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HIGHWAY RESEARCH JOURNAL

HIGHWAY RESEARCH
JOURNAL
Volume 7 No. 1
January - June 2014
Highway Research Board
Indian Roads Congress
Volume 7 No. 1 January – June 2014
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HIGHWAY RESEARCH
JOURNAL
* PAVEMENT
* TRAFFIC ENGINEERING
* bridge ENGINEERING
HIGHWAY RESEARCH BOARD

INDIAN ROADS CONGRESS
Volume 7 No. 1 January - June 2014

Written comments on the Papers published in this
Highway Research Journal are invited and may be sent
at hrb@irc.org.in before 30th August, 2014
(All Rights Reserved. No part of this Publication shall be reproduced, translated or

transmitted in any form or by any means without the permission of the
Indian Roads Congress)
The opinions and conclusions in this Journal are those of the

Authors and not of the IRC Highway Research Board
Edited and Published by Shri Vishnu Shankar Prasad, Secretary General, Indian Roads Congress, Jamnagar House,
Shahjahan Road, New Delhi on behalf of the Indian Roads Congress. Printed by Shri Madan Lal Goel on behalf of the
Indian Roads Congress at Aravali Printers & Publishers (P) Ltd., W-30, Okhla Industrial Area, Phase-II, New Delhi.
14,000 copies, January-June 2014.
Members of the IRC Highway research Board
(2012-2014)
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Special Secretary to the Govt. of India
Ministry of Road Transport & Highways,
Transport Bhawan, 1, Parliament Street,
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[In the event of DG(RD) not in position,
the President, IRC will function]

2. The Secretary General Secretary
(Shri Vishnu Shankar Prasad)
Indian Roads Congress,
Kama KotiMarg,
Sector 6, R.K. Puram,
Members
3. The President, IRC 8. The Member (Technical)
(Shri Sunil Bhowmik) (Shri M. P. Sharma)
Engineer-in Chief, PWD (R&B) National Highways Authority of India,
Government of Tripura, Plot No.G-5 & 6, Dwarka,
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Agartala-799 006
9. The Director (Technical)
4. The Director General Border Roads (Dr. I.K. Pateriya)
(Lt. Gen. A. T. Parnaik, SM, VSM) National Rural Roads Development Agency (NRRDA),
Seema Sadak Bhawan, 5th Floor, NBCC Towers,
Ring Road, Delhi Cantt., BhikajiCama Place,
NEW DELHI – 110 010 NEW DELHI – 110 066
5. The Additional Director General 10. The Director
(Shri V.L. Patankar) (Shri P.V.V.S.S. Ravi Prasad)
Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, Indian Academy of Highway Engineers,
Transport Bhawan, 1, Parliament Street, A-5, Institutional Area,
NEW DELHI – 110 001 Sector 62, NH-24 Bypass,
NOIDA – 201 301 (U.P.)
6. The Additional Director General
(Shri S.N. Das) 11. The Chief Engineer (Roads) SR&T
Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways,
Transport Bhawan, 1, Parliament Street, Transport Bhawan, 1, Parliament Street,
7. The Director 12. The Chief Engineer (Bridges) SR&T

(Dr. S. Gangopadhyay) (Shri A.P. Pathak)
CSIR-Central Road Research Institute, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways,
P.O. CRRI, Delhi-Mathura Road, Transport Bhawan, 1, Parliament Street,
13. The Engineer-in-Chief 21. The Chief Engineer (NH),
(Shri Mahesh Kumar) P.W.D. (Roads),
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(A. K. Singla) (Shri N.N. Deka)
Punjab P.W.D. B&R Branch, N.H. Works, Assam,
Nirman Bhawan, Chandmari,
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PATIALA-147 001 (Punjab)
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15. The Chief Engineer (NH), Quality Assurance and Research,
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PWD Rajasthan, 76, Sardar Patel Road, Guindy,
JAIPUR-302 006 (Rajasthan) CHENNAI – 600 025 (Tamil Nadu)
16. The Chief Engineer (NH) & Addl. Secretary 24. The Joint Director
(Shri P.N. Jain) Kerala Highway Research Institute,
R&B Deptt., PWD Kariyavattom,
Block No.14, 1st Floor, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM – 695 581 (Kerala)
New Sachivalaya,
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Gujarat Engineering Research Institute (GERI),
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(Shri P. S. Mandpe) VADODARA – 390 007 (Gujarat)
Public Works Region,
Konkan Bhawan, 26. The Director General
NAVI MUMBAI-400 614 (Shri D.D. Bhide)
(Maharashtra) Design, Training, Hydrology, Research & Safety
(DTHRS),
18. The Engineer-in-Chief (R&B), Admn. & NH Maharashtra Engineering Research Institute (MERI),
(Shri M. Gangadharam) Dindori Road,
R&B Department, NASHIK – 422 004 (Maharashtra)
Errummanzil,
HYDERABAD – 500 082 27. The Director
(Andhra Pradesh) UPPWD Research Institute and
Quality Promotion Organisation,
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(Shri M. Bhagat) LUCKNOW-226 001 (UP)
Road Construction Deptt.,
Engineering Hostel, 28. Dr. S.S. Jain
HEC, Dhurwa, Professor of Civil Engineering,
RANCHI-834 004 (Jharkhand) Deptt. of Civil Engineering,
Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee,
20. The Engineer-in-Chief-cum-Secretary ROORKEE – 247 667
to the Govt. of Odisha (Uttarakhand)
(Shri Nalini Kanta Pradhan)
Works Department, 29. Prof. A. Veeraragavan
Odisha Secretariat, Professor, Deptt. of Civil Engineering,
BHUBANESWAR – 751 001 (Odisha) Indian Institute of Technology Madras,
CHENNAI – 600 036 (Tamil Nadu)
30. Dr. P.K. Sarkar 37. The Chief Engineer
Professor, Deptt. of Transport Planning, (Shri K. K. Srivastava)
School of Planning & Architecture, Uttarakhand Rural Roads Agency,
E-799, C.R. Park, Opp. I.T. Park, Shastradhara Road,
NEW DELHI – 110 019 DEHRADUN- 248 001 (Uttarakhand)
31. Prof. L.S. Ramchandra 38. The Director
Head, Deptt. of Civil Engineering, (Shri G. Dinshaw)
Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur,
Central Institute of Road Transport,
KHARAGPUR-721 302 (West Bengal)
Post Box No. 1897, Bhosari,
32. Dr. Animesh Das Pune-Nasik Road,
Associate Professor, PUNE – 411 026 (Maharashtra)
Deptt. of Civil Engineering,
Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, 39. The President, Intercontinental Consultants &
KANPUR- 208 016 (Uttar Pradesh) Technocrats (ICT) Pvt. Ltd.,
A-9, Green Park,
33. The Chief Engineer, Panchayat & NEW DELHI – 110 016
Addl. Secretary,
(Shri S. B. Vasava) 40. The Jt. Managing Director,
Roads & Buildings Department, Consulting Engineers Group Limited,
New Sachivalay, C-478, 2nd Floor, Block-C,
GANDHINAGAR (Gujarat)-382 011 Vikas Puri,
34. The Chief Operating Officer NEW DELHI-110 018
(Shri Mahesh M. Hiremath)
41. The Director (Technical),
Karnataka Rural Road Development Agency,
Nirman Bhavan, II Floor, Scott Wilson India Pvt. Ltd.,
KSCC Building, B-210, Second Floor, C.R. Park,
Rajajinagar Ist Block, NEW DELHI – 110 019
Dr. Rajkumar Road,
BANGALORE-560 010 42. The Executive Director – Marketing,
(Karnataka) Oriental Structural Engineers Pvt. Ltd.,
21, Commercial Complex,
35. The Chief Engineer Malcha Marg, Diplomatic Enclave,
(Shri C. P. Tongden) NEW DELHI – 110 021
Rural Management & Development
Department, Tashiling, Secretariat, 43. The Vice-President,
GANGTOK (Sikkim) Gammon India Ltd.,
36. The Chief Executive Officer Library Tech., Gammon House,
(Shri Ranjit Kumar Majumder) Veer Savarkar Marg, Prabhadevi,
Tripura Rural Road Development Agency MUMBAI – 400 025
(TRRDA) & JS PWD,
Govt. of Tripura, Directorate of 44. The Director (Technical)
Urban Development, BSCPL Infrastructure Ltd.,
3rd Floor of Khadya Bhavan, M. No. 8-2-502/1/A, JIVI Towers,
Pandit Nehru Complex, Road No. 7, Banjara Hills,
AGARTALA – 799 006 Tripura (W) HYDERABAD – 500 034
Co-opted Members
45. Dr. L.R. Kadiyali 50. Dr. G.V.S. Raju

Chief Executive, Chief Engineer (Roads & Buildings),
M/s. L.R. Kadiyali & Associates, Rural Roads, Errummanzil,
RZ-44, Bhawani Kunj, HYDERABAD – 500 082
Behind D-2, Vasant Kunj,
NEW DELHI – 110 070 51. Shri K.S. Krishna Reddy
Chief Engineer
46. Shri D.P. Gupta “HARSHITHA”,
DG (RD) & AS (Retd.), MOST, No. 1333, 8th Cross,
D-21, Ground Floor, 11th Main, Judicial Layout,
Greater Kailash Enclave Part-I, GKVK Post,
BANGALORE – 560 065
52. Dr. G. L. Sivakumar Babu
47. Shri P.L. Bongirwar
Professor, Department of Civil Engineering,
(Principal Secretary (Retd.), Indian Institute of Science,
PWD Maharashtra) BANGALORE – 560 012
Advisor, L&T,
B/1102, Pataliputra CHS, 53. Prof. K. Sudhakar Reddy
Near Four Bunglow Signal, Deptt. of Civil Engineering,
Andheri (E), Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur,
KHARAGPUR-721 302
MUMBAI – 400 053
54. Dr. C.S.R.K. Prasad
48. Shri D. Sanyal
Professor & Head,
Managing Director, Transportation Division,
M/s. CRAPHTS Consultants (I) Pvt. Ltd., Department of Civil Engineering,
14/3, Mathura Road, National Institute of Technology,
FARIDABAD-121 003 (Haryana) WARANGAL – 506 004
(Andhra Pradesh)
49. Shri T. Elangovan
Scientist-G (Formerly Director),
National Transportation Planning &
Research Centre (NATPAC),
Sasthra Bhawan, Pattom Palace P.O.,
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM – 695 004 (Kerala)
contents
PAVEMENT Page
Prediction of Rut Depth in Bituminous Mixes Based on Creep and Aggregate Gradation Data 1
Satish Chandra, Haider Habeeb & Yassir Nashaat
Mix Design Optimization of Bituminous Concrete Using Genetic Algorithm 9
P.J. Gundaliya & A.K. Patel
Effect of Size of Coarse Aggregate and the Combined Grading of Coarse and Fine 21
Aggregate on Pavement Quality Concrete
S.B. Manjunatha & A.U. Ravishankar
TRAFFIC ENGINEERING
Study on Impact of High Speed Rail on Road Passenger Traffic in India 32
D. Siddi Ramulu & M. Selvakumar
Destination and Image Attributes Influencing Leisure Destination Choice 42
Rajat Rastogi, Hari Krishna M. & T. Pawanram
Ant Colony Optimization Algorithms for Vehicle Routing, Route Planning and Scheduling 55
Sanjeev Suman & Praveen Kumar
bridge ENGINEERING
Condition Survey and Rehabilitation of Bridges 66
C.V. Kand & Anant Jalgaonkar
PREDICTION OF RUT DEPTH IN BITUMINOUS MIXES BASED
ON CREEP AND AGGREGATE GRADATION DATA
Satish Chandra*, Haider Habeeb** & Yassir Nashaat***
ABSTRACT
The present study estimates the rut depth from aggregate gradation curve, static creep and dynamic creep test results. Three types of
aggregate gradation, two types of binders; VG-30 and Polymer Modified Bitumen (PMB-40) and two types of mixes Bituminous Concrete
(BC) and Dense Bituminous Macadam (DBM) are used. Static Creep and Dynamic Creep tests are conducted using Universal Testing
Machine (UTM). The results indicate that the accumulated strain in PMB-40 mixes is lower than that in mixes with VG-30. Aggregate
gradations have significant effect on accumulated strain and rutting. Rut depth models are developed using the results of static and dynamic
creep test and Gradation Ratio (GR) from aggregate gradation curve. These models can be used to predict the rut depth of an asphalt mix
at 60 0C, without actually doing the test.
1 INTRODUCTION The present study was taken up with the objective of

predicting the rut depth from aggregate gradation curve,
Creep is an important factor in flexible pavement design. static creep and dynamic creep test results. The effect of
This is especially true for pavements expected to be aggregate gradation and binder type on static creep, dynamic
exposed to heavy traffic and high tire pressure. Permanent creep and rut depth in bituminous mixes is evaluated and
deformation in a flexible pavement is contributed by each mathematical models to evaluate the rut depth at 60 0C from
layer including the bituminous layers. The creep test is used static creep and dynamic creep or aggregate gradation data
to estimate the rutting potential of bituminous mixtures by are suggested.
applying a static load to a mix specimen and measuring the
resulting permanent deformation with time [Robert et al., 2 BACKGROUND LITERATURE
1996]. Rutting in flexible pavements occurs because of the Permanent deformation (rutting) is one of the major distresses
accumulation of small permanent deformations in any of the causing failures of flexible pavements. Heavy truck traffic,
pavement layers or the subgrade. Such deformations may be increased wheel loads, and use of high-pressure radial tires have
caused by too much repeated stress applied to the pavement aggravated the problem in rutting of bituminous pavements
layers or by a mix that is too low in shear strength. In the first all over the world. Extremely expensive rehabilitation
case, the rutting is considered more a structural or construction process is required to eradicate the rutted pavements [Haroon
problem. It is generally the result of an under designed or and Hall, 2003]. Williams (2003) showed that mixes with
under compacted pavement section or of an unbound base or larger aggregate are typically more resistant to rutting than
subgrade that has been weakened by the intrusion of moisture. finer mixes. Al-Masseid et al. (1996) investigated the effect
In the second case, the rutting is normally a mixture design of rubber on dynamic and static creep characteristics of
or placement-related problem. When a flexible pavement bituminous mixtures. In dynamic creep test, mixes with four
layer has inadequate shear strength, a small but permanent rubber contents (0, 5, 10, and 20 %) by volume of binder were
o
shear deformation occurs each time a heavy truck applies a evaluated at three temperatures (20, 30 and 40 C). Half sine
load. A rut will then appear with enough load applications. loading was applied at three loading frequencies (1, 4, 8 Hz)
Most pavement surface rutting, at least for reasonably stiff and static creep test was also done with the same conditions
supporting materials, is confined to bituminous layers. as for dynamic creep test but with constant load. The test
Although rutting is one of the most common problems in results indicated that increase in rubber content and testing
flexible pavements, no rational model for its prediction temperature would reduce the dynamic modulus. It was
has been developed that encompasses all field variables. also found that the increase of rubber content would reduce
axial strain and rut depth. Al-Qadi (2002) studied the effect
Researchers have proposed few models to predict rutting,
of oil shale ash on permanent deformation in bituminous
and these are described by Fulie and Tom (2008).
The views expressed in the Paper are personal views of the author. For any query, the author may be contacted by e-mail.
*
**
Professor
Research Scholar } Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee-247 667, India.
e-mail: satisfce@iitr.ernet.in
*** Assistant Teacher, Department of Civil Engineering, Diyala University, Baquiba-601002, Iraq.
highway research journal, january – june 2014 1

Chandra, Habeeb & Nashaat on
Prediction of Rut Depth in Bituminous Mixes Based on Creep and Aggregate Gradation Data
mixtures. A Universal Testing Machine (UTM) was used to • Gradation M: Mid point of gradation range. The
run the creep test on Marshall specimens with five levels of nominal size of this gradation is 13.5 mm for BC and
oil shale ash. Dynamic creep test was performed at three load 26.5 mm for DBM mix.
frequencies (1, 4, 8 Hz) and static creep test used static load
of 100 kPa at three testing temperatures (5, 25, and 400C). • Gradation L: The lower limits of gradation range.
The results of the study indicated that the oil shale ash content The nominal size of this gradation is 13.5 mm for BC
had a slight effect on accumulated strain, stiffness modulus, and 26.5 mm for DBM mix.
and resilient modulus. The increase of oil shale ash content
Figs. 1 and 2 show the aggregate size distribution of three
reduced the accumulated strain and increased the stiffness
grading for two mixes used in the present study. The notations
modulus. Rabbira (2002) found that load carrying capacity
B and D are used to describe BC and DBM mixes and U, M
in pavements and other aggregate layers are increased greatly
and L to describe upper, middle and lower gradation in the
if the mixture is dense graded. In dense graded aggregates,
mix, respectively.
the larger particles are in contact with each other, developing
frictional resistance to shearing failure, and tightly bound Two types of binders, VG-30 (Viscosity Grade 30) and
together due to interlocking effect of the smaller particles. PMB-40 (Polymer Modified Bitumen) are used to prepare
Mohammed (2002) evaluated rut depths using static creep test the bituminous mix specimens. The physical properties of
data at three test temperatures with four repetitions of wheel two binders were evaluated as per IS: 73-2006 and IS: 15462
loads. Rutting prediction models for each definite combination -2004 and these are shown in Table 1.
of traffic and temperature were developed using the results of
creep tests and routine mix characteristics. This model can be
used to predict the rut depth of a mix at the actual temperature
with the actual number of wheel passes with the aid of routine
mix characteristics. El-Basyouny and Mamlouk (1999)
evaluated the effect of aggregate gradation on the rutting
potential of Superpave mixes. They prepared several mixtures
with different aggregate gradations, performed creep test, and
analyzed the results using the VESYS-3AM (a viscoelastic
multilayer program) to estimate rut depth of the different
mixtures. It is concluded that both the aggregate gradation
and aggregate nominal size affected the rut depth for specific
pavement section. They found that the mixtures prepared
using aggregate gradation passing below the restricted zone
on the Super pave gradation chart had better resistance to
rutting as compared to those made from aggregate gradation Fig. 1 Aggregate gradation for Bituminous Concrete (BC) mixes
passing through or above the restricted zone.
3 MATERIALS
One type of aggregate, two types of binders and two types of

mixes (Bituminous Concrete (BC) mix and Dense Bituminous
Macadam (DBM)) are used in this study. The crushed stone
aggregate (coarse, fine and filler) of limestone type was used
to prepare the bituminous mix specimens. The DBM and BC
layers are extensively used as base course and wearing course
layers respectively, on all major highways in India. These
mixes as specified in Ministry of Road Transport and Highways
(MoRTH-2001) Specifications are evaluated. Three aggregate
gradations were selected for each mix as described below:
• Gradation U: Upper limit of gradation range given in

MORTH-2001 specifications. The nominal size of this Fig. 2 Aggregate gradation for Dense Bituminous Macadam
gradation is 9.5 mm for BC and 19 mm for DBM mix. (DBM) mixes
2 highway research journal, january – june 2014

Table1 Physical Properties of Binders 4 EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM

Property VG-30 PMB-40 As mentioned earlier, Bituminous Concrete (BC) and Dense
Result Specified Result Specified Bituminous Macadam (DBM) mixes are used throughout
limit limit this study. The following tests were conducted.
Ductility at 270C (cm) 79 > 75 98 > 50
4.1 Optimum Bitumen Content
Penetration at 25 C,
0
68 50-70 43 30-50
100 gm (0.1) mm The Marshall Method of Mix Design as laid in ASTM
Softening point (0C) 52 > 47 72 > 60 D1559 (1989) was followed to determine Optimum
Flash point (0C) 260 > 220 235 > 220 Bitumen Content (OBC) in different mixes. Three
Difference in 2 ≤3 1 ≤3
specimens were prepared at 5 per cent, 5.5 per cent,
softening point (0C) 6.0 per cent, and 6.5 per cent for BC and 4 per cent,
4.5 per cent, 5.0 per cent, and 5.5 per cent for DBM,
Specific gravity at 250C 1.033 ……….. 1.045 ……….
and these were tested for stability, flow, air voids, unit
Kinematic viscosity 484 > 350 at 8.1 3-9 poise
weight and Voids in Mineral Aggregate (VMA). The
1350C at 1500C
(cSt) OBC was calculated as the average of bitumen content
for maximum stability, maximum unit weight, and 4.0
Elastic Recovery in 72 > 45 82 > 75
ductilometer at
per cent air voids. Table 2 shows the results of optimum
150C, % binder content for all mixes.
Table 2 Summary of Optimum Binder Content for Different Mixes

Mix type Gradation Binder Mix O.B.C Marshall Flow Marshall
type designation % Stability (kN) (mm) quotient
Lower PMB-40 DLP 4.60 15.1 4.0 3.8
Dense VG- 30 DLV 4.65 12.8 4.0 3.2
Bitumen
Macadam Middle PMB-40 DMP 4.75 14.1 3.7 3.8
VG- 30 DMV 4.80 13.2 3.2 4.1
Upper PMB-40 DUP 4.90 13.3 2.8 4.8
VG- 30 DUV 5.00 12.6 3.1 4.1
Lower PMB-40 BLP 5.15 16.1 3.4 4.7
VG- 30 BLV 5.20 14.5 3.2 4.5
Bitumen
Concrete Middle PMB-40 BMP 5.43 16.2 3.0 5.4
VG- 30 BMV 5.50 14.1 2.8 5.0
Upper PMB-40 BUP 5.64 12.2 2.3 5.3
VG- 30 BUV 5.70 11.1 2.2 5.0
4.2 Static Creep Test the creep test using the Linear Vertical Displacement
Transducers (LVDT). Accumulated strain was calculated as
The static creep test is considered important to obtain the the ratio between the measured deformation and the original
data for estimating potential deformation along the wheel specimen height. The test was conducted at 25°C temperature
path. The test is conducted by applying a static stress of
and specimens were conditioned in an environmental
100 kPa in one cycle of one hour loading and one hour
chamber for 2 hours prior to their testing.
unloading that provides information on mix response
characteristics (elastic/plastic). Specimens were prepared 4.3 Dynamic Creep Test
using two types of binders and three aggregate gradations.
The original height of the specimens was measured before The dynamic creep test was conducted on Marshall specimen
testing, while the axial deformation was measured during under unconfined conditions according to NCHRP 9-19

procedure. The test was conducted at 25°C after conditioning The aggregate size zone from 4.75 mm or (2.36 mm) to
the samples in an environmental chamber for 2 hours. Also 0.30 mm sieve is considered undesirable in a mix gradation
during the test, the specimen was initially conditioned for (Cominsky et al., 1994). This zone limits the inclusion of
10 minutes with 10 kPa static load to compensate for any large amounts of rounded particles, gives poor rutting and
sample variation. Thereafter, it was subjected to repeated hence is avoided. However, this zone is available more in
axial loading. The loading parameters consisted of a upper gradation in the middle and lower gradation. Also,
haversine wave shape with 100 kPa peak stress and 1 Hz the coarser aggregates have higher shear resistance than the
frequency. The load was applied for 0.1s followed by a rest finer aggregates and the rutting occurs in mixtures with low
period of 0.9s. A maximum of 3600 load cycles were applied shear resistance. Therefore, permanent strain reduces with
and accumulated strain, creep stiffness and resilient modulus increase in the maximum aggregate size.
were evaluated.
4.4 Wheel Tracking Test
The wheel tracking test is used to determine the resistance

to rutting of bituminous mixes. The test is conducted on
a rut tester in the laboratory on confined mould in which
slab specimen of dimensions (260 x 320 x 40 mm) is
rigidly restrained on its four sides (Yassir, 2012). The wheel
tracking apparatus consists of a loaded wheel which bears
on a sample held on a moving table. The table moves in
backward and forward motion with respect to the centre of
the top surface of the specimen. The test was conducted at Fig. 3 Creep behavior of BC mixes
60 0C at a load frequency of 110 passes per minute. The steel
wheel with solid rubber tire is applied with a load of 72 kg
and indents a straight path in the specimen. Each specimen
was tested for 10000 passes.
5 TEST RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The results obtained from the laboratory tests are presented

and discussed in the following sections:
5.1 Accumulated Strain in Static Creep Test
Accumulated strain is the ratio of measured deformation Fig. 4 Creep behavior of DBM mixes
to the original spsecimen height at certain time during the
test duration. Figs. 3 to 5 show the accumulated strain with
time for different mixes in static creep test. As may be seen,
the mixes with PMB-40 have better performance than those
with VG-30. It is attributed to the viscosity of the binder
as increased resistance to rutting is offered by stiffer (high
viscosity) binder. The BC mixes exhibited higher accumulated
strain values than the Dense Bituminous Macadam (DBM)
mixtures. In the case of DBM mixes, the mix prepared
with upper gradation had the highest creep deformation,
followed by the mix prepared with lower gradation. The mix
with mid gradation show the lowest deformation. However,
in the case of BC, the mix prepared with lower gradation
shows the lowest creep deformation. It can be explained on
Fig. 5 Permanent deformation after 60 minutes of static loading in
the basis of difference in gradation of DBM and BC mixes. different mixes

5.2 Accumulated Strain in Dynamic Creep Test
Accumulated strain (Єd) is the ratio between the deformation

under repeated load and the original height of specimen. It
was calculated by using the following equation.
.............1
where,
Єd (n,T) : The dynamic accumulated strain of the mixture

after (n) loading at loading temperature (T) in oC,
Fig. 8 Accumulated strain in different mixes after 3600 pulses
Δh: The axial deformation in mm.
5.3 Rut Depth
ho: The original thickness of specimen before test in mm.
The Rut Depth (RD) values in 12 mixes at 600C are presented
Figs. 6 to 8 show accumulated strain (percent) with number in Table 3 and Figs. 9 to 11. The mixes with PMB-40 had
of pulses for different types of mixes. As may be seen, better performance than those with VG-30 and the BC mixes
the mixes with PMB-40 show lower accumulated strain exhibited higher rutting values than DBM. Fig. 12 shows a
compared to mixes with VG-30 and the BC mixes exhibited plot between accumulated strain in static creep test and rut
higher accumulated strain than the Dense Bitumen Macadam depth and Fig. 13 shows the relationship between dynamic
(DBM) mixtures. This trend is similar to the one observed creep (accumulated strain %) test data and rut depth. These
in static creep test and could be due to higher percentage of Figures indicate good relations of rut depth with accumulated
coarse aggregates in DBM mixes. strain in both static and dynamic creep tests. Rut depth
increases as the accumulated strain increases. The following
relations are developed.
RD = 8×10-8 × (Єps) 2 – 0.0012(Єps) + 6.54 .............2

(R2 = 0.92)
RD = 36.77(Єpd) + 0.2402 .............3
(R2 = 0.87)
Where, RD = Rut depth in mm at 600C, Єps= Permanent strain

microstrain from static creep at 250C, and (Єpd) = Permanent
strain (%) from dynamic creep at 250C. The above empirical
relations can be used to predict rut depth potential of a mix
Fig. 6 Accumulated strain at different pulse count for DBM mixes without actually doing the rutting test and will be extremely
helpful when performance of two or more mixes is to be
compared.
Fig.7 Accumulated strain at different pulse count for BC mixes Fig. 9 Rut wheel depth for DBM mixes

Fig. 10 Rut wheel depth for BC mixes
Fig. 12 Rut depth vs strain in static creep test
Fig. 13 Rut depth vs dynamic creep strain

Fig. 11 Accumulated rut depth in different mixes after 10,000 passes
Table 3 Rut Depth Values for Different Mixes

Cycle DLV DMV DUV DLP DMP DUP BUV BMV BLV BLP BMP BUP
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
10 0.47 0.63 1.44 0.44 0.66 0.5 0.01 0.65 0.95 0.67 1.13 1.17
50 0.57 0.87 1.57 0.75 0.81 0.71 0.16 0.89 1.04 0.76 1.39 1.37
100 0.77 0.95 1.7 0.94 1.02 0.78 0.25 0.96 1.11 0.88 1.45 1.49
250 0.9 1.03 1.91 1.05 1.11 0.88 1.26 1.16 1.16 0.99 1.57 1.67
500 1.19 1.36 1.98 1.13 1.15 1.02 1.9 1.37 1.22 1.24 1.78 1.86
1000 1.26 1.5 2.22 1.21 1.19 1.14 2.3 1.75 1.35 1.38 1.97 2.3
2000 1.53 1.91 2.49 1.35 1.25 1.47 3.3 2.34 1.75 1.64 2.37 2.78
3000 1.85 2.13 2.84 1.42 1.36 1.55 4.3 2.8 2.14 1.93 2.53 3.12
5000 2.24 2.45 3.1 1.61 1.49 1.93 5.4 3.74 2.98 2.26 2.87 3.61
7000 2.62 2.82 3.34 1.66 1.61 1.98 6.3 4.49 3.91 2.46 3.27 3.98
10000 2.9 3.12 3.8 1.68 1.72 2.02 7.01 5.53 4.4 2.7 3.8 4.2
6 DISCUSSION .............4
Many researchers have indicated that rutting in a bituminous Gradation Ratio (GR) will indicate the type of aggregate
mix is greatly influenced by the aggregate gradation. grading. Larger the value of GR, denser will be the gradation.
The aggregate gradation indicates degree of packing of However, it should not be construed as a measure of particle
aggregate particles in a mix. Uniform gradation will provide to particle contact which mainly depends on voids in
a better packing than a gap graded mix. Shape of grain size aggregate in its dry rodded conditioned. The values of GR
obtained from grain size distribution curves for DBM and
distribution curve can be defined by three sizes; D85, D50 and
BC are given in Table 4.
D15 where D85 is the sieve size through which 85 per cent
of the aggregates would pass. A parameter called Gradation Attempt is made to correlate accumulated strain and rut
Ratio (GR) as given by Equation 4 is introduced in this study depth in a mix with GR. Figs. 14 to 16 show the effect of
to represent the shape of a gradation curve. GR on accumulated strain for static and dynamic creep test

and rut wheel depth. A good correlation is found between It should be noted that gradation ratio is able to predict mix
the aggregate gradation and three performance parameters property through a single relation for both DBM and BC.
of the mix. The relation is straight line as given below.
Table 4 Gradation Ratio Obtained from Grain Size
.............5
Distribution Curve
Mix Gradation D15 D 50 D 85 GR where Y is the mix property (accumulated strain in static creep,
Dense Upper 0.15 4.0 15.0 2.86 accumulated percent strain in dynamic creep or rut depth in wheel
Bitumen tracking test) and GR is the Gradation Ratio (GR); a and b are
Middle 0.33 6.0 20.0 2.47 constants and their values for the different properties of the mix
Macadam
and binder are given in Table 5.
Lower 0.70 10.0 23.0 1.40
Table 5 Values of a and b in Equation 5
Bitumen Upper 0.10 1.3 8.5 6.00
Concrete Variable Variable Binder Type
Middle 0.13 2.3 11.0 4.01
Y X PMB-40 VG-30
Lower 0.21 4.0 16.0 3.17
a b R2 a b R2
Static
creep GR 3180 2441.9 0.87 10317 1372.4 0.85
(Microstrain)
Dynamic
creep GR -0.004 0.0219 0.85 0.0532 0.0176 0.70
( Strain %)
Rut depth
GR 0.4587 0.695 0.90 1.1137 0.9532 0.95
(mm)
The above empirical relations can be used to predict

Fig. 14 Effect of Gradation Ratio (GR) on permanent accumulated strain and rut depth in a mix without actually
deformation in static creep doing the rutting test and will be extremely helpful when
performance of 2 or more mixes is to be compared.
7 VALIDATION OF RUT DEPTH MODELS
Rut depth in earlier section is related to permanent deformation

strains in static and dynamic creep test through Equations
2 and 3 and to aggregate GR through Equation 5. These
Equations are now tested for their accuracy in prediction of
rut depth. Fig. 17 shows the prediction and actual rut depth
in 12 mixes used in this study. As may be seen, all the data
points are very close to 450 line indicating a good accuracy of
Fig. 15 Effect of Gradation Ratio (GR) on permanent rut models developed in this study.
deformation in dynamic creep
Fig. 16 Effect of Gradation Ratio (GR) on rut depth Fig. 17 Comparison of predicted and actual rut depth

8 CONCLUSIONS Engineering. Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid.

Jordan, pp 79-92.
Rutting in a flexible pavement occurs due to accumulation 3. ASTM D 1559, (1989), “Resistance of Plastic Flow of Bituminous
of permanent strain in its different layers. The rutting in Mixtures Using Marshall Apparatus”, American Society for
bituminous base and wearing course layers is dependent Testing and Materials.
upon several factors like type of binder, type of aggregate 4. Cominsky, R.; Leahy, R. B., and Harrigan, E. T. (1994), “Level One
Mix Design: Material Selection, Compaction, and Conditioning”,
and gradation of the mix. In the present study twelve types
Report SHRP-A-408. Strategic Highway Research Program
of mixes made with different combinations of aggregate National Research Council. USA.
gradations, binder types and asphalt layer are evaluated
5. El-Basyouny, M.M. and Mamlouk, M.S (1999), “Effect of
for their rutting potential. The results indicate that the mix Aggregate Gradation on Rutting Potential of Superpave Mixes”,
prepared with PMB-40 has higher resistance to rutting than Paper presented at 78th annual meeting of the Transportation
those prepared with VG-30. Further, the BC mixes exhibited Research Board, Washington D.C.
higher accumulated strain during static and dynamic creep 6. Fujie Zhou and Tom S., (2008), “A Review of Performance Model
test and higher rut depth values than the DBM mixes. It is and Test Procedure with Recommendations for Use in the Texas
M-E Design Program”, Texas Transportation Institute, USA.
attributed to the larger size of aggregate used in the DBM
mix. Mathematical relations are developed between rut 7. Haroon I. S. and Hall, J, (2003), “Rutting of Asphalt Concrete
Pavements”, Transportation Research Board, National Research
depth and accumulated strain in both static and dynamic Council, Washington D.C., Paper No. 226.
creep test. These relations are linear for dynamic creep test
8. IS 73 (2006), “Paving Bitumen Specifications”, Bureau of Indian
and polynomial for static creep test. Rut depth increases as Standards, New Delhi, India.
the accumulated strain in the mix increases. Rut depth is also
9. IS 15462 (2004), “Polymer and Rubber Modified Bitumen
found to be related with aggregate gradation of the mix. A Specifications”, Bureau of Indian standards, New Delhi, India.
new term Gradation Ratio (GR) is introduced in this Paper to
10. Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH 2001),
describe the shape of the gradation curve, and a linear model “Specifications for Road and Bridge Works”, Indian Roads
is developed between rut depth and gradation ratio. Three Congress, New Delhi.
models are internally validated by predicting the rut depth in 11. Mohamed E.A. Motaleb, (2002), “Development of Rutting
12 mixes used in this study. The relations developed in this Prediction Model for Paving Mixes Using Creep Test”, Science
Paper are important as they can provide estimate of rut depth and Technology Journal, Zagazig University, Egypt.
after 10,000 passes in a wheel track test without actually 12. National Cooperative Highway Research Program, (2003)
doing the wheel tracking test. Further study is required for “Superpave Support and Performance Models Management”,
NCHRP, Project 9-19. Dynamic Creep Test.
external validation of these models with different types of
aggregates. 13. Rabbira G., (2002), “Permanent Deformation Properties of
Asphalt Concrete Mixtures”, Ph.D Thesis, Department of Road
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT and Railway Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and
Technology, Trondheim, Norway.
The Authors are grateful to the Indian Institute of Technology 14. Roberts, F. L., Kandhal, P. S., Brown, E. R., Lee, D., and Kennedy,
Roorkee (IIT Roorkee) and Thiqar University (Iraq) for T., (1996), “Hot Mix Asphalt Materials, Mixtures, Design, and
Construction”, NAPA Education Foundation, Lanham, Maryland.
financial and technical support provided during course of
Second Edition, pp. 241-250.
this study.
15. Universal Testing Machine, UTM, Test No. 020, (1999), “Feed
REFERENCES Back Controlled Static Uniaxial Loading Strain Test”, BS 598:
Part III: 1995.
1. Al-Masseid, H. R., T. S. Khedaywwi, E. O. Al-Adamat, (1996) 16. Williams, S.G., (2003), “The Effect of HMA Mix Characteristic on
“Effect of Rubber on Dynamic and Static Creep Characterization Rutting Susceptibility”, Transportation Research Board, National
of Asphalt Concrete Mixtures”, Transportation Research Record Research Council, Washington D.C.
1417, TRB, National Research Council, Washington, D.C.
pp. 93-98. 17. Yasser, N. A. (2012), “Effect of Aggregate Gradation and Binder
Type on Durability and Performance of Bituminous Mixes”, M.
2. Al-Qadi, A. N., (2002), “Effect of Oil Shale Ash on Fatigue Tech. Thesis, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Roorkee,
Behavior and Rutting of Flexible Pavement”, Master Thesis, Civil Roorkee, India.

MIX DESIGN OPTIMIZATION OF BITUMINOUS CONCRETE
USING GENETIC ALGORITHM
P. J. Gundaliya* & A.K. Patel**
ABSTRACT
To prevent the pavement failure with considering economic criteria, the mix needs to be designed optimally, which will satisfy various
parameters, like, minimum distance to the midpoint gradation, volumetric parameters for the mix, as per the MORTH and the cost
minimization.
In this study, methodology is developed to find out optimum mix using Genetic Algorithm (GA) technique. The optimization problem is
formulated for minimizing cost with constraints like, minimum distance to midpoint gradation, strength of mix and limits of volumetric
parameters.
The model is developed considering the Bituminous Concrete (BC) mix. The parameter, like, film thickness of bitumen is found by
calibrating model with the available data of BC mix. Results of developed model output are then validated with the result of actual mix
design. The accuracy of the method is checked with the mix design which was practically done and found to be quite satisfactory. However,
the model developed is based on past results and which may not reflect other physical properties of mix. The developed method can also be
used for different types of mixes, like, SDBC, DBM, etc. with certain assumptions.
1 GENERAL standard gradation and to find out optimum bitumen content

by Marshall stability method, which is time consuming and
Aggregate blending consists of finding the proportions costly. The main question was that, what kind of mixture
of fractions to form a final blend satisfying predefined
performance will be obtained if those requirements were
specifications. It is a problem which is posed in many ways,
violated but with proper design of aggregate that will result
and solved by using different techniques. These techniques
range from simple graphical methods to advanced computer in a stable mixture without compromising the durability in
methods like linear and nonlinear programming. The design terms of age hardening and resistance to moisture damage.
of a bituminous concrete mix consists of the determination A well designed aggregate will result in less interconnected
of an economical blend and gradation of aggregates together air voids that will minimize the penetration of air and water
with the necessary content of bitumen to produce a mixture through the pavement structure. The main objective of this
that will be durable, have the stability to withstand traffic research is to design optimum mix for the bituminous layer
loads, and be workable for placement and compaction using Genetic Algorithm. This was achieved by incorporating
with the construction equipment available. This process optimization model for mix design of bituminous layer
proves as faster solution and provides quick information which is time saving method, minimizing cost of mix and
for different types of materials used. In this study attempt is reduces distance to midpoint gradation (Pre defined limits).
made to formulate multi-objective optimization problem for
aggregate blending problem and optimum bitumen content. 3 GENETIC ALGORITHM
As the problem formulated is having conflict objective and
complex in nature therefore it is solved by using Genetic One of the central challenges of computer science is to
Algorithms. get a computer to do what needs to be done, without
telling it how to do it. Genetic Algorithms addresses
2 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY this challenge by providing a method for automatically
The primary objective of proposed study was to provide a creating a working computer program from a high-level
quick solution for the mix design of bituminous mix which problem statement. Genetic Algorithm achieves this goal
provide cost effective as well as satisfying the requirement of automatic programming (also sometimes called program
of the standard laid down by Ministry of Road Transport and synthesis or program induction) by genetically breeding
Highways (MORTH). The present practice for mix design a population using the principles of Darwinian natural
of bituminous mix is mainly divided in two parts; one is selection and biologically inspired operations (Goldberg,
optimum blending to get by trial and error method to satisfy the 1989). The operations include reproduction, crossover
* Associate Professor in Civil Engineering, L. E. College Morbi (Gujarat), e-mail: pjgundaliya@gmail.com
** Assistant Professor in Civil Engineering, Government Polytechnic, Himatnagar, e-mail: ashutech.asp@gmail.com

Gundaliya & Patel on
Mix Design Optimization of Bituminous Concrete Using Genetic Algorithm
(sexual recombination), mutation, and architecture- problem can be put into the form of an optimization problem
altering operations patterned after gene duplication and with the introduction of one or more of the following
gene deletion in nature. Genetic Algorithm is a domain- objectives:
independent method that genetically breeds a population to
solve a problem. Specifically, Genetic Algorithm iteratively 4.1.1 Cost Optimization
transforms a population into a new generation by applying The total cost of the blend can be calculated as the sum of
analogs of naturally occurring genetic operations. The genetic the costs of the fractions as:
operations include crossover, mutation, reproduction, gene
duplication, and gene deletion.
.............4
4 AGGREGATE BLENDING
.............5
Many researchers have considered aggregate blending
problem as linear program problem. This is expressed as
follows: where, C is the total cost of the blend, and Cj is the cost
of the jth type of aggregate material, xj is the proportion of
Let n be the number of sieves in the sieve analysis. Let m be jth type of aggregate material, Cb is the cost of the bitumen
the number of aggregate type that are used in the grading, and xb is the optimum bitumen content, which is of course
having gradation curves characterized by a function of the amount used of fraction j and bitumen b.
Then an objective like “minimize C” can be inserted to the
problem to make it an optimization problem.
expressed as passing percentages by weight of fraction j at
4.1.2 Gradation Optimization
sieve i. If X = [X1, X2, …, Xm]T is the vector representing
the proportions of the fractions to be used in a blend, the As stated above, the usual grading constraints are given as an
resulting grading curve would be given by quantities: upper limit and a lower limit, imposing the condition that the
final blend should be within the envelope defined by the limits.
.............1 Actually, any solution found near the limits, though satisfying
them, is liable to be violated in the next sampling, due to the
where, probabilistic nature of the problem. Secondly, if an envelope
is given, it is always better to be away from the limits in
.............2a order to achieve a qualitatively better result since these limits
mark the start of regions with unacceptable results. Thus one
.............2b may impose an objective that the final blend will be as far as
possible from the limits, though within the given envelope.
In general, the required grading is given by two curves,
This argumentation results in defining a target gradation
one specifying the upper limit, and the other the which is the median of the envelope, with the vector:
lower limit. The upper limit sieve passing percentages
are characterized by u{ui,i,2,.....,n} and the lower q{qi = (ui+li), i=1,2,K,n} .............6
limit sieve passing percentages are characterized by
l{li,i=1,2,.....,n}along with the conditions ui > li,i= 1,2,.....,n If the target is chosen as the median of the envelope, it will
so that the final gradation will remain within these limits: be equidistant from the upper and lower bounds and thus will
not favorites running over the limits on one of the sides.
li < pi < ,ui,= 1,2,.....,n .............3
In the literature there are other curves that may be chosen
Thus, the problem can be stated as finding an m dimensional as the target, like Fuller’s “ideal” grading curve based upon
vector x such that m non negativity conditions (Eqn. 2a), 2n considerations of obtaining a mix with minimum voids
inequalities (Eqn. 3) and one equality constraint (Eqn. 2b), (Neville 2002). In these curves the cumulative passing
(thus totally m + 2n + 1 constraints) will be satisfied. percentage at a sieve is equal to the normalized sieve size
raised to the power of a number in the order of 0.45 or 0.50.
4.1 Optimality Condition Here the normalization is obtained by dividing the sieve size
to the largest sieve size used for the aggregate at hand. If
In the formulations above the problem is merely an existence such a target curve is used, attention should be paid to its
problem, without having any optimization aspect. In fact, the concordance with the other constraints of the grading.

In any case, the corresponding objective is to make p as (ranging from 4 to 13 microns) and the aging characteristics
close as possible to q, the target, or, in other words, to make of a dense-graded HMA (Hot Mix Asphalt) mix so that
the “length” of the vector p-q as small as possible. So the an optimum average asphalt film thickness desirable for
objective becomes the minimization of δ=‫׀׀‬p-q‫׀׀‬ satisfactory mix durability could be established. Based
on the past research experience, an average asphalt film
Where, δ is a measure of the “distance” between the vectors thickness of 8 to 10 microns is recommended and has been
p and q and may be calculated in a variety of ways. used in this study.
5 ASPHALT FILM THICKNESSES 5.1 Validation
Research studies have shown that asphalt mix durability Volumetric mix designs were conducted on several different
is directly related to asphalt film thickness Kandhal and mixes. The design parameters are shown in Table 1.
Chakraborty (1996) Therefore, the minimum Voids in
Mineral Aggregate (VMA) should be based on the minimum Table 1 Mix Design Results
desirable asphalt film thickness rather than a minimum Mix Properties
asphalt content because latter will be different for mixes BC VIM VMA VFB Avg. Film
with different gradations. McLeod (1959) recommended % Th. (µm)
that the VMA, which is the volume of voids between the sample 1 5.02 4.47 17.33 74.20 9.85
aggregate particles, should be restricted to a minimum value sample 2 5.16 4.85 17.37 72.08 10.07
of 15 per cent, the volume of the air voids (within the VMA) sample 3 5.31 4.87 17.57 72.28 8.67
should lie between 3 and 5 per cent, which in turn restricted sample 4 5.87 4.78 15.92 69.96 8.23
the volume of asphalt cement binder in the compacted
VMA - Void in Mineral Aggregate, VIM - Voids In Mix, VFB-Voids
mixture to a permissible minimum of 10 per cent by volume.
Filled with Bitumen, BC - Bituminous Concrete
Therefore, his proposal for a specification of a minimum
15 per cent VMA, along with 5 per cent air voids, Asphalt film thickness for each mix was calculated from the
automatically established a minimum asphalt content of about mix design results based on the optimum asphalt content
4.5 per cent by weight (10 per cent by volume). McLeod’s and surface area. Following is an example of how the
calculations were based upon a bulk specific gravity of 2.65 average asphalt film thickness for mix was calculated. It is
for the aggregate and 1.01 for the asphalt cement. Campen, recommended that minimum average asphalt film thickness
Smith, Erickson and Mertz (1958) presented the relationship be used to ensure mix durability instead of minimum VMA.
between voids, surface area, film thickness and stability for
A minimum average thickness of 8 microns is recommended
dense graded Hot Mix Asphalt. On the basis of the data
at this time. (Kandhal and Chakraborty (1996) The film
they analyzed, average film thicknesses ranging from 6 to
thickness can be calculated from the asphalt content and
8 microns were found to have provided the most desirable
surface area of the aggregate as shown in an example in this
pavement mixtures. They also concluded that the film
thickness decreases as the surface area of the aggregate is Paper.
increased. However, the asphalt binder requirement of a mix Table 2 Calculating Surface Area from Aggregate
is not directly proportional to its surface area. The asphalt Gradation of BC Grade – I Mix
binder requirement was found to increase as the surface area Sieve size Percent SAF (m2/kg) Surface Area
was increased, but at a rate much lower than that guided by mm passing (m2/kg)
a relationship of direct proportionality. 26.5 99.885 0.41 0.41
19 92.479 0 0.00
5.1 Rational Approach 13.2 68.600 0 0.00
9.5 57.652 0 0.00
Rather than specifying a minimum VMA requirement based 4.75 49.252 0.41 0.20
on minimum asphalt content as recommended by McLeod 2.36 37.892 0.82 0.31
and adopted by Super pave, a more rational approach is to 1.18 27.859 1.64 0.46
directly specify a minimum, average asphalt film thickness 0.6 18.824 2.87 0.54
0.3 11.970 6.14 0.73
to ensure the durability of asphalt mixtures. For dense
0.15 7.553 12.29 0.93
graded mixtures, Campen, Smith, Erickson and Mertz 0.075 5.189 32.77 1.70
(1958) recommend an average film thickness ranging from Σ= 5.2829
6 to 8 microns. Kandhal and Chakraborty (1996) quantified SAF – Surface Area Factor
the relationship between various asphalt film thicknesses

Solution: Where,
Specific gravity of asphalt = 1.015
VMA = 17.33, VIM = 4.47, OBC = 5.02

Waebis weight of effective asphalt binder in
Weight of asphalt binder
SA is total surface area in m2 /kg
= 0.1286x1000 kg/m3x1.015=130.529 kg
Tb is film thickness at optimum asphalt content in m
Weight of aggregate = kg
SGb is specific gravity of asphalt in kg/m3
Weight of asphalt per kg of aggregate = kg
Subjected to;
Asphalt film thickness = μm
To find out distance between vectors p and q;
The current method of calculating aggregate surface area
uses surface area factors as given in the Asphalt Institute
Manual Series 2. The background research data for these
surface area factors could not be found in the literature.
Further research is needed to verify these surface area δx is function of Xi, i= 1,2 ……,n
factors. However, the current surface area factors can be used
at this study to calculate the “average” asphalt film thickness Pi is achieved limits of gradation,
because (a) the optimum film thicknesses (such as 8 to 10
microns) recommended in the literature are based on these qi is median of upper and lower limits,
factors, and (b) they are considered adequate for comparison
purposes. In the present study afford is made to optimize
film thickness which gives the volumetric parameters within Π(x) is the function for satisfying volumetric parameters.
the specified limits.
VMAb and VFBb are the functions of Xi, i = 1,2 ……,n &
6 FORMULATION MODEL Xb
6.1 Objective Function VMAc and VFBc are the medians of the limits provided by
MORTH.
In order to compare and evaluate the fitness values of
chromosomes, a proper objective function has to be defined. Where,
For a multi-objective problem like this one, this can be
achieved in a number of ways (Ehrgott 2000, Triantaphyllou
2000). The objective function is minimizing cost of the mix
considering sieve analysis of various type of aggregate and
optimum asphalt content. The formulation of an objective
function is as follows:
.............7
C is the objective function to be minimized. C is the cost of

the mix;
xi is the sum of proportion of various aggregate type,
Cj is the cost of the jth type of aggregate,
Tl is the value of lower limit of asphalt film thickness,
Xj is the proportion of the jth type of aggregate,
Cb is the cost of asphalt, Tb is the value of asphalt film thickness at optimum asphalt
content,
Xb is the optimum asphalt content,
Tu is the value of upper limit of asphalt film thickness.

The objective is to minimize the cost as well as the mix For mutation, simple invert mutation, simple random
should not violate the specified limits of grading, VMA,VFB, mutation, and swap mutation are tried, and it is found that
VA etc. With this choice objective function will be simple random mutation performs better. Out of roulette
and uniform random selection, roulette selection performed
- Being as close as possible to the midpoint gradation batter. It is found that a seed value of 1.0 gives an improved
(minimize δ),
value of the objective function as compared to other seed
- Obtaining a least cost solution (minimize C), values between 1 and 10. Different values for the pool size
are tried and it is found that the pool size of 100 performed
- Satisfying the constraints to remain in the prescribed better. For the pool size of 100, GA procedure is carried
envelope (minimize Π until it vanishes, if possible). out up to 500 generations for different crossover rates and
mutation rates.
Fitness function
8 CALIBRATION AND VALIDATION OF MODEL
It is very difficult to arrive at the equality conditions. The
function is multi objective and hence, complex function. It The developed model is calibrated and validated using
is very difficult to solve with available traditional methods, twelve collected samples. The parameters like film thickness,
therefore, in this study GA is preferred to get optimal feasible range of aggregate proportions, volumetric parameters are
solution for the developed model. For this fitness function decided after taking inputs of the two samples and necessary
is formulated as below. In this application, an appropriate adjustment made at the end of the run of these two samples
choice would be to use the weighted sum model and to in the model, than after model is validated with the other
combine the three objectives into one, as collected samples. Model is run 50 times by taking various
øx=λδδx+λcCx+λπПx .............8 alternates for different range of film thickness, aggregate
proportions and volumetric parameters. It is found that
Where, the appropriate range for film thickness is 8 to 10 micron.
The details analysis of calibration process is illustrated as
λδ, λc,+λπ are non-negative factors for arranging the existence follows:
and relative importance of the terms in the objective function.
The weight is decided by first run of GA. 8.1 Sample - 1
7 CODING AND GA APPLICATION Tables 3 and 4 shows result of experimental and model
output. It can be seen from the results that the distance
The computer program prepared using C language.
from the midpoint gradation (δ =65.350) is optimized but
The program is run on a computer with a Pentium IV
it is nearly equal to as obtained from the manual design
microprocessor and with Linux operating system. This
(δ =64.402). This may be because of the reason that GA
program is linked with LibGA program version 1.00
has to satisfy other constraints like minimum possible
developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
costing of the mix (optimization of the cost), maintain the
(MIT), USA. The GA operators like cross over, mutation,
pool size are decided after series of runs. Runs are performed volumetric parameters within the limits. This shows that
with 500 generations. The variable coding are defined with the experimental gradation is found closed to the midpoint
chromosome length 40, which consist of the variables gradation, however on the other hand it can be seen that the
var1ga.dat (Aggregate1Gi1), var2ga.dat (Aggregate2Gi2), model minimize the cost as compare to existing output. It is
var3ga.dat (Aggregate 3 Gi3) and var4ga.dat (asphalt film observed that model reduces the cost of the mix by at least 5
thickness). These variables are also been defined with per cent as compared to the manual design. From the Fig. 2
upper and lower limits of input. These limits are finalized it can be seen that at the optimum bitumen content (say 4.72)
after several runs of model, parameter sensitivity and from given by model output, the flow value is 2.52 mm, which is
literature studied. The reproduction proportion is set to 0.25, within the limit. From the Fig. 3 it can be seen that at the
with mutation probability 0.1 and crossover probability is optimum bitumen content (say 4.72) given by model output,
0.90. Different GA parameters are decided after several runs the stability value is 1098 kg, which is also within the limit.
for the proposed objective function.
Here, Costl is cost of agg. of size 16-26 mm ,Cost2 is cost of
The two types of crossovers, uniform and simple, are tried, agg. of size 7-16 mm, Cost3 is cost of agg. of size 4 - 7 mm,
and it is found that simple crossover gives better results. Cost4 is cost of stone dust, Cost B is cost of bitumen.

Table 4 Model Output

S.S. pi qi (pi-qi)2 SA
26.5 99.867 100 0.018 0.409
19 92.745 89.5 10.53 0
13.2 71.345 69 5.499 0
9.5 61.491 62 0.259 0
4.75 50.205 45 27.092 0.206
2.36 38.062 36 4.252 0.312
1.18 28.342 27 1.801 0.465
0.6 19.138 21 3.467 0.549
0.3 11.783 15 10.349 0.723
0.15 8.124 9 0.767 0.998
0.075 3.853 5 1.316 1.263
Fig. 1 Cost comparison as per Existing Output and Model Output
Sum D=65.350 4.925
VA 4 Cost 1 (cost of agg. 0.00048
Table 3 Existing Output
size 16-26 mm)
S.S. pi qi (pi-qi)2 SA VMA 16.157 Cost 2 (cost of agg. 0.00043
26.5 100 100 0 0.41 size 7-16 mm)
VFB 75.043 Cost 3 (cost of agg. 0.00034
19 91.67 89.5 4.709 0 size 4 - 7 mm)
13.2 73.98 69 24.8 0 Total SA 4.925 Cost 4 (cost of Stone 0.0003
9.5 66.03 62 16.241 0 dust)
AC 4.72 Cost B (Cost of 0.02525
4.75 45.62 45 0.384 0.187 bitumen)
2.36 36.85 36 0.723 0.302 Film Th. 99 Actual Cost of agg. 0.08423
1.18 27.11 27 0.012 0.445 size 16-26 mm
Percent 1 0.17 Actual Cost of agg. 0.12596
0.6 17.56 21 11.834 0.504
size 7-16 mm
0.3 12.11 15 8.352 0.744 Percent 2 0.28 Actual Cost of agg. 0.05741
0.15 7.98 9 1.04 0.981 size 4 - 7 mm
Percent 3 0.16 Actual Cost of Stone 0.12249
0.075 4.01 5 0.98 1.314 dust
Sum D=69.075 4.886 Percent 4 0.39 Actual Cost of bitumen 3.67792
VA 4.65 Cost 1 (cost of agg. size 0.000475 Total Cost 4.06801
16-26 mm)
VMA 17.1 Cost 2 (cost of agg. size 0.00043
7-16 mm)
VFB 70.5 Cost 3 (cost of agg. size 0.00034
4 - 7 mm)
Total SA 4.886 Cost 4 (cost of Stone dust) 0.000295
AC 5.16 Cost B (Cost of bitumen) 0.02525
Film Th. 98.5 Actual Cost of agg. size 0.088099
16-26 mm
Percent 1 0.18 Actual Cost of agg. size 0.136843
7-16 mm
Percent 2 0.31 Actual Cost of agg. size 0.063591
4 - 7 mm
Percent 3 0.18 Actual Cost of Stone dust 0.106444
Percent 4 0.33 Actual Cost of bitumen 3.747797
Total Cost 4.14277
Fig. 2 Graph for bitumen content vs Marshall flow

8.2 Sample - 2
Tables 5 and 6 shows the results of existing output and model

output. It can be seen from the results that the distance from
the midpoint gradation is very well optimized (δ =38.143)
as compared to manual design (δ=69.075) and also satisfy
other constraints like optimization of the cost, maintain
the volumetric parameters within the limits. Also it can be
seen that the model optimize the cost as compare to existing
output. Model reduces the cost of the mix by around 7 per
cent as compared to the manual design. From the Fig. 5 it
can be seen that at optimum bitumen content (say 4.72)
given by model output the flow value is 2.70 mm, which
is within the limit. From the Fig. 6 it can be seen that at
optimum bitumen content (say 4.72) given by model output
the stability value is 1115 kg, which is within the limit.
Manual bitumen content is 5.16.
Table 6 Model output

Fig. 3 Graph for bitumen content vs Marshall stability
S.S. pi qi (pi-qi)2 SA
Table 5 Existing Output 26.5 100 100 0 0.41
S.S. pi qi (pi-qi)2 SA 19 91.376 89.5 3.519 0
26.5 100 100 0 0.41 13.2 73.024 69 16.193 0
19 91.67 89.5 4.709 0
9.5 62.923 62 0.852 0
13.2 73.98 69 24.8 0
4.75 44.897 45 0.011 0.184
9.5 66.03 62 16.241 0
2.36 36.784 36 0.615 0.302
4.75 45.62 45 0.384 0.187
1.18 27.218 27 0.048 0.446
2.36 36.85 36 0.723 0.302
1.18 27.11 27 0.012 0.445 0.6 19.286 21 2.938 0.554
0.6 17.56 21 11.834 0.504 0.3 11.653 15 11.202 0.716
0.3 12.11 15 8.352 0.744 0.15 7.756 9 1.548 0.953
0.15 7.98 9 1.04 0.981 0.075 3.896 5 1.219 1.277
0.08 4.01 5 0.98 1.314 Sum D=38.143 4.842
Sum D=69.075 4.886 VA 4.5 Cost 1 (cost of agg. size 16- 0.000475
26 mm)
VA 4.65 Cost 1 (cost of agg. size 16- 0.00048
26 mm) VMA 15.459 Cost 2 (cost of agg. size 0.00043
7-16 mm)
VMA 17.1 Cost 2 (cost of agg. size 7-16 0.00043
mm) VFB 74.125 Cost 3 (cost of agg. size 4 0.00034
- 7 mm)
VFB 70.5 Cost 3 (cost of agg. size 4 - 7 0.00034
mm) Total SA 4.842 Cost 4 (cost of Stone dust) 0.000295
Total SA 4.886 Cost 4 (cost of Stone dust) 0.0003 AC 4.72 Cost B (Cost of bitumen) 0.02525
AC 5.16 Cost B (Cost of bitumen) 0.02525 Film Th. 99 Actual Cost of agg. size 16- 0.093998
Film Th. 98.5 Actual Cost of agg. size 16- 0.0881 26 mm
26 mm 0.19 Actual Cost of agg. size 0.147279
Percent 1 0.18 Actual Cost of agg. size 7-16 0.13684 Percent 1
7-16 mm
mm 0.33 Actual Cost of agg. size 4 0.05357
Percent 2 0.31 Actual Cost of agg. size 4 - 7 0.06359 Percent 2
- 7 mm
mm
Total Cost 4.14277 Total Cost 3.868023

9 VALIDATION OF MODEL
Model validation is essential part of the model development

process if model to be accepted and used to support decision
making. Validation is the process of checking if something
satisfies a certain criterion. Validation ensures that the model
meets its intended requirements in terms of the methods
employed and the results obtained.
The ultimate goal of model validation is to make the model

useful in the sense that the model addresses the right
problem, provides accurate information about the system
being modeled, and to makes the model actually used.
Validation is done to ensure that;
– The model is programmed correctly

– The algorithms have been implemented properly
Fig. 4 Cost comparison as per existing output and Model output – The model does not contain errors, oversights, or bugs
In this study model is validated with the existing results

available and collected from GERI. From the above two
sample run, parameters of the model are calibrated and the
same are used for the validation. The results of validation
of model output are shown in Table 7 and compared with
existing output.
It is observed that for almost all design the model optimizes

the cost of the mix. It also reduces the distance from the
midpoint gradation for almost 80 per cent of the samples.
It also kept all volumetric parameters almost within the
limits. Model output found that the cost is minimized
considering gradation criteria, material cost, and other
volumetric constrains. However, the solution depends on
the calibrated parameter. This argumentation shows that the
solution is not unique but depends on the decision of the
user. The tests conducted in the research show the power of
Fig. 5 Graph for bitumen content vs Marshall flow GA. Two points are to be emphasized. First is the ease with
which GAs tackle constraints, the second one is the ease and
versatility with which GAs deal with multiple objectives.
The accuracy of the method is checked via a comparison
with existing output and found to be quite satisfactory. It
has been shown that this technique can be applied very
successfully to the problem at hand and in such a way that all
the existing formulations can be tackled with no or minimal
modifications. It has been shown that once the problem is
formulated as a multi objective problem, it is very easy to
make alternative applications and to play with the degree to
which one desires to obtain the target value.
This also eliminated the test like Marshall Test. Hence, there
is no need to do the tedious process and hence, it will prove
to be time saving method which provides the cost efficient
solution. However, parameters of model developed like
film thickness, volumetric parameters limit are required to
Fig. 6 Graph for bitumen content vs Marshall stability calibrate and validate.

Table 7 Comparison of Model Output and Existing Output

Parameters Design - 1 Design - 2 Design - 3
Existing Output Model Output Existing Output Model Output Existing Output Model Output
VMA 17.33 16.157 17.1 15.459 17.33 16.327
VFB 74.2 75.243 70.5 74.125 74.2 75.501
Total SA 4.933 4.925 4.933 4.842 4.522905 6.663
BC 5.02 4.72 5.16 4.72 5.31 5.172
Film Th. 98.5 99 98.5 99 86.6 80
Agg. 1 % 0.2 0.17 0.18 0.19 0.38 0.35
Agg. 2 % 0.29 0.28 0.31 0.33 0.11 0.11
Agg. 3 % 0.13 0.16 0.18 0.15 0.51 0.54
Agg. 4 % 0.38 0.39 0.33 0.33 0 0
Total Cost 4.276213 4.068007 4.142774 3.868023 4.227062 4.129583
VMA 16.63 16.087 15.95 15.935 17.33 16.246
VFB 75 75.134 76 74.897 74.3 75.378
Total SA 5.150 4.889 5.069 4.931 5.414768 5.156
BC 4.964 4.72 4.8 4.72 4.976 4.72
Film Th. 99.4 99 97.5 97 95.8 95
Agg. 1 % 0.18 0.15 0.18 0.19 0.21 0.2
Agg. 2 % 0.31 0.34 0.27 0.3 0.28 0.27
Agg. 3 % 0.15 0.18 0.18 0.15 0.22 0.27
Agg. 4 % 0.36 0.33 0.37 0.36 0.29 0.26
Total Cost 4.214369 4.052496 4.056485 4.007583 4.278321 4.104461
VMA 17.11 16.332 16.87 16.126 17.38 16.205
VFB 74.1 75.508 75 75.195 73.89 75.316
Total SA 5.416 5.092 5.975 5.137 5.4348014 4.911
BC 4.96 4.797 4.936 4.72 5.046 4.72
Film Th. 94.5 97 85.2 88 96.3 97
Agg. 1 % 0.23 0.22 0.18 0.2 0.15 0.18
Agg. 2 % 0.25 0.28 0.22 0.25 0.24 0.28
Agg. 3 % 0.21 0.22 0.23 0.25 0.17 0.15
Agg. 4 % 0.31 0.28 0.37 0.3 0.44 0.39
Total Cost 4.236456 4.130773 4.199637 4.065017 4.291589 4.084310
VMA 17.63 16.083 15.92 16.381 15.92 16.725
VFB 74.1 75.13 69.9 75.581 69.9 76.084
Total SA 5.344 4.857 8.401 7.26 7.432459 6.644
BC 5.144 4.72 5.548 5.592 5.548 5.266
Film Th. 99.2 99 80 80 82.3 82
Agg. 1 % 0.17 0.18 0.11 0.15 0.15 0.17
Agg. 2 % 0.29 0.3 0.39 0.42 0.25 0.27
Agg. 3 % 0.17 0.2 0.5 0.43 0.17 0.18
Agg. 4 % 0.37 0.32 0 0 0.43 0.38
Total Cost 4.327154 4.052550 4.104360 4.135046 4.268488 4.205801

Achieved gradation along with MoRTH limits are shown in Table 8.

Table 8 Achieved gradation and MoRT&H Limits
S. No Sieve size Agg. 1 Gi1 Agg. 2 Gi2 Agg. 3 Gi3 Agg.4 Gi4 Achieved Lower Upper Mid Limits
(mm) gradation Limits Limits
% Passing % Passing % Passing % Passing % Passing % Passing % Passing % Passing
1 26.5 99.53 99.81 100.0 100.0 99.85 100.00 100.00 100.00
2 19 67.62 93.75 100.0 100.0 91.71 79.00 100.00 89.50
3 13.2 9.33 53.11 99.96 99.73 68.16 59.00 79.00 69.00
4 9.5 4.38 21.67 99.87 99.23 57.85 52.00 72.00 62.00
5 4.75 0.70 4.99 63.99 98.59 47.37 35.00 55.00 45.00
6 2.36 0.58 2.94 11.02 90.71 36.87 28.00 44.00 36.00
7 1.18 0.49 2.28 8.07 67.51 27.46 20.00 34.00 27.00
8 0.6 0.44 1.80 6.38 44.97 18.53 15.00 27.00 21.00
9 0.3 0.38 1.34 4.06 27.42 11.41 10.00 20.00 15.00
10 0.15 0.31 0.98 2.15 19.11 7.89 5.00 13.00 9.00
11 0.075 0.29 0.80 1.46 8.58 3.74 2.00 8.00 5.00
Aggregate 20% 29% 13% 38%
proportion
10 SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS It can be seen that the most sensitive parameter is the
per cent bitumen content. Table shows that decrease in
Sensitivity analysis is used to determine how “sensitive” bitumen content from 5 to 10 per cent, decreases the total
a model is to changes in the value of the parameters of cost of the mix by 4 to 8 per cent approximately and increase
the model and to changes in the structure or outcome of in bitumen content from 5 to 10 per cent, increases the cost
the model. In this study, focus is on parameter sensitivity. of the mix by 4 to 8 per cent approximately.
Parameter sensitivity is usually performed as a series of
tests in which the modeler sets different parameter values Table shows that decrease in aggregate content from 5 to 10
to see how a change in the parameter causes a change in the per cent, decreases the total cost of the mix on an average
total cost of the mix. By showing how the model behavior by 0.5 to 1 per cent approximately and increase in aggregate
responds to changes in parameter values, sensitivity analysis content from 5 to 10 per cent, increases the cost of the mix
is a useful tool in model building as well as in model on an average by 0.5 to 1 per cent approximately.
evaluation. Sensitivity analysis helps to build confidence Table 9 Sensitivity analysis
in the model by studying the uncertainties that are often
associated with parameters in models. Sensitivity analysis % Change in Weightage (%) Cost % Change in
bitumen Total cost
allows determining what level of accuracy is necessary for a
parameter to make the model sufficiently useful and valid. If 0 4.72 1.85 0.00
the tests reveal that the model is insensitive, then it may be 5 (-) 4.484 1.78 -3.80
possible to use an estimate rather than a value with greater 10 (-) 4.248 1.71 -7.60
precision. Sensitivity analysis can also indicate which 5 4.956 1.92 3.80
parameter values are reasonable to use in the model.
10 5.192 1.99 7.60
Table 9 shows the sensitivity analysis results. In this analysis % Change in Weightage (%) Cost % Change in
proportion of various types of aggregates and bitumen Agg.1 Total cost
content are considered as sensitive parameters, which have 0 17 1.85 0.00
influence on the total cost of the mix. 5 (-) 16.15 1.85 -0.25
For these, a series of tests are conducted with different parameter 10 (-) 15.3 1.84 -0.50
values to see how much percent change in the parameter causes 5 17.85 1.86 0.50
how much percent change in the total cost of the mix. Table Contd...

Table 9. Contd... making decisions with the best tradeoff between lower cost
and higher technical quality solutions.
10 18.7 1.86 1.00
% Change in Weightage (%) Cost % Change in The method can be generalized by introducing weighing
Agg.2 Total cost parameters which depend on the importance of the sieves
0 28 1.85 0.00
5 (-) 26.6 1.85 -0.37 12 SCOPE OF FUTURE WORK
10 (-) 25.2 1.84 -0.74 In this study detailed analysis of Bituminous Concrete
5 29.4 1.86 0.37 (BC) mix design data is carried out. Asphalt film thickness
10 30.8 1.87 0.74 approach was incorporated, and optimum asphalt content
% Change in Weightage (%) Cost % Change in was found out for optimizing the mixture design. In future
Agg.3 Total cost following type of work can be carried out;
0 16 1.85 0.00
Present study is carried out for BC mix design. Further
5 (-) 15.2 1.85 -0.17
research is required to explore application for SDBC and
10 (-) 14.4 1.85 -0.34 DBM mix.
5 16.8 1.86 0.17
10 17.6 1.86 0.34
The asphalt film thickness approach discussed in this study
is taken for the BC mix design after calibration. The future
% Change in Weightage (%) Cost % Change in
Agg.4 Total cost
scope is open to establish the film thickness criteria for
SDBC and DBM mix.
0 39 1.85 0.00
5 (-) 37.05 1.85 0.00 For future work it is recommended that new variable would
10 (-) 35.1 1.84 -0.01 be introduced for bulk specific gravity of the mix. The
5 40.95 1.86 0.00 current method of calculating aggregate surface area uses
10 42.9 1.87 0.01 surface area factors as given in the Asphalt Institute Manual
Series 2. The background research data for these surface
area factors could not be found. Further research is needed
11 CONCLUSION to verify these surface area factors.
The model developed is calibrated and validated using the Finally, it should be noted that once the problem is formulated
collected experiment data. It is recommended that minimum as a multi objective optimization problem, many other
average asphalt film thickness be used to ensure mix techniques different than GAs can be used to solve it, such
durability instead of minimum VMA. A minimum average as simulated annealing, ant colony optimization, steepest
thickness of 8 microns is recommended in this study. The descent method, random search method, etc.
film thickness can be calculated from the asphalt content and
surface area of the aggregate. REFERENCES
It has been concluded that the formulation adopted is very 1. Asphalt Institute Manual Series No. 22, 2003.
convenient to solve the aggregate blending problem and it 2. Campen, J.F., J.R. Smith, L.G. Erickson, and L.R. Mertz., "The
Relationships Between Voids, Surface Area, Film Thickness and
can further be generalized to any such mix problem. Stability in Bituminous Paving Mixtures", In Proceedings, AAPT,
Vol. 28, 1959.
The research has shown that the aggregate blending problem
3. David E. Goldberg, "Genetic Algorithms in Search, Optimization
which is formulated in very different ways and solved by and Machine Learning", Addison-Wesley Longman Publishing
using different techniques can now be solved by a single Co., Inc. Boston, MA, USA, First Edition, ISBN: 0201157675,
technique using GA covering cost and bituminous content. January 1989.
Solutions found with least cost, with a minimum distance 4. Easa, S. M. & Can, E. K. (1985), "Optimization Model for
Aggregate Blending", Journal of Construction Engineering and
to the midpoint gradation, or a combination of both. Two Management, ASCE, 111, 216–31.
points are to be emphasized. First is the ease with which GAs 5. Elliot, R. P., M. C. Ford, M. Ghanim, and Y. F. Tu, "Effect
tackle constraints, the second one is the ease and versatility of Aggregate Gradation Variation on Asphalt Concrete Mix
with which GAs deal with multiple objectives. Properties", In Transportation Research Record 1317, TRB,
National Research Council, Washington, DC, 1991.
A practical computer program based on the principles laid 6. Fuller W. B and Thompson S. E. "The Laws of Proportioning
out in the article can be quite useful and help the users in Concrete", American Society of Civil Engineers, Vol. 59, 1907.

7. Goldberg, D. E. (1989), "Genetic Algorithms in Search, 16. MORTH Section 500, "Base and Surface Courses (Bituminous)".
Optimization, and Machine Learning", Addison-Wesley, 17. National Stone Association, "The Aggregate Handbook", 3rd
New York. Edition, Washington DC, 1996.
8. Holland, J. H. 1975, "Adaptation in Natural and Artificial Systems", 18. Pandey B.B., "Bituminous Mix Design," Proceedings of a Two Day
University of Michigan Press, (Second edition: MIT Press 1992). Workshop on Design of Flexible Pavement with Emphasis on the
9. Holland, J. H. (1975), "Adaptation in Natural and Artificial new IRC : 37-2001 Guidelines, 9-10 February, IIT Kanpur, 2002.
Systems", The University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor. 19. Roberts, F.L., Kandhal, P. S., Brown, E. R., Lee, D., and Kennedy,
10. IS – 2720 (Part – 37). T. W., "Hot-Mix Asphalt Materials, Mix Design, and Construction",
11. Ishai, I., and E. Tons (1971), "Aggregate Factors in Bituminous NAPA Education Foundation, Lanham, Maryland, 1991.
Mixture Designs", University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Report 20. Roberts Freddy L.; "Superpave Level 1 Mix Design", Asphalt
335140-1-F. Institute, Lexington, KY, 1996.
12. Kandhal, P.S. and Chakraborty, S., "Evaluation of Voids in the 21. Roberts Freddy L.; Mohammad Louay N.; Wang L. B. "History
Mineral Aggregate for HMA Paving Mixtures", Report No. 96-4, of Hot Mix Asphalt Mixture Design in the United States", 150th
National Center for Asphalt Technology, 1996. Anniversary Paper, American Society of Civil Engineers, Journal
13. McLeod, N.W., "Relationships Between Density, Bitumen Content, of Materials in Civil Engineering, Vol. 14, No. 4 August 2002.
and Voids Properties of Compacted Bituminous Paving Mixtures", 22. Toklu, Y. C. (2002a), "Application of Genetic Algorithms to
Proceedings, Highway Research Board, Volume 35, 1956. Construction Scheduling With or Without Resource Constraints",
14. McLeod, N.W., "Voids Requirements for Dense-Graded Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering, 29(3), 421–9.
Bituminous Paving Mixtures", Special Technical Publication 252, 23. Toklu, Y. C. (2002b), "Aggregate Blending Problem—An Arena
ASTM, 1959. of Applications of Optimization Methods", ICCCBE-IX The Ninth
15. "Mix Design Methods for Asphalt", The Asphalt Institute, 6th ed. International Conference on Computing in Civil and Building
1997. Engineering, Taipei, Taiwan, April, 3–5.

EFFECT OF SIZE OF COARSE AGGREGATE AND THE COMBINED GRADING OF
COARSE AND FINE AGGREGATE ON PAVEMENT QUALITY CONCRETe
S. B. Manjunatha* & A.U. Ravishankar**
ABSTRACT
This Paper presents the results of an experimental investigation about the performance characteristics of pavement quality concrete with
well graded coarse aggregate of maximum size of 31.5 mm to increase the compressive strength, flexural strength, density and to improve
the workability of concrete. The aggregate gradation was optimized by blending the aggregates of various sizes with fine aggregate for
denser packing of the materials. The performance of these optimized concrete mixes was compared with control concrete with Maximum
Aggregate Size (MAS) of 20 mm and 12.5 mm keeping cement content, water- cement ratio and aggregate-cement ratio same and by
varying only the aggregate gradation. The result of the investigation shows that the usage of the optimum aggregate gradation with MAS
of 31.5 mm, gives significant increase in compressive strength, workability, density and flexural strength, thus improving the performance
of concrete for pavement.
1 INTRODUCTION specific gravity, alkali reactivity and gradation. The coarse

(also referred to as stone) aggregate and fine (also referred
Concrete has been used for nearly 2000 years and served to as sand) aggregate are graded materials - that is they are
well but modern changes took place during the early 1970s. a compilation of multiple sized particles as opposed to only
Though it became possible to produce very high strength one or two particle sizes. This graded characteristic results
concrete, premature deterioration of concrete structures in a denser product than the same volume of like-sized
became a national problem. This has motivated the authorities particles due to fewer voids between the particles. The extent
and researchers to enhance the properties of this matter. An of this grading and the number of particle sizes present in a
attempt was made to enhance the properties of the concrete given aggregate can be controlled by the aggregate supplier
in all fields of concrete usage. In the field of highways an through a sieving process.
attempt was made to enhance the properties of pavement
quality concrete such as flexural strength, compressive Aggregates influence the performance of concrete.
strength, density and workability. As maximum size of aggregate increases, the volume
percentages of the aggregate in the concrete can also
Aggregates are one of the two basic constituents forming increase (for the same gradation) and the surface area of the
a concrete matrix. Concrete is often considered as two aggregate will decrease. This means a more economical mix,
phase composite, consisting of mortar matrix and aggregate since less cement paste is present and therefore less cement
phases. (Trende, 1998) Aggregates can be further classified will be required for a given volume of concrete. At the same
into coarse and fine aggregates. Aggregates passing time, when larger aggregate sizes are used, attention must
the 4.75 mm sieve are known as fine aggregates. In the be paid to possible effects on concrete workability, ease of
making of concrete, these components are mixed in various compaction and susceptibility to segregation. Also due to
proportions lying within two limits, mortar (cement paste greater volume of aggregate, the concrete will have lesser
and fine aggregate) and no-fines concrete (cement paste shrinkage. (Foster, 1997)
and coarse aggregate) which has been described as quasi-
mortar. (Daniel, 1975) The coarse aggregates form the body Another important consideration regarding aggregates that
of the concrete matrix, which is responsible for providing should be considered is the maximum size particles that can
the strength in the concrete whereas the fine aggregates be allowed given the intended use of the concrete. In general,
contribute to the workability of the concrete. the largest size that is practical should be used since larger
particles have less total surface area per unit of volume to
Consideration should be given to all properties of both the bind together than do smaller particles. This produces
coarse and fine aggregates including hardness, absorption, greater strengths for a given volume of cementitious material
*
**
Research Scholar
Professor } Department of Civil Engineering, National Institute of Technology Karnataka, Surathkal, Srinivasa Nagar
(P.O.), Mangalore - 575 025. e-mail: sbmanju21@yahoo.com; aurshankar@gamil.com

Manjunatha & Ravishankar on
Effect of Size of Coarse Aggregate and the Combined Grading of Coarse and Fine
(binder) or requires less cementitious material for a given • The relationship between the coarseness of
strength requirement. Maximum size may be restricted by two larger aggregate fractions and the fine
such factors like the spacing of steel reinforcement, the fraction.
type of equipment used to place the concrete, etc. Concrete • Total amount of mortar.
aggregates may be natural or manufactured (crushed) but all • Aggregate particle distribution.
must meet the requirements of IS383 (ASTM C 33).
In Fig. 1, (a) represents a well graded mixture and (b)
2 Literature Review represents a gap-graded mixture. While either concrete
2. 1 Blending of Aggregates can be blended to produce almost any given strength,
there is a vast difference in Rheological properties.
Normally, gap-graded or near gap-graded mixtures
contain a greater amount of coarse particles than
shown in the Figures, but also has an adverse effect
upon pumpability and finishability (work perfection).
The objective of materials blending for strength is to

fill voids with sound inert filler to reduce the volume
of binder needed to produce a sound product. Fig. 2
a) Well Graded Mixture b) Gap Graded Mixture is a grading chart showing the aggregate gradations
Fig. 1 Types of Blending
and the combined gradations of the coarsest, finest,
There are many commercial methods used for optimizing and the optimum mixtures.The chart used is divided
the aggregate gradation for structural concrete. However, into three segments identified as Q, I, and W. This
was based on comments by other mix researchers
the ultimate aim is to combine two or more aggregates to
about the amount and function of the intermediate
achieve a combined aggregate gradation similar to well
aggregate particles. Intermediate aggregate is
graded aggregate. This well graded aggregate, when used
defined as that with particles passing the 3/8 inch
in concrete shows improved performance in spite of the (10 mm) sieve but retained on the No. 8 sieve
reduction in total cement content. The normally used (2.36 mm).
methods for optimizing aggregate gradation are:
(a) Shilstone Method

(b) 0.45 Power Chart Method and
(c) USAF Constructability Chart Method
(a) Shilstone Method
Shilstone (2000) proposed a quantitative method

for optimizing aggregate proportions and making
adjustments during the progress of work. The
research was based upon the use of rounded or cubical
aggregates and mixtures with ASTM C494. From
this study, it was concluded that aggregates that do
not meet ASTM C33 gradation requirements, but are
otherwise acceptable under a quality standard, can be
used with equal ease to produce high quality concrete Fig. 2 Concrete Aggregate Grading Chart (Shilstone, 2000)
if they can be controlled to produce a consistent,
well-graded composite. The letter identifications were based on:
Q-The plus 3/8 inch (10 mm) sieve particles are the
There are three principal factors upon which mixture
high quality, inert filler sizes. Generally, the more the
proportions can be optimized for a given need with a
better because they reduce the need for mortar that
given combination of aggregate characteristics:
shrinks and cracks.

I-The minus 3/8 inch (10 mm), plus No. 8 (2.36 mm) when particles are poorly distributed the mixture can
sieve particles are the intermediate particles that fill cause both construction and performance problems. A
major voids and aid in mix mobility, or if elongated deficiency of particles passing the 3/8 inch (9.5 mm) sieve
and sharp, interference particles that contribute to but retained on the No. 8 (2.36 mm) sieve necessitates
mixture harshness. use of more mortar. Generally, sand and water are added,
without the addition of cement needed to maintain a
W-The minus No. 8 (2.36 mm) sieve particles constant water-cement ratio, to provide needed mobility
give the mixture workability, functioning as ball for construction.
bearings in machinery. The character and amount
of the mixture proportion largely determines (b) 0.45 Power Chart Method
workability at agiven consistency.It was found that
the aggregate source was immaterial. What was The 0.45 power chart is generally used for asphaltic
important was the combined grading curve. Of the concrete. Super pave adopted the 0.45 power chart for
three curves shown in Fig. 2, only one produced the graphical display of gradation as currently recommended
optimum concrete to meet the construction needs by FHWA. A gradation plot can be drawn on the 0.45
and produced highest strength. To properly analyze power chart which also contains the maximum density
a mixture, it is necessary to separate the aggregates line. The 0.45 power chart as used today is based on
by sieve size and study the distribution of the the work of Nijboer (1948) from Netherlands and from
various sizes. A simple theory could be stated from Goode and Lufsey of the Bureau of Public Roads (1962).
the studies of the literature namely: “The amount of Nijboer (1948) evaluated the packing of both quarried
fine sand required to produce an optimum mixture is aggregates and uncrushed gravelandfound that the densest
a function of the relationship between the two larger configuration occurred for a straight line gradation plotted
aggregate fractions and the amount of fine sand on a 0.45 power chart. Goode and Lufsey (1965) validated
needed to optimize a mixture is a function of the the work of Nijboer (1948) for aggregates in the United
amount of cementitious materials in the mixture.” States and further investigated the packing of various
This relationship was shown graphically in Fig. 4, typical gradations used in United States (Gerald, 1960).
known as the coarseness factor chart. The particle Some reports have circulated in the industry that plotting
distribution of any mixture can be calculated and the sieve opening raised to the 0.45 power may not be
the results plotted on the coarseness factor chart. universally applicable for all aggregates. Specifically, it is
The amount of the fine aggregate in a mixture must claimed that the power should be larger, 0.50 or 0.60 for
be in balance with the needs of the larger, inert some aggregates, particularly crushed aggregates.
particles. If there is too much sand, the mixture is
“sticky”, has a high water demand, requires more 2.3 Nominal Maximum and Maximum Size of
cementitious materials to produce a given strength, Aggregates
increases pump pressures, and creates finishing
and crazing problems. If there is not enough sand, Integrated with the Asphalt Institute definition of maximum
the mixture is “bony” and creates a different set density line shown in Fig. 3 is the definition of nominal
of placing and finishing problems (Shilstone, maximum size and maximum size. Specifically the
2000).The amount of fine aggregate needed is also definitions are:
influenced by the amount of cementitious materials.
As cement content is varied, the sand content should Nominal maximum size - One size larger than the first sieve
be adjusted. For a given combination of materials, it to retain more than 10 per cent.
is necessary to determine the optimum relationship
for varying needs. When changes in material Maximum size - One size larger than nominal maximum
gradations occur, adjustments can be calculated and size.
the new aggregate proportions selected to closely
approximate the original mixture. These definitions are consistent with ASTM definitions
except they are more specific. Published research (ASTM,
2. 2 Aggregate Particle Distribution
STP 1147) demonstrates the importance of correctly defining
Using this method practically any sound aggregate can be the maximum size to ensure a valid maximum density line
combined to produce a given strength concrete. However, is drawn.

that will produce a mixture with appropriate properties for

the intended application and placement method. When using
the coarseness/workability chart it is assumed that particles
are rounded or cubical shaped. Rounded or cubical shaped
aggregates typically enhance workability and finishing
characteristics. Flat and elongated aggregates typically limit
workability and finishing characteristics.
2.5 Aggregate Shape Effect on Optimum Gradation
The shape and texture of aggregate particles affect the volume
of paste needed to coat particles and decease interactions
Fig. 3 0.45 Power Chart for 25 mm Aggregate (LOWA, 2002) during placements. Smooth and round particles, such as
gravels, have a low surface to volume ratio and require less
2.4 Maximum Density Line paste to coat the surfaces of each particle. Crushed limestone
aggregates, which usually tend to be more angular and rough
Currently in the asphalt industry the practice of drawing
than gravel aggregates, have a higher surface to volume ratio,
maximum density lines is confusing. Different methods are
and may require more paste to reduce particle interactions
used with varying degrees of success. SHRP investigated
(Cramer, 1960).
the history of defining maximum density lines and evaluated
the current status of maximum density lines in the industry 2.6 Coarseness/Workability Chart
today. The work of Goode and Lufsey (1965) validated the
The Coarseness factor chart was developed during an
0.45 power chart and investigated one specific maximum
investigation conducted under contract with the U. S. Army
density line for contrived typical gradations. The method
Corps of Engineers, Mediterranean Division, for construction
proposed by Goode and Lufsey in their 1962 AAPT paper
of the Saudi Arabian National Guard Headquarters, Riyadh,
for determining where to draw the maximum density line
Saudi Arabia. The combined aggregate grading should be
is cumbersome and is not used by any agencies today.
used to calculate a coarseness factor and a workability factor.
Concurrent with SHRP, the FHWA formed an Expert Task
The coarseness factor for a particular combined aggregate
Group on volumetric properties of asphalt mixes. The group
gradation is determined by dividing the amount retained
investigated two methods of drawing maximum density
above the 3/8 inch (9.5 mm) sieve by the amount retained
lines. One method draws a line from the percent passing the
above the No.8 sieve (2.36 mm). The workability factor is
0.075 mm sieve to the first sieve passing 100 per cent. The
the percentage of combined aggregate finer than the No.8
other method contained in the Asphalt Institute publications
sieve. Fig. 4 shows a typical coarseness/workability chart
requires the line to be drawn from the origin to the maximum
used by the USAF. This factor can simply be determined
sieve size. Background and research supporting the Asphalt
by using the percentage passing the No.8 sieve, from the
Institute method is published in ASTM Special Technical
combined aggregate sieve analysis. The coarseness factor
Publication No. 1147. Within the SHRP research effort an
should not be greater than 80 nor less than 30 (Jim, 1997).
expert task group was assigned to evaluate empirical mixture
However, an aggregate should possess a coarseness factor
and aggregate properties. Using a modified Delphi process,
below 75 and a workability factor above 29 to fall in the
consensus was reached to draw a maximum density line
well graded zone for 37.5-20 mm zone in the coarseness/
according to the method proposed by the Asphalt Institute
workability chart.
(Gerald, 1960).
A well-graded aggregate combination will follow the

maximum density line to the 1.18 mm (No. 16) sieve. A
slight deviation below the maximum density line at the
1.18 mm (No. 16) sieve will occur to account for the effect
of the fines provided by the cementitious material (Iowa,
2002).
(c) USAF Constructability Chart Method
The USAF adopts the coarseness/workability chart Fig. 4

as the primary method to develop an aggregate combination Fig. 4 USAF Constructability Chart

A very low workability factor might result in a rocky mix 3.2 Coarse Aggregate
and a very high workability factor might result in a sandy
mix. A higher value than 75 of the coarseness factor would The granite stones of 31.5 mm down size conforming to
indicate that the aggregate be coarse gap graded. IS 383:1970 is used for the concrete mix. Table 2 represents
the grading of the coarse aggregate adopted for the present
Notes: investigation. The gradation is so decided that, the trial
i) Coarseness Factor=% retained above 10 mm sieve proportion which yields maximum bulk density after blending
x100 % retained above 2.36 mm sieve different size aggregate is adopted. It is observed that the
ii) Workability Factor = % Passing 2.36 mm Sieve gradation satisfies the requirement for the coarse aggregate
as per 0.45 Power chart method and USAF constructability
2.7 Optimum Aggregate Blend
chart. Tables 2 to 5 gives the properties of coarse aggregate
Determining an optimum combined aggregate blend will used forthe mix.
require the use of all these methods as well as a sound practical
Table 2 Particle Size Distribution of Coarse Aggregate
experience. The coarseness/workability chart should be the
31.5 mm & Downsize
primary method used to develop an aggregate combination
that will produce a mixture with appropriate properties for IS Sieve Designation Percent of Passing
the intended application and placement method. The 0.45 (mm)
power chart should be used as secondary means to verify 37.5 100
the coarseness/workability chart results and to identify areas
deviating from a well graded aggregate combination (Iowa, 31.5 100
2002). 25 84
3 MATERIALS USED AND THEIR PROPERTIES
20 59
12.5 44
3.1 Cement
10 31
Cement is one of the important constituent of the concrete 4.75 0
mix. Cement binds coarse and fine aggregate together and
also perform major role in contributing strength to the Table 3 Particle Size Distribution of Coarse Aggregate
concrete. For the present investigation Ordinary Portland 20 mm & Downsize
Cement of 43 grade conforming to IS 8112:1989 is used.
The properties of the cement used in this investigation are IS Sieve Percent of Requirement
presented in Table1. Designation (mm) Passing (in IRC :44 Table 1)
40 100 100
Table 1 Properties of 43 Grade Ordinary Portland Cement
25 -- --
Sl. Test Result IS Code
20 95 95-100
No. (OPC) Requirement
10 35 25-55
1 Specific Gravity 3.15 3.10 to 3.15
4.75 0 0-10
2 Standard Consistency (%) 32 ---------
Table 4 Particle Size Distribution of Coarse Aggregate
3 Fineness of cement 2582 2250
12.5 mm & Downsize
(Blaine’s air (minimum)
permeability) (cm2/gm) IS Sieve Percent of Requirement (in IRC :44
Designation (mm) Passing Table 1)
4 Setting time - Initial 65 ≥30 mins
(min) - Final (min) 285 (minimum) 20 100 100
≤600 mins (maximum)
5 Compressive Strength 12.5 94 90-100
3 Days (Mpa) 27 23 MPa (minimum)
7 Days (Mpa) 34 33 MPa (minimum) 10 42 40-85
28 Days (Mpa) 46 43 MPa (minimum)
4.75 10 0-10

Table 5 Properties of Coarse Aggregate 3.4 Water
Sl. No. Test Results Specification Water is an important ingredient of concrete as it actively
participates in the chemical reaction with cement. Since it
1 Specific Gravity 2.71 --------
helps to form the strength giving cement gel, the quantity
2 Bulk Density and quality of water is required to be looked into very
a) Dry loose (kg/m3) 1420 --------- carefully. The potable water available in the laboratory is
b) Dry Rodded(kg/m3) 1550 -------- used for mixing and curing.
3 Aggregate Crushing Value (%) 23 30 (max)
3.5 Admixtures in Concrete
4 Los Angeles Abrasion Test (%) 20 35 (max)
Admixture is defined as a material other than cement, water
5 Aggregate Impact value (%) 23 30 (max) and aggregates that is used as an ingredient of concrete and
6 Flakiness and Elongation index (%) 29 30 (max) is added to the batch immediately before or during mixing.
In these days concrete is being used for wide varieties of
3.3 Fine aggregate purposes admixtures are used to make it suitable in different
conditions. In this study chemical admixture of Naptha
In this experimental work, locally available natural sand based super plasticiser has been used to get the workable
conforming to IS 383:1970 is used.Tables 6 and 7 presents concrete.
the properties and particle size distribution of fine aggregate
3.6 Description of Specimen and Moulds
respectively. From sieve analysis it is observed that the fine
aggregate conforms to zone II of IS383:1970. The beam specimen of size 100 mm X 100 mm X
500 mm is used for flexural and fatigue tests. Concrete cubes
Table 6 Properties of Fine Aggregate with dimension 150 mm X 150 mm X 150 mm are used
for compression. All these specimens are cast in cast iron
Sl. No. Test Results
moulds conforming to relevant codes of Indian standards.
1 Specific Gravity 2.61 Prior to casting of specimen, moulds are cleaned, lubricated
with oil and all the bolts are fastened tightly so that there is
2 Fineness modulus 2.58
no leakages in mould.
3 Bulk Density
4 EXPERIMENTATION
a) Dry loose (kg/m3) 1542
b) Dry Rodded (kg/m3) 1650 4.1 For Pavement Quality Concrete
4 Grading Zone II Sieve Analysis was done for locally available granite
aggregate to determine their individual gradations. The
Table 7 Sieve Analysis of Fine Aggregate fineness moduli of the aggregates were evaluated as per
ASTMC 136. The Individual gradation plots of all the
Sieve Size Percentage Grading Remarks aggregates are shown in Figs. 3 to 7. The goal was to obtain
(mm) Passing (%) requirement as per a gradation that would satisfy as nearly as possible with
IS 383(1970) for
0.45 power chart. The best possible blend with the available
Zone II
aggregate sizes that matched the target gradation was
10 mm 100 100 obtained by trial and error.
Confirming
4.75 mm 95 90 – 100 Grade II The combined gradation was obtained by blending two
requirement coarse aggregate sizes 31.5 mm and natural sand in the
2.36 mm 86 75 – 100 proportion of 64 per cent and 36 per cent respectively for
1.18 mm 61 55 – 90 the mixes M1, M2, M3 and 65 per cent & 35 per cent for the
mixes M4, M5 and M6.
600µ 48 35 – 59
The coarseness and workability factors were evaluated
300µ 17 8 – 30 and this combined gradation satisfied the 0.45 power chart
(Fig. 3), which gave the maximum denser packing of
150µ 6 0 - 10 aggregates. With the selected gradation, it was possible to
reduce the cement content, which in turn helped to reduce

the shrinkage cracks and permeability. The above respective Table 9 Combined Aggregate Gradation for PQC (for mix
percentages of coarse aggregates and fine aggregates were with 20 mm Down Size Aggregates, 400 kg/m3
weighed, blended together and then the sieve analysis Cement) M2
was done for the blended aggregate. It was observed that
Sieve Coarse Aggregate Fine aggregate Blending
the experimental values and theoretical values that were
Size 20mm&down size (36%) %
obtained from the 0.45 power chart were almost the same. in mm (64%) passing
This gradation was taken as the optimum gradation for
% % % %
the granite aggregate used in this investigation. After the Passing Batch Passing Batch
optimum aggregate gradation was obtained using the 0.45
37.5 100 64.0 100 36.0 100.0
power chart, it was also compared with the optimum mix
31.5 100 64 100 36.0 100
gradation proposed by Shilstone. It was found that the
optimum aggregate gradation obtained using the 0.45 power 25 100 64 100 36.0 100
chart was almost the same as the optimum mix gradation 20 95 60.8 100 36.0 96.8
proposed by Shilstone 2000 (Fig. 2). The same gradation 12.5 0 0.0 100 0.0 0.0
was then compared with the USAF constructability chart. It 10 35 22.4 100 36.0 58.4
was also found that the optimum aggregate gradation was in 4.75 0 0.0 95 34.2 34.2
the well-graded zone in the constructability chart (Fig. 4). 2.36 0 0.0 86 31.0 31.0
1.18 0 0.0 61 22.0 22.0
Table 8 Combined Aggregate Gradation for PQC
0.60 0 0.0 48 17.3 17.3
(for mix with 12.5 mm Down Size Aggregates,
400 kg/m3 Cement) M1 0.30 0 0.0 17 6.1 6.1
0.15 0 0.0 6 2.2 2.2
Sieve Coarse Aggregate Fine Aggregate Blend %
% retained above 10 mm sieve = 41.6
Size in 12.5 mm & 36% Passing
mm downsize 64% % retained above 2.36 mm sieve = 69.0
Coarseness Factor = 44.8/69.9 = 60.0
% % % % Workability Factor = 31.0
Passing Batch Passing Batch
Table 10 Combined Aggregate Gradation for PQC (for mix
37.5 100 64.0 100 36.0 100.0 with 31.5 mm Down Size Aggregates, 400 kg/m3
31.5 - 64.0 100 36.0 100.0

Cement)M3
Sieve Coarse Aggregate Fine aggregate Blending
25 0 64.0 100 36.0 100.0 Size 35 mm & down size (36%) % passing
in mm (64%)
20 100 64.0 100 36.0 100.0
% % % %
12.5 94 60.2 100 36.0 96.2 Passing Batch Passing Batch
37.5 100 64 100 36.0 100.0
10 30 19.2 100 36.0 55.2
31.5 100 64 100 36.0 100.0
4.75 10 6.4 95 34.2 40.6 25 84 53.8 100 36.0 89.8
20 59 37.8 100 36.0 73.8
2.36 0 0.0 86 31.0 31.0 12.5 44 28.2 100 36.0 64.2
1.18 0 0.0 61 22.0 22.0 10 31 19.8 100 36.0 55.8
4.75 0 0 95 34.2 34.2
0.60 0 0.0 48 17.3 17.3 2.36 0 0 86 31.0 31.0
0.30 0 0.0 17 6.1 6.1 1.18 0 0 61 22.0 22.0
0.60 0 0 48 17.3 17.3
0.15 0 0.0 6 2.2 2.2 0.30 0 0 17 6.1 6.1
0.15 0 0 6 2.2 2.2
% retained above 2.36 mm sieve = 69.9 % retained above 10 mm sieve = 44.5
% retained above 2.36 mm sieve = 69
Coarseness Factor = 64.0
Coarseness Factor = 44.5/69 = 64.6
Workability Factor = 30.1
Workability Factor = 31

Table 11 Combined Aggregate Gradation for PQC (for mix Table 13 Combined Aggregate Gradation for PQC (for mix
with 12.5 mm Down Size Aggregates, 425 kg/m3 with 31.5 mm Down Size Aggregates, 425 kg/m3
Cement)M4 Cement) M6
Sieve Coarse Aggregate Fine Aggregate 35% Blend % Sieve Coarse Aggregate Fine aggregate Blending
Size in 12.5 mm & Passing Size in 31.5 &down size (35%) % passing
mm downsize 65% mm (65%)
% Passing % Batch % Passing % Batch % passing % batch % passing % Batch
37.5 100 65.0 100 35.0 100.0 31.5 100 65.0 100 35.0 100.0
31.5 - 65.0 100 35.0 100.0 31.5 100 65.0 100 35.0 100.0
25 0 65.0 100 35.0 100.0 25 84 54.6 100 35.0 89.6
20 100 65.0 100 35.0 100.0 20 59 38.4 100 35.0 73.4
12.5 94 61.1 100 35.0 96.1 12.5 44 28.6 100 35.0 63.6
10 30 19.5 100 35.0 54.5 10 31 20.2 100 35.0 55.2
4.75 0 0.0 95 33.3 33.3
4.75 10 6.5 95 33.3 39.8
2.36 0 0.0 86 30.1 30.1
2.36 0 0.0 86 30.1 30.1
1.18 0 0.0 61 21.4 21.4
1.18 0 0.0 61 21.4 21.4
0.60 0 0.0 48 16.8 16.8
0.60 0 0.0 48 16.8 16.8
0.30 0 0.0 17 6.0 6.0
0.30 0 0.0 17 6.0 6.0
0.15 0 0.0 6 2.1 2.1
0.15 0 0.0 6 2.1 2.1
% retained above 10 mm sieve = 45.5 % retained above 2.36 mm sieve = 69.9
% retained above 2.36 mm sieve = 69.9 Coarseness Factor = 44.8/69.9 = 64.0
Coarseness Factor = 65.1 Workability Factor = 30.1
Workability Factor = 30.1
Table 14 Mix Designation
Table 12 Combined Aggregate Gradation for PQC (for
mix with 20 mm Down size Aggregates, 425 kg/m3 Mix Cement W/C % of % of Fine Max Dosage of Water
Cement) M5 ID Content Ratio Coarse Aggregate Aggregate Admixture Content
in kg/m3
Aggregate Size in in lts / m3 in lts/ m3
Sieve Coarse Aggregate Fine Aggregate 35% Blend % mm
Size in 20 mm & Passing M1 400 0.4 64 36 12.5 1.2 160
mm downsize 65%
M2 400 0.4 64 36 20 1.2 160
% Passing % Batch % Passing % Batch
37.5 100 65.0 100 35.0 100.0 M3 400 0.4 64 36 31.5 1.2 160
31.5 100 65.0 100 35.0 100.0 M4 425 0.38 65 35 12.5 1.2 161.5
25 100 65 100 35.0 100.00 M5 425 0.38 65 35 20 1.2 161.5
20 95 61.8 100 35.0 96.80
M6 425 0.38 65 35 31.5 1.2 161.5
12.5 00 00 100 00.0 00.00
10 35 22.8 100 35.0 57.8 5 TEST RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
4.75 0 0.0 95 33.3 33.3
2.36 0 0.0 86 30.1 30.1 5.1 Fresh Concrete Properties
1.18 0 0.0 61 21.4 21.4
Results of fresh concrete property i.e., slump; for the
0.60 0 0.0 48 16.8 16.8
designated mixes of pavement quality concrete were
0.30 0 0.0 17 6.0 6.0
observed and are presented in bar charts of designated mixes
0.15 0 0.0 6 2.1 2.1 are shown in Fig. 5. The slump observed for the designated
% retained above 10 mm sieve = 42.2 mixes with cement content 400 kg/m3 was 20 mm, 30 mm
% retained above 2.36 mm sieve = 69.9 and 45 mm respectively for the mixes M1, M2 and M3.
Coarseness Factor = 60.4 This shows that the workability is more for the concrete
Workability Factor = 30.1 with higher size aggregate (M3). The slump observed for

the designated mixes with cement content 425 kg/m3 was 23.65 MPa and 28.00 MPa respectively whereas the
25 mm, 35 mm and 50 mm respectively for the mixes M4, compressive strength of optimum mix i.e., M3 was 31.0 MPa.
M5 and M6. This shows that the workability is more for the The 7-day compressive strength of optimum concrete mix
concrete with 31.5 mm and downsize aggregate. i.e., M3 is 23 per cent and 9 per cent more than that of control
mixes M1, and M2, respectively. The 28 - day compressive
strength for the controlled concrete mixes of Type I i.e., M1
and M2 was 36.5 MPa and 38.8 MPa, respectively where as
the compressive strength of optimum mix i.e., M3 was 39.8
MPa. The 28-day compressive strength of optimum concrete
mix i.e., M3 is 15 per cent and 6 per cent more than that of
control mixes M1 and M2, respectively.
The 7 - day compressive strength for the controlled concrete

mixes of Type II i.e., M4 and M5 was 36.5 MPa and
38.80 MPa, respectively whereas the compressive strength of
optimum mix i.e., M6 was 43.9 MPa. The 7-day compressive
Fig. 5 Comparison of Slump for Pavement Quality Concretewith Cement
strength of optimum concrete mix i.e., M6 is 16 per cent
Content 400 kg/m3 and 425 kg/m3 and 11 per cent more than that of control mixes M4 and
M5, respectively. The 28 - day compressive strength for the
5.2 Compressive Strength controlled concrete mixes of Type II i.e., M4 and M5 was
46.2 MPa and 49.8 MPa, respectively whereas the
The bar charts in Fig. 6 are showing the strength development compressive strength of optimum mix i.e., M6 was 53.2 MPa.
at 7 and 28 days of age for all the six designated mixes of The 28 - day compressive strength of optimum concrete mix
Type I and Type II. The 7 - day compressive strength for i.e., M6 is 13 per cent and 6 per cent more than that of control
the controlled concrete mixes of Type I i.e., M1 and M2 was mixes M4 and M5, respectively.
(a) (b)
Fig. 6 Comparison of Compressive Strengths (7 & 28 days) for Pavement Quality Concrete with Cement Content 400 kg/m3 and 425 kg/m3
5.3 Modulus of Rupture (Flexural Strength)

size 100 x 100 x 500 mm were tested for control & optimum
Tests were conducted at 7 days and 28 days to determine the concrete. The results are given in bar chart is shown in
flexural strength of concrete. Three specimens per mix of Fig. 7.

(a) (b)
Fig. 7 Comparison of Flexural Strengths (7 & 28 days) for Pavement Quality Concrete with
Cement Content 400 kg/m3 and 425 kg/m3
The flexural strength of concrete with cement content 5.4 Density of Concrete
400 kg/m3 was varied from 2.36 to 4.08 MPa in 7 days.
The 7-day flexural strength of control mixes M1 and M2 in The density of concrete after 28 days for the control mixes
Type I was 2.36 and 3.56 MPa, respectively whereas the M1 and M2 was 2514 and 2524 kg/m3 whereas that for the
flexural strength of optimum mix M3 was 4.08 MPa. This optimum mix M3 was found to be 2537 kg/m3. Hence, it
shows that the 7-day flexural strength of optimum mix is is clear that density of optimum mix is 0.9 per cent and
22 per cent and 13 per cent more than that of control mixes 0.5 per cent more than that of the control mixes M1 and
M1 and M2, respectively. The flexural strength of concrete M2, respectively. The density of concrete after 28 days for
the control mixes M4 and M5 was 2520 and 2528 kg/m3
varied from 4.04 to 4.9 MPa in 28 days. The 28-day flexural
whereas that for the optimum mix M6 was 2554 kg/m3. Thus
strength of control mixes M1 and M2 in Type I was 4.04
the density of optimum mix is found to be 2.8 per cent and
and 4.48 MPa, respectively whereas the flexural strength
1.8 per cent more than that ofthe control mixes M4 and M5,
of optimum mix M3 was 4.9 MPa. This shows that the
respectively.
28-day flexural strength of optimum mix is 17 per cent and
8 per cent more than that of control mixes M1 and M2, 6 CONCLUSIONS
respectively. The flexural strength of concrete with cement
content 400 kg/m3 was varied from 2.94 to 4.32 MPa in Based on the results obtained from the investigation, the
7-days. The 7-day flexural strength of control mixes M4 and following conclusions have been arrived.
M5 in Type II was 2.94 and 3.82 MPa, respectively where
Workability of Concrete
as the flexural strength of optimum mix M6 was 4.32 MPa.
This shows that the 7-day flexural strength of optimum All the six mixes i.e. two mixes each with 12.5 mm down
mix is 32 per cent and 11 per cent more than that of control size aggregate, 20 mm down size aggregate and 31.5 mm
mixes M4 and M5, respectively. The flexural strength of down size aggregate are easily workable, but mix with
concrete varied from 4.38 to 5.12 MPa in 28-days. The 12.5 mm down size aggregate and 20 mm down size aggregate
28- day flexural strength of control mixes M4 and M5 in Type were less workable than the mix with 31.5 mm down size
II was 4.38 and 4.79 MPa, respectively where as the flexural aggregate. The finishability (work perfection) for all the six
strength of optimum mix M6 was 5.12 MPa. This shows that mixes was good. The finishability (work perfection) of the
the 28-day flexural strength of optimum mix is 15 per cent mixes with 31.5 mm down size aggregate (M3 and M6) was
and 6 per cent more than that of control mixes M4 and M5, better than those of M1, M2, M4 and M5 which are of control
respectively. mixes.

Compressive Strength 5. Gerald, A., Huber. (2002), “Superpave Evaluation of Gradation”,

http://www.utexas.edu/research/superpave/articles/sp grad 1.html
Compressive strength of concrete mix with 31.5 mm as (27 Dec, 2009).
MAS was more when compared with the other two control 6. Lafrenz, J. (1997) “Engineering Technical Letter (ETL) 97-5:
mixes. The 28-day strengths for the mix with cement content Proportioning Concrete”.
425 kg/m3 was high in the mix with 31.5 mm down size 7. “Mixtures with Graded Aggregates for Rigid Airfield Pavements”,
aggregate (M6) and it was 7 per cent more than the mix M4 http://www.keesler.af.mil/A76pubs/Append.ix%20A%20
Publications/Engineering%20Technical%20Letters%20rETL)/
and 15 per cent more than the mix M5. The 28-day strength etl975.pdf (Oct 29, 2009).
for the concrete mix with cement content 400 kg/m3 was high 8. Neeraj, B. (2000), “Impact of Coarse Aggregates on Transverse
in mix with 31.5 mm down size aggregate (M3) and it was Crack Performance in “Jointed Concrete Pavements”, ACI
7 per cent more than the mix M2 and 18 per cent more than Materials Journal, Vol 97, No. 3, May-June, 2000.
the mix M1. 9. Daniel, N. Nwokove, (1975), “Influence of Binary Aggregate
Proportions upon some Concrete Properties”, Magazine of
Flexural Strength Concrete Research, Dec 1975, pp 259-238.
10. Office of Materials (2002), Lowa Department for Transportation
The flexural strength at the age of 28-days was higher in the “Aggregate Proportioning Guide for PC Concrete Pavement”,
optimum mix with blended aggregates of 31.5 mm & down http://www.erl.dot.state.ia.us/Oct 2002/IIv1/eontent/532.pdf (Nov
size aggregate (M3) than the other two control mixes. The 17, 2009).
flexural strength of concrete with 400 kg cement content /m3 11. Shilstone, J. M. (2000), “Engineering Normal Strength, High
at the age of 28 days for the optimum mix with 31.5 mm & –Performance Concrete for Bridges”, 79th Annual Meeting,
Transportation Research Board, Washington D.C., Jan 2000.
down size aggregates was about 22 per cent more than the
mix M1 and 10 per cent more than the mix M2. The flexural 12. Shilstone, J. M. (2002), “Concrete Mixture Optimization”,
Concrete International, 2002, pp.33-39.
strength of concrete with 425 kg cement content/m3 at the
age of 28 days for the optimum mix with 31.5 mm & down 13. Trende, U. and Buyokotzurk, O. (1998), “Size Effect and Influence of
Aggregate Roughness in Interface Fracture of Concrete Composites”,
size aggregates (M6) was about 17 per cent more than the ACI Materials Journal, July-August 1998. pp. 331-338.
mix M4 and about 7 per cent more than mix M5.
14. Teaching Web Server, Hong Kong University of Science and
Technology, http://teaching.ust.hk/-civil 111/ chapter 3. doc (Dec
Density of Concrete 13, 2009).
The density of concrete after 28 days for the optimum mix with 15. ASTM C33/C33M-119-Standard Specification for Concrete
Aggregate.
31.5 mm down size aggregate (M3) was higher than the other two
control mixes M1 and M2. The density with 400 kg cement/m3 16. ASTM C494/C494M-11-Standard Specification for Chemical
Admixture for Concrete.
at the age of 28 days with 31.5 mm & down size aggregate (M3)
17. ASTM C125-119-Standard Terminology Relating to Concrete and
was about 0.9 per cent more than the mix M1 and 0.5 per cent
Concrete Aggregates.
more than the mix M2. The density with 425 kg cement/m3 at
18. ASTMC136-06-Standard Test Method for Sieve Analysis of Fine
the age of 28 days for theoptimum mix with 31.5 mm & down and Coarse Aggregate.
size aggregate (M6) was about 2.8 per cent more than the mix
19. ASTMC31/C31M-10-Standard Practice for Making and Curing
M4 and 1.8 per cent more than the mix M5. Concrete Test Specimen in the Field.
REFERENCES 20. ASTMC78/78M-10-Standard Test Method for Flexural Strength of

Concrete.
1. Federal Highway Administration, Hot mix Asphalt for Undergraduate, 21. ASTMC94-M-11B-Standard Specification for Ready Mix
“Aggregate Properties, NCAT”, http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/asphtech/ Concrete.
iimior/lectures/block/laggrad.ppt (Nov 13, 2009).
22. IS 2836-1974-Methods of Test Quality Requirements for Porcelain
2. Fundamentals of Concrete Mix Designs (1992), http://www. Lab Apparatus. IS 516-1959-Method of Test for Strength of
rinkermaterials.com/hydroconduit/infobriefs/i 104.html (Dec 24, Concrete.
2009).
23. IS 383-1970-Specification for Coarse Aggregate and Fine
3. Foster, S. W. (1997), “Concrete Materials and Mix Design for Aggregate from Natural Sources for Concrete.
Assuring Durable Pavements”, Sixth International Conference on
Concrete Pavement Design and Materials for High Performance, 24. IS 456-2000-Plain and Reinforced Concrete-Code of Practice.
Purdue University, Nov. pp.18-21, 1997. 25. IS 8112-Specification for 43 Grade Ordinary Portland Cement-
4. Goode, J. F. and Lufsey, L.S. (1965), “A New Graphical Chart 1989.
for Evaluation Aggregate Graduations”, Proceedings of the 26. IRC: 44-1976 (RA-2008) Tentative Guidelines of Cement Concrete
Association of Asphalt Paving Technologists, Vol 31, 1962, Mix Design for Pavements.
pp. 176-207.

STUDY ON IMPACT OF HIGH SPEED RAIL ON
ROAD PASSENGER TRAFFIC IN INDIA
D. Siddi Ramulu* & M. Selvakumar**
Abstract
Vision-2020 of Indian Railways (IR) envisages the implementation of High Speed Rail (HSR) connecting metro cities such as Delhi,
Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Chennai, and Bangalore. Against this background, a study has been carried out to assess the likely impact of HSR on
Chennai-Bangalore and Mumbai-Ahmedabad road corridors by conducting Stated Preference (SP) survey of potential users of HSR i.e. Car
and Air-conditioned Bus (AC Bus). A binary logit model was developed using SP data to arrive probable shift of road passengers to HSR.
The study reveals that fare has significant impact on inducing diversion of trips from Car and AC Bus to HSR. The probable shift to HSR is
more than 80 per cent when fare is 1.5 times Executive Chair Car train fare (Rs. 4.5 per km). The shift is only 1 per cent to 8 per cent when
fare is 3.0 times Executive Chair Car train fare (Rs. 9.0 per km). The impact of HSR works out to be 15.6 per cent and 12.3 per cent shift
from Car and AC Bus to HSR for Chennai-Bangalore corridor for the fare levels of Rs. 4.5 per km. The corresponding values of shift are
41.6 per cent and 17.6 per cent from Car and AC Bus to HSR for Mumbai-Ahmedabad corridor.
The study also reveals that shift on Mumbai-Ahmedabad HSR is higher as compared to the Chennai-Bangalore HSR which can be attributed
to longer corridor length, substantial savings in travel time and number of intermediate stations.
In addition to fare, other variables such as shorter travel time, income of the person, occupation, type of trip i.e. official or personal and
frequency of travel are also found to be influencing shift behaviour. Price elasticity of demand indicates that the Bus passengers are more
price sensitive than the Car passengers. Also it is found that price sensitivity on Mumbai-Ahmedabad corridor is high as compared to the
Chennai-Bangalore corridor.
1 INTRODUCTION
High Speed Rail (HSR) is defined as a rail system that is
designed for maximum train speed that exceeds 200 km/h
for upgraded tracks and 250 km/h for new tracks and is
generally used for intercity transport rather than urban
transport (Peterman R.D. et. al.1).
Vision 20202,3 of Indian Railways (IR) envisages the
implementation of HSR connecting metro cities such as
Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Chennai, and Bangalore.
Railway’s vision is to implement 2,000 km of HSR by 2020.
Six corridors have already been identified for technical
studies for implementation of HSR and the details are shown
in Table 1 and Fig. 1.
Table 1 Proposed High Speed Rail (HSR)
Corridors in India
S. Corridor Name Length Competing

No. (in km) National Highway
1 Delhi - Chandigarh - Amritsar 450 NH-1
2 Mumbai - Ahmedabad - Pune 650 NH-8
3 Hyderabad - Dornakal - 644 NH-9/NH-5
Vijayawada - Chennai
4 Chennai - Bangalore - 649 NH-4/NH-47
Coimbatore - Ernakulum
5 Howrah - Haldia 135 NH-41/NH-6
6 Delhi - Agra - Lucknow - 991 NH-2
Varanasi - Patna
Fig.1 Proposed High Speed Rail Corridors in India
}
* Project consultant
L & T Ramboll Consulting Engineers Limited, C3-C7, 4th Floor, Triton Square, Guindy Industrial
** Senior Engineering Consultant Estate, Guindy, Chennai-600 032, India, e-mail: dsr@ltramboll.com; selva1002001@gmail.com

Ramulu & Selvakumar on
Study on Impact of High Speed Rail on Road Passenger Traffic in India
The cost of high speed rail varies from Rs 120 to 150 crores Percapita income, Value of Time (VOT) of passengers is on
per km (DMRCL9 & TOI15) depending upon whether HSR rise, necessitating faster and comfortable services.
is planned at grade or elevated and thus the total cost of
3.4 Limitation of Railways
construction of these six identified lines will be extremely
high. In view of the astronomical investment requirements, Indian Railways, though has the fourth largest railway
the vision proposes that these projects should be executed network in the world has limitations in terms of Speed. The
through PPP mode with suitable financial support from fastest train in India is Bhopal Shatabdi between New Delhi
Central as well as the beneficiary State Governments. – Bhopal Junction with a maximum speed of 161 km/h
and an average speed of 86.72 km/h (701 km in 8 hours
2 Objective of the Study
5 minutes). But there are only few trains with such high
The main objective of this study was to assess the impact speeds. Considering the country size and population more
of implementing the proposed HSR on two select routes viz fast trains are required.
Chennai-Bangalore and Mumbai-Ahmedabad road corridors
3.5 Air travel
in terms of modal shift of patronage by developing logit
models from the Stated Preference Survey data collected. Air travel is costly and it may not be the solution to the
Only the shift from Car and AC Bus was studied. Though transportation of large number of people for medium to long
major diversion is also expected from existing Rail and Air distance travel.
to HSR, the focus of the study was to assess the diversion
from road based traffic to HSR. 3.6 Economy
3 Relevance of High Speed Rail in India Reduced inter-city travel time among major metro cities
will boost the economy and brings in tremendous changes in
The relevance of HSR for Indian context is described business and personal travel.
below.
4 Benefits of High Speed Rail (HSR)
3.1 Size
• It has been established that HSR offers the
India is a large country of sub-continental dimensions. There least net travel time when compared with
is an enormous potential for long inter-city travel ranging conventional road, rail and air travel between
from 300 km to 2,500 km. distances of approximately 160 km and
800 km (Nash6). For journeys less than 160 km,
3.2 Urbanisation
HSR offers little advantage over conventional
India has 53 cities with more than 10 lakhs population and rail. For distances between 160 km to 400 km,
three cities with more than 100 lakhs population (Population HSR travel involves less net travel time than
Census, 20115). At present, around 30 per cent of population Air travel. For journeys more than 800 km, Air
is living in urban areas and is expected to increase to travel is faster. These distances are not absolute
40 per cent by 2031. Rapid urbanization will trigger growth and may vary across corridors depending upon
for inter-city travel due to increased demand for business, other factors that may come into play. Thus in
education, tourism/pilgrimage and social purposes. general, it may be surmised that HSR offers
competitive advantage for medium distance
3.3 Growth in Percapita Income
journeys.
The Percapita income of India has grown at the rate of
• A
irports are generally not located within the
8.0 per cent per annum between 2001-02 and 2012-13 as
city centre. Typical break-up of Air travel (for a
per Central Statistical Organisation (CSO). With increase in
medium range travel) will be as follows:

5 Challenges for Implementation of

Time to reach Airport 45 min
HSR in India
Reporting time for Check-in and Security 60 min
formalities Implementation of HSR is fraught with many challenges
Flying time 60 min also and these should be kept in view while evaluating its
impact. They are enumerated below:
Baggage collection and exit 15 min
Total Time 180 min 5.1 High Cost of Implementation
• O
n the contrary, railway stations are generally The average cost of implementation of HSR is in the range
located within the city and it takes much less of Rs. 120-150 crore per km (DMRCL9 & TOI15). The Pre-
time to reach the station and board the train as feasibility study for Kerala High Speed Rail estimated the
also to disembark from the train and reach the average cost as Rs. 150 crore per km (2011 price levels,
destination. Thus the advantage of faster travel DMRC9). The estimated cost is high for Kerala HSR as
by air is often lost due to considerable time taken 57 per cent of the corridor was planned as elevated and
by other components. 18 per cent as underground. The estimated the cost of
Mumbai-Ahmedabad HSR corridor is Rs. 118 crore per
• A
lso, flights are not frequent between the cities.
Intermediate cities are untouched in 500-700 km km as per the feasibility study being carried by JICA. Land
distance. Every intermediate city/town will cost will also contribute to significant share of overall cost
extend the flight time by minimum of 1 hour of HSR.
(40 min turnaround time + landing and takeoff Since High Speed Rail corridors were not implemented
time).The total capacity of flights is also limited. in India so far, it is pertinent to review the cost of HSR in
• H
SR will string 4-5 cities to provide high other countries. As per International Union of Railways
frequency of intercity travel on high ridership (UIC), Average cost of construction of HSR is €12-30
routes which is not possible by any other mode million per kilometre (2012 price levels) and average cost of
of transport under 3 hours of travel time and thus maintenance of HSR is €0.7 million per kilometre (UIC13).
capacity of HSR is very high. In addition to above, cost of high speed train (350 seating
capacity) is € 20-25 million and maintenance cost of high
• H
SR offers decreased carbon footprint in
speed train is €1 million per annum. Such high unit costs
comparison to road and air transport (Invensys
Rail7); CO2 emissions (kg) per 100 passenger - will pose severe problems in arranging for funds and will
km (Balakrishnan8) are as follows: result in much higher tariff than for other surface modes in
order to make the project viable.
- Airplane 17
- Car 14 5.2 Higher Fares
- HSR 4 Due to high construction and O&M cost, fares have to be very
• H
SR offer reduction in energy usage as compared high to sustain operations cost. The fares of HSR in Europe/
to the other modes (Balakrishnan8) America vary between 50 per cent and 85 per cent of Air
fare. The proposed fare for Kerala HSR is taken as Rs. 4.35
- Airplane 8.5 times per km (for 95 per cent of the passengers) and Rs. 8.7 per km
- Car 4.0 times (for 5 per cent of the passengers) based on the willingness to
- HSR 3.0 times pay surveys. The fare considered for pre-feasibility study for
• H
SR is acknowledged to be a safer mode of Pune-Mumbai-Ahmedabad corridor (RITES4) is Rs. 7.0 per
transport in comparison to road and air transport km (75 per cent of the seats capacity), Rs. 4.5 per km (25 per
based on past history of HSR around the world. cent of the seats capacity).
• H
SR is environment friendly and energy efficient. The comparative fares of various modes of transport are
• HSR provides top level riding comfort. presented in Table 2.

Table 2 Comparative Fares of Various Modes large difference in the fare. If at all, the shift will only be
(in Rs per km in 2013) negligible.
Travel Mode Chennai- Mumbai- Average Based on the earlier research work on the subject matter,
Bangalore Ahmedabad Fare two different approaches are used in mode choice analysis:
3 Tier AC Train 1.8 1.4 1.6 (i) Stated Preference (SP) Approach and (ii) Revealed
Preference (RP) Approach. The SP approach has several
2 Tier AC Train 2.4 2 2.2
advantages over RP approach (Hensher10) in predicting
Exec CC Train 3.2 2.9 3.0 choice behaviour of the travellers. These are:
Volvo Bus Fare 2.2 1.9 2.1
• Precisely specified choice set
Car (Self drive) 6.5
• Multiple answers from each respondents
Car (Taxi) 10.0 • M ultiple choice formats (choices, ranking or
SUV (diesel/Self drive) 7.0 rating)
Air ** 7.5 to 16.5 • H ypothetical, “Stated” choices in controlled
experiments
HSR (Non-Business 4.5
Class) • Ability to analyse reaction to future, rather than
existing options
HSR (Business Class) 9.0
• Low cost
** Air fare given above is only indicative value for the purpose
of comparison for distances upto 500-600 km. Air fares may vary Hence, in the present study, SP approach has been adopted
widely based on demand/supply and seasons. for model development. Since, the modes considered were
road and HSR (binary situation); binary choice model has
5.3 Land Acquisition been used.
Land needs to be acquired for implementation of HSR which 7 Survey Design

may pose major challenge.
Stated Preference (SP) questionnaire was prepared so as to
5.4 Technology collect required socio-economic and travel characteristics
in order to understand the behaviour of users. Following
New Technology needs to be absorbed for construction and information was collected as part of the survey:
operation of HSR (Akshima14).
(i) Socio-economic factors: (a) age (b) education (c) type
5.5 Longer Implementation Period of employment (d) occupation (e) monthly income
(ii) Travel factors: (a) origin – destination (b) distance
Implementation of HSR may take about 10 years for
(c) travel time (d) purpose of trip (e) frequency
implementation. Strong political support and funding will
of travel (f) occupancy (single or more) (g) car
be required to implement the project. ownership
6. Modelling Approach (iii) Factors representing attitude and behaviour: (a) cost
of travel (b) comfort and convenient of travel
Modal shift occurs when one mode has a comparative (iv) Stated scenarios: Fare levels were chosen such that
advantage in a similar market over another. Comparative they should be atleast 50 per cent more than existing
advantage can take various forms such as travel cost, travel premier train fare but should be less than Air fare and
time, capacity, flexibility and reliability etc. Depending upon cost of travel by Car. In order to capture full range
the kind of passengers travelling and their characteristics of fares, 4 fare scenarios were considered. HSR
(socio-economic characteristics, trip characteristics etc.), fare is 1.5 times, 2.0 times, 2.5 times and 3.0 times
the relative importance of these factors vary. that of Executive Chair Car Train fare. The average
Executive Chair Car Train Fare is Rs. 3 per km and
If HSR is introduced for intercity travel, it is expected that the 4 fare scenarios considered above corresponds to
there will be shift from Car and AC bus passengers to HSR fare levels of Rs.4.5 per km, Rs.6.0 per km, Rs. 7.5
due to its perceived advantages. Non-AC buses are excluded per km and Rs.9.0 per km.
from the analysis after observing the unwillingness of
Stated Preference survey was conducted by the transport
passengers to shift to HSR in the initial sample due to
planners giving the respondents prior introduction about

HSR with the help of Brochure prepared for the survey. The comparative travel time, travel cost details for various travel
Brochure contains the salient features of the proposed HSR modes for Mumbai-Ahmedabad corridor was also included
with pictorial representations. The information presented in in the brochure so that respondents can make informed
the brochure is summarised below: decisions which is shown as Table 3.
• Average journey speed - 250 km/h In developing country like India, fare plays most important
• S
horter overall travel time as compared to Air for role in the choice of mode as compared to the other attributes.
distances upto 500-600 km Other attributes such as safety, reliability, frequency, comfort
• Minimum fare of Rs. 4.5 per km and convenience have been defined and informed to the
• A
safer transportation solution as compared to the respondents before asking for response. The above attributes
existing modes are far superior for HSR as compared to the existing modes
and it was found difficult to differentiate various levels
• Good frequency (Train every hour)
taking into account that HSR is new mode and was not
• Sharp punctuality-zero delay implemented in India so far. In view of above, fare alone is
• Fully air-conditioned coaches considered for investigating the shift behaviour.
• World class cuisines
• Passenger Information Display 8 Sample size
• Stress free journey Given to medium-to-large effect size (the level of difference),
• Top level riding comfort 30 participants per variable should lead to about 80 per cent
• Better ambience and more leg room power (Cohen11). Based on this guideline, the number of
• L
ow carbon footprint as compared to Air and observations required for estimation will be around 240
Automobile assuming 7-8 significant variables may be detected in the
• Energy efficient as compared to other modes model. Considering the above guidelines as well as number
of destination/intermediate destinations, samples were
In addition to the above, to get a clear idea about HSR, a collected as given in Table 4.
Table 3 Comparative Travel Time, Travel Cost Details for various Travel Modes for Mumbai-Ahmedabad Corridor
Mode Travel Travel Time (min) Travel Time Travel Cost Per km
Distance Pre-boarding In Vehicle Post-alighting Total (hrs) Cost (2013 price
(km) Time Travel Time Time (Rs) levels)
Car (Self drive) 528 0 480 0 480 8.0 3,401 6.4
Car-Cab 528 0 480 0 480 8.0 5,300 10.0
SUV 528 0 420 0 420 7.0 5,101 9.6
Bus-Ordinary, Non A/C 528 40 570 30 640 10.7 425 0.8
Bus-A/C 528 40 570 30 640 10.7 700 1.3
Bus-Multi Axle, Volvo 528 40 510 30 580 9.7 1,000 1.9
Train (3A) 491 40 360 30 430 7.2 765 1.4
Train (2A) 491 40 360 30 430 7.2 1,078 2.0
Air 448 90 45 120 255 4.3 5,163 11.5
High Speed Rail (HSR) 500 40 120 30 190 3.2 2,500 5.0
Note: Pre-boarding Time includes Travel from City Centre to Boarding Point; Post-alighting Time includes Travel from Alighting Point to
City Centre; In the case of Airport Boarding & Alighting, time will include time for Boarding& Alighting, Baggage, Security Check etc.
Table 4 Sample Size 9 Socio-Economic Characteristics of

Corridor No. of Intermediate Sample Size
Sample
Destinations
Socio-economic characteristics of sample in terms of age,
Chennai – Bangalore Nil 250 education, occupation and income distribution of the sample
Ahmedabad – Mumbai 3 (Surat, Bharuch, 500 collected is presented Fig. 2. It can be observed that around
Vadodara) 70 - 74 per cent of people are in the age group of 20 to 40
Total 750 years and 25 - 28 per cent of the people are in the age group

of 40 to 60 years. Around 90 per cent of the people have is 20 - 21 per cent. Income distribution of sample reveals
completed atleast under graduation degree. Analysis of that 8 - 12 per cent of the people have income less than
occupation structure of sample reveals that service in private 3 lakh per annum, 62 - 78 per cent of the people have income
is predominant with the share of 69 - 72 per cent and the from 3 to 10 lakh per annum and 13 - 26 per cent of the
share of people who informed that they are doing Business people have income more than 10 lakh per annum.
Fig. 2 Socio-economic Characteristics of Sample
10 Model Shift Model Vi = β0 + β1 x1+ β2 x2, +.........βn xn + ε .............2
10.1 Model Specification β0, β1, β2,...are model parameters to be calibrated
In the current study, focus is on modal shift from Car and x1, x2 are influencing factors in modal shift
AC Bus to HSR when HSR is introduced. Model considers
shift from Car to HSR and AC Bus to HSR, which is a binary ε is a random error term
choice. Since it is a dummy dependent (either 0 or 1) and
10.2 Model Calibration & Validation
non-linear in nature and dealing with hypothetical case
(HSR will be introduced), Binary Logit Model was chosen Data collected through Stated Preference survey among Car
for this study. and AC Bus users were coded and analysed using Statistical
Software Tools (SST) software to get the final model output.
Structure of the model is as given below:
For the purpose of model validation, the holdout data points
exp (V1 ) were used to model the modal shift in two different ways.
P shift = .............1
1+ exp (Vi ) First, a separate model using hold out sample data was
where, calibrated and the Log-Likelihood (LL) was estimated.
Next, the parameter estimate of the model calibrated using
PShift = Probability of shift from one mode to another mode rest of data points (reduced model). Now the hold out data
was applied to the reduced model and the value of Log-
Vi = utility function with an error term ‘ε’ Likelihood was calculated. The two values of the Log-
Utility function is deterministic in nature and it is a function Likelihood were close to each other indicating the validity
of various factors influencing the shift. of the model. To make the model broad based, hold-out

sample was also added to model data set and recalibrated. Observations
Thus calibrated models are presented in Table 5.
• Fare difference (i.e. cost) is the significant driving
Table 5 Results of Calibration Modal Shift Model force in modal shift in all the cases (“-ve” sign).
Estimated Coefficients and t-statistic within parentheses
• S horter travel time also plays an important role in
Independent choice of HSR (“+ve” sign)
AC Bus Car
Variable Chennai - Mumbai- Chennai - Mumbai- • H igher the educational qualification higher will
Bangalore Ahmedabad Bangalore Ahmedabad be the shift and influencing positively. It can
Constant 3.83654 8.88265 3.86264 10.00811 be observed that educational level with UG has
(2.50) (8.13) (5.26) (14.55) +0.584 (t-stat: 2.60) whereas PG and above has
Age group (20 (-) 1.46438 (-) 0.44421 (-) 0.48621 - +0.936 (3.52)
to 40) (-2.21) (-1.70) (-2.18) • I ncome is highly significant for Bus travellers
Educational - - 0.58442 - who are more sensitive to price of travel than Car
level up to UG (2.60) passengers (Bus +1.47 (6.08); Car +0.483 (2.11)
Educational 0.93553 - - • O ccupation also affects the choice of HSR
level PG & (3.52)
above
(service-private +1.57 (2.90); service-government
Self employed - - 1.51034 - +1.10 (2.96))
people (2.79) • F requent travellers are more willing to shift
Service in 1.10237 - - (+1.646 (3.58)); whereas passengers travelling as
government (2.96) a group are not willing to shift (-1.558 (-2.23))
sector
• O fficial trip makers are more willing to shift to
Service in - - 1.57307 -
HSR (+0.638 (3.07))
private sector (2.90)
• F actors like fare paid (company or self) and safety
Income five to - 1.47096 - 0.4834
10 lakhs (6.08) (2.11)
are found to be insignificant in the modal shift
analysis.
Frequent 1.64609 - - -
Traveller (3.58) 11 Estimation of Probability of Shift
Official trip 0.63807 - -
passengers (3.07) Based on the modal shift model developed, probability of
shift from Car & AC Bus to HSR for different fare levels are
Occupancy (-) 1.55804 - - -
more than 2 (-2.23) calculated and presented in Table 6. It can be observed that
Multi Axle Bus 0.61547 0.3216 - -
the probability of shift is high when fare difference is lower
(1.53) (1.46) and vice versa. That is, when fare increases, passengers are
Reduced - - 1.07839 less willing to shift. It can be observed that shift of passengers
Security (4.57) travelling for Mumbai-Ahmedabad corridor is slightly higher
hassles (less sensitivity to price of HSR travel) than the Chennai-
Shorter 4.97419 3.02598 1.26715 - Bangalore corridor up to the fare level of 2.0 times. Also it can
travel time is (4.14) (3.25) (3.63)
important in
be noted that probability of shift is drastically comes down
choice of HSR when the fare changes from Rs.4.5 per km to Rs.6.0 per km.
Less expensive 1.77377 - - -
Table 6 Probability of Shift to HSR
than flying (4.02)
choice of HSR Chennai- Mumbai-
Fare Difference (-) 4.48408 (-) 6.11749 (-) 2.48337 (-) 4.86052 Bangalore Ahmedabad
Case Fare Difference
(HSR fare with (-8.24) (-16.84) (-8.26) (-15.14) AC
Car Car AC Bus
executive class Bus
rail fare) 1 When HSR fare is 1.5 times Exec. 92% 81% 97% 96%
Initial log- -199.63 -823.46 -435.3 -560.06 CC Rail fare (Rs. 4.5 per km)
likelihood 2 When HSR fare is 2.0 times Exec. 49% 52% 73% 60%
Final log- -90.769 -314.86 -267.4 -264.83 CC Rail fare (Rs. 6.0 per km)
likelihood 3 When HSR fare is 2.5 times Exec. 23% 19% 22% 12%
r2 Value 0.55 0.62 0.39 0.53 CC Rail fare (Rs. 7.5 per km)
4 When HSR fare is 3.0 times Exec. 8% 4% 3% 1%
Factors not considered in the model is indicated as '-' CC Rail fare (Rs. 9.0 per km)

12 Impact of HSR on Road Traffic three intermediate stations at Surat, Bharuch and
Vadodara. Therefore, all the possible combinations of
From Table 6, estimated probability of shift from logit model O-D pairs were considered. The Traffic for base year
for Car & AC Bus was applied to the base year traffic (2013) (2013) was estimated by applying the appropriate
for respective two road corridors. growth factors.
(a) Chennai–Bangalore proposed HSR Corridor In order to assess the overall shift in each of the corridor,
competes with Chennai-Bangalore Highway (NH-4) the total traffic is categorized into local traffic and through
as well as NH-46. To represent this corridor, previous traffic. Local traffic is the traffic that cannot use HSR as their
count data at Walajahpet Toll Plaza (km 1185/000) of origins/ destinations do not match with the HSR stations.
Feb, 2012 was used. The Traffic for base year (2013) Through traffic is the traffic whose origins/ destinations
was estimated by applying the appropriate growth are same as the proposed HSR stations and therefore can
factors.
be potential traffic for HSR. Probabilities are applied to
(b) Mumbai–Ahmedabad proposed HSR Corridor the potential OD pairs and overall shift in Car and Bus is
competes with Mumbai–Ahmedabad National estimated and presented in Table 7. It can be observed that
Highway (NH-8) as well as proposed Expressway. To when the fare difference is 3.0 times, it is almost overlapping
represent this Corridor, traffic @ Karjan Toll Plaza on the existing traffic line. This indicates that the expected
(km 158/000) of Sep, 2011 was used. It is assumed shift is marginal when the fare is 3.0 times higher than
that proposed Mumbai-Ahmedabad HSR will have executive class rail fare
Table 7 Impact of HSR on Road Traffic (2013)

Case Fare Difference Chennai-Bangalore Corridor Overall Overall
Car Bus diversion of diversion of
Car Traffic Bus Traffic
Local Through Total Local Through Total
Without NA 7,092 1,448 8,540 2,085 371 2,456 NA NA
HSR
With HSR 1.5 Times Exe. 7,092 116 7,208 2,085 70 2,155 -15.60% -12.26%
CC Fare
2.0 Times Exe. 7,092 738 7,830 2,085 178 2,263 -8.31% -7.86%
CC Fare
2.5 Times Exe. 7,092 1,115 8,207 2,085 301 2,386 -3.90% -2.85%
CC Fare
3.0 Times Exe. 7,092 1,332 8,424 2,085 356 2,441 -1.36% -0.61%
CC Fare
Mumbai - Ahmedabad Corridor Overall Overall
Case Fare Difference Car Bus diversion of diversion of
Local Through Total Local Through Total Car Traffic Bus Traffic
Without
6,988 5,261 12,249 2,163 487 2,650
HSR NA NA
1.5 Times Exe. 6,988 158 7,146 2,163 19 2,182
CC Fare -41.66% -17.66%
2.0 Times Exe.
6,988 1,420 8,408 2,163 195 2,358
CC Fare -31.36% -11.02%
With HSR
2.5 Times Exe.
6,988 4,104 11,092 2,163 429 2,592
CC Fare -9.45% -2.19%
3.0 Times Exe.
6,988 5,103 12,091 2,163 482 2,645
CC Fare -1.29% -0.19%
Note: (i) Local traffic is traffic that cannot use HSR as their Origins/ Destinations do not match with the proposed HSR stations.
(ii) Through traffic is the traffic whose Origins/Destinations are same as the proposed HSR stations and therefore can use HSR.
(iii) Diversion is only applied to AC Buses and no diversion is assumed from Non-AC Buses.

13 Price Elasticity of Demand (PED) Table 9 PED for Various Segments of Travellers:
Mumbai-Ahmedabad Corridor
Cost plays an important role in shift behaviour and therefore,
it is interesting to study the price elasticity of different Sl. Segment of Traveller PED
segments of travellers. It indicates change behaviour of shift No. Car Bus
with respect to change in price of travel (Price Sensitivity). 1 Service in private sector making official 1.916 1.981
This differs from one segment of passengers to another trips
segment of passengers. For example, official trip makers are
2 Service in private sector making personal 1.972 1.987
less sensitive to price change than the personal trip makers. trips
Since official trip makers fare is paid by the company 3 Business people travelling in own car / 1.943 1.969
whereas personal trips makers pay money out of their own multi-axle bus
pocket. 4 Business people travelling in taxi 1.965 1.992
The price elasticity is calculated using the following 5 Service in Government and travelling in 1.867 1.904
method: own car/multi-axle bus
6 Employees who said shorter travel time is 1.935 1.979
“Disaggregate elasticity represents the responsiveness of an the reason for choosing HSR
individual’s choice probability to a change in the value of
some attributes” Observations
• T rip purpose does not make any difference in
The simplest case is the elasticity of the probability of an
change in price elasticity of HSR.
individual choosing alternative ‘i’ with respect to a change in
• I n general, bus passengers are more price sensitive
some attribute that is an independent variable in the model,
than the car passengers.
namely one of the xink’s. In this case the direct elasticity of
• P rice sensitivity is higher in Mumbai-Ahmedabad
logit is given by (Ben-Akiva & Lerman12):
corridor than the Chennai-Bangalore corridor.
б P/P бP C • C onsidering Chennai-Bangalore corridor, official

Exink pn(i) =
( бc/c
c
) = x
бc P .............3
and business trip makers have less price sensitive
than other segments of travellers.
where, б P/P = Percentage change in the probability of shift 14 Conclusions
бc/c = Percentage change in the cost difference
• A stated preference approach is used to study
c
The calculated price elasticity of demand for different the impact of HSR along Chennai-Bangalore
segment of travellers is given in Tables 8 and 9. and Mumbai-Ahmedabad road corridors by
conducting Stated Preference (SP) survey of
Table 8 PED for Various Segments of Travellers: potential users of High Speed Rail i.e. AC Bus
Chennai-Bangalore Corridor and Car passengers. A binary choice logit model
is developed using SP data to arrive probable shift
Sl. Segment of Traveller PED of road passengers to HSR.
No.
Car Bus • The study reveals that fare is the significant factor
1 Service in private sector making official 1.625 1.894 that has considerable impact in inducing diversion
trips of trips from Car and AC Bus to HSR. The probable
2 Service in private sector making personal 1.698 1.860 shift to HSR from Car and AC Bus is more than
trips 80 per cent when fare is 1.5 times Executive Chair
Car rail fare (Rs. 4.5 per km). The shift is only 1 to
3 Business people travelling in own car/ 1.687 1.863
multi-axle bus
8 per cent when fare is 3.0 times Executive Chair
Car rail fare (Rs. 9.0 per km).
4 Business people travelling in taxi 1.641 1.982
5 Service in Government & travelling in own 1.826 1.891 • The study also reveals that shift on Mumbai-
car / multi-axle bus Ahmedabad HSR is higher as compared to the
Chennai-Bangalore HSR which can be attributed
6 Employees who said shorter travel time is 1.688 1.892
to longer corridor length, substantial savings in
the reason for choosing HSR
travel time and number of intermediate stations.

• The study indicates that fare of HSR plays critical gratitude to Management of L&T Ramboll Consulting
role to achieve the diversion from Car and Bus. Engineers Limited, Chennai for their moral support and
It gives useful insights for Policy Makers and transport planners who have conducted stated preference
Investors. While fare level of Rs. 4.5 per km given surveys.
highest diversion and any fare above Rs. 6.0 per
km will result in drastic reduction in diversion. References
Therefore, in order to achieve at least 50 per cent 1. eterman, R.D. et. al. (2009), "High Speed Rail in the United States",
P
diversion from Car and AC Bus, HSR fares are to Congressional Research Service Paper R40973.
be kept between Rs. 4.5 to 6.0 per km. 2. overnment of India, Ministry of Railways, (2009), Indian Railways:
G
Vision 2020.
• T
he overall shift in Car and Bus works out to
3. overnment of India, Ministry of Railways, (2009), "Looking Ahead
G
be 15.6 per cent and 12.3 per cent for Chennai- to the Future".
Bangalore corridor when the fare is Rs. 4.5 per km. 4. ITES Limited (2012), "Pre-feasibility Study on High Speed Rail
R
The corresponding shift is only 1.36 per cent and Corridor between Pune-Mumbai-Ahmedabad".
0.61 per cent when the fare is Rs. 9.0 per km. 5. Population Census of India, 2011. Web page: www.censusindia.org
• The overall shift in Car and Bus works out to 6. ndrew Nash., P.E. (2003), "Best Practices in Shared-Use High-
A
Speed Rail Systems", MTI Report 02-02, Mineta Transportation
be 41.6 per cent and 17.6 per cent for Mumbai- Institute, San Jose State University.
Ahmedabad corridor when the fare is Rs. 4.5 per
7. I nvensys Rail and Oxford Analytica, "The Benefits of High-Speed
km. The corresponding shift is only 1.29 per cent Rail in Comparative Perspective", Wiltshire, UK, 2012.
and 0.19 per cent when the fare is Rs. 9.0 per km.
8. alakrishnan, T. (2012), "Kerala High Speed Rail", Kerala High
B
Speed Rail Corporation.
• In addition to fare, other variables such as shorter
travel time, income of the person, occupation, 9. elhi Metro Rail Corporation Limited, (Sep 2011), "Kerala High
D
Speed Rail between Thiruvananthapuram and Ernakulum".
type of trip i.e. official or personal and frequency
of travel are also found to be influencing the shift 10. ensher, D.A. (1994), "Stated Preference Analysis of Travel Choices:
H
The state of Practice", Transportation, 21, 107-133.
behaviour.
11. ohen. J, "Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioural Sciences",
C
• Price elasticity of demand indicates that the Bus Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers, New Jersey, 1988.
passengers are more price sensitive than the Car 12. kiva, M.E., and Lerman, S, "Discrete Choice Analysis: Theory and
A
passengers. Also, it has been found that price Application to Travel Demand", MIT Press, Cambridge, 1985.
sensitivity on Mumbai-Ahmedabad corridor 13. " High Speed Rail- Fast Track to Sustainable Mobility", International
Union of Railways (UIC), June 2012.
is high as compared to the Chennai-Bangalore
corridor. 14. kshima T Ghate, “Passenger Transport Sector in India, Need for
A
Railway Capacity Enhancement”, High Speed Rail Seminar in India,
AcknowledGEmentS January 13, 2012, New Delhi.
15. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Mumbai-hmedabad-
The authors express gratitude to L&T IDPL, Chennai for High-Speed-Corridor-Proposed-via-Thane/articleshow/29379878.
allowing us to use the survey data. Authors also express cms, January, 2014.

DESTINATION AND IMAGE ATTRIBUTES INFLUENCING LEISURE
DESTINATION CHOICE
Rajat Rastogi*, Hari Krishna M.** & T. Pawanram***
Abstract
The intention to revisit a leisure destination is governed by two aspects. One aspect is related to the destination values and another aspect
is matching of perceived and actual image of the destination. This Paper examines the role of such attributes in the decision making
of domestic leisure traveler in India. The values considered are ‘historical and cultural heritage’, ‘pilgrim value’, relaxation and health
improvement’, ‘entertainment options’, ‘natural scenic beauty’, ‘shopping facilities’, ‘water front’ and ‘garden/urban form’. The destination
image attributes are ‘overall ambiance’, ‘natural scenic beauty’, ‘sightseeing locations’, ‘food and accommodation’, ‘culture of a place’ and
‘local people hospitality’. Survey was conducted at two popular leisure destinations. Scaling theory and factor analytic approach was used
to arrive at a combination of attributes that affect leisure travel decisions. It was found that the leisure travelers to a religious destination
considered ‘prime and leisure value’, ‘fun and allied value’ and ‘hospitality’ as influencing factors in decision making. The factors identified
at a historical and cultural heritage destination were ‘leisure value’, ‘fun value’ and ‘allied value’. The analysis revealed that the travelers to
a religious destination felt that fun and allied values may act as distracters.
1 INTRODUCTION traveler, the values which a visited destination had offered

to the traveler and the intention of revisiting the destination
Revisit to a leisure destination is governed by two aspects as indicated by the traveler. This Paper examines the above
namely, the matching of perceived image of the destination hypothesis to arrive at the important destination attributes
with the one experienced by a traveler and the destination related to image and values that are expected to influence the
values. The attributes related to the destination can be broadly revisit decisions of leisure travelers in India.
classified as destination image attributes and destination
value attributes. Destination image is an overall perception The image of a destination is defined by different researchers
of a traveler that is formed based on performance measures in different ways. Some are:
like ‘overall ambiance’, ‘natural scenic beauty’, ‘sightseeing
locations’, ‘food and accommodation’, ‘culture of a place’ a) Impression that people hold about a state in which
and ‘local people hospitality’. The first three measures define they do not reside (Hunt, 1975);
the aim with which a traveler usually travels to a leisure b) Expression of all objective knowledge, impressions,
destination. The next three measures define the physical imaginations and emotional thoughts that individuals
and psychological comfort that a traveler can derive at that have of a particular place (Lawson and Manuel,
leisure destination. Together, these measures will result in 1977);
travelers’ satisfaction. Higher is this satisfaction the more
is the chance of revisit to that leisure destination. These c) Sum of beliefs, ideas and impressions that a person
measures are supported by various values a destination may has of a destination (Crompton, 1979);
offer to the traveler. The values can be ‘historical and cultural
heritage’, ‘religious’, ‘relaxation and health improvement’, d) Function of brand (political entity) and the tourists’
‘entertainment options’, ‘natural scenic beauty’, ‘shopping and sellers’ perceptions of the attributes of activities
facilities’, ‘water front’ and ‘garden/urban form’. Different or attractions available within a destination area
leisure destinations are expected to offer different values at (Gartner, 1986);
varying levels. This will bring in change in (re)visit intentions
e) Mental representation of a destination on the basis
of traveler. It therefore allows hypothesizing a correlation
of information cues delivered by information agents
between the destination images attributes as perceived by the
and selected by a person (Tasci and Gartner, 2007).
** Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee – 247 667, Uttarakhand.
e-mail: rajatfce@iitr.ernet.in
** Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, National Institute of Technology Calicut, Calicut-673 601. e-mail: harikrishna@
nitc.ac.in
*** Post Graduate Student (Former), Transportation Engineering Group, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee – 247 667,
Uttarakhand.

Rastogi, Krishna & Pawanram on
Destination and Image Attributes Influencing Leisure Destination Choice
One of the earliest works on destination preferences of desirability of a destination with respect to the perceived
tourists and their perceptions was carried out by Goodrich knowledge about the destination. Destination desirability is
(1978). He developed a Fishbein–type model and suggested found to be high at the start of the trip but no statistically
that selection of a vacation spot is dependent upon the values significant change was found after the visit to the destination.
perceived by a tourist as well as the importance given to It was found that the knowledge about a destination
those values by them. Crompton (1979) conducted a study significantly increased for first time visitors. O’ Leary and
to identify image attributes that are considered important by Deegan (2005) had suggested that tourists’ experience with
travelers in the decision to visit or not to visit Mexico for a destination influences their level of satisfaction with
pleasure vacation. He found that the overall image was not the destination as well as the decision making process.
significantly different. The variance test indicated significant Importance Performance Analysis (IPA) was used to
difference between regions. Attributes associated with evaluate the pre-visit expectation and actual experience of
personal safety and sanitation were identified as those which a visit to a destination. Attributes were evaluated on a 5
were most likely to determine whether or not vacationers point Likert scale for pre-and-post visitation both. Hong
would visit Mexico. Hu and Ritchie (1993) concluded that et al. (2006) investigated the role of categorization in
different types of vacation experiences were a result of the sequential decision making process and the relative
difference in relative importance of attributes for tourists’ who importance of variables related to an affective image of
had traveled under different contextual settings. Ross (1993) the destination. They suggested that the tourists categorize
suggested that the destination image was a composition of the destination alternatives based on similarities and then
values, like, climate, congestion, scenery, friendliness of select a destination based on preferred image. A nested
local residents and perceptions of authenticity. Walmsley and multinomial logit model was used to find the influence of
Young (1998) studied the discretionary trip making behavior variables on the intention to select a final destination.
and the way people scored destination choices on evaluative
dimensions. Principal component analysis was used for The above discussion clearly highlights the importance
the same. The evaluation basis for local, and national and of attraction attributes of a destination relative to other
international level was found to be different. It took fairly destinations and role of these in decision making. These are
standard form at national and international level, whereas, multidimensional and can vary over time and with context.
at the local level direct experience and first-hand knowledge These need to be studied in detail. The same was stressed by
became the basis of evaluation. Garrod (2008), Gartner (1989) and Gallarza et al. (2002).
Sirgy and Su (2000) examined the destination visitor image The methodology adopted to examine the above mentioned
which was defined as stereoscopic image of the kind of aspect is discussed in the next section. It also presents the
people who typically visit a given destination. It was found characteristics of the sample collected in the two cities. The
that if the match between destination image and tourist’s context of the study was domestic tourism in India.
self concept is high, it is more likely that the tourist has a 2 METHODOLOGY AND SAMPLE
favourable attitude towards that destination. This matching CHARACTERISTICS
process has been defined as self- congruity. The destination
image was found to be influenced by the destination A survey questionnaire was developed to collect information
environment factors such as: from leisure travelers in a selected city. Eligible travelers
were defined as those who visited the city for more than a
a) Atmospheric Cues – natural landscape, historical day and stayed for at least one night in that city. The collected
points of interest, etc. information included leisure trip frequency, purpose of the
trip, type of planning involved, budget per person, type of
b) Service Cues – Ambience of the resort, quality of accommodation (hotel and room) availed, travel mode and
food, etc. service used for long distance and local travel, number and
type of accompanies, travel related information, information
c) Price Cues – service price and pricing strategies
on destination add-ons and travelers’ family information
d) Location Cues – geographic location, and like household demographics, monthly income and vehicle
ownership. Qualitative information was also collected. It was
e) Promotion Cues – advertising messages and media. measured either on a 5-point Likert type scale or as a ranking
exercise. Scale-1 represented extremely unimportant/not at
Vogt and Andereck (2003) examined the perceived

all matching/offers very little, scale-3 represented immaterial/

same-to-same/offers scale-4 represented in important/better
than expected offers better value; and scale-5 represented
extremely important/highly appreciable/offers very much,
depending up on the type of information sought. Information
at this level included importance rating of attributes related
to social, travel, destination and miscellaneous aspects,
image performance measures and the values of a destination
that it may offer to the traveler. Ranking has been used to
identify the utility or disutility of revisit intention and the
intention to visit a new type of a destination in future.
The questionnaire was prepared suiting to Paper as well as

Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) format using a commercially
2 (a) The Charminar
available software. Modifications to the questionnaire were
made based on the inputs from a pilot survey conducted on
50 respondents who had travelled to a leisure destination in
near past. Final survey was conducted in two cities namely,
Hyderabad and Tirupati. Hyderabad is the capital of Andhra
Pradesh state of India, which is the most visited state in
domestic tourism scenario (www.indiastat.com, accessed
on 10th June, 2011). It also has a metropolitan status and a
historical and cultural background spanning over 500 years.
The city has a population of 4 million and a density of 6437
persons per km2. It is famous for its minarets, one-person
antique items’ museum, manmade large lakes with high rise
monuments and a nearby fort of strategic importance. It is
also famous for the business of pearls. Tirupati is the travel 2 (b) The Hussein Sagar Lake with Buddha’s statue
facility node for the famous temple of Lord Venkateswara in
the Tirumala Hills, 10 km away from Tirupati by road. It is
one of the big temples in India and attracts on an average of 19
million devotees in a year from all around India and abroad.
It can be noted that both the cities selected for the study are
tourists attraction destinations and provide ample opportunity
to collect information from the leisure travelers. The location
of the two cities on a map of India and their characteristic
features are shown in Figs. 1 and 2, respectively.
2 (c) Pagoda of Temple of Lord Venkateswara
2 (d) Entrance to the Temple

Fig. 1 Location of selected cities for the collection of data Fig. 2 Characteristic features of the selected cities

A sample of 300 tourists was collected from the two cities, It was found that majority of leisure travelers in both
each. The information was collected by conducting personal the cities were from middle income group (Rs 20001 –
interviews at leisure locations itself where the tourists were 75000). This income group was initially categorized into
experiencing the location in actual. Head of the family was three sub-groups representing income bands of Rs 20001-
contacted for collecting the information. It was assumed 35000, 35001-50000 and 50001-75000, thus representing
that once the leisure trip is underway the responses given by the lower, middle and upper middle income groups for
the head of the family or group represents the feelings and inferencing purpose they are taken together as middle
decisions of the family and the group. Data was entered (in income group. This group availed either the vacation of
case of paper format), corrected for discrepancies, edited for children or needed a break from their daily routine. Such
use and stored for final usage and analysis. In case of PDA travelers varied from 69 per cent to 75 per cent in the
format it gets converted in to a table format on submitting two cities. Around 11-12 per cent travelers availed Leave
the survey. In all 558 samples (275 for Tirupati and 283 for Travel Concession (LTC) perks to make these visits.
Hyderabad) were found usable for the analysis. The sample Hyderabad being a capital city of the state, 12 per cent
characteristics are given in Table 1. These can provide reader
of the travelers visiting the city mixed official work with
information regarding the motives of leisure travel and the
leisure. The leisure trip frequency was found up to 3 trips
profile of travelers.
per year. The percentage of travelers with higher number
Table 1 Characteristics of the Sample of trips per year was more in Hyderabad. This may be due
Collected in Two Cities to multiple causes the city offers to the travelers to make
a trip. More than two-third of the traveler groups were
S. No. Characteristic Tirupati Hyderabad family based. Around one-fifth of the groups comprised
1. Household Monthly Income (%)
of friends and colleagues. In very few cases the traveler
a) Less than equal to
Rs 20000 9.67 6.31 traveled to these cities alone. The budget kept for visit at
b) Greater than Rs 20000 and Tirupati was more or less equal irrespective of the type
less than equal to Rs 75000 90.00 93.02 of planning. It is interesting to note that self planning
c) Above Rs 75000 00.33 0.67 travelers at Hyderabad kept higher budget per person than
2. Leisure Trip Purpose the travelers who visited the city in packages. The travel
a) Vacation of children 38 32 attributes were found to be higher for visit to Hyderabad
b) Break from daily routine 37 37
as compared to Tirupati. The revisit intention showed by
c) Availing perks for travel 11 12
d) Health rejuvenation 07 06 the leisure travelers for the same destination was found
e) Office work and leisure 07 12 to be quite high, around 90 per cent. This indicates that
f) Meeting friends and 00 01 the travelers were quite satisfied with their traveled
relatives destinations.
3. Leisure Trip Frequency (Nos.
per year) After extracting the preliminary information, the final
a) Up to 1 48 39 data was analyzed to estimate the satisfaction scores of
b) 2 or 3 48 53
04 08 destination image and value measures. Overall scores
c) More than 3
of the measures were computed either as an average
4. Travel Group Size (%)
a) Family 77 69 satisfaction score or by using scaling theory of successive
b) Individual Group 22 27 categories technique. These are computed as given by
c) Alone 01 04 Eqn. 1 and 2 below:
n
5. Budget per person per day (Rs) Σ1 Si
a) Self-Planned 2091.00 1887.00 Average satisfaction score of an attribute =
n
.........1
b) Package tour 2190.00 1611.00
6. Travel Information Where, Si = Satisfaction score of ith measure under
a) Average Travel Distance 562.71 641.43 consideration on 1 – 5 scale
(km) 1.40 2.03
b) Average unit Cost paid by n = Usable sample size
√
C-1
distance (Rs) 1.64 1.86 Σ [ICi,Ave -X]2
c) Average Travel Time per i=1
C-1,K
100 km travel distance (Hr) Factor weight of a measure = Σ
~
[Zi,k -Zk]2 .........2
i=1,k=1
7. Revisit Intention (%) 90.3 89.03

Where, ICi,Ave = Average of z-value for ith satisfaction above average expectations of the tourists for both the
category, defined in order (say 1 to 5) destinations. Relatively better matching of perception
and experience was observed for culture of a place and
X = Population average of z-value for satisfaction category natural scenic beauty at Tirupati. At Hyderabad, the same
i = 1 to C and measure k = 1 to K was true for natural scenic beauty, sightseeing locations
and culture of a place. Temple at Tirupati being on a hill
Zi,k = z-value of ith satisfaction category for kth measure
amidst forest area obviously provides inputs for culture
Z̃k = Average z-value for kth measure across satisfaction and natural scenic beauty, both. The lake and monuments
categories i = 1 to C at Hyderabad provide input for natural scenic beauty
and sightseeing locations respectively, whereas, the old
Z-value was taken from (m × n) matrix defined as m = history of the city provides input for culture of the city
satisfaction categories ranging from i = 1 to C and n = number that is preserved. Factor weights were computed based on
of measures ranging from k = 1 to K. It corresponded to the number of tourists perceiving a performance measure at
relative cumulative frequency for ith satisfaction category different levels. The perceived order of the measures has
and kth measure, taken from a normal distribution table. Data remained the same at Tirupati but relatively higher weight
was categorized beforehand by satisfaction category for each
has gone to culture of the place which is true to this place.
measure. An example is given in Appendix to understand
Change in the order of perceived values was observed
the procedure.
based on the computed weights at Hyderabad. Natural
Further, looking at the possibility of multi-correlations scenic beauty is given higher weight and image attributes
between the measures under consideration factor analysis like culture of a place, food and accommodation and
was carried out on the image and value measures to sightseeing locations follow closely each other in order.
arrive at the combination of these which can be defined Table 2 Average Scores and Factors Weights for Image
as a latent construct of the influencing measures. This Performance Measures
provides the information regarding the amount of variance
the latent construct defines and the relative influence of ID. No. Image Tirupati Hyderabad
(xi) Performance
the contributing measures to that latent construct. The Average Factor Average Factor
Measures
decision was based on computational statistics like Eigen scores weight scores weight
value (should be more than or at least equal to 1.0 for 1 Overall ambience 3.09 0.137 2.98 0.125
selected construct) and Cronbach’s Alpha value (should
be greater than or at least equal to 0.50). The measures 2 Natural Scenic 3.51 0.189 3.34 0.235
Beauty
with values lower than these might influence the decisions
in individual capacity. Their relative influence could be 3 Sightseeing 3.37 0.158 3.31 0.163
locations
judged from their loadings.
4 Food and 3.17 0.173 3.08 0.177
The analysis of destination image and value measures is Accommodation
discussed in the following successive sections.
5 Culture of a place 3.53 0.250 3.29 0.185
3 DESTINATION IMAGE ANALYSIS 6 Local People 3.23 0.144 3.13 0.155
Hospitality
Six image performance measures were used to match
the perceived image of a destination city formed by a The average scores of image performance measures were
leisure traveler before visit with their actual experience also computed for the tourists categorized by monthly
after visiting the city. The matching scale ranged between household income (Table 3). Low income group is defined
not at all matched (scale-1) to highly matched (scale-5). as having household income less than or equal to Rs 20000;
Table 2 gives the average scores of matching and factor middle income group corresponds to household income
weight for different image performance measures at the above Rs 20000 and up to 75000; and high income group
two tourist destination cities. Except for overall ambiance has household income above Rs 75000. Based on the
at Hyderabad, rests of all attributes were found falling scores, it was observed that the matching of perceived and

actual image by tourists in low and middle income group overall ambience lower than the average satisfaction level.
at Tirupati falls in-between same-to-same and better than But they were impressed by the sightseeing locations in the
perceived image category. The level of satisfaction with city, the culture of the place and the hospitality offered by
different performance measures was more or less cohesive the local people. On the whole, food and accommodation in
in nature for the tourists in middle income group. They Hyderabad need to be given due consideration to improve
found it relatively better than perceived. Appreciation was up on the leisure tours to the city.
for natural scenic beauty, sightseeing locations and culture
of the place. 4 DESTINATION VALUE ANALYSIS
Table 3 Average Scores for Image Performance The mean scores and factor weights of the destination
Measures by Household Monthly Income of Tourists value measures were estimated based on the perception
data collected from leisure travelers. These are given in
Image Monthly household income Table 4. Leisure travelers at Tirupati felt that the place has
Perfomance (Rs)
Measures some value related to each measure. The measures like
≤ 20,000
20,001 - Above water fronts, entertainment options, garden and urban form,
75,000 75,000 relaxation and health improvement and shopping facilities
Tirupati were perceived as just being available or satisfactory. Better
perception was formed for historical and cultural heritage,
Overall ambience 3.55 3.38 - religious and natural scenic beauty value. This looks right
Natural Scenic Beauty 3.28 3.59 - as this is an old religious place located in hills and provides
natural scenic beauty along the road from foothill to the top
Sightseeing locations 3.55 3.59 - of the hill.
Food and Accommodation 3.17 3.43 -
Table 4 Average Scores and Factor Weights for
Culture of a place 3.34 3.59 - Different Values Perceived at Two Destinations
Local People Hospitality 3.03 3.48 - ID. No Destination Value Tirupati Hyderabad
(x (i)) Measures
Hyderabad Average Factor Average Factor
scores weight scores weight
Overall ambience 2.84 2.96 2.00 7 Historical & 3.54 0.143 3.41 0.140
Cultural Heritage
Natural Scenic Beauty 3.11 2.62 3.00 8 Religious Value 3.39 0.169 3.12 0.135
Sightseeing locations 2.74 2.57 4.00 9 Relaxation & Health 3.15 0.106 3.12 0.111
improvement
Food and Accommodation 2.63 2.87 1.00 10 Entertainment 3.10 0.089 3.18 0.100
options
Culture of a place 2.95 2.59 4.00
11 Natural Scenic 3.34 0.162 3.12 0.152
Local People Hospitality 2.95 2.85 4.00 Beauty
12 Shopping facilities 3.17 0.104 3.25 0.112
The tourists in lower income group showed better satisfaction 13 Water Fronts 3.02 0.087 2.82 0.114
with measures overall ambience and sightseeing locations in
14 Garden / Urban 3.12 0.140 3.41 0.136
the city only. In case of tourists who visited Hyderabad, the form
matching was found to be lower than same-to-same category
for tourists both in low and middle income group. There Hyderabad was perceived low on water front measure. This
probably indicates that leisure travelers found big manmade
is lot of scope to improve up on the image performance
Lake Husainsagar not sufficient enough to provide water
measures in Hyderabad especially for the tourists who
front value to the big metropolitan city like Hyderabad.
belong to low and middle income groups. For those in high The values historical and cultural heritage, garden and
income group it varied from not at all matching to better urban form and to some extent shopping facilities were
than image category. They were highly disappointed with appreciated better than other measures. Going by the long
food and accommodation available in the city and found history of the place over the years and sobriquet ‘Pearl city’,

such perceptions looks valid. Religious value, relaxation Table 5 Average Scores of Destination Values for Two
and health improvement, entertainment option and natural Cities Based on Household Monthly Income
scenic beauty were low on satisfaction measurement scale.
Destination Monthly household income
The perception scores were used to estimate the relative Value (Rs)
weight of each value measure. It was found that the factor Measures
≤ 20,000 20,001 - Above
weight of religious value and natural scenic beauty at Tirupati 75,000 75,000
was higher than the weight of historical and cultural heritage Tirupati
and urban form value. The relative importance of historical
Historical & Cultural Heritage 3.41 3.56 -
and cultural heritage value had gone down, whereas,
that of urban form had improved. Water front value and Religious Value 2.76 3.46 -
entertainment option have got the least weight in consonance Relaxation & Health 2.93 3.18 -
with perceived mean scores. Higher weight was accorded to improvement
natural scenic beauty at Hyderabad. This was followed by Entertainment options 3.07 3.11 -
historical and cultural heritage value, garden or urban form
Natural Scenic Beauty 3.17 3.35 -
and religious value. Rest were found competing at a lower
level. This indicates that leaving the inhernet values like, Shopping facilities 3.21 3.17 -
ID 7,8,11 and 14, rest of the values need improvement to Water Fronts 3.14 3.01
enhance re-visitation. Garden / Urban form 3.14 3.03
The categorization of leisure travelers by household income Hyderabad
indicated certain variations in perceived values (Table 5). Historical & Cultural Heritage 3.21 3.41 5.00
Low-income travelers felt that they were not getting even Religious Value 2.63 3.16 3.00
minimum desired value for measures like religious value and
Relaxation & Health 2.84 3.13 4.00
relaxation and health improvement value at Tirupati. Travelers
improvement
in middle income found religious value quite satisfying with
some potential for relaxation and health improvement option Entertainment options 2.84 3.20 3.00
in the city. This perception might be arising due to monetary Natural Scenic Beauty 3.16 3.11 4.00
based darshan facility which if availed allows the devotee to Shopping facilities 3.06 3.27 2.00
get darshan on priority. Obviously, there are more chances of Water Fronts 3.05 2.82 1.00
availing the facility by middle income travelers as compared
Garden / Urban form 2.84 3.12 2.00
to low income travelers. Historical and cultural heritage and
natural scenic beauty were valued more by middle income 5 CORRELATION BETWEEN DESTINATION
travelers. They found water front and urban form values just IMAGE, VALUE AND REVISIT INTENTION
satisfying.
First of all a correlation matrix was generated for the two
The perception scores at Hyderabad were showing a trend leisure cities to examine the correlation between the image
among income categorized travelers. The high income travelers performance and destination value measures. The image
found that the city offers high value for historical and cultural performance measures are listed from X1 to X6 and destination
heritage, relaxation and health improvement and natural scenic value measures are listed from X7 to X14. These are already
beauty measures. But they found water front value and urban given in Tables 2 and 4, respectively. The correlation matrix
form value and shopping facilities disappointing. Low income is given in Tables 6 and 7, respectively. Correlation between
travelers found that the city somewhat offers historical and various measures in both the cities was found to be less than
cultural heritage value, natural scenic beauty, shopping facilities 0.55, which can be considered low. This allowed using the
and water front value. Rests of the values were found to be measures in combination with each other so as to arrive at
lower than the mean satisfaction level. Opposite to the above major factors that affect the decisions of the leisure travelers.
two groups, the middle income travelers found that, apart from Factor analysis was carried out to arrive at the combination
better historical and cultural heritage value, the city somewhat of measures which can be termed as latent constructs.
offers shopping facilities, entertainment options, religious value The analysis was carried out on the leisure travel data of
and urban form value. These ratings were found to be higher the travelers who have shown their intention to revisit the
than the ratings given by the other two income groups. present destination. This is given in Table 8.

Table 6 Correlation Matrix Between Different Measures Considered at Tirupati

X1 X2 X3 X4 X5 X6 X7 X8 X9 X10 X11 X12 X13 X14
X1 1.00 -0.03 0.23 0.13 0.21 0.02 -0.01 0.02 -0.05 0.03 -0.03 -0.11 -0.01 0.16
X2 -0.03 1.00 0.14 0.30 0.37 0.27 0.23 0.23 0.29 0.18 0.15 0.06 0.14 0.08
X3 0.23 0.14 1.00 0.10 0.43 0.22 0.17 0.25 0.13 0.15 0.16 -0.05 0.06 0.17
X4 0.13 0.30 0.10 1.00 -0.03 0.43 0.18 0.13 0.17 0.06 0.09 -0.01 0.15 0.08
X5 0.21 0.37 0.43 -0.03 1.00 0.06 0.17 0.32 0.23 0.19 0.17 0.04 -0.03 0.14
X6 0.02 0.27 0.22 0.43 0.06 1.00 0.20 0.23 0.21 0.13 0.15 0.08 0.21 0.27
X7 -0.01 0.23 0.17 0.18 0.17 0.20 1.00 0.55 0.34 0.25 0.34 0.09 0.31 0.20
X8 0.02 0.23 0.25 0.13 0.32 0.23 0.55 1.00 0.30 0.26 0.45 0.15 0.27 0.22
X9 -0.05 0.29 0.13 0.17 0.23 0.21 0.34 0.30 1.00 0.19 0.38 0.29 0.39 0.30
X10 0.03 0.18 0.15 0.06 0.19 0.13 0.25 0.26 0.19 1.00 0.19 0.28 0.34 0.32
X11 -0.03 0.15 0.16 0.09 0.17 0.15 0.34 0.45 0.38 0.19 1.00 0.17 0.22 0.20
X12 -0.11 0.06 -0.05 -0.01 0.04 0.08 0.09 0.15 0.29 0.28 0.17 1.00 0.14 0.27
X13 -0.01 0.14 0.06 0.15 -0.03 0.21 0.31 0.27 0.39 0.34 0.22 0.14 1.00 0.38
X14 0.16 0.08 0.17 0.08 0.14 0.27 0.20 0.22 0.30 0.32 0.20 0.27 0.38 1.00
Table 7 Correlation matrix between different measures considered at Hyderabad

X1 X2 X3 X4 X5 X6 X7 X8 X9 X10 X11 X12 X13 X14
X1 1.00 0.39 0.40 0.26 0.38 0.14 -0.14 -0.28 -0.12 -0.15 -0.19 -0.05 -0.05 -0.09
X2 0.39 1.00 0.53 0.19 0.48 0.21 -0.17 -0.42 -0.19 -0.14 -0.35 0.02 -0.11 -0.09
X3 0.40 0.53 1.00 0.15 0.48 0.17 -0.15 -0.33 -0.18 -0.18 -0.30 -0.07 -0.09 -0.15
X4 0.26 0.19 0.15 1.00 0.22 0.30 -0.21 -0.14 -0.11 -0.09 -0.24 0.05 -0.11 -0.07
X5 0.38 0.48 0.48 0.22 1.00 0.27 -0.15 -0.50 -0.05 -0.16 -0.34 -0.06 0.00 -0.01
X6 0.14 0.21 0.17 0.30 0.27 1.00 -0.18 -0.21 0.00 -0.14 -0.17 -0.06 -0.11 -0.05
X7 -0.14 -0.17 -0.15 -0.21 -0.15 -0.18 1.00 0.45 0.25 0.25 0.21 0.16 0.14 0.07
X8 -0.28 -0.42 -0.33 -0.14 -0.50 -0.21 0.45 1.00 0.24 0.18 0.46 0.15 0.27 0.26
X9 -0.12 -0.19 -0.18 -0.11 -0.05 0.00 0.25 0.24 1.00 0.08 0.27 0.12 0.34 0.28
X10 -0.15 -0.14 -0.18 -0.09 -0.16 -0.14 0.25 0.18 0.08 1.00 0.02 0.33 0.01 0.22
X11 -0.19 -0.35 -0.30 -0.24 -0.34 -0.17 0.21 0.46 0.27 0.02 1.00 -0.02 0.29 0.29
X12 -0.05 0.02 -0.07 0.05 -0.06 -0.06 0.16 0.15 0.12 0.33 -0.02 1.00 -0.10 0.12
X13 -0.05 -0.11 -0.09 -0.11 0.00 -0.11 0.14 0.27 0.34 0.01 0.29 -0.10 1.00 0.43
X14 -0.09 -0.09 -0.15 -0.07 -0.01 -0.05 0.07 0.26 0.28 0.22 0.29 0.12 0.43 1.00

Table 8 Latent Factors Influencing Decisions of Tourists The factor analysis of different image and value measures
Indicating Revisit Intention for the leisure travelers who showed their intention to
revisit the destination again resulted in three latent factors
Image and Tirupati Hyderabad
Value Measures for both the cities. (Table 8). These were termed as ‘prime
Prime Fun Hospitality Leisure Allied Fun value and leisure’, ‘fun and allied value’ and ‘hospitality’
value and value value value
& Allied for travelers at Tirupati. In case of Hyderabad, the latent
Leisure value factors identified were ‘leisure value’, ‘allied value’ and
Culture of a
‘fun value’. It was noted that ‘prime value’, a combination
0.83 0.78
place of religious, historical and cultural heritage and water front
value together, is not an affecting parameters or latent factor
Religious Value 0.73
in the decision making of the travelers at Hyderabad. This
Sightseeing 0.56 0.80 is obvious since the travelers have visited the destination
locations
city by already knowing the above values associated with
Natural Scenic 0.54 0.81 the city. Therefore, other combinations of the measures
Beauty
would make more difference than the prime value
Historical 0.54 associated with the destination city. Leisure value, defined
& Cultural by overall ambiance, natural scenic beauty, sightseeing
Heritage value
locations in the city and its culture, was found to be a
Overall 0.63 latent factor affecting the revisit decisions of the travelers
ambience
at Hyderabad. But it was found getting combined with
Garden / Urban -0.68 0.73 ‘prime value’ and the two together were found affecting the
form value decisions of travelers at Tirupati. Allied value, which is a
Shopping value -0.66 0.80 combination of garden/urban form value, water front value
and relaxation and health improvement value, was found
Water Fronts -0.64 0.78
value
affecting the decisions of travelers at Hyderabad, but in the
case of Tirupati this latent factor combines with another
Relaxation 0.67
latent factor named ‘fun value’. Shopping facilities and
& Health
improvement entertainment facilities were the constituents of this latent
value factor. The loadings of the constituents of latent factor
Entertainment -0.61 0.75 ‘fun and allied value’ were found to be negative indicating
value that leisure travelers to Tirupati gave lowest importance to
these measures and want to visit again for the prime values
Food and 0.86
Accommodation associated with the place. This latent factor was affecting
the travelers’ decisions separately at Hyderabad. The
Local People 0.77
Hospitality travelers’ decisions are also getting affected by latent factor
‘hospitality’ at Tirupati. This may be due to the limited
Eigen value 3.53 1.54 1.45 3.83 1.65 1.45
facilities available at hill top near temple regarding food,
Variance 25.23 11.00 10.37 27.35 11.80 10.33 accommodation and local hospitality and the importance
Explained
the travelers give to this aspect at a religious and cultural
Cronbach’s 0.67 0.60 0.62 0.77 0.63 0.50 destination. Figs. 3 and 4 shows decision attributes for two
Alpha destinations.

Fig. 3 Decision Path showing influencing factors for revisit intention to Tirupati
Fig. 4 Decision Path showing influencing factors for revisit intention to Hyderabad

6 CONCLUSIONS as distracter. It is evident from the above analysis that the

The Paper has examined the hypothesis that destination image same approach can be utilized for other leisure destinations
performance measures and values affect the revisit intention to identify the measures that can improve the tourism
of a leisure traveler. The context of the study was kept as potential of that destination.
domestic tourism going by the fact that it has seen a rapid rise References
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Appendix
Sample Calculation for Quantification of Factor Weight For Image
Performance Measures in Hyderabad
Step 1 - Categorisation of data by satisfaction category

Image Performance Extremely not Not important immaterial important Extremely Total
Measures important important
Overall ambience 5 68 141 65 4 283
Natural Scenic Beauty 19 40 102 70 52 283
Sightseeing locations 32 34 76 97 44 283
Food and Accommodation 24 79 80 50 50 283
Culture of a place 27 26 100 98 32 283
Local People Hospitality 19 78 74 72 40 283
Step 2 - Relative frequency of for ith satisfaction category and Cth measure
Overall ambience 0.018 0.240 0.498 0.230 0.014 1.000
Natural Scenic Beauty 0.067 0.141 0.360 0.247 0.184 1.000
Sightseeing locations 0.113 0.120 0.269 0.343 0.155 1.000
Food and Accommodation 0.085 0.279 0.283 0.177 0.177 1.000
Culture of a place 0.095 0.092 0.353 0.346 0.113 1.000
Local People Hospitality 0.067 0.276 0.261 0.254 0.141 1.000
Step 3a - Relative cumulative frequency of for ith satisfaction category and Cth measure
Overall ambience 0.02 0.26 0.76 0.99 1.00
Natural Scenic Beauty 0.07 0.21 0.57 0.82 1.00
Sightseeing locations 0.11 0.23 0.50 0.84 1.00
Food and Accommodation 0.08 0.36 0.65 0.82 1.00
Culture of a place 0.10 0.19 0.54 0.89 1.00
Local People Hospitality 0.07 0.34 0.60 0.86 1.00
Step 3b - ‘Z’ value of relative cumulative frequency of for the normal distribution Table
i1 i2 i3 i4 Row average
Overall ambience 2.10 0.65 0.69 2.19 2.10
Natural Scenic Beauty 1.50 0.81 0.17 0.90 1.50
Sightseeing locations 1.21 0.73 0.00 1.01 1.21
Food and Accommodation 1.37 0.35 0.38 0.93 1.37
Culture of a place 1.31 0.89 0.10 1.21 1.31
Local People Hospitality 1.50 0.40 0.26 1.07 1.50
Column average 1.50 0.64 0.04 1.22 X=0.91

Step 4 - (ICave-X)2 Step 6 - Factor Weight =

Image Performance Measure i=1to C-1
Overall ambience 0.25
Natural Scenic Beauty 0.00
Sightseeing locations 0.03 Image Performance Measure Factor Weight
Food and Accommodation 0.02
Overall ambience 0.125
Culture of a place 0.00
Natural Scenic Beauty 0.235
Local People Hospitality 0.01
Sightseeing locations 0.163
Step 5 - (Z -Z~ )2
i,k i,k
Image Performance Measure i=1to C-1
Overall ambience 0.85 Culture of a place 0.185
Natural Scenic Beauty 0.07 Local People Hospitality 0.155
Sightseeing locations 0.18 Total 1.0000
Culture of a place 0.03
Local People Hospitality 0.24

ANT COLONY OPTIMIZATION ALGORITHMS FOR VEHICLE ROUTING,
ROUTE PLANNING AND SCHEDULING
Sanjeev Suman* & Praveen Kumar**
ABSTRACT
Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) Algorithms are part of swarm intelligence, that is, the research field that studies algorithms inspired by
the observation of the behavior of swarms. Swarm intelligence algorithms are made up of simple individuals that cooperate through self-
organization, that is, without any form of central control over the swarm members. Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) takes inspiration from
the foraging behavior of some ant species. These ants deposit pheromone on the ground in order to mark some favorable path that should
be followed by other members of the colony. Ant colony optimization exploits a similar mechanism for solving optimization problems. Ant
colony optimization algorithms are currently state-of-the-art for solving many Combinatorial Optimization Problems (COPs).
This Paper presents a concise overview of ACO, describes its meta-heuristic, overviews the most popular variants of ACO, discusses its
examples/applications and research directions in the field of vehicle routing, scheduling and route planning.
1 INTRODUCTION Goss et al. (1989) conducted another experiment similar to

“binary bridge experiment" in which the two bridges were
Ant colony optimization was inspired by the observations of
not of the same length. In this case the fluctuations in the
the social behavior of real ants. One of the first researchers
initial choice of a bridge were much reduced in comparison
to investigate the social behavior of insects was the French
to experiment of the Deneubourg. Those ants choosing by
Entomologist Pierre-Paul Grasse. In the 1940s and 1950s, he
chance the shorter bridge were also the first to reach the food,
discovered that the insects (termites) were capable to react
and when returning to the nest, they chose the shorter bridge
to “significant stimuli” signals. He observed that the insects
with higher probability as it had a stronger pheromone trail,
of these reactions can act as new “significant stimuli” for
which further increased the intensity of pheromone on this
the insect that produced them and for the other insects in
shorter bridge. Therefore, after following and depositing
the colony. Grasse used the term “stigmergy” to describe
mechanism of ants, all ants quickly converged to the use of
this particular type of indirect communication. This indirect
the shorter bridge.
communication “stigmergy” can be observed in colonies
of ants. Ants have nature to deposit a substance called This colony level behavior, based on autocatalysis, that is,
pheromone on the ground while travelling to and from food on the exploitation of positive feedback used by the ants
source. Other ants perceive the presence of pheromone and encouraged the scientist and mathematicians to develop ant
tend to follow paths where pheromone concentration is algorithm models.
higher. Through this mechanism, ants are able to transport
food to their nest in a remarkably effective way.
Some researchers investigated experimentally this

pheromone laying and following behavior. Deneubourg
et al. (1990) set up an experiment called a “binary bridge
experiment”. The ants' nest was connected to a food source
by two bridges of equal length. Initially, each ant randomly
chooses one of the bridges. But after some time due to more Fig. 1 Double Bridge Experiment with equal and different branch lengths
pheromone deposited on one of the bridges and tendency of 2 Algorithms

ants to prefer in probability to follow a stronger pheromone
trail, the bridge with more pheromone was chosen by more Stimulated by the interesting results Goss et al. developed a
ants and later by all ants of the colony. model to explain the behavior observed in the experiment.
* Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, G. B. Pant University & Technology, Pantnagar (Uttarakhand).
** Professor, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, (Uttarakhand) - 247 667.

Suman & Kumar on
Ant Colony Optimization Algorithms for Vehicle Routing, Route Planning and Scheduling
Assuming that after t time units since the start of the Where, τ(r, s) is the pheromone of link connecting city r to
experiment, m1 ants had used the first bridge and m2 the city s, η(r, s) = 1/δ(r, s), which is inverse of the distance δ(r, s)
second one, the probability p1 for the (m + 1)th ant to choose of link connecting city r to city s. Jk(r) is the set of cities that
the first bridge can be given by , remain to be visited by ant k positioned on city r (to make
solution feasible), and β is a parameter which determines the
where, parameter k and h are needed to fit the model to the relative importance of pheromone versus distance (β > 0).
experimental data. The probability that the same (m+1)th ant Probability of link having shorter length and greater amount
chooses the second bridge is p2(m+1)=1-p1(m+1). This of pheromone will be higher.
basic model, which explains the behavior of real ants, is
used as an inspiration to design artificial ants that solve In ant system, the global updating rule is implemented as
optimization problems defined in a similar way. Stigmergy, follows. Once all ants have built their tours, pheromone is
together with implicit solution evaluation and autocatalytic updated on all the edges according to
behavior, gave rise to Ant Colony Optimization (ACO).
The basic idea of ACO follows very closely the biological .............2
inspiration. Therefore, there are many similarities between
where,
real and artificial ants. Both real and artificial ant colonies
are composed of a population of individuals that work
together to achieve a certain goal. .............3
3 THE TRAVELLING SALESMAN PROBLEM
The Travelling Salesman Problem (TSP) is a popular way 0< α <1 is a pheromone decay parameter which represents
to illustrate that how the ACO meta-heuristic works. The the fraction of pheromone evaporated after each iteration,
TSP consists of a set of locations (cities) and a travelling Lk is the length of tour performed by ant k and m is the
salesman that has to visit all the locations once and only total number of ants. Pheromone updating is intended to
once. The distances between the locations are given and the allocate a greater amount of pheromone to shorter tours.
task is to find a Hamiltonian tour of minimal length. The pheromone updating formula was meant to simulate the
change in the amount of pheromone due to both the addition
Informally, ant system works as follows. Each ant starts
of new pheromone deposited by ants on the visited edges
from a randomly selected location and generates a complete
and to pheromone evaporation. The process is iterated until
tour by choosing the cities according to a probabilistic
all ants doesn’t have same route or finds a Hamiltonian tour
state transition rule; ants prefer to move to cities which are
of minimal length.
connected by short edges with a high amount of pheromone.
Once all ants have completed their tours a global pheromone 4 VARIANTS OF ACO
updating rule (global updating rule, for short) is applied; a
fraction of the pheromone evaporates on all edges (edges Followings are the most successful Ant Systems (AS)
that are not refreshed become less desirable), and then which has been proposed in the literature. To illustrate the
each ant deposits an amount of pheromone on edges which difference between them, the example of the TSP is used.
belong to its tour in proportion to how short its tour was (in
4.1 Ant System
other words, edges which belong to many short tours are the
edges which receive the greater amount of pheromone). The Ant System was the first ACO algorithm to be proposed in
process is then iterated. the literature. Its main characteristic is that the pheromone
values are updated by all the ants that have completed the
The probability pk(r,s) with which ant k in city r chooses to
tour. In Ant System for TSP problem the transition probability
move to the city s is:
pk(i, j) of the kth ant moving from city i to city j is given by:
.............1

.............4

Suman & Kumar on
Where, τij is the pheromone of the link (i, j), ηij = 1/dij where and ∆τij best is:
dij is the length of edge (i, j), allowedk is the list of cities not
yet visited by the kth ant, and α and β are the parameters that
control the relative importance of the pheromone versus the .............9
heuristic information ηij.
The pheromone updating rule for τij is as follows: Lbest is the length of the tour of the best ant. This may be
(subject to the algorithm designer decision) either the best
.............5 tour found in the current iteration i.e. iteration-best, Lib or the
best solution found since the start of the algorithm best-so-
Where ρ is the evaporation rate, m is the number of ants, far, Lbs or a combination of both. Concerning the lower and
and Δτijk is the quantity of pheromone per unit length laid on upper bounds on the pheromone values, τmin and τmax, they
edge (i, j) by the kth ant: are typically obtained empirically and tuned on the specific
problem at hand. Stutzle and Hoos also provided some
guidelines for defining τmin and τmax on the basis of analytical
.............6
considerations.
4.3 Ant Colony System (ACS)
Where, Q is a constant and Lk is the tour length of the kth ant. Ant Colony System (ACS) was another improvement over
By this pheromone updating rule the intensity of pheromones AS and was proposed by Gambardella and Dorigo. The most
on the links used in the tour of kth ant will be increased in interesting contribution of ACS is the introduction of a local
comparison to the links used in the routes of other ants, pheromone update in addition to the pheromone update
if the tour length (Lk) of the kth ant is minimum. Thus the performed at the end of the construction process.
pheromone updating is intended to allocate a greater amount
Another important difference between AS and ACS is in
of pheromone on the links of shorter tours.
the decision rule used by the ants during the construction
4.2 Max-Min Ant System process. An ant positioned on node r chooses the city s to
move by applying following rule:
Max-min Ant System (MMAS) is an improvement over the
original Ant System. MMAS was proposed by Stutzle and
Hoos, who introduced a number of changes of which the .............10
most important are the followings:
• Only the best ant can update the pheromone Ants in ACS use the so called pseudorandom proportional
trails. rule; the probability for an ant to move from city i to j
depends on a random variable q uniformly distributed over
• T
he minimum and maximum values of the
[0, 1], and a parameter q0. If q≤q0, then j can be find out by
pheromone are limited.
Equn. 10, otherwise Equn. 4 will be used.
The pheromone update is implemented as follows:
The local pheromone update is performed by all the ants
after each construction step. Each ant applies it only to the
.............7 last edge traversed.
Where τmax and τmin are respectively the upper and lower .............11
bounds imposed on the pheromone τij, which is defined as:
Where, ρ is the pheromone decay coefficient and having
a value between 0 to 1, and τ0 is the initial value of the
pheromone.
.............8
The pheromone update at the end of construction process,
similarly to MMAS, is applied at the end of each iteration

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by only one ant (either the one that found the best solution in Where ,
the iteration or the best-so-far). However, the update formula
is slightly different Dod = direct-through passenger flow density;
.............12 O=origin zone; d=destination zone;
SPij=the direct-through passenger flow between zone i to

and in case of the TSP, Δτij=1/Lbest (as in MMAS, Lbest can be zone j within the network;
set to either Lib or Lbs).
Lod= = the length of the transit line;
5 REVIEW FOR VEHICLE ROUTE PLANNING,
SCHEDULING AND ROUTING Lmin/Lmax = the minimum/maximum length of the transit
line;
Bin Yu et al. (2005) developed an optimization model for
bus transit network based on road network and zonal OD, by lij=the length of the road between i and j;
using coarse-grain parallel ant colony algorithm (CPACA).
The model aims at achieving minimum transfers and
maximum passenger flow per unit length with line length
and non-linear rate as constraints.
Authors explained that to meet the passenger’s need,

= the non-linear rate/the maximum non-linear
an effective transit network carries the following
rate;
characteristics:
Qklod = the passenger flow of section k,l;
(i) Reach ability, i.e. making most of the capacity to
meet the demand of the entire network; Qklmax = the maximum allowable passenger flow of section
(ii) Low transfer rate, i.e. providing the passengers k,l;
with as much direct service as possible;
Qsumod=the total passenger flow of the line;
(iii) Short travel time, i.e. laying out the transit lines
according to distances to reduce the overall Qmin = the threshold passenger flow of the transit line;
passenger travel time of the whole service area; = section non-equilibrium factor of passenger
(iv) High network efficiency, i.e. prioritizing the flow/the maximum non-equilibrium factor;
layout of those transit lines with the densest
passenger flow to utilize the network and the NTR = Non-Transfer Ratio the average transfer times of the
vehicle capacity. entire network.
According to the network design principle the authors The authors used the Ant Colony Algorithm (ACA) and
established the following transit network optimization the transition and pheromone update rules as discussed
model. above. The addition of pheromone by the kth ant on edge
i, j is modified in the pheromone update rule as per the
followings:
.............13 .............14
Where, Q remains a constant,
= the target function value of the kth ant on the edge

(i, j).

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= the target function of the kth ant on the entire path. generated by the traditional ant strategy with/without the
Roulette wheel selection.
Based on the ACA the model for optimizing urban transit
network had been developed, which takes maximum direct- Ghoseiri Keivan et al. (2005) developed an algorithm for
through passenger density as goal and considers benefits of the train scheduling problem using the ant colony system
both passengers and transit companies. metaheuristic (ACS-TS). First a mathematical model for
train scheduling on a single track line was presented. In this
Shao-Han Liu et al. (2005) investigated a shortest path model it was supposed that the trains are only dispatched
network problem using an annealed ant system algorithm, in from the first and last station. After preparation, the trains
which an annealed strategy was embedded to calculate the in the beginning or end stations should be dispatched
probability to decide which part the ants will select the next. immediately. In the case that the prepared trains to dispatch
The presented work modified the probability function in the are stopped in the stations with unpermitted time stop and go
traditional ant algorithm so that the new probability function over the allowed time, it undergo some cost. In the model,
not only depends on the temperature but the cost function
the speed and trip times in each track section for each train
defined by the pheromone density and visibility. The total
were assumed to be fixed. Also, a train can travel in two
cost function for the network topology from node i to node
directions, but it is not permitted to overtake another train.
k was defined as:
Further the solution method of the proposed model using
ACS was presented by the authors as the problem graph
.............15
shown in Fig. 2. The problem graph as shown include 7
trains (3 dispatching train from right to left and 4 dispatching
Where, from left to right), if ant chooses the path from start node of
train 1, train 3, train 2 it means the dispatching sequence is
.............16 train 1, 3, 2. The problem was considered as the traveling
salesman problem. In the algorithm, a colony consists of
2 × n ants, where n is number of the nodes (trains) of the
TSP. The ants are allocated in n groups. One of the ants of
α and β are two heuristically defined parameters. τik(t) each group builds the sequence of dispatched trains from the
is pheromone intensity on path (i, k) at time t. and the right to left station and another ant is allocated to build the
probability that the kth ant starting from node i to decide to
sequence of dispatched trains from left to right.
visit node j is given by:
.............17
.............18
Equn. 18 was used as a cooling schedule in annealing

process and w and µ are constants. In the study the proposed
annealed ant algorithm was modified in to two models called
Concentrated Model (CM) in which all ants are initially
concentrated in the source node and Distributed Model (DM), Fig. 2 Problem graph for the ACS-TS example of 7 trains
where all ants randomly select a node except the destination
as their starting point initially and at least one must appear in ACS determined the sequence of trains dispatched on the
the source node. The experimental results presented shows graph of the TSP. Using the sequences obtained and removing
that the proposed annealed ant algorithm with the Roulette for collisions incurred, train scheduling was determined.
wheel selection can obtain better performance than that Numerical examples in small and medium sizes were solved

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using ACS-TS and compared to exact optimum solutions the relative influence of the trail and visibility, respectively.
to check for quality and accuracy. The authors presented a And t represents the cycle time. Cycle time means the process
comparison of the solutions to show that ACS-TS results in between a start that all the artificial ants are beginning from
good quality and time savings. the node S and the end that all the artificial ants have been
constructed their feasible solution.
Liu Jingyu et al. (2007) used the improved ACS for the Path
.............24
Routing of Urban Traffic Vehicles. They described a target
function of the path routing from point S to the point G as:
The τij(t) is updated once in every search cycle and is updated
.............19 as follow:
.............25
Where, Lk is the total length of the selected path, Tk is the
total time cost, α and β are the relative significance of the Where, ρ is the persistence of the pheromone trail and Δτij is
Lk and Tk. the amount of pheromone that ant k put on the trail ij.
The authors explained that, every road section m has three .............26
parameters of road section length lm, road status cm and real-
time traffic condition qm. And the vehicle condition and the
driving people are simplified with a parameter of average Δτijk represents the pheromone that the artificial ant k has
speed vav. Then, the time tm cost in the road section m could remained in the road ij.
be as:

.............20
.............27
Where θ is a constant got from the real experience to relative
the tm . vm can not overstep the maximum speed vmax and can
be calculated as follows: Based on the rules, the authors simulates the path routing
process of the partly city traffic condition model that shown
in Fig. 3. In Fig. Ni are node numbers, Ri(li, ci, qi) are Road
.............21 number (length, road status, real-time traffic condition).
Then the final target function of the solution of Path Routing

Problem (PRP) of Urban Traffic System (UTS) had been
described as follows:
.............22
The authors used the improved ACS algorithm to solve the

PRP of UTS. The probability rule for any ant k at node i to
select the next node j :
Fig. 3 Simplified local part of Urban Transport Systems (UTS)
The finding of the computation results are as followings:

.............23
• Different paths are planed by the algorithm for
different set of values of α and β such as for
Where τij is pheromone trails remained in the road section ij, shortest path (α=1.0 and β=0.0), for shortest time
ηij(t) represents the visibility of the road section. χ and δ are

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path (α=0.0 and β=1.0) and for both a shorter and start then update pheromone on this path will be awarded
a shorter time cost (α=0.5 and β=0.5). φ times.
• The process convergent speed is rising while the
χ, δ, Q, and ant number are set bigger and it’s
falling while ρ are set bigger.
• When χ and δ are bigger than 1.0, the results
converged quickly.
• Path searching is rising while ρ is set bigger,
especially when is bigger than 0.7. And no matter
how much be set, there still some non-optimum
results are got.
• The results of the path searching are divergent
while Q is less than 4.
• The rate of convergence of the path searching
results is monotonic increasing with the rising
ant number.
The authors suggested the parameters settings as per the

followings:
Table 1 Recommendatory Parameters

Algorithm Parameters
χ δ ρ Q Ant Number
1.5-2 1.5-2 0.4-0.8 10.0-25.0 15-40

Fig. 4 Flow chart of ACS for PRP of UTS
Based upon the experiment and simulation practice the Ono Hiroaki et al. (2007) used ACS in Vehicle Routing
authors suggested the following improvements in the ACS Problem in Time Window (VRPTW); this problem
process: is a delivery vehicle routing problem with following
requirements:
The pheromone update is set such that a maximal and a
minimal value of the pheromone remained on a road section. (i) Delivery trucks are plural in number.
Hence, Equn. 25 can be replaced as: (ii) Delivery trucks must visit all customers.
(iii) The demand of each customer is known ahead.
(iv) The cost is known between each customer.
.............28 (v) Customers have time constraints, delivery truck
must visit the customer in the time constraint.
(vi) Delivery trucks have a service time with
customers.
where, Tmin and Tmax are the constants that are set at the start (vii) Delivery trucks are able to wait at the customer
of the process. Further, Equn. 27 is replaced as: when it arrived before the time constraint of the
customer.
.............29 (viii) The number of depot is 1, the depot also has
time of business hour. All trucks must to return
in the time.
Where, the φ is a constant bigger than 1. It means that if the The authors discussed the cost function Cij i.e. the cost
path searched by an ant is the path with least Fk from the between customers is defined as:

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subsets contains a set of trips which a vehicle can

.............30 take on after being charged.
• Arrange the feasible blocks (trip sets) to vehicles
according the fueling (charging) time.
Where, dij, is the distance between i and j, Vij is the urgency
The authors discussed the improvement required on the basic
of delivery customer j, and shown as:
principles of ant colony algorithm as per the following:
.............31 The number of next nodes which ant k in node i could select
is represented by wink(i). the value of wink(i) should be
Where, lj is a last time constraint of customer j, bi is the
adjusted dynamically.
current time in customer i, si is a service time in customer i,
tij is travel time between i and j. the weightage factors which
.............32
are in fractions have the sum equal to one.
The author discussed that, at the early stage of ACS,

Where, cnt(allowedk) denotes the number of nodes in set
selectable customer in their large numbers N interferes with
allowedk.
the convergence of the local solution. The limit of N approach
is applied to prevent this problem in which customer is stored If sum of ants is represented by M, there are r trails from node
in a descending order of choice probability list and customers i, the number of ants pass node I is Yi , and Yi is distributing
of low probability are deleted from the list. Then secondly in r trails with number .
randomly one customer from the deleted customers is added
in the list. Finally the choice probability is derived again by .............33
the Equn. 10 of ACS rule as described above. Further the
authors applied the 2-Point exchanging method for VRPTW
and found that the proposed ACS combined with 2-point
exchanging method was able to derive the most optimal
solution in each ACS method. The route construction rule is expressed as follows:
Haixing Wang et al. (2007) defined the vehicle scheduling
problem with route and fueling time constraints (VSPRFTC)
for Electric buses. The authors explained that the vehicle’s
travel miles (route time) after charging is limited, and thus
the vehicle must be recharged after the several trips with a
minimum charging time (fueling time). A multiple ant colony
.............34
algorithm (ACA) was presented to solve the VSPRFTC
based on ACA used to solve travelling salesman problem
(TSP). According to the characteristics of the problem of Where, M the number of ants; τij, the intensity in arc (i, j);
VSPRFTC some changes were induced in compare to the ηij, the visibility in arc (i, j); Δkij, the quantity of pheromone
TSP as per the following: levels in arc (i, j) of ant k; Pkij; the probability of moving from
• The difference between the end time of trip i and present node i to another node j; α(α≥0), the relative influence
the start time of trip j is seen as distance. of trail; β(β≥0), the relative influence of visibility; ρ(0≤ρ≤1),
the permanence of trail, 1-ρ is known as evaporation; Nki,
• A Tabuk list of forbidden moves also includes the the feasible nodes of ant k in node i; Q, the quantity of
nodes which can not satisfy the timing of trips. pheromone the ant leaves. µij = di0 + dj0 - dij, called as saving;
• The limit route of electric vehicle is considered kij = (Qi + qi)/Q, variable induced considering the constraint
like the limit supply of vehicle in VRP, and the of the range of electric vehicle.
allowed nodes to which ant could move must
P is a random number, accords with uniform distribution on
satisfy the limit.
(0, 1), r1, r0 changed dynamic according with the process of
• Solution set is divided into several subsets. The the algorithm.

Suman & Kumar on
Algorithm’s local updating rules: data in online and offline modes. In online mode, traffic data
are available from a Traffic Control Center (TCC) using
.............35 wireless networks and an Artificial Neural Network (ANN)
is employed for traffic estimation of future minutes as the
.............36 journey time delay is considered. In offline mode, traffic and
other required data are available from the system memory,
which contains statistical and historical data of parameters.
.............37
The proposed Ant Algorithm searches for the optimal route,
which satisfies user adjusted parameters, using the prepared
Where, means ant’s attraction at directed data in the system memory. The probability of dispatching
arc (i, j); from junction i to junction j fro ant k was given as:
After finishing the local solution’s optimization, updating
every arc’s pheromone track globally, applied the following .............41
new rules:
.............38 Where, τij is the direct route pheromone intensity from

junction i to j. Parameter α controls the importance of τij and
.............39 tabuk is set of direct blocked routes. Parameters set consists
of distance, width, number of traffic lights, traffic flow, traffic
incidents, and road quality. Cost function of each parameter
.............40 l, is , where significance of each l is adjustable by α1.
As the journey time delay is considered in this algorithm, the
τoldij and τnewij stands for the former and updating pheromone mentioned parameters are a function of time.
thickness at arc(i, j); Lk presents for the length of route A random parameter q with 0<q<1 is compared with the
constructed by the k ant; L* stands for latest optimal route parameter Q for select rule.
length; σ stands for the quantity of the elitist ant.
Authors presented a solution model in which each ants .............42

builds a single tour. A more elaborated VSPRFTC with
minimization of the number of tours (or vehicles) and the
minimization of the total deadhead time, where number of The authors explained that the route chosen by ant k is
tours minimization takes precedence over deadhead time added in a tabu list in order not to be selected again and if
minimization was considered. In dealing with the fueling ant k arrives to the destination or is blocked in a junction it
time constraint a bipartite graphic model and its optimization is omitted from the active ants list or in other words, the step
algorithm were developed for trip set connecting in a hub and kills the blocked or arrived ants in the iteration.
spoke network system to minimize the number of vehicle
required. The maximum matching of the bipartite graph is The authors presented the methodology to add the ants on
obtained by calculating the maximum inflow with the Ford– the two different list AWA and PLA if the ψ which is the
Fulkerson algorithm. From the result on the test problem, it summation of cost from i to j for active ant k is less or greater
was found that the model, the heuristic procedures are quite than its average value. And the local and global pheromone
successful in solving VSPRFTC. updating rules are stated as follows:
Hojjat Salehinejad et al. (2008) introduced a new wireless .............43

networking approach to multiparameter vehicle navigation
systems based on ant algorithm to finds the optimum
multiparameter (adjustable by user) route between a pair of
Origin and Destination (O/D). The system acquires traffic .............44

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Where, coefficient pv and av are respectively punishment

and awarding amounts, 0<pv<1 and av>1 and ρ, 0< ρ<1 is
evaporation coefficeint.
Authors presented the Fig. mathematical analyses of the

proposed system as shown in Fig. 5, and was simulated
on apart of Kerman, Iran, and the results demonstrated the
performance and feasibility of the proposed method.
Fig. 6 MACS-DVRPTW system
Zhanwei DU et al. (2010) presented a modified ant colony

algorithm for multiple sight-seeing buses route re-planning
in emergency. It was supposed that the sight-seeing bus is
the bus which takes loop route. If buses’ mission is from A to
node B and there are m crossroads between. The total cost Jij
for traveling along the path (i, j) comes from a weighted sum
of the congestion and fuel costs, and the path (i, j) is a part
Fig. 5 Proposed system diagram
of route from node A to B and is often from one crossroad to
Ashek Ahmmed et al. (2008) presented a multiple ant another, given as:
colony system for dynamic vehicle routing problem with
time window (MACS-DVRPTW). In the MACS-DVRPTW .............45
algorithm multiple objectives are optimized simultaneously
by coordinating the activities of two ACS based colonies. Where, ψ and ζ are the parameters to represent the relative
The goal of the first colony, ACS-VEI, is to try to diminish importance of congestion and fuel, fuel cost Jif fuel is
the number of vehicles used while the second colony, considered equals to the path length Lij and the congestion
ACS-TIME, optimizes the feasible solutions found by cost Jif congestion is given by:
ACS-VEI. Both colonies use independent pheromone
trails but collaborate by sharing the variable ψgb managed .............46
by MACS-DVRPTW. Initially this variable is a feasible Where, wi and ri denotes the importance and congestion cost
VRPTW solution found with a nearest neighbor heuristics of ith crossroads respectively. ri was given as:
and then improved by the two colonies. In the case when the
improved solution contains less vehicles than the vehicles
used in ψgb, MACS-DVRPTW kills ACSTIME and ACS- .............47
VEI. After each of these steps, some random customers
are generated and their values are added in the main data
structure. Then, the process is iterated (as shown in Fig. 6)
The probability that the ant k chooses the next node to be
and two new colonies are activated, working with the new
visited is given by:
reduced number of vehicles.

Suman & Kumar on
4. Dorigo Marco and Socha Krzysztof, “An Introduction to Ant

Colony Optimization”, IRIDIA – Technical Report No. TR/
IRIDIA/2006-010, April 2006, published as a chapter in
.............48 Approximation Algorithms and Met heuristics, a book edited by
T. F. Gonzalez.
.............49 5. Dorigo Marco, Maniezzo Vittorio and Colorni Alberto, “Ant
System: Optimization by a Colony of Cooperating Agents”,
IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man and Cybernetics-Part B:
Cybernetics, Vol. 26, No. 1, February 1996, pp. 29-41.
Authors also adopted a blackboard mechanism to enhance
6. Ghoseiri Keivan and Morshedsolouk Fahimeh, “ACS-TS: Train
algorithm adaptability in dynamic and uncertain environment. Scheduling Using Ant Colony System”, Journal of Applied
The mechanism makes the changes of crossroads known by Mathematics and Decision Sciences, Vol. 2006, pp. 1-28.
all the sight-seeing bus, and helps buses find a re-planning 7. Goss S., S. Aron, J. L. Deneubourg and J. M. Pasteels, “Self-
route. Organized Shortcuts in the Argentine Ant”, Naturwissenschaften,
Vol. 76, 1989, pp. 579-581.
6 CONCLUSIONS
8. Liu Jingyu, Fang Yanjun and Liu Yijian, “Ant Colony System
Algorithm for Path Routing of Urban Traffic Vehicles”,
Various optimization problems for vehicle routing and
Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Automation
route planning was reviewed in the above section and and Logistics, August 18-21, 2007, Jinan, China, pp. 1902-1907.
found that the Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) algorithms
9. Liu Shao-Han, Lin Jzau-Sheng and Lin Zi-Sheng, “A Shortest-Path
are the currently state of art for solving the many complex Network Problem Using an Annealed Ant System Algorithm”,
optimization problems in regard to vehicle routing, route IEEE proceedings of fourth annual ACIS international Conference
planning and scheduling. An introduction to ACO – a on Computer and Information Science (ICIS’05), South Korea,
metaheuristics inspired by the foraging behavior of real July 14-July 16, 2005, pp.245-250.
ants was presented. The underlying model of the problem 10. Ono Hiroaki and Mori Yasuchika, “The Optimal Design of the
being solved on which the pheromone model is based, is Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Window by Ant Colony
the central component of ACO. The basic idea of ACO, System”, IEEE Proceeding of SICE Annual Conference 07, Sept
17-20, 2007, Kagawa University, Japan, pp.1325-1329.
which has been formalized into a metaheuristic framework,
leaves many options and choices to the algorithm designers 11. Salehinejad Hojjat and Talebi Siamak, “A New Ant Algorithm
Based Vehicle Navigation System: A Wireless Networking
to solve the different types of problems.
Approach”, IEEE Proceedings of the International Symposium on
Telecommunications (IST2008), Tehran, Iran, pp.36-41, 2008.
REFERENCES
12. Wang Haixing and Shen Jinsheng, “Heuristic Approach for Solving
1. Ahmmed Ashek, Rana Md. Ali Ahsan, et al., “A Multiple Ant Transit Vehicle Scheduling Problem with Route and Fueling Time
Colony System for Dynamic Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Constraint”, Applied Mathematics and Computation, Volume 190,
Window”, IEEE Proceedings of the Third International Conference Issue 2, 15 July 2007, pp. 1237-1249.
on Convergence and Hybrid Information Technology, Volume 2,
pp.182-187, 2008. 13. Yu Bin, Yang Zhongzhen, Cheng Chuntian and Liu Chong,
“Optimizing Bus Transit Network with Parallel Ant Colony
2. Deneubourg, J. L., S. Aron, S. Gross and J. M. Pasteels, “The self
Algorithm”, Proceedings of the Eastern Asia Society for
Organizing Exploratory Pattern of the Argentine Ant”, Journal of
Transportation Studies, Vol.5, pp. 374-389, 2005.
Insect Behaviour, Vol. 3, No 2, 1990. pp. 159-168.
14. Zhanwei DU, Yongjian Yang, Yongxiong Sun and Chijun Zhang,
3. Dorigo Marco and Gambardella Luca Mara, “Ant Colony System:
A Cooperative Learning Approch to the Traveling Salesman “A modified Ant Colony Algorithm for Multiple Sight-seeing
Problem”, IEEE Transactions on Evolutionary Computation, Vol. Buses Route Replanning in Emergency”, Journal of Computational
1, No. 1, April 1997, pp. 53-66. Information System 6:9 (2010), pp.2795-2803.

CONDITION SURVEY and REHABILITATION OF BRIDGES
C. V. Kand* & Anant Jalgaonkar**
ABSTRACT
The conditions of the various types of bridges based on the observation (survey) of bridges in 1963 (total 294 bridges) and as observed
during condition survey of bridges in 2012 (total 291 bridges). During 1963, moving load tests were carried out at the mid span of the bridge
and the observation was made from below for any distress whereas in 2012, condition survey was carried out in accordance with IRC:SP-
35. The Paper highlighted the important points considered in the condition survey, the type of distress observed and remedial measures
thereof besides showing some of the prominent bridges covered in the condition survey along with some of the very old bridges (more than
200 years or so) termed as heritage bridges with humble appeal that recored of bridges survived more than 200 years should be collected,
technology used be studied and printed for guidance of engineers to know why these could survive for more than 200 years.
1 BRIDGE PHILOSOPHY aesthetics, ancient sthapatis (Architects and Engineers) used

to impart Rhythm to the structure as sponsored by Mayasur
Bridges are key elements in the road network. Damages to the great Architect of India. Rhythm can be understood by
the bridge may affect the traffic and thereby economy of the observing natural shapes, color, and texture. According to
surrounding areas. The French definition of a bridge is that it Raja Bhoj (Samrangana Sutradhar) a Sthapati must also
is a thing of beauty. When you travel in open land or through learn Music, Sculpture, and Dance to understand rhythm.
a town what attracts your attention is tall places of worship
of all religion, Ghats and deepmala along rivers in India and In the present IRC codes of Practice there are following
a beautiful bridge, that is why in India it is believed “that an codes which give some information about maintenance of
ordinary road becomes a good road when bridges are built, existing bridges and ascertaining the load carrying capacity
such a good road is called San-Marg.” The other meaning of of bridges.
San-Marg is following a righteous path in life.
• IRC:SP:35 Guidelines for Inspection and Maintenance
Statistical data about road Bridges in India. This was carried of Bridges, and
out 10 years ago and the data is as below:
• IRC:SP:37 Guidelines for Evaluation of Load
(i) Total Road Length in India 33, 00, 000 km Carrying Capacity of Bridges.
(ii) Bridges & Culverts upto 6m 66, 00, 000 No. These codes give pro-forma for detailed inspection and
maintenance of Bridges, however, there is no guidelines
(iii) Bridges > 6m 3, 50, 000 No. for carrying out Condition Survey of Bridges. The Manuals
2 PHILOSOPHY AND TECHNIQUES OF LONG of Public Works departments also stipulated inspection of
LIFE STRUCTURES IN INDIA Bridges before Monsoon and then also after Monsoon every
year. Usually these works are left to field Engineers and
In 11th century, 3 discoveries sponsored long life structure in generally sub engineers or at the most by Assistant Engineers
India. Well foundations for Ghats at Brindavan across highly and it is well known how these inspections are carried out
scourable sand of Yamuna river. Bridges with corbel type of almost casually, unless there is a big damage.
stone deck constructed on Kolkata – Bhubaneswar road carried
traffic for 1000 years. A bund wall with large boulders (each In the year 1963, it was proposed in Madhya Pradesh to
weighing more than 2 tons) and without any mortar used at allow a pay load of 7.5 Tons in place of 5 Tons allowed in
Kamla Park bund at Bhopal. These 3 structures survived for truck, therefore survey of Bridges having spans/length more
more than 1000 years. Besides good construction material, than 6m were carried out in Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, and
good binding material, appropriate calculations of sizes and Maharashtra. In Madhya Pradesh 2 trucks weighing each
* Retd. Chief Engineer (Designs), M.P.P.W.D., e-mail: cvkand@yahoo.co.in

** Design Engineer
* **
Kand & Jalgaonkar on
Condition Survey and Rehabilitation of Bridges
25 tons total load each were carried on the roads and

suddenly stopped at centre point of a span and observations
were made from below to ascertain the condition of deck.
Besides this the piers and abutments were also inspected,
total 294 bridges were inspected in a period of 1 month and
the results are as per Table.1.1.
Table 1.1
Performance No. of Percentage
Bridges
Bridges in Sound Condition without any 192 65
deformation
Bridges in good condition but with minor 63 21
deformations requiring routine repairs
Bridges which developed cracks scouring 32 11 Photo. 2 Sankh Bridge (300 Years Old)
at foundations requiring special repairs
One French Engineer from Pondicherry “Jean Deloche
Dangerous structures which needed 7 3 “published a book “Ancient Bridges of India”. He travelled
immediate replacement all over the country and inspected old bridges; he collected
Total 294 100 the information from the travel documents of foreigners
who visited India during last 2000 years. Except this book
Based on these observations 7 Bridges were replaced, minor there is no other document which gives information of old
repairs were carried out in 63 Bridges and major repairs in Bridges and their life. During the British regime detailed
32 Bridges. information of Bridges used to be written in the gazette and
also published the Gazetteers of Districts written by British
However, it has become necessary to carry out a detailed
rulers.
and systematic condition survey of Bridges which are more
than 40 years old. Bridges are like Human body, the life The state of Madhya Pradesh has published 3 volumes of
of concrete bridges is considered to be 100 years. Doctor Bridges in Madhya Pradesh. Similarly West Bengal has also
advise full physical examination after the age of 40 years published 2 volumes and State of Maharashtra also published
to detect the disease like Blood Pressure, Diabetes and one Volume.
other Diseases. Similarly after 40 years of age of the Bridge
the Condition Survey is essential and based on that repair During British regime the completion plan of Bridges used
and rehabilitations are necessary. The stone masonry Arch to be drawn on a tracing cloth and maintained in the record
Bridges have survived for more than 300 years, one bridge of division offices, but there is no guarantee that such record
in Orissa that is Athar Nallah Bridge has survived for 1000 will be available about the bridges built after independence.
years and carried traffic. (Photo.1 & Photo.2)
Recently the author carried out Condition survey of 291
Bridges in the state of Andhra Pradesh, 100 Bridges in
Maharashtra, and 100 Bridges in Madhya Pradesh. The
purpose of some surveys was two lane roads are being
widened to 4-laned and therefore the contractor has to certify
that the whether the existing 2-lane bridges are safe to carry
present load or to be replaced. It is therefore necessary to
carry out the condition survey of all bridges. In Andhra
Pradesh it was decided to carry out Condition Survey of 291
Bridges with a view to widen the narrow roads and ascertain
whether the bridges are safe for modern traffic.
Observations of 291 Bridge Andhra Pradesh is as per

Table.1.2.
Photo.1 Athar Nalla Bridge in Bhubaneshwar (1000 Year Old)

Table.1.2 There will be several bridges which are of more than 200
years life. No documentation of heritage bridges is available
Performance Number of Percentage
except in the book “Ancient Bridges of India”. This book
Bridges contains 74 Photographs of Bridges from Kashmir to
Bridges which Require 227 78 Kanyakumari along with History and evolution of Bridges
Widening/ Replacement since last more than 2000 years. Similar record is not
available. It also identified that concept of well foundation
Bridges which requires 26 8.93
was evolved in 11th century in India and used for Ghats
rehabilitation of Brindavan and later for Taj Mahal. British adopted
Bridges which can be widened 38 13.05 this technology for Yamuna Bridge at Allahabad in 1866.
Total 291 100 Yamuna river has most scourable bed in India. The ancient
people also knew about it and that is why protective works
The author has carried out Condition Survey of nearly 1000 were done for structures built along Yamuna River.
Bridges so far, the statistical data shows that there are 2
3 PURPOSE OF CONDITION SURVEY
Bridges and culverts are required per kilometer length of
road. The statistical data also shows that the optimum length he purpose of condition survey is not only to prepare a
T
of the bridge, condition report of an individual bridge for its repair and
rehabilitation, the purpose is
L = 4 to 6 x √ (Catchment Area in sq. km.),
3.1 To find out defects in the bridges and suggest method
as per Clause 7.6.2. of IRC: SP: 20- 2002.
of rehabilitation or replacement as based on site
Life of Bridge Structure observations
(i) Bridges with Corbel type of construction in 3.2 To also ascertain whether the length of the bridge
stone masonry can last for 1000 years, e.g. provided is adequate. If it is not adequate, there
Athar Nallah Bridge in Bhubaneswar built in would be damages of approaches behind the
11th Century. abutment.
(ii) Bridges where each face of the stone out 3.3 Whether the width of the bridge is adequate to carry
of 6 faces are chiseled. The joint is less than the traffic or whether widening of the bridge is to be
8mm; the spigot and socket joint are provided done. Widening can be done by
in vertical direction. In horizontal direction (a) Widening only the slab by cantilevering out or
copper strips are provided in longitudinal and extending the cantilever and strengthening it
lateral stone joints. Besides Athar Nallah there i.e. additional reinforcement to be anchored in
are 6 more bridges of this type on Calcutta to the slab inside. If this is not feasible additional
Bhubaneswar road. length of piers on both sides and additional deck
are required. It is necessary to check whether
(iii) Stone masonry bridges, where only sides upto
this addition can be borne safely by the existing
25mm, width on the face stone are chiseled, but
substructure. If not the piers will have to be
inside side stones are not chiseled. Arches for
extended.
the deck with only sides chiseled, inner stone
can last for roughly - 200 years. (b) In respect of abutment, it is possible to remove
the parapet wall, provide an RCC slab over the
(iv) Brick masonry arches in Indo-Gangetic plains
abutment, and cantilever it out on both sides to
– 200 years. get the additional width. If the bridge is provided
(v) Brick masonry Arches elsewhere – 100 years. with well foundation additional well foundation
or pile foundation by the side of existing wells
(vi) Concrete bridges with steel reinforcement – will be required. The method of widening of
100 years. Since within 100 years steel inside piers, strengthening of piers, widening of deck,
gradually corrodes and RCC develops wider additional foundations are given in enclosed
and wider cracks which leads to failure. Figs. 1 to 4.

Fig. 1 Fig. 4
3.4 Record of HFL. The railways built several bridges in

India during 19th century. Survey of India maps were
not available at that time. The sites were selected
according to suitable straight alignment of railway
line. The HFL were ascertained by local enquiry of
the highest flood. A cross section of the river marking
therein the highest flood level was drawn to determine
the water spread in the cross section and the length of
the bridge provided used to be generally not less than
80 per cent of the water spread. The Bridges built
with these methods have survived for 100 years.
However, the catchment areas can be ascertained
from the survey of India sheets.
3.5 In Andhra Pradesh there is a fertile land on both sides

of the Bridges on canal, very close to existing 8.4m
to 9m road width. It is not possible to change the
alignment of the bridge which has to be at the existing
bridge only. In such cases it is advisable to construct a
Bailey bridge at the site of existing bridge and divert
Fig. 2 the traffic on the same. The existing bridge then can
be dismantled and a new bridge can be constructed
by providing pile foundations, if there is no good
strata in the bed. Thus during the condition survey the
methodology of new bridges and providing diversion
has to be decided. If the bridge is in uncultivated area
there will be no problem of providing a diversion
with some pipe openings along the river and Nallah
Fig. 3 if the water level during dry season is low.

3.6 Site Plans 6 CRITICAL INSPECTION OF SOME SPOTS
Site plans are not available with the PWD divisions, in such During construction of Bridges some problems do come
cases site plans as per Google map can be prepared. Water in some bridges and a solution for the same is adopted.
spread at HFL should be ascertained to justify the length of Information of such spots recorded by the department
the Bridge. Settlement of foundation causing cracks. If there should be seen during inspection. There are 2 examples of
are no cracks, it shows that foundation have appropriate the same:-
section and appropriate founding level.
6.1 In Mahanadi Bridge at Chandrapur in Chhattisgarh
3.7 Weaker Elements in Existing Bridges state, excellent rock was seen in the river bed. Therefore
open foundations on rock were proposed. However
It has been observed that the RCC parapet walls are damaged Geotechnical investigations were not done at each
in several bridges, it is advisable to provide steel parapet foundation. During construction it was noticed that a
walls. Similarly the expansion joints in the deck of older portion of nearly 200m length has a deep pit where
bridges with 2 angles and plates have also damaged at many rock was not available upto 30m depth. Therefore 5m
bridges and it is better to provide strip seal expansion joints. deep foundations were provided with curtain wall and
Where ever footpaths are provided these are damaged near Apron in this sandy zone. This work was completed in
the expansion joints. 1967. Condition survey done in 2013 shows that the
above foundations are standing safe.
4 VISUAL INSPECTION & NDT 6.2 For bridge on Chambal River at Dholpur (NH-3),
1/3rd bridge length has rock and arch spans provided.
Visual inspection by a bridge engineer having minimum
Remaining 2/3rd bridge length has deep sandy bed.
5 years experience in design and same experience in
The continuous bridge units (each 60m, 4 spans of
construction can understand the problems about the bridge.
15m each) were laid on sandy bed with curtain wall
If during visual inspection cracks, distresses, deflection, & Apron. Arch spans laid on Conglomerate rock
surface damages are noticed, non destructive tests are settled & arches collapsed. However, the portion of
necessary. Such bridges should be identified by the inspecting bridge on sand with curtain wall and apron is safe for
party. Following tests are required: more than 50 years.
(i) Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity Tests; 7 CONDITION SURVEY OF BRIDGES AND

FLYOVERS IN TOWN AREAS
(ii) Hammer Tests;
13 Bridges across Mutha River, 5 Bridges across Mulla
(iii) Core Tests; River, and 5 Flyovers in the Pune city were condition
surveyed. The project included preparing GAD of the
If these tests are not satisfactory the heavy load need not be Bridges, carrying out NDT tests of concrete and estimates for
carried out on such bridges, diversions may be provided, and rehabilitation. Inspections were carried out during monsoon
bridges have to be rehabilitated. period and also after monsoon. It may be noted that even in
PWD records, GAD of existing bridges are not available.
The work of condition survey should include preparation of
5. IMPORTANT POINTS IN THE CONDITION
GAD or if GADs are available, the same should be verified
SURVEY
and corrected if necessary.
5.1 Site plan as per Google map to be prepared by
General Observation
Executive Engineer.
7.1 There are more damages at footpaths provided with
5.2 Water Spread at HFL to justify adequacy of length.
chequred tiles near the expansion joints.
5.3 Settlement if any.
7.2 RCC parapet walls are badly damaged, better to
5.4 Condition of Foundations, Piers, Abutments, Deck, provide steel parapets.
Bearings, Wearing Coat, Parapet wall.
7.3 Concrete wearing coat damaged, better to have
5.5 List of Repairs. asphaltic wearing coat
5.6 Approximate cost. 7.4 Gaps not provided at expansion joints or gaps are
closed.

7.5 In Some town bridges span length is equal to width, structure is found to be in good condition. Exactly the same
such bridges will expand laterally and longitudinally, procedure is adopted in the Gambhir Khad Bridge in 1964.
therefore bearings and expansion joints must be able
to expand in both directions. Strip seal expansion 9 EXAMPLES
joints and elastomeric bearings appear suitable.
Photographs of some bridges investigations during Condition
7.6 Open type expansion joints are damaged, better to Survey are mentioned with photographs. Besides bridge
replace by strip seal expansion joints. having some problems, bridges in excellent condition are
also mentioned. Stone masonry arch bridges are generally in
7.7 RCC roller rocker bearings are provided in some good condition. One RCC Bow String Bridge built in 1930
bridges, these should be replaced by elastomeric in Andhra Pradesh is also in good condition.
bearings/ POT PTFE bearings.
7.8 Stone masonry bridges are many, these are in an
excellent condition, and some are more than 100
years. There are 6 stone masonry bridges in Pune;
only one bridge which is more than 100 years has to
be closed for traffic.
7.9 Stone coping over masonry parapet wall is eroded,
perhaps due to pollution.
7.10 Considerable vegetation appears at several spots in
masonry bridges and at offsets in RCC bridges. The
roots can be burned and filling powder of lime and
Asafetida (Hinge) (Old Practice) should be at the
spot of roots.
Photo.3 DIDI, BHIND (1959) in good condition
8 BRIDGES TO CARRY HEAVY LOAD THAN
THE DESIGNED IRC LOAD
A bridge across Gambhir Khad River on Chandigarh –
Bilaspur road km 110 was completed in year 1964, but it was
designed for 2 lanes of Class-B. The bridge consists of rigid
frame structure with Y-shape of piers. Gujarat Ambuja cement
wanted to carry heavy equipment of 110 Tons for the cement
plant on this road sometime in 1992. Design calculations were
not available. Entire design was redone. If the load is carried at
the centre of the bridge and not stopped suddenly the moment
is substantially reduced. However, the overall increase in
stresses is within 6.2 per cent and this can be permitted as
per the IRC:SP:37. The load was carried on 900 mm wide
steel plate, 6mm thick at slow speed of 5 kmph, 30 per cent
additional stress allowed in code for such situation.
It has become necessary to carry loads heavier than IRC
loads on the existing Bridges. Ministry of Surface Transport
vide circular No. RW/NH – 35072/1/2010 S&R(B) dated
24th January 2013 have issued guidelines for the same.
Heavy equipment is to be carried of electrical generators; the
weight could be upto 300 tons. MORTH examined various
designs and permitted heavy loads upto 290 tons if the
condition of the bridge is good. The equipment is carried out
at the centre of the bridge at a slow speed of 5kmph provided
condition survey and NDT tests are carried out and the Photo.4 MAHANADI BRIDGE, (1969) in good condition

Photo.5 Built in 1932, Bow String Bridge in AP, Excellent Concrete Photo.9 Settlement of Foundations of Bridge in AP
Photo. 6 Stone Arch Bridge in AP in good condition
Photo.10 Exposed Steel Below Deck. This has happened in many Bridges.
The weak concrete is removed. Rust on steel is removed by sand blasting
and then surface finished by 1:1.5 cement mortar with 15 per cent polymer.
Then grouting is done. This is the repair technology.
Photo.7 Bridge in City Area, Lot of Rubbish dumped in River Bed.
Photo.11 Cracks & Water Marks in the Superstructure, Pune Town Bridge
Case Study -1 Choti Mahanadi Bridge
• Total Length – 702 m with 17 Spans of 41 m

(Average), Viaduct Portion 7 Spans of 10.5 m
• Piers – Hollow Circular Piers
Photo.8 Gambhir Khad Bridge in Himachal Pradesh

• Foundations – Open Foundation/Well Foundation/ Case Study -2 Bina Bridge

Pile Foundations • Total length – 244 m
• Year of Completion – 2006 • Spans – 8 Spans of 35.0 m
• Deck – Balanced cantilever with suspended span • Super Structure – Prestressed Girders with
of 26m. Some spans are simply supported 3 Girder system
• Depth of Water – On the back water of Large • Piers – RCC wall type piers
Reservoir, depth of water is 14.5m
• Bearings – Elastomeric
• Balanced Cantilever Span – Centre 44.5m,
• RCC parapet walls
Cantilever 9.0m on either side.
• Open to Traffic – 3rd February, 1978
• Distress – Prestressed cantilever sagged in one
span and suspended span is lowered. • Damages
• Remedial Measures – External pre-stressing Some slab panels developed Pot holes. Damages
along with Lifting of sagged Spans in RCC Posts. Wearing Coat damaged. Steel
exposed in the cantilever slabs at the ends. One
• Since the depth of water is more than 12m
cross girder develops vertical cracks.
constantly at this site, it would have been much
better to adopt longer spans preferably a cable • Rehabilitation
stayed bridge, where the foundations will be at a Replacement of RCC parapet wall by steel
point where the depth of water is less. Parapet. Replacement of RCC wearing coat by
Asphaltic wearing coat. Replacement of bearings.
Repair of Cracked cross girder.
Photo.12 Cantilever End Sagged, Gap Supported on Wooden Plates

Photo.14 Bottom of the Deck – Bina Bridge
Photo.13 Reinforcement Sheared off in the Cracked Portion Photo.15 Pot Holes in Deck Slab – Bina Bridge

• The hollow girders cement grouted.

• 50 mm thickness of cantilever slab removed
and additional steel required for cantilever was
provided and anchored behind.
• Anchorages was given at the top of girder and
same by removing top concrete of the slab and
anchoring the steel inside. Cantilever supported
from below.
Photo.16 Vertical Cracks in the Cross Girder – Bina Bridge
Fig. 5 Typical Cross Section of the Guna ROB
Case Study -4 Narmada Bridge at Punasa Dam
A continuous spans unit if 47 m - 60 m - 47 m and other units

of 44 m - 44 m. The deck consisits of PSC box structure,
single circular pier and RCC roller rocker bearings.
Following Distresses were observed during Condition

Survey:
• RCC roller bearings have cracked upto 3 mm

Photo.17 Damaged Elastomeric Bearings – Bina Bridge
thickness or more crack width, some bearings
were crushed.
Case Study -3 Guna ROB on NH-3
• There was a sag of 100 mm in the longitudinal
ROB is a 4 Lane Bridge with a two Separate Lanes. The direction.
bridge is on open foundation, RCC columns, 4-girder system,
Elastomeric bearings. Each pier has 8 RCC Columns. There • Detailed investigation of design showed the sag
are 8 Spans. is due to lesser quantity of HT steel than required.
Condition Survey Showed Following Distresses: - More relaxation losses of HT steel within a period
of 15 years on completion.
• Cracks in Elastomeric Bearings.
• Hollow concrete at the bottom of girders. Following restoration measures have been carried out: -
• Sagging of cantilever tips of deck near centre of
• Replacing RCC bearings by elastomeric
bridge. Sag due to steel at top went at the bottom
bearings.
of cantilever slab.
Rehabilitation Measures: - • Providing external pre-stressing.
• The bearings of bad quality replaced. • Steel strips are provided to improve shear
• Grouting of beams. deficiency.

Similar distresses were also observed in other spans and ascertain its cost. The cost of works is 10 per cent of the
external pre-stressing was provided in these spans too. present cost of bridges at the sites for repair and rehabilitation
only. If however, the bridges are to be totally replaced, that
cost of replacement is not included. New bridges at the
site be proposed only after detailed project report of new
bridges. Even for rehabilitation design, drawings, & detailed
estimates are required. In Andhra Pradesh out of 291 bridges
226 bridges have to be replaced. It was possible to ascertain
this on carrying out the condition survey. It is advisable to
make a provision of 10 per cent of the present cost of the
bridges for rehabilitation of old bridges for which condition
survey has been done.
Proforma for condition survey
As per Annexure–04 of IRC:SP:35 with following

details
Photo.18 Anchorages and External Pre-stressing (a) Date of inspection
Cable inside the Box
(b) Departmental persons accompanied
(c) Details of existing bridge
• Name of the road and chainage or km
• District & PWD division
• Year of construction
• Traffic on bridge – minor/medium/heavy
• Linear water way of bridge & stream name
• Span arrangement
• Overall width
• depth from river bed to rtl
• Type of bridge
• Type of foundations
• Substructure
Photo.19 Shear Plate and External Pre-stressing Cable inside the Box
• Superstructure
10 CONCLUSIONS • Bearings
• Length of return walls
Condition survey must be carried out for all bridges which
are more than 40 years old. In RCC bridges NDT tests (d) Condition of existing bridge with reference to
are necessary. Proposal for rehabilitation of the bridge • Structural soundness of foundations & causes of
must be mentioned in condition survey along with the defects if any
methodology & the cost. If the general arrangement drawings • Structural soundness of Substructure & causes of
of bridge are not available, these should be prepared by the defects if any
party carrying out condition survey. • Structural soundness of superstructure & bearings
& causes of defects if any
The purpose of condition survey is to assess the present
• condition of parapet walls & expansion joints
condition of bridges which are more than 40 years old. By
carrying out this condition survey it is possible to prepare • Recommendations regarding rectification and
a preliminary proposal of rehabilitation of bridges and remedial measures

• Need of reconstruction • Stream

• Need of new construction • Skew angle
• Need of widening • Proposed new alignment
(e) In case of reconstruction (i) Hydraulic observations
• Feasibility of providing diversion – either on • Water spread at HFL
upstream or downstream • HFL by local enquiry
• Alternate route if any • Whether the present length is adequate or extra
(f) In case of new construction on new alignment spans are required.
• Feasibility of land acquisition • Damages of the river bank during flood if any
Note:- to be decided by executive engineer • Proposed linear waterway
• Alternate route if any • Proposed span arrangement
(g) In case of removal of kinks & sharp curves on (j) Cost aspect
approaches Tentative cost (not detailed estimate). This will be
• Proposal for reconstruction based on per square meter rates in the area for new
• Feasibility of land acquisition bridge.
(h) Typical site plan to be supplied by executive engineer (k) Observations if 80 tons load test is carried out if any.
showing (l) Observations if NDT test are carried out.
• Existing road

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HIGHWAY RESEARCH JOURNAL

Volume 7 No. 1 January – June 2014

HIGHWAY RESEARCH BOARD

Volume 7 No. 1 January - June 2014

(All Rights Reserved. No part of this Publication shall be reproduced, translated or

The opinions and conclusions in this Journal are those of the

1. The Director General (Road Development) & Chairman

7. The Director 12. The Chief Engineer (Bridges) SR&T

14. The Chief Engineer (NH), 22. The Chief Engineer

45. Dr. L.R. Kadiyali 50. Dr. G.V.S. Raju

1 INTRODUCTION The present study was taken up with the objective of

highway research journal, january – june 2014 1

One type of aggregate, two types of binders and two types of

• Gradation U: Upper limit of gradation range given in

2 highway research journal, january – june 2014

Table1 Physical Properties of Binders 4 EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM

Table 2 Summary of Optimum Binder Content for Different Mixes

highway research journal, january – june 2014 3

4.4 Wheel Tracking Test

The wheel tracking test is used to determine the resistance

5 TEST RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The results obtained from the laboratory tests are presented

5.1 Accumulated Strain in Static Creep Test

4 highway research journal, january – june 2014

5.2 Accumulated Strain in Dynamic Creep Test

Accumulated strain (Єd) is the ratio between the deformation

Єd (n,T) : The dynamic accumulated strain of the mixture

RD = 8×10-8 × (Єps) 2 – 0.0012(Єps) + 6.54 .............2

Where, RD = Rut depth in mm at 600C, Єps= Permanent strain

highway research journal, january – june 2014 5

Fig. 10 Rut wheel depth for BC mixes

Fig. 12 Rut depth vs strain in static creep test

Fig. 13 Rut depth vs dynamic creep strain

Table 3 Rut Depth Values for Different Mixes

6 highway research journal, january – june 2014

The above empirical relations can be used to predict

7 VALIDATION OF RUT DEPTH MODELS

Rut depth in earlier section is related to permanent deformation

highway research journal, january – june 2014 7

8 CONCLUSIONS Engineering. Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid.

8 highway research journal, january – june 2014

1 GENERAL standard gradation and to find out optimum bitumen content

highway research journal, january – june 2014 9

10 highway research journal, january – june 2014

highway research journal, january – june 2014 11

Specific gravity of asphalt = 1.015

VMA = 17.33, VIM = 4.47, OBC = 5.02

C is the objective function to be minimized. C is the cost of

12 highway research journal, january – june 2014

highway research journal, january – june 2014 13

Table 4 Model Output

14 highway research journal, january – june 2014

Tables 5 and 6 shows the results of existing output and model

Table 6 Model output

highway research journal, january – june 2014 15

Model validation is essential part of the model development

The ultimate goal of model validation is to make the model

– The model is programmed correctly

In this study model is validated with the existing results

It is observed that for almost all design the model optimizes

16 highway research journal, january – june 2014

Table 7 Comparison of Model Output and Existing Output

The objective of materials blending for strength is to

Shilstone (2000) proposed a quantitative method

5 Challenges for Implementation of