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TYPES OF PAVEMENT
There are two types of pavements based on design considerations i.e. flexible pavement and rigid
pavement. Difference between flexible and rigid pavements is based on the manner in which the loads are
distributed to the subgrade.
FLEXIBLE PAVEMENT
Flexible pavement can be defined as the one consisting of a mixture of asphaltic or bituminous material
and aggregates placed on a bed of compacted granular material of appropriate quality in layers over the
subgrade. Water bound macadam roads and stabilized soil roads with or without asphaltic toppings are
examples of flexible pavements.
The design of flexible pavement is based on the principle that for a load of any magnitude, the intensity of
a load diminishes as the load is transmitted downwards from the surface by virtue of spreading over an
increasingly larger area, by carrying it deep enough into the ground through successive layers of granular
material.
Thus for flexible pavement, there can be grading in the quality of materials used, the materials with high
degree of strength is used at or near the surface. Thus the strength of subgrade primarily influences the
thickness of the flexible pavement.
RIGID PAVEMENTS
A rigid pavement is constructed from cement concrete or reinforced concrete slabs. Grouted concrete
roads are in the category of semi-rigid pavements.
The design of rigid pavement is based on providing a structural cement concrete slab of sufficient strength
to resists the loads from traffic. The rigid pavement has rigidity and high modulus of elasticity to
distribute the load over a relatively wide area of soil.
Minor variations in subgrade strength have little influence on the structural capacity of a rigid pavement.
In the design of a rigid pavement, the flexural strength of concrete is the major factor and not the strength
of subgrade. Due to this property of pavement, when the subgrade deflects beneath the rigid pavement,
the concrete slab is able to bridge over the localized failures and areas of inadequate support from
subgrade because of slab action.
Types of Rigid Pavements:
1. Jointed Plain Concrete Pavement (JPCP) - are plain cement concrete pavements constructed with
closely spaced contraction joints. Dowel bars or aggregate interlocks are normally used for load transfer
across joints. They normally has a joint spacing of 5 to 10m.
2. Jointed Reinforced Concrete Pavement (JRCP) - although reinforcements do not improve the structural
capacity significantly, they can drastically increase the joint spacing to 10 to 30m. Dowel bars are
required for load transfer. Reinforcement help to keep the slab together even after cracks.
3. Continuous Reinforced Concrete Pavement (CRCP) - Complete elimination of joints are achieved by
reinforcement.
4. Pre-stressed concrete pavement (PCP)
EMBANKMENT CONTROL
Basically, there are two procedures employed to assure specified embankment density.
1. To specify the expected value to the minimum acceptable amount of relative compaction and to
ascertain from the fill density tests that the specified value is obtained.
2. To specify the manner and methods of constructing the embankment particularly the layer thickness,
moisture control and the number of passes by a roller of specified type and weight.
2. Unstable Materials
- are materials other than suitable materials such as:
a) Materials containing detrimental quantities of organic substances like grass, roots and
sewage.
b) Highly organic soils like peat and muck.
c) Soils with liquid limit exceeding 80 and or plastic index exceeding 85.
d) Soils with natural water content exceeding 100%.
e) Soils with very low natural density of 800 kg/m3 or lower.
BITUMINOUS SURFACING
BITUMINOUS MATERIAL
Bituminous material or Asphalt in short, is a viscous liquid used as binder for aggregates in road
construction. At normal temperature, asphalt is either slightly thicker than water or hard but brittle
material that breaks under a hammer blow when cold.
1. Bituminous material is in liquid form when mixed or combined with aggregates. This liquid form may
be produced either by heating the hard asphalt, by dissolving in solvent or by emulsifying in water.
However, there are bituminous liquid materials available and ready for use.
2. The action of asphalt binder depends on its type and the aggregate it is combined with. The purpose of
the asphalt binder is to resist the abrasive force brought about by heavy traffic.
3. If road pavement is the open type, consisting entirely of coarse particles and asphalt, heavy binder is
needed requiring more asphalts. On the other hand, id aggregates in the pavement contain fine particles,
cohesion will be developed by surface tension in the thin asphalt film surrounding the fine particles.
Hence, less viscous. Asphalt is required.
BITUMINOUS BINDERS
Asphalt cement is used as binder for almost all high types of bituminous pavement. Asphalt cement is a
semi solid hydrocarbon retained after fuel and lubricating oils are removed form petroleum. The softest
grade used for pavement is the 200-300 penetration. The 60-70 penetrations is the hardest type.
Penetration refers to the consistencies of asphalt cement as described under ASSHTO-T49. It is the
distance that a standard needle penetrates a sample under known conditions of loading time and
temperature. Recently, the procedure used in grading asphalt cement is the Viscosity Test rather than
Penetration Test.
CUTBACK OR LIQUID ASPHALT
1. Liquid asphalt is a petroleum product consisting of asphalt cement with a liquid distillate (diesel,
kerosene or gasoline). The less viscous asphalt contains diluents as little as 15%.
2. The use of cutback is being frowned for two reasons:
a) It is a usable fuel
b) It is an air pollutant
3. Cutback or liquid asphalt is classified into:
a) Slow curing (SC) road soil
b) Medium curing (MC) cutback asphalt
c) Rapid curing (RC) cutback asphalt
EMULSIFIED ASPHALT
Emulsified Asphalt is a kind of mixture wherein the minute globules of asphalt disperses in water.
Asphalt content ranges from 55-70% by weight. Emulsion could be applied or mixed at normal
temperature, because when the water content evaporates, the asphalt remains. It has the following
characteristics.
1. Emulsified Asphalt
- is excellent with wet aggregate because the water medium carries the asphalt into a superior
contact with the particle surfaces.
- is an alternate to cutback asphalt for energy and environmental objectives. It is an effective
material in coating electropositive aggregate such as limestone but tend to strip from
aggregates with high content of silica for having strong electronegative surface charges.
2. Cationic Emulsion
- is very effective on high siliceous aggregates but may strip from high alkaline that carry strong
positive surface changes.
3. Rejuvenating Agent
- is an emulsified petroleum resin sprayed over the surface of an old asphalt road that changes
to asphaltenes causing the binder to harden and cracks. The rejuvenating agent sprayed over
the pavement and softening the binder. Too much application however, produces a slick
pavement surface.
BITUMINOUS PAVEMENT
The bituminous pavement is a combination of mineral aggregate and binders. The mixtre of rock material
particles with asphalt has created so many names to wit:
-Asphalt macadam -Asphalt sheet
-Asphaltic concrete -Road mic
-Mastic -Armor coat
-National paving -Oil mat
-Plant mix
Although several names were affixed to bituminous pavement, yet, there is only one thing to remember
that, all bituminous roadways are nothing more than a mixture of mineral aggregates and asphalt.
Meaning, asphalt road is virtually a Bituminous Road.
A satisfactory asphalt pavement could be attained under the following construction procedures:
1. Viscous asphalt binder us heated to a fluid condition and mixed with heated aggregates. The mixture is
then laid and compacted while still hot.
2. Mixing liquid or emulsion asphalt with aggregates at normal temperature is either by plant or road
mixing. The mixture is laid and compacted at normal temperature before the solvent evaporates or the
emulsion breaks.
3. Spread and compact the clean crushed stones, sprayed with heated or emulsified asphalt binder over it.
Cover the sprayed pavement with fine aggregate. This process is referred to as the ‘penetration method’.
SURFACE TREATMENT
Road surface treatment method is applied to upgrade untreated surface and to rejuvenate an existing
pavement. The inverted penetration method is applied wherein the binder asphalt is first prayed over a
prepared surface then covered with fine aggregates.
Surface treatment is subdivided as follows:
- Dust palliatives - is a surface treatment of asphalt to control dust and fine sand along the
highway.
- Prime coat or track coat - to plug the capillary voids in the pavement in order to stop the upward
movement of moisture. Also to improve adhesion between the base and surface course.
- Armor coats - is a surface treatment using thin bituminous binder covered by mineral aggregate
applied to an earth, gravel or water bound macadam surface or to stabilize the base. And, provide
protection for untreated surfaces.
- Seal coats and retreads - is the application of asphalt binder to a pavement surface covered with
aggregate. To improve the skid resistance of bleeding bituminous surface which had been
polished under traffic.
- Sheet asphalts - is a mixture of sand filters and asphalt cement.
- Cold laid coats - is a mixture of coarse and fine aggregates and liquid asphalt or emulsion.
- Slurry seals - is a combination of sand, crushed stone, emulsified asphalt and water.
- Asphalt overlay - is a layer of asphalt bound aggregate laid an existing pavement. The purpose is
to level out distorted surface or to cover cracks and joints of the pavement.
CONCRETE PAVEMENT
PORTLAND CEMENT is a combination of limestone, marl or other calcareous materials and clay,
shale, or like argillaceous substances.
Different types of Portland cement specified by AASHTO are the following:
Type 1 or 1A (Air entraining) - this type of cement is for general concrete construction when the specified
properties of the other four types are not required.
Type II or IIA (Air entraining) - his type is for general concrete construction exposed to moderate action
or where moderate heat of hydration is required.
Type III or IIIA (Air entraining) - his type is for high strength concrete.
Type IV is for low heat of hydration
Type V for high sulfate resistance
Definition of Terms
Deterioration
- Deterioration of concrete pavement is due to stress brought about by load, moisture and
temperature.
Distress of Concrete
- is generally grouped into the following categories:
a) Distortion
b) Cracking
c) Disintegration
Distortion
- is a vertical displacement of concrete slab at the joints or cracks. Distortion is due to failure or
weakness of concrete joints.
Faulting
- For faulting to occur, there must be free water on top of the base course and pavement deflection
across the joint due to heavy axle loads. Faulting is the result of pumping tremendous force or
load that develop under pavement. Caused of faulting are:
a) Loss of slab support
b) Erosion of sub base
Cracking
- can take many forms in concrete pavement that could be the result from; applied load,
temperature or moisture changes. Most common types of cracks are:
a) Corner cracks associated with excessive corner deflection
b) Transverse cracks associated with mixture or temperature stresses, or poor construction
methods.
Disintegration
- appears in the form of durability cracking, scaling or spalling, as the result of the mix design or
construction related problems like:
a) Durability Cracking - results from freeze-thaw action
b) Scaling - a network of shallow fine hairline cracks which extend through the upper surface of
the concrete.
c) Spalling - is the breaking or chipping of the joint edges. It is the result from excessive stresses
at joint, weak concrete, poorly designed or constructed joints.
Changes in Temperature and Moisture Content
- create slab curling, flexure stresses and overall lengthening and shortening of the slabs. The
tendency of the slab to shorten is due ti temperature drop or drying that create tensile stresses. On
the other hand, the tendency to lengthen is due to temperature rise or increased in moisture that
creates compression stresses.