‘Advanced Testing and Characterization of Bituminous Materials ~ Loizos, Partl, Scarpas & Al-adi (eds) © 2009 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-55854-9. Determination of gradual reduction of the flexible pavement bearing capacity G. Fodor, C. Capitanu & T.C. Damian ‘Search Corporation, Bucharest, Romania ABSTRACT: To knew the way of time decreasing under traffic loading of the pavements bearing capacity is extremely important to their design. This process has been studied in Romania by means of recurrent pavement deformability tests, accompanied by visual survey of the pavement distress condition, The paper gives the results of some studies performed on a road section under traffic, for 2 years period of time, which enabled assessment of pavement deformability increase as a result of diminution of the moduli of elasticity of the road layer materials Appreciations are made in paper both about the way the climatic factors influence the subgrade bearing capacity, and about the ageing process of the bituminous mix, Knowledge of the way of reduction with time of the pavements bearing allows the pave- ment engineers to take into account this process for the period elapsed between the field study stage and the road rehabilitation stage. 1 INTRODUCTION Gradual reduction of the pavement bearing capacity is extremely important to the road designers in our country. Alteration with time of the bearing capacity of a road is due to variation of the dynamic moduli of elasticity of the subgrade and road layer materials. In case of the subgrade, the modulus of elasticity is determined by its moisture, of which varia- tion depends on the hydrological regime of the road. For the bituminous layers, variation of the modulus of elasticity shows the result of two antagonistic processes: the bitumen ageing and the micro-cracking of the layer, under traffic loading. In order to clear up the process, studies have been performed on the road network, consisting in recurrent tests of the bearing capacity, correlated with the pavement distress condition. The paper presents the results of the study performed on 8 km road section located on the national road 2. This road, rated as European Road 85, assures connection between Bucha- rest km 0 +-000 and the north of the country, at border with Ukraine, km 482 + 230. 2 DESCRIPTION OF THE STUDIED ROAD SECTION ‘The studied road section is located on DN2, km 342 + 000 ~ 350 + 000. The road is at the ground leve! or in cutting earthwork. Existence of some non-waterproofed ditches and with inadequate operation placed it, in conformity with Romanian stipulations (STAS 1709/2-90), in a hydrological regime which allows high seasonal variations of the subgrade moisture (unfavorable hydrological regime type 2b). The pavement is flexible, being made up of bitu- minous layers with variable thickness, laid over granular material layers. The frost depth in the area where the road is located is high, being of 100 cm (STAS1709/1-90). The frost—thaw process takes place into the subgrade, which consists of clayey silt—silty clay soils, very sensitive to frost. The design traffic in cumulative number of equivalent standard axle loads of 115 kN is 1.69 million for a design period of 10 years. According to Romanian technical norms (Norm AND 584, 2002), the traffic is classified as “Very heavy 2953. PAVEMENT TESTS The following pavement tests have been performed: + Pavement drilling cores, in order to establish the structure of the existing pavement, On the road section under study 14 drilling cores have been performed in October 2003, finding the following: ~ The bituminous layers have variable thickness, between 10 cm and 22 cm, showing no adhesion at different interfaces and being friable at the bottom, The first about 4 cm of bituminous mix was recycled in the year 2003; — The sub-base consists of unbound granular materials, generally silted up, with variable thickness, ranged between 21 cm and 45 cm; — The subgrade consists prevalently of silty clay, type PS and clayey silt soils, type P4, according to the geotechnical studies, soils rated as “very sensitive” at action of the frost- thaw phenomenon; + Pavement survey of the distress condition, Assessment of the pavement distress condition (Instructions CD 155, 2001), in autumn of 2003, spring of 2004 and spring of 2005 has emphasized the following. — During 2003 (the year of overlay recycling) the road surface was without damages. The damage index was 0, what assessed as “Very good” the distress condition of the road surface at level of 2003; — In spring of 2004, the wearing course was damaged on about 12% of surface. The dis- tress index was of 5.8%, what assessed as “Good” the distress condition of the road surface in spring of 2004; ~ In spring of 2005, the wearing course was damaged on about 80% of surface. The dam- age index was of 40.8%, what assessed as “Poor” the distress condition of the road sur- face in spring of 2005. As the prevalent damages in spring of the year 2005 were alligator crackings, we think the main reason of their appearance was action of the frost—thaw phenomenon. * Deflection tests with the aim of assessment of the pavement deformability. The tests have been performed with the falling weight deflectometer type Dynatest, (technical Instruc- tions concerning utilization of the Dynatest FWD Deflectometer for pavement investiga- tion), in station points located at 200 m apart one each other, in three stages = 2003, in autumn; — 2004, in spring; — 2005, in spring. The contact pressure and the deflection basins are stored for three drops at every station point, the data obtained from the last drop being used, the first two having only the role to assure a better contact between the loading plate and the pavement surface. 4 RESULTS OBTAINI aD 4.1 Remarks about measured deflections From the deflection basins measured at every station point, the following data have been kept for judging: the central deflection, d,, in um, the deflection measured by the last sensor at a distance of 1.8 m of the loading plate, d,, in jim, and the value of indicator (d,-d,), in um, dif- ference of deflection between sensors 4 and 1, respectively the difference between deflection measured at a distance of 45 cm of the loading plate and central deflection, for the last drop. ‘The values of the measured deflection correspond to the reference temperature of 20°C. We specify that parameter d, ,, expresses the pavement deformability and this deflection is influ- enced of about 60%-80% by the subgrade rigidity, d, expresses the subgrade quality and the 296a 2003 1600 ss 2008 1300 s 2005 1200 1000 00 600 400 2329882328232 82823298 # g222 2822 8522 23 Figure I. Values of d,,, during three test stages. ‘able 1. “The mean values ofthe deletions and percentage alterations Parameter “Autumn 2005 Spring 2008 Spring 2005 Mean value, dyyim 64 rn 6 Mean value d,jim 573 6s 8 Variation, d, % 6 1 Variation, d,,'% 20.2, 14 parameter d,-d, expresses the rigidity of the bituminous layers (Capitanu, 2006). Deflections measured in the three test stages are shown in figure 1 Table 1 gives the mean values of the parameters d, ,, and d,, for the three periods of tests and percentage alterations for the road section under study. Figure 2 gives the variation with time of the mean value of the deflection d, , From examination of the table 1 and figure 2, the following can be noticed: — In spring of 2004, the pavement deflection had an increase of 20.2% given the deflection measured in autumn of 2003, in circumstances of increasing of the last sensor deflection with 14.6% (a loss of the subgrade bearing capacity); — Inspring of 2005, the pavement bearing capacity had a slow diminution (deflection higher with only 1.4% given in spring of 2004) in circumstances of carrying on of the design traf- fic for the period 2004-2005 by the road section under study. This situation is due mainly to improvement of the hydrological conditions (deflection at the last sensor being lower than in 2004, with 7.3%) The deflection variations depend on a high degree on hydrological fluctuations of the pavement. Based on the deflections measured in the three stages and the pavement structure, the moduli of elasticity of the road layer materials have been determined, inclusively the sub- grade modulus, by means of ELMOD program (ELMOD User's Manual), (Capitanu 2000). Table 2 gives these data. 297a, 4, 100+ 6 a. 2003 2004 s 2005 Period of test Figure 2. Mean values of the measured deflections. Table 2. The mean values of the moduli of elasticity of the road layer materials and seasonal variations Parameter ‘Autumn 2003 Spring 2004 Spring 2005 Mean value, E,,, (asphalt 2383 2333 2041 mixture), MPa Mean value, E, (granular 230 193 196 material), MPa Mean value, E, (subgrade) 82, cy 0 Variation of E,,% 21 -125 Variation of E,,% -16.1 16 Variation of E,, % 15.9 14 From examination of table 2, the following can be noticed: — The modulus of the asphalt mixture, E, ,,, corresponding to the reference temperature of 20°C, was in spring of 2004, 2.1% lower than the modulus determined in autumn of 2003. In spring of 2005, this is 12.5% lower than the modulus determined in spring of 2004; — The modulus of the subgrade, E,, was in spring of 2004, 15.9% lower than that deter- ‘mined in autumn of 2003 and is approximately the same in spring of 2005 with that in spring of 2004. This situation is due to the similar seasonal variations of the hydrological conditions during the two test stages: spring 2004 and spring 2005; — the modulus of the granular material has the same seasonal variation as that of the sub- grade, because this depends on the subgrade modulus, with the relationship developed by Dormon & Metcalf (Ullidtz, 1998), thus: E,/E, = (hy, /35.75)" a where h, is the thickness of the granular material layer, in mm, 2984.2. Determination of the bearing capacity reduction and the distress curve Knowledge of the mechanism of gradual reduction of the pavement bearing capacity is crucial for pavement designers because, as a rule, the rehabilitation solutions for a road are established within the pre-feasibility studies and between elaboration of studies and rehabili- tation works there is usually a period of 2 3 years, time during which the road is damaged under traffic loading and hydrological conditions. Processing of the deformability test results after one year elapsed, namely in the spring of years 2004 and 2005 allowed to establish the following relationship: -12.0580994 1.127014 digs — 11.379420Ad;, 77= 0.975 @ where Ad, = d.2*— d,2 This relationship allows to stand out the influence of the variation of the subgrade bearing on the road deformation. For Ad, = 0, (the subgrade bearing capacity remains unchanged) table 3 and figure 3 show the annual increase of pavement deformation (value, d, ,,* and percentage), for usual deflec- tion values assigned to the year 2004, d, ,. “ From the above mentioned, the following appreciations results concerning the annual increase of the pavement deformation, in circumstances of an annual traffic of 0.169 million standard axles of 115 KN — Percentages of the pavement bearing capacity reduction range between 6.5% and 11.5%, varying with the deflection; — The diminution is smaller for pavements with low values of deflections (adequate bear- ing capacity) and higher for pavement with high values of deflections (reduced bearing capacity), Table 3. Annual increase of pavement deformation, 2%, jm 200 400 600 800 1000 213 439 664 390 15 increase, % 6s 98 107 3 1s 4 12 10 £8 g 6 —— Growth a 4 2 0 200 400 600 800 1000 Deflections Figure 3. Annual increase of the pavement deformation, 299In the same hydrological circumstance, a very heavy traffic (0.169 million standard axles yearly) has as result the annual increase of the pavement deformation with about 10%. 5 AGEING FACTOR OF THE ASPHALT MIXTURE. Another significant correlation was established through processing of some data of the deflection basins measured in spring of 2004 and spring of 2005. These data is: variation of the deflection yy, Ad, = d, A, ,*, variation of the parameter (dd), A(d,-d,) = (d,-4(d,-d,)™, con- sidered to express rigidity variation of the bituminous layers and variation of the parameter d,, 2d, which express variation of the subgrade bearing capacity. This correlation has the following form: Ad, 35 =0.850176-+ 1.046016 x A(d, ~ d,)— 4.073247 x Ady = 0.937 @) ), respectively the same bearing capacity of the subgrade, it results: Ady 3p = 0.850176 + 1.046016 x A(d, ~ dy) @ Another parameter of the deflection basin which can be correlated to the stiffness of the bituminous layers is the angle formed by the segment AB and the horizontal line (A and B are the ordinates of the central deflection d, and deflection d, at the distance of 0.45 m apart the loading plate) and it is noted with a, in conformity with figure 4. Alteration of this angle from one test stage to another shows variation of the bituminous layers stiffness, both under traffic loading and action of the climatic factors. ‘The relationship (4) becomes: Aa 2 0.850176 + 470707 x Argar () here, tga (d, ~dy)/0.450x10°, where 0.450x10° represents the distance from the center of the loading plate to the sensor 4, in jim. The value Atgocis considered as ageing factor of the asphalt mixture. For the same hydrological condition, the annual growth of the deflection of 200 um with, 6.5%, of the deflection of 600 um with 10.7%, of the deflection of 1000 pm with 11.5% (according to table 3), determines the values of ageing factor as follows (table 4) The following results about ageing factor of the asphalt mixture: — Action of the annual traffic (0.169 million standard axles of 115 KN), under influence of the climatic factors on the road under study leads to ageing of the asphalt mixture, which leads to diminution of the asphalt mixture stiffness; fer Figure 4. Ageing factor of the asphalt mixture 300Table 4, Values of ageing factor of the asphalt mixture, Stage Spring 2004 Spring 2005 Spring 2004 Spring 2005 Spring 2004 Spring 2005 4, 200um 213m «600m 642m 100m TS um Aigo 26x 106 134% 106 243 x 106 Aa, degrees 0.001 0.008, 0.014 — Variation of the angle ct shows the modification of the shape of the deflection basin. Vari- ation of this parameter is as higher as the pavement has lower bearing capacity. 6 CONCLUSIONS A road bearing capacity is changing during its operation, both as result of traffic loading and due to the influence of climatic factors. In the circumstances of an annual traffic of 0.169 million standard axles of 115 KN, the road section with flexible pavement located on DN 2 km 342 +000 ~ km 450 +000 shows an increase of 20.2% of the deformability since autumn of 2003 up to the spring of 2004, as a result of worsening of the hydrological condition during the winter 2003/2004. In spring of 2005, the pavement deformability shows an insignificant increase given that of spring 2004, under circumstances of improvement of the subgrade bearing capacity. The seasonal variation of the pavement deformation represents both the effect of the alteration of the hydrological condition and of the very heavy vehicles traffic. Under the same hydrological condition, a very heavy traffic (0.169 million standard axles yearly) has as consequence the annual increase of the pavement deformation with about 10%. The modulus of the asphalt mixture, corresponding to the reference temperature of 20°C, was in spring of 2005, 12.5% lower than the modulus determined in spring of 2004, The paper allowed to define the ageing factor of the asphalt mixture, which establish the alteration with time of the shape of deflection basin as aresult of stiffness variation of the asphalt mixture. Knowledge of the way of yearly reduction of the pavements bearing capacity is of great importance to designers, because, as a rule, between performance of the studies and fulfill- ment of the rehabilitation works there is a period of 2 ... 3 years, during which the bearing capacity of the studied road is getting reduced. Determination of the optimum rehabilitation solutions imposes taking into account this variation with time of the road bearing capacity. REFERENCES Capitanu, C, 2000, Design of pavement strengthening on base of FWD tests, held within of short term courses of specialization. Technical University of Civil Engineering of Bucharest Capitanu, C. 2006, Studies of bearing capacity on the road network by nondestructive tests, Paper for doctor's degree Technical University of Civil Engineering of Bucharest. ELMOD User's Manual Instructions CD 155, 2001. Technical Departmental Instructions concerning determination of the technical condition of the surfaced roads. Norm AND 584, 2002. Norm for determination of the design traffic for road design from view point of the bearing capacity and of the traffic capacity. STAS 1709/1-90 Action of the frost—thaw phenomenon at road works. Frost depth in the pavement system. Design stipulations. STAS 1709/2-90 Action of the frost—thaw phenomenon at road works, Prevention and remedial of the frost—thaw damages. Technical stipulations. ‘Technical Instructions concerning utilization of the Dynatest FWD Deflectometer for pavement investigation Ullidtz, P. 1998, Modelling Flexible Pavement Response and Performance. Technical University of Denmark 301