limitation with
the the dual regime model is that it has one point of
discontinuity at critical speed. The Pearson correlation
values are computed to ascertain the strength of linear
relationship between deceleration and speed for both
regimes. The Pearson correlation values are 0:92
for regime I and 0:961 for regime II. This indicates
that linear relationship (with opposite slopes) may
exist between deceleration and speed in both regimes.
The strength of linear relationship in regime I is
weaker than that of regime II. Further, to ascertain the
form of the model in both regimes, Residual Sum of
Squares (RSS) are calculated for various decelerationspeed model like linear, second order polynomial
and negative exponential for both regimes. The
appropriate model is one which yields minimum value
of RSS. The RSS values for different model forms are
shown in Table III. It is observed from Table III that
for Regime I, RSS values are minimum for negative
exponential model and for Regime II for linear
model. Hence, negative exponential and linear models
are opted for regime I and regime II respectively.
64
General forms of these models are presented in

Equation 9.
Table III Residual Sum of Squares (RSS)
Values for Different Model Forms
Model Type
Linear
Negative Exponential
Second Order Polynomial
Regime I
0.066
0.031
0.038
Regime II
0.006
0.100
0.036
... 9
where, d1 and d2 are deceleration rates (m/s2) in Regime

I and Regime II respectively, k1 and k2 are model
parameters for Regime I, is minimum deceleration
rate (m/s2) when speed is zero for Regime II and is
rate of change of deceleration with speed (m/s) for
Regime II.
These models are fitted to observed speed data in
deceleration maneuver for calibration of model
parameters. The resulting model parameters are
k1 = 1.587, k2 = 0.017 and coefficient of regression,
r2 = 0.834 for regime I and = 0.104, = 0.225 and
r2 = 0.92 for regime II. Plot of observed and modeled
deceleration-speed relationships are presented in
Fig. 11. It is seen from the Fig. 11 that predicted critical
speed (speed at which deceleration is maximum) by
models is 3.52 m/s while observed critical speed is
3.49 m/s. The average maximum deceleration value
predicted by model is 0.891 m/s2 as against observed
value of 0.805 m/s2. Further, the deceleration predicted
by model at the beginning of deceleration maneuver
is 0.138 m/s2 whereas the observed value is 0.06 m/
s2 (refer Regime I as deceleration maneuver starts
from maximum speed). The point of discontinuity is
observed at the critical speed of 3.52 m/s. At this speed,
where two regimes meet, the deceleration predicted
by regime I is 0.879 m/s2, whereas by regime II is
0.851 m/s2. Except this point, the model is continuous.
Hence, it is observed that model predicts critical speed,
average maximum deceleration and deceleration
TECHNICAL PAPERS
at beginning of deceleration maneuver with fair
accuracy and with only one point of discontinuity. In
other multiregime models the points of discontinuity
are more.
Fig. 12 Plot of Residuals Against Predicted Values
Fig. 11 Modeled Plot of Deceleration-Speed
5.1
Deceleration Model Diagnostic
Various diagnostic tests, similar to that acceleration

models, are used to check correctness of deceleration
model. Residual analysis is carried to check the
statistical correctness of model. Plot of residuals
against predicted deceleration, for trucks, are presented
in Fig. 12. This shows that residuals are uniformly
distributed against predicted values depicting uniform
variance of errors, which is one of the assumption in
regression. The quantile-quantile plot for predicted
versus observed deceleration for both regimes
are obtained and presented in Figs. 13a and 13b.
Clustering of points around a 45 line for both regimes
indicate that the variables are normally distributed,
which is an assumption in regression analysis.
Regime II has less points due to its shorter span.
Paired t-test is used to test the means of computed and
observed deceleration for Regime I and Regime II
at 5% significance level. The computed deceleration
is obtained from deceleration-speed relationship
presented in Equation 9. Test result shows that there is
no significant difference in the mean of deceleration
computed from observed speed and mean of
deceleration obtained from proposed model.
(a) Quantile Plot, Regime I
(b) Quantile Plot, Regime II

Fig. 13 Quantile Plots
5.2 Speed and Position from Deceleration Model

The deceleration model equation reported above for
Regime-I and Regime-II (refer Equation 9) is used
to find speed and position of vehicle at time t. The
relations are derived as below;
65
TECHNICAL PAPERS
... 10
during deceleration maneuver in this study. Modeled

position trajectory and speed profile (obtained using
for Regime-I and Regime-II using Equation 10 and
11) is also plotted in Figs. 14a and 14b. KolmogorovSmirnov two sample test is performed to compare the
observed and modeled position trajectory and speed
profile. The test result indicates that both samples
come from populations having identical cumulative
frequency distribution and match with respect to
location, dispersion and skewness. It can be concluded
from above statistical tests results that proposed model
suitably describes the deceleration-speed relationship
of present data set.
(a) Observed and Modeled Trajectories
... 11
(b) Observed and Modeled Speed

Fig. 14 Observed and Modeled Trajectories and Speed Profiles
Further, Figs. 14a and 14b present the observed

idealized position trajectory (obtained by averaging
the position values of different trips obtained from
GPS over every 1 second time interval) and idealized
speed profile (obtained by averaging speed of different
trips over every 1 second time interval) of a vehicle
66
CONCLUSIONS
The Acceleration/Deceleration (A/D) model of

vehicles are useful in many traffic application like
design of deceleration lanes, signalized intersection
design, instantaneous fuel consumption, emission
modeling, etc. In the present study, data for entire A/D
maneuver of trucks has been collected using advanced
equipments like GPS for the first time on Indian
highway. Existing models of A/D are evaluated for their
TECHNICAL PAPERS
suitability and new accurate and simple A/D models
are proposed to describe the observed acceleration
speed and deceleration-speed relationships of trucks
on Indian highways. The main findings of this study
are as follows:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Trucks with lower maximum speed range

exhibit lower A/D distance and time during
A/D maneuver.
The maximum acceleration values for trucks
varied from 1.01 m/s2 to 0.57 m/s2 which is
higher than acceleration values reported by
Arasan3 and Dey17 (0.79 m/s2 and 0.4758 m/s2
respectively) for Indian traffic. Older studies
used radar gun or travel time to for speed
measurement of vehicles at definite locations.
Therefore, these speed data provide the average
acceleration of vehicle between two locations
instead of maximum acceleration value of
vehicle.
In the acceleration maneuver, it is observed that
acceleration values decreases with the increase
in speed. Therefore, a negative exponential
acceleration model of form at = k1ek2 (where at
is acceleration at time t second, is speed in m/s
and k1 and k2 are model parameters) is proposed
to describe the observed trucks accelerationspeed relationship. It is evident from statistical
tests that proposed model describes the
acceleration-speed relationship satisfactorily.
In deceleration maneuver, initially with
decrease in speed deceleration increases and
after achieving a maximum value, deceleration
falls with further decrease in vehicles speed
towards the end of maneuver. Speed at which
the maximum deceleration occurs is referred as
critical speed. Therefore a dual regime model
is proposed to describe deceleration-speed
relationship observed in this study. Negative
exponential and linear models are found suitable
for regime I (speed > critical speed) and regime
II ( speed critical speed) respectively.
Maximum deceleration rate is observed as
1.31 m/s2 which is less than the maximum
deceleration rate of recommended by ITEs

Traffic Engineering Handbook2 and AASHTO1
(3 m/s2 and 3.4 m/s2).
6.
Observed and modeled position trajectories and

speed profiles matched with in both acceleration
and deceleration maneuvers.
Simple and accurate A/D models of vehicles help in

developing better simulation models, fuel consumption
and emission models. Further, the present study may
be extended to A/D modeling of all class of vehicles
generally observed on Indian roads. Impact of
different vehicle and driver characteristics on their
A/D behaviour can also be explored.
REFERENCES
1.
AASHTO, (2004). A Policy on Geometric Design of

Highways and Streets, Washington D.C.
2.
Traffic Engineering Handbook, 5th Edition, Institution of

Transportation Engineers, Washington D.C., 2000.
3.
V. Thamizh Arasan and Reebu Zachariah Koshy.

Methodology for Modeling Highly Heterogeneous Traffic
Flow. Journal of Transportation Engineering, ASCE,
131:544551, 2005.
4.
C.R. Bennett and Dunn R.C. Driver Deceleration

Behaviour on a Freeway in New Zealand. Transportation
Research Record: Journal of Transportation Research
Board, 1510:7074, 1995.
5.
Saroch Boonsiripant. Speed Profile Variation as a Surrogate

Measure of Road Safety Based on GPS-Equipped Vehicle
Data. PhD thesis, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009.
6.
A. Dockerty. Accelerations of Queue Leaders from Stop

Lines. Traffic Engineering and Control, Vol. 8, No.
3:150155, 1966.
7.
A. Maradudin Gazis D.R., Herman R. The Problem of the

Amber Light Traffic Flow. Operation Research, 8, No 1,
1960.
8.
G. Bham and R. Benekohal. Development, Evaluation and

Comparison of Acceleration Models. 81st Annual Meeting
of Transportation Research Board, Washington D.C.,
pages 142, 2002.
9.
F. Dion H. Rakha, M. Snare. Vehicle Dynamics Model for

Estimating Maximum Light Duty Vehicle Acceleration
Levels. In 83rd Transportation Research Board Meeting,
pages 122, 2003.
10.
H. Li J. Ogle J. Wang, K. Dixon. Normal Deceleration

Behavior of Passenger Vehicle at Stop Sign Signaled
Intersection Evaluated with in-Vehicle Global Positioning
System Data. Transportation Research Record, 1937:120
127, 2005.
67
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H. Li J.Wang, Karen K D. and J.Ogle. Normal Acceleration
Behaviour of Passenger Vehicles Starting from Rest at
all Way Stop Controlled Intersections. Transportation
Research Record, Journal of Transportation Research
Board., 1883:158186, 2004.
18.
S. Gangopadhyay P. Dey, S. Chandra. Speed Studies on

Two Lane Indian Highways. Indian Highways, Journal of
Indian Roads Congress, pages 918, 2008.
19.
A. Santiago P.S. Parsonson. Traffic Signal Change Interval

Must be Improved. Public Works, 1980.
12.
C. Lee and T. Rioux. Texas Model for Intersection.

University of Texas at Austin, 1:110, 1977.
20.
13.
Gary Long. Acceleration Characteristics of Starting

Vehicles. Transportation Research Record, 1737:5870,
2000.
D.C. Biggs R. Akcelik. Acceleration Profile Models for

Vehicle in Road Traffic. Transportation Science, 21,
No 1:3654, 1987.
21.
M. Besley R. Akcelik. Acceleration and Deceleration

Models. In 23rd Conference of Australian Institute of
Transport Research, Monash University Melbourne,
Auatralia., 2002.
22.
R.J. Freund and W.J. Wilson. Statistical Methods.

Academic Press, 2003.
23.
R. Johnson. Probability and Statistics for Engineers. Pear,

2000.
24.
S.E. Samuels and J.R. Jarvis. Acceleration and Deceleration

of Modern Vehicles. Technical Report, Australian Road
Research Institute, Report 86., 1978.
25.
Fox T.C. Wortman R.H. An evaluation of Vehicle

Deceleration Profiles. Journal of Advance Transportation,
8, No 3, 1994.
11.
14.
Arif Mehmood. Determinants of Speeding Behaviour of

Drivers in al Ain (United Arab Amirates). ASCE Journal
of Transportation Engg., 135, No 10:721729, 2009.
15.
S.K.Rao M.L. Raichaudhari. Acceleration Characteristics

of Vehicles at Signalized Intersection. Indian Highways,
Journal of Indian Roads Congress, pages 3537, 1989.
16.
17.
68
M. Snare. Dynamic Model for Predicting Maximum

and Typical Acceleration Rates of Passenger Vehicles.
Masters Thesis, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State
University, 2002.
P. Biswas P. Dey. Acceleration of Queue Leaders at
Signalized Intersection. Indian Highways, Journal of
Indian Roads Congress, pages 4954, 2011.
DISPUTE AVOIDANCE PRACTICES IN

CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS
S.K. Dhawan*
1
It is often said Prevention is better than cure so
it is with disputes. The focus should be on preventing
the disease rather than curing it subsequently. There
is dichotomy with our construction contracts in this
country. Client is keen on getting the work completed
within the prescribed time schedule and conforming to
the required standards and specifications and with least
cost. The contractor on the other hand is interested in
the work to be completed at the maximum profit.
Constructions projects are developed in an open
environment where variables like soil, unforeseen site
conditions, weather and natural disaster are difficult
to control. Successful Project Management would
require both client and contractor working together
towards completion of the project within the budget,
on schedule with required quality and safety and
also with minimum disputes and litigations. Cost
and time involved in arbitration has been worrying
the engineering profession as the department has to
pay interest over claims after the payment of the final
bill.
ii)
Internal and external uncertainties
iii)
Unfair allocation of risk
iv)
Delay/failure in:-
Handing over the site free from

encumbrances
Getting clearance from statutory

bodies including forest and
environment clearance etc.
Arranging power
permits etc.
Issue of working drawings,

structural
drawings,
service
drawings etc.
Giving decisions and approvals
Certification of Bills/Payments
Settlement of Rates for extra

items, extra quantities beyond
deviations.
connections,
2
A construction project, over the years, has been
characterized by:-
a)
Slow progress and time extension

etc.
b)
Other Contractors/Sub. Contractors

working on the Project
Some External influence
Contractors bidding competitively to get

the work and then achieve maximum
profit.
Project contains unknowns/uncertainties
and the owners like to transfer all the
risks to contractor.
Use of poorly made tender documents
Unfair/one sided contract documents.
A project involves number of agencies
which do not have coordination.
c)
d)
e)
2.1
Some common issues leading to disputes are:-
i)
Poor and unfair documentation in general,

designs, drawings and specifications etc.
v)
Delay can be due to:-
3
Dispute avoidance practices can be divided into
two stages:-
Pre-award stage
Post-award stage
Pre-award stage
Pre tendered stage
Tendered stage
Former Chief Engineer, C.P.W.D., E-mail: s_k_dhawan@yahoo.com
69
TECHNICAL PAPERS
3.1
Pre tendering Stage
Survey and investigations
Design and specifications
Availability of Site
Tender Process should be

fair and unbiased
Contract
documentsGeneral Conditions and
Special conditions etc.
Risk management
Dispute
mechanism
Availability of Funds
3.2
Tendered Stage
Resolution
The tender documents should effectively

convey the owners requirements and the
tenderers should seek all clarifications
during pre-bid meetings
Keep a watch on Abnormally High Rate/
Abnormally Low Rate (AHR/ALR)
items anticipating fluctuations in the
quantities.
To inspect the project site before
tendering.

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

Claims should be well supported by facts. This implies

keeping relevant records.
-
Liquidated damages:- Should be applied as a

last resort when there is real loss to the owner
due to excessive delay.
Communication:- Meeting of Senior Engineer

with contractor at site may ensure smooth
progress during execution.
Contract Administration
Avoid unrealistic time period for the

completion which results in extension
of time (ET) and thus, time no longer
remains the essence of the contract.
4.1
Reject unrealistically or absurdly low

rates on scrutiny, as under quoting has
brought failures to some projects.
3.3 Post contract award stage (Construction

Management)
Site Management
*

*

70
Site manager (EE) and

contractor should work
out the requirement of
materials, equipment etc.
Maintain progress report
and regular monitoring
Should not allow to sublet

the work without the
approval of the client
Sort out conflicts related
to quality and safety
Standards
Preparation
of
work
programme and Review
Team work- develop team
spirit
Timely payment
Timely decisions
Genuine claims arising
from site difficulties, price
escalation and variations
should be settled quickly.
Jointly identify, understand, appreciate

and agree to each others goals and
priorities,
Contractor to understand time, cost
and quality requirements of the owner
department.
Ensure reciprocal help (contractor /
department)
Understand the rights and obligations of
both the parties,
Agree to realistic work programme,
Contractor to adhere to quality assurance
procedures,
Adhere to the safety standards.
Prompt attention to correspondence,
TECHNICAL PAPERS

Prompt assessment and processing of

claims,
Checks on time limits,
Keep
good
project
records
(Documentations),
Periodic
training
and
awareness
programme
Timely decisions without fear and
favour,
Develop team spirit,
Appreciate good work.
4.2 Trust, goodwill and co-operation:- For successful

completion open and honest communication, trust,
good will should exist between the contractor and
the department. A working knowledge of the contract
agreement removes many disputes.
4.3 Owner/Department Breaches - The common
breaches of contract, from the parties are:Common inadequacies like delay in handing over
the site free from encumbrances, supply of materials,
working drawings, designs, failure/delay in making
payment against running Account Bills, extra items,
substitute items, payment of mobilization and
machinery advances, delay in approving the specialize
contracts and suppliers, failure to obtain environment
clearances before award of work, failure to shift
utilities (Services), approval of cutting of trees, land
acquisition, removal of encroachment etc.
5
Contractors Breaches
5.1
Abandoning of work or failure to

complete the work
Delay in completion
Use of substandard materials and
substandard work methodologies
Failure to submit planned progress
Unauthorized sub-letting
Failure to insure as required
Failure to ensure safety
Failure to employ qualified engineers
causing damages to property or work of
another contractor
Misappropriation
through
extra
consumption of stipulated materials
and failure to account for or return such
materials.
5.2
Inadequate Information About the Site
Survey the site/property to ascertain details like type of

soil, ground water condition, availability of water for
construction, availability of materials for construction
and lead involved, availability of borrow pit areas,
approaches to the site etc.
In the case of major projects, the tender documents
invariably enjoined up on the bidders to inspect the
site of work in order to familiarize themselves with
the ground conditions but, also use such information
in preparing their detailed bids.
Example:- In a case involving the construction of
school building for a certain owner, it was provided
that the contractor should be entitled to enter the site
immediately so as to complete the work by the agreed
date. The only access to site was from the road and
the soil between the road and site was soft, as such,
the contract incorporated a provision that contractor
should lay a temporary slip road-way from road to the
site of work and subsequently provide a permanent path
way. The contractor was forced to suspend the work
after commencing it because of threatened injunction
from adjoining owner who claimed that the road
was his property. Even though 3rd party claims were
unfounded and the contractor resumed and completed
the work. The contractor claimed damages for the
losses suffered due to delay caused by 3rd party action.
It was held by the court that there was no implied
warranty by the owner against wrongful interference
by 3rd party for the free access to the site.
In another case involving the widening of the existing
National Highway, the contract was allotted without
the full availability of site. A wrong certificate was
given with regard to acquisition and possession of
land. A large number of trees and structures existed in
the right of way of the road. The stipulated completion
of project was 30 months. But, land could not be
acquired fully even after a lapse of more than two years.
Similarly a delay was caused by the State Government
71
TECHNICAL PAPERS
for according permission to cut the trees. The clause
regarding the machinery advance as contained in the
contract stipulated that the machineries could not be
disposed of by the contractor and exemption in the
event of custom duty was given under the express
condition. Since the machinery was idle in the face
of availability of site, the contractor suffered losses.
Even the manpower was idle.
5.3
Delay in a approving variation:-
In the above mentioned case the item of tree cutting

was not included in the agreement. The grubbing of
stump and root of the trees was responsibility of the
contractor. The State Forest Department while giving
permission to cut the trees, told the owner of the
project to cut the trees and deposit them in the ware
house department of the forest department. The owner
ordered to start cutting the trees and simultaneously
moved a proposal for the determination of the rate of
tree cutting. The contractor started cutting trees and
submitted rates of tree cutting which was not approved
by client even after cutting of the trees are over.
Ultimately a very low rate was sanctioned which was
not accepted by the contractor, who took the matter in
the dispute adjudication board, who gave a ruling in
favour of the contractor, though the rates claimed by
the contractor were moderated by the board.
5.3.1 In other case the contractor was asked to take
up the work of reinforced earth walls for approaches
of the flyovers on a certain reach of NH. This work
was not included in the B.O.Q. The work involved the
strengthening of foundation of R.E. walls. The client
took a stand after the completion of work that the work
of the foundation of R.E. wall was not payable even
though the engineer had recommended the payment of
work in question based on which the running payments
were released by client, but, suddenly the recovery
of amount of question was ordered and affected on
the plea that the vigilance department had ordered
the recovery of payment in view of the provision of
the agreement. This is a classic example where the
contractor kept on doing the work on the assurance
of the engineer that the payment would be ultimately
made.
72
5.3.2 On account of improper interpretation of

contract
When the matter was referred by the contractor to
Dispute Adjudication Broad (DAB), the client took a
plea that the payments recommended by the engineer
was based on provisional rates and that the same were
liable to be cancelled subsequently. The provision in
the agreement provides that the engineer can order
the variation subject to the condition that the financial
variation of such variation is less than 1 % of contract
price and the total value of variation should not
exceed 10% of the contract. Even though both these
conditions have not been violated, yet client went
ahead with e recovery of the payment in question. The
contractor won the case in the DAB. However, client
has filed appeal before the Arbital Tribunal against the
recommendations of DAB.
6
Conclusion
Various stages of any project are as follows:

i)
ii)
iii)
iv)
Preplanning,
Planning,
Execution,
Closure of the contract.
If preplanning goes wrong there may be more than

100% error in the cost of construction. Faulty planning
may cause over run by as much as over 50%. Therefore,
these two stages of any project formulation are very
important. The drafting of the tendered conditions is
equally important. The job should not be left to the
raw hands. The persons drafting the tender conditions
should be fairly experienced in the various aspects
of contract management. A poorly drafted contract is
bound to create friction between the planning team and
field team who are bound to indulge in a blame game
on account of faulty work caused by implementation
of a deficient contract.
The project management team in the field should
comprise of experienced personnel at different levels
in the hierarchy of the team. Last, but not the least, the
watch word is vigilance. Any vigilant owner will see
to it that the project is completed within the projected
time and cost. There is no substitute to alertness.
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March 2014

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INDIAN HIGHWAYS

A REVIEW OF ROAD AND ROAD TRANSPORT DEVELOPMENT

Number 3 March 2014

Membership Form A-1

Membership Form A-2

KUDOS to IRC Secretariat

New Publications Released

Effect of Type and Quantity of Binder on Rutting Characteristics of Bituminous Mix

Properties of Porous Friction Course Mixes for Flexible Pavements

Benefits of Mechanistic Approach in Flexible Pavement Design

Innovative Idea to Calculate the Tilt of a Well

Acceleration and Deceleration Behaviour of Truck on Indian Highway

Dispute Avoidance Practices on Construction Contracts

Circular Issued by MORT&H

Tender Notice of NH Circle, Madurai

Tender Notice of NH Circle, Tirunelveli

Tender Notice of NH Circle, Tirunelveli

The Indian Roads Congress

Founded : December 1934

Jamnagar House, Shahjahan Road,

Kama Koti Marg, Sector 6, R.K. Puram

From the Editors Desk

ROADS ENGINE OF GROWTH FOR ECONOMY,

INDIAN HIGHWAYS, March 2014

Place : New Delhi 

INDIAN HIGHWAYS, March 2014

Vishnu Shankar Prasad

INDIAN HIGHWAYS, March 2014

INDIAN HIGHWAYS, March 2014

INDIAN HIGHWAYS, March 2014

KUDOS to IRC Secretariat

New Publications RELEASED

INDIAN HIGHWAYS, March 2014

EFFECT OF TYPE AND QUANTITY OF BINDER ON RUTTING

Associate Professor, E-mail: manreddy@iitkgp.ac.in

quality of binder, volumetrics of mix such as amount

Civil Engineering Department, Indian Institute of Technology,

INDIAN HIGHWAYS, March 2014

gradation as per MoRT&H guidelines (2001), were

Aggregate Impact value

Los Angeles Abrasion value

2.2 Aggregate Gradation Adopted

2.4 Marshall Mix Design for Optimum Binder

2.3 Binders Used

Table 3 presents the Marshall parameters and resulting

Rheological Studies on Binders

Rheological parameters such as G*/ sin and zero

study, rutting potential of binder was evaluated by

Fig. 2 show the variation of G*/sin value with test

the samples. Relative rutting test results measured at

Rutting (mm) in Mixes with Binder

Effect of binder type and content on rutting

Fig. 3 Effect of Binder Type and Content on Rutting

With decrease in binder content from OBC, all the

3.2 Effect of Binder Content on Rutting

As optimum content of bituminous concrete mix

Fig. 6 Air Voids Vs Rut Depth for PMB 40 Mix

Fig. 4 Rutting at Obinder Content of Different Binders

3.4 Effect of Air Voids on Rutting

Fig. 7 Air Voids Vs Rut Depth for CRMB 60 Mix

Fig. 8 Air Voids Vs Rut Depth for all Binders

Fig. 5 Air Voids Vs Rut Depth for PMB 70 Mix

The correlations between rut depth and air voids have

Fig. 9 Air Voids (<3%) Vs Rut Depth for Different Mixes

Place : New Delhi

VCAm = 100 mb PCA

K = 198.9792 (a L/A tm) Tc log10[(h+h1)/(h+h2)]