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The Indian Roads Congress
Founded : December 1934

IRC Website: www.irc.org.in
E-mail: secretarygen@irc.org.in/indianhighways@irc.org.in
Volume 42
Number 12
Contents
Page
December 2014
ISSN 0376-7256
Technical Papers
Review of Recent Trends in Road Accident Modeling
Social Assessment of Infrastructure Projects: An Interactive Method and Participatory Approach
11
Pavement Design for Lalsot-Dausa Section of NH-11 Ext. in the state of Jajasthan - A Case Study
Malaya Mohanty
&
Dr. Ankit Gupta
Dr. Mohammad Isa Ansari
Shabana
Thabassum
17
23
Rajesh Gavvala
&
Apparao G
Influence of Recycled Aggregates on Mechanical & Permeability Properties of Pavement Quality Concrete
(PQC)
Dr. G.D. Ransin

chung R.N.
Dr. Praveen Kumar
Pallavi Prakash
S.D. Meena
abhishek Jindal
&
S. Prashanthi
&
Rajat Rastogi
Performance Evaluation and Design Criteria for Low Volume Flexible Pavement
Dr. ankit Gupta
22
News & Notes
31
Tender Notice, NH Raipur
32
Tender Notice, NH Raipur
Jamnagar House, Shahjahan Road,

New Delhi - 110 011
Tel : Secretary General: +91 (11) 2338 6486
Sectt. : (11) 2338 5395, 2338 7140, 2338 4543, 2338 6274
Fax : +91 (11) 2338 1649
Dr. Praveen Kumar
Kama Koti Marg, Sector 6, R.K. Puram

New Delhi - 110 022
Tel : Secretary General : +91 (11) 2618 5303
Sectt. : (11) 2618 5273, 2617 1548, 2671 6778,
2618 5315, 2618 5319, Fax : +91 (11) 2618 3669
No part of this publication may be reproduced by any means without prior written permission from the Secretary General, IRC.
Edited and Published by Shri S.S. Nahar on behalf of the Indian Roads Congress (IRC), New Delhi. The responsibility of the contents
and the opinions expressed in Indian Highways is exclusively of the author/s concerned. IRC and the Editor disclaim responsibility and
liability for any statement or opinion, originality of contents and of any copyright violations by the authors. The opinions expressed in
the papers and contents published in the Indian Highways do not necessarily represent the views of the Editor or IRC.
From the Editors Desk
Dedicated Safety Directorate in Highway Construction:

A Way Forward
S.S. Nahar
Dear Readers,
Road network in India is the second largest in the World. It plays a significant role in driving economic
growth of the country, only flexible mode of transportation provide door to door service to passengers and
freight, across the country. The traffic demands are rapidly growing without commensurate upgradation of
road network consistent with modern times.
Presently, Highway Safety Audit is disjointed efforts. It is considered to be inevitable to place a dedicated
battery of officers and staff with right orientation and attitude to discharge the safety related functions to the
desired level of service at each and every level of highway projects right from the conception of the project
to the level of implementation at site and during operation as well.
Safety of road users is becoming over-Arching concern globally and the trend is to statutorily ensure that
safety is accorded highest priority. It is important to note that in the present scenario, it is ill-equipped to
undertake such over-Arching measures for safety unless a clear dedicated line of funding including with
the support of Government exchequer is created upfront, without such a programme, the overall road safety
programme will be non-starter.
It is therefore considered to present a strong case for urgent need for setting up a statutory dedicated Safety
Directorate under the Government independent of Road Development Directorate General with the well
defined objectives and functions having statutory powers keeping in view the goal of zero tolerance of
accidents.
The structure of the contemplated Safety Directorate should have representation at the highest level of all
key functions, special officers having expertise in Highway Safety Audit, persons having distinguished track
record in road safety related research.
The Safety Directorate comprised of Secretary level Director General, proposed three to four eminent road
safety experts zone wise with full-fledged Secretariat at apex level and field units at regional level in line
with Regional Offices of Road Directorate/Forest & Environment Ministry to ensure the site inspection and
identification to road safety and elimination of risk.

Place : New Delhi
Dated : 25th November, 2014
(S.S. Nahar)
Secretary General
E-mail: secgen.rs@gmail.com
INDIAN HIGHWAYS, December 2014
Review of Recent Trends in Road accident Modeling

Malaya Mohanty* and Dr. Ankit Gupta**
ABSTRACT
Road accident fatalities have been on an increasing trend for the last decade or so. Hence traffic safety management has emerged as a
topic of discussion for researchers all over the world. This becomes more important for India, which is a developing country, where its
number has increased from over the decades with rise in population and increasing number of vehicles being seen as important factors.
Many researchers in India and abroad have tried to quantify different environmental, personal and pavement factors for the cause of
accidents by conducting surveys in a particular city and developing different models on it showing the contribution of different factors
in accidents. Still much of the efforts are required in this area as the conditions of each and every place differs from another. Our
objective is to study various models developed for the accidents and critically review such models. Hence, different accident models
over the years have been reviewed here to make a comparative analysis of the accuracy of different models that have been used by
the researchers in their studies. Review resulted that male teenagers are the most affected victims of the road crashes. Also various
statistical techniques were used to model the road crashes and quantifying the other factors like roadway, geometrical, personal and
environmental factors. Gaps in the studies have been found out in this review and further areas of research have been indicated.
1 INTRODUCTION
Road accidents are very common
all over the world and annual global
road crash statistics (Association for
Safe International Road Travel, 2013)
states that:
Nearly 1.3 million people die in
road crashes each year, on average
3,287 deaths a day. An additional
20-50 million are injured or
disabled.
More than half of all road traffic
deaths occur among young adults
ages between 15 to 44.
Road traffic crashes rank as the 9th
leading cause of death and account
for 2.2% of all deaths globally.
Road crashes are the leading cause
of death among young people ages
between 15 to 29, and the second
leading cause of death worldwide
among young people ages between
5 to 14.
Each year nearly 4,00,000 people
under the age of 25 die on the
worlds roads, on average over
1,000 a day.
Over 90% of all road fatalities
occur in low and middle-income
countries, which have less than
half of the worlds vehicles.
Road crashes cost USD $518
billion globally, costing individual
countries from 1-2% of their annual

GDP. (1 USD 64 INR).
Road crashes cost low and middleincome countries USD $65 billion
annually, exceeding the total
amount received in developmental
assistance. (1 USD 64 INR).
Unless action is taken, road traffic
injuries are predicted to become
the fifth leading cause of death by
2030.
During the calendar year 2010,
(MORT&H, 2010) number of road
accidents in India is around 5 lakhs
and number of deaths due to those
accidents is 1.3 lakhs. Number of
injuries due to those accidents is
5.2 lakhs. The conclusion emerging
from data is, 1 accidental death every
4 minutes and 1 road accident every
minute.
If the age group and the accident data
are compared, it is seen that 55%
of road accident victims fall in the
age group of 25-65 years while out
of rest 45%, 40% of road accident
victims come from the age group of
16-24 years. Its a startling fact that the
age gap 16-24 is very small compared
to 25-65, but still around 40% victims
of road accidents are found in this age
group. Hence we can easily come to
a conclusion that the adolescents are
very much prone to and contribute
to most of the accidents in India.

(MORT&H, 2010).
Hence, traffic accidents and their
safety is a major area of research. So,
in this paper, some important models
developed for traffic safety along with
researches conducted on the topic are
studied and are reviewed thoroughly.
Also the future scope of the study is
discussed in detail.
2 FACTORS RESPONSIBLE FOR
ACCIDENTS
Traffic safety and accident studies
have been in the research area for last
two decades extensively as the rise of
accidents have been alarming across
the world. From the works done by
researchers, it can be said that traffic
accidents are caused due to mainly
four factors i.e.
1. Personal or human behavioral
factors
2. Environmental factors
3. Road geometric factors
4. Traffic factors
Personal or human factors mainly
include the age of driver or victim,
gender of the victim, was he drunk while
driving, etc. Similarly, environmental
factors include the general factors of
climate and environment, lighting
conditions of road, time of accident,
i.e. day or night, pavement conditions,
* Former PG Student, Transportation Engineering, Civil Engineering Department, NIT Hamirpur, E-mail: malayamohanty12@gmail.com,
** Assistant Professor, Civil Engineering Department, IIT (BHU) Varanasi, E-mail: anki_ce11@yahoo.co.in
TECHNICAL PAPERS
etc. Road geometric factors include
the type of junction or intersection,
then horizontal slope, curves, etc.
present on the road, due to faults of
which, accidents may occur. At the
end come traffic factors. This mainly
includes the speed, density, traffic flow
parameters that may lead to accidents
(Mohanty and Gupta, 2014).
3 MODELS
FOR
TRAFFIC
SAFETY
Many models have been devised by
the researchers in past for accident
safety, causes of accidents safety,
accident severity crashes, etc. and
also precautionary measures have
been stated. Though the most common
models used are the regression models,
but there are many other techniques
that have been used in the modeling by
the researchers. Some of them are:
1. Genetic mining approach
2. Logit models, both multinomial
and binomial
3. Regression models which includes
various types like linear, non-linear,
logistic regression techniques
4. Bayesian-cohort model, etc.
Most of the researchers use different
regression techniques as it is both
simple and also provide a better
goodness of fit model with correlation
coefficient coming nearly equal
to 1. This paper has divided the traffic
safety models mainly into two parts
under which they will be studied. They
are:1. Accident study in urban roads
2. Accident study in rural roads
4 ACCIDENT STUDY IN URBAN
ROADS
Graham and Glaister (2003)
examined the role of urban scale,
density and land-use mix on the
incidence of road pedestrian casualties.
The study concluded that the incidence
of pedestrian casualties and Killed and
Seriously Injured (KSI) were higher in
residential areas than in business areas.
In addition, urban density was found
to have quadratic relation with high

correlation coefficient with pedestrian
casualties.
Noland and Quddus (2005) developed
a disaggregate spatial analysis based on
enumeration district area to examine
the effect of congestion on traffic
casualties (KSI and slight injuries).
Negative binomial models were used to
analyze the factors affecting casualties
during congested and uncongested
periods. The study result showed that
traffic casualties are likely to happen
on higher speed roads and motorways
but not during traffic congestion.
Aguero-Valverede and Jovanis
(2006) developed Full Bayesian (FB)
and negative binomial models to carry
out spatial analysis of fatal and injury
crashes in Pennsylvania. The study
used counties as the spatial unit. The
study concluded that counties with:
1. a higher percentage of the
population under poverty level,
2. higher
percentage
of
their
population in age groups 0-14,
15-24 and over 64, and
3. increased road mileage and road
density have significantly increased
crash risk.
H. Al-Madani and A. Al-Janahi
(2006)
studied
the
personal
background of the pedestrians who
were involved in road crashes in
the urban highways of Bahrain.
The findings revealed that personal
characteristics considered in this
study have significant influence on
pedestrians involvement in traffic
accidents. The results also showed
that pedestrians with the following
characteristics were probably showing
risk to exposure to accidents more
than other categories: male, young
(012 years) and old (50 years and
over), non-local, and those with low
educational background.
Wedagama and Dissanayake (2010)
studied the influence of accident
related factors on road fatalities
considering Bali province in Indonesia
as a case study. The study found that

the ratio of fatal accident due to male
motorcyclists and motorists at fault
were 30 and 40 percent lower than for
females respectively. In addition, age
was also significant to influence all
vehicle fatalities. Age was accounted
for about 50% to influence all vehicle
fatalities.
Three models were used by author to
study the goodness of fit with greater
accuracy. They were:
Cox and Snell Pseudo-R2 model
Nagelkerke Pseudo-R2 model
Hosmer-Lemeshow test
Hauque et al. (2010) performed a
detailed study of accidents and severity
crashes involving motorcycles as
vehicles. They mainly considered the
risk-taking behavior and aggression
of drivers on the vulnerability of
motorcyclists. The main objective
of their study was to evaluate how
behavioral factors influence the crash
risk and to identify the most vulnerable
group of motorcyclists. A questionnaire
containing 61 items of aggression, and
risk-taking behaviors was developed.
By clustering the crash risk using
the medoid portioning algorithm,
a log linear model relating rider
behaviors to the crash score/number
was developed by him. Aggressive
and high risk-taking motorcyclists
are more likely to fall under the high
vulnerable group. Defining personality
types from aggression and risk-taking
behaviors, Extrovert and Follower
personality type of motorcyclists are
more prone to crashes.
Obaidat and Ramadan (2012) studied
the traffic accidents at 28 hazardous
locations of urban roads at AmmanJordan roads. Their study found that
the logarithmic and linear models
were the most significant and realistic
models that can be used to predict
the relationship between the accident
characteristics as a dependent variable
and the other studied variables as
independent variables. The developed
TECHNICAL PAPERS
models were strong and predictable
because the coefficient of multiple
determinations was very close to
the adjusted coefficient of multiple
determinations.
The
following
variables were found to be the most
significant contributors to traffic
accidents at hazardous locations:
average running speed, posted speed,
maximum and average degree of
horizontal curves, number of vertical
curves, median width, type of road
surface, lighting (day or night),
number of vehicles per hour, number
of pedestrian crossing facilities and
percentage of trucks.
G. Tiwari et al. (2013), studied the
statistical analysis of pedestrian risk
taking behavior while crossing the
road, before and after the construction
of a grade separator at an intersection
of Delhi. The results indicate that
absence of signals make pedestrians
behave independently, leading to
increased variability in their risk
taking behavior. Variability in the
speeds of all categories of vehicles
has increased after the construction of
grade separators. After the construction
of the grade separator, the waiting
time of pedestrians at the starting
point of crossing has increased and
the correlation between waiting times
and gaps accepted by pedestrians
show that after certain time of waiting,
pedestrians become impatient and
accepts smaller gap size to cross the
road. A Logistic regression model is
fitted by assuming that the probability
of road crossing by pedestrians depends
on the gap size between pedestrian and
conflicting vehicles, sex, age, type of
pedestrians (single or in a group) and
type of conflicting vehicles. The results
of Logistic regression explained that
before the construction of the grade
separator the probability of road
crossing by the pedestrian depends on
only the gap size parameter; however
after the construction of the grade
separator, other parameters become
significant in determining pedestrian
risk taking behavior.
DISCUSSION
The various accident models discussed
here shows that regression models
are most commonly used in the field
of traffic safety by the researchers,
though it should also be marked that
some new models have also been in
the study like the Multinomial Logit
i.e. MNL, Bayesian method and
negative binomial distribution. Almost
all the factors have been studied by
different authors, which seem to affect
the accidents in urban areas. Except
Obaidat and Ramadan (2012), others
have tried to investigate single factor
causing accidents in detail, not taking
all factors at a time. After going through
all the above mentioned models, it
seems that the study by Obaidat and
Ramadan (2012) is the most accurate
as it has considered almost all factors
responsible for accidents. Although
it seems to be the most accurate but
they could have prepared much better
model like logit or logistic regression
for more accuracy though. Similarly
the study conducted on age and gender
factors affecting accidents in Bali
province, Indonesia by Wedagama
and Dissanayake (2010), was a very
narrow model (considered less number
of factors) but in terms of analysis it
was a model which involved much
statistical analysis for a greater
accuracy. The study by Hauque
et al. (2010) was quite common but the
variables taken were new. Overall, it
was a good motorcycle accident survey
and modeling. Graham and Glaister
(2003) did a full-fledged urban study
where the urban density of population,
land use pattern have been taken into
consideration which are believed to be
the important factors in urban areas.
Negative binomial provides result with
good accuracy when the probability
of occurring is very less. Noland and
Quddus (2005) in their study added
a factor of traffic congestion to the
above discussed studies which was
significantly a new fresh addition to
their model, but the study only takes a
single factor into account. The model is

based on that same as previous i.e. the
negative binomial distribution. Study
of personal/human behavior, road
geometry and traffic conditions for
occurrence of accidents was done by
Aguero-Valverede and Jovanis (2006).
It was again a good study with good
accuracy considering the methods used
for analysis i.e. the negative binomial
and Bayesian methods.
5 ACCIDENT STUDY IN RURAL
HIGHWAYS
Hills et al. (2002) developed a
safe and cost-efficient model for
rural roads designing in developing
countries considering the accidents
occurred there. They selected
5 countries for their study and
developed separate models for each of
them. The countries were Zimbabwe,
Botswana, Malawi, Tanzania, India
and Nepal. There were three areas of
data collection: (i) highway surveys;
(ii) accident data collection; and
(iii) highway design drawings and
detailed breakdowns of construction
costs. They used the Generalized
Linear Modeling technique (GLIM)
for modeling the data collected. For
the Nepal/India dataset, it was found
that a reasonable model fit could be
made for all accident types but that
the numbers of individual accident
types were too small to produce
reliable individual models. As in the
Papua New Guinea study, curvature
and gradient proved to be significant
explanatory variables, both increasing
accident rates the sharper the curve or
steeper the gradient. According to the
model, the presence of a marked edge
line in Nepal and India appears to be
particularly beneficial in reducing
accident rate.
Rengarasu et al. (2007) investigated
the road geometry factors and the
seasonal factors associated with
head-on collisions and single vehicle
collisions occurred in Hokkaido,
Japan. Head-on collisions represent
about 20% of all traffic collisions on
TECHNICAL PAPERS
the rural two lane national roads
however; head-on collisions were
responsible for about 40% of the
fatal collisions. They developed
a segmented accident database
based on Traffic Accident Analysis
System (TAAS) produced by Civil
Engineering Research Institute for
Cold Region Hokkaido. Analysis
using Poisson-regression models
showed that road geometry factors
and seasonal factors were important
factors correlated with head-on
collisions.
Hagiwara et al. (2010) estimated
various factors on number of fatal
and injured accidents in highways in
Japan outside cities which are usually
considered as rural roads by using
the data of past 25 years. This study
investigated the effects of changes
in patterns of age, period and cohort
on the number of fatal and injured
accidents quantitatively through the
use of a wide ranging set of statistical
techniques. They used the Bayesiancohort model for their study.
Mustakim and Fujita (2011)
developed an accident predictive
model for rural road way based on
the data collected at rural roadway,
Federal route 50, Malaysia. They
carried out black spot study to develop
accident predictive models. Multiple
non-linear regression method was
used to relate the discrete accident
data with the road and traffic flow
explanatory variable. Their results
showed that the existing number
of major access points, without
traffic light, rise in speed, increasing
number of Annual Average Daily
Traffic (AADT), growing number
of motorcycle and motorcar and
reducing the time gap are the potential
contributors of increment accident
rates on multiple rural roadway.
R.V. Ponnaluri (2012), analysed,
interpreted and provided some
techniques for prevention of rural road
crashes in India taking into account
the study of Andhra Pradesh, a state

in India. Recommended prevention
strategies include: developing a road
accident recording system and an
access management policy; integrating
safety into corridor design and road
construction; undertaking capacity
building efforts; and expanding
emergency response services.
J. W. H. Van Petegem and F. Wegman
(2014), analysed the road design risk
factors for off-road crashes in the rural
roads of Netherland. About 50% of all
road traffic fatalities and 30% of all
traffic injuries in the Netherlands take
place on rural roads with a speed limit
of 80 km/h. About 50% of these crashes
are Run-Off-Road (ROR) crashes.
The results comprise two important
outcomes. One is a Crash Prediction
Model (CPM) to estimate the relative
safety of rural roads with a speed limit
of 80 km/h in a network. The other is a
small set of estimated effects of traffic
volume and road characteristics on
ROR crash frequencies.
DISCUSSION
The model by Hagiwara et al. (2010) is
unique considering the factors taken by
them i.e. the age, cohort, and period in
Japan but few more factors could have
been considered by them for study
and the factors like cohort and period
are only reliable in case of Japan and
they are specific for their conditions
which may not be applicable to any
other place. Mustakim and Fujita
(2011) did a nice full-fledged study
on all aspects of traffic factors related
to occurrence of accidents. Even
the model used gives good results
when goodness of fit is considered.
Rengarasu et al. (2007) studied road
geometric factors in detail in their
paper and also regression models
were developed with better correlation
coefficient values. Its a good study
considering one aspect of traffic safety
has been researched deeply. Among the
reviewed models, the most accurate
study in this field seems to be done by
Hills et al. (2002). Its a good model

considering the research was spread
over 5 developing countries including
India, and comparison of models were
also done. Also the factors considered
were appropriate considering that
the models were developed for
different countries. The study by R. V.
Ponnulari (2012) is an eye opener of
crashes in India as the results depicts
the truth that is usually the roads made
in India have defective designs due to
which most of the collisions during
merging or overtaking occurs at the
uncontrolled intersections. In brief it
can be said that in rural areas, the most
important causative variable affecting
road crashes is speed of the vehicle.
6 COMPARATIVE
ANALYSIS
OF RURAL VS. URBAN ROAD
CRASHES
National Center for Statistics and
Analysis (NCSA) completed a study
based on the data from Fatal Accidents
Reporting System (FARS) for the
period 1975-1993 comparing the rural
and urban road crashes. The detailed
analysis was provided by J. M. Tessmer
(1996). According to the study, 40%
more crashes occur on rural roads
while number of vehicles travelling on
those roads are less. It was noted that
rural fatal crashes compared to urban
fatal crashes, have a larger proportion
of crashes with:
more than one fatality per crash;
a truck involved;
a vehicle rollover;
severe vehicle damage;
a head-on collision; and
ejected persons.
In addition the medical services
require more time to reach rural road
crash sites. Even crashes in rural areas
have a larger proportion involving:
more than one person per vehicle;
a single vehicle;
a truck or van;
a vehicle rollover;
striking a fixed object;
severe vehicle damage; and
serious injury.
TECHNICAL PAPERS
7 CONCLUSIONS
1. It can be concluded easily that much of
the study in transportation and traffic
engineering have been in the field of
traffic safety and planning.
2. Statistical methodologies have been
used to model the data and findings
obtained from survey for a better and
easy understanding. The most common
models used are the regression
techniques (linear, logistic, multiple)
and few authors use regression
techniques for finding goodness of
fit and then model the equations and
coefficients into multinomial logit
models.
3. The five leading causes of death among
teenagers are Accidents (unintentional
injuries), homicide, suicide, cancer,
and heart disease. Accidents account
for nearly one-half of all teenage
deaths.
4. In case of accidents in urban roads,
many variables like age of drivers,
gender, running speed, road conditions,
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
lighting conditions, etc. are found to be

the causative agents of accidents.
It can also be seen that researchers
usually try to focus on one variable that
cause accidents and study it thoroughly
rather than considering all factor at a
time.
In urban road accidents study, some
models developed were very accurate
considering the used of all forms of
regression i.e. linear, nonlinear and
multiple linear regressions.
In rural road accidents, it is observed
that mostly researchers consider speed
as a major cause for accidents to
occur.
Few studies also considered almost
every possible factor affecting
accidents in rural roads and also a new
software based algorithm and approach
was used known as the genetic mining
approach for modeling the data.
Results of the research conducted by
few researchers have showed that the
major cause of traffic accidents was
careless driving (71%) in developing

countries.
8 FUTURE SCOPE OF STUDY
1. Though many studies have been done in
this traffic safety field, but developing
countries like India have not been
explored much by the researchers.
2. The regression technologies are good
but very old and conventional. New
approaches like genetic mining, fuzzy
logics have been improving and
also are better alternatives to the old
approaches as these are more accurate
and software oriented so more user
friendly. Advances and research on
developing more easy techniques
with lesser calculations involved with
greater accuracy should be looked for.
3. Integration of traffic safety with
systems and software should be an area
to research on.
4. Better planning strategies with
good management system should be
employed for averting the risks posing
accidents occurrence.
Social assessment of infrastructure projects: An interactive

method and participatory approach
Dr. Mohammad Isa Ansari*
1 INTRODUCTION
Infrastructure projects are utilized
for public that play an important role
for development in any country. Due
to the lack of construction resources
or financial allocation, the feasibility
study is used to decide which project is
the most effective. Social Assessment
is regulated on legal framework in
many countries before constructing the
project. The social assessment study
of the project is normally assessed
the impacts which are typically in
environment. Presently the social
and economic impacts are increasing
in attention from the public. The
evaluation of the social implications of
a project is tightly linked to the scrutiny
of that projects social and economic
objectives. Social assessment must go
well beyond determining a projects
adverse impacts. As a methodology,
social assessment refers to a broad
range of processes and procedures for
incorporating social dimensions into
infrastructure development projects.
In some jurisdictions and agencies,
the social assessment is conducted in
conjunction with the environmental
impact assessment; in others, it is
conducted separately. In both cases,
the social assessment influences
project design and the overall approval
of the project.
Many of the methods and approaches

discussed in this paper have evolved
in the context of international
development assistance provided by
funding agencies and the multilateral
development banks. As such, they
focus on people as beneficiaries. They
also consider people as vulnerable
groups that may be adversely affected
by the project. Important distinctions
are made between those who will
benefit and those who may be harmed.
The social assessment aims to
determine the social costs of the project
and the degree to which the benefits
of a project will be distributed in an
equitable manner. Social assessment
is necessary to help ensure the project
will accomplish its development
goals for example, poverty reduction;
enhancement of the role of women
in development; human resources
development, including population
planning; and avoiding or mitigating
negative effects on vulnerable groups,
and protecting these groups.
By
addressing
the
specific
development goals in the assessment
of development projects, developers,
contractors,
executing
agencies,
financial institutions and governments
can help ensure that project benefits are
realized and negative social impacts

are minimized. Various methods and
approaches have been developed to
consider social dimensions, including:
(i) social analysis; (ii) gender analysis;
(iii) indigenous peoples plans; (iv)
involuntary resettlement plans; (v)
cooperation with nongovernmental
organizations; (vi) use of participatory
development processes; and (v)
benefits monitoring and evaluation.
2 Social Assessment and
the Project Cycle
As
with
social
assessment
considerations, the need to analyze
the social factors which influence and
are influenced by a project continues
throughout the entire life of a project.
The major activities involved in
incorporating
social
dimensions
into the project are summarized
in the following table. The project
preparation stage, in particular the
preparation of the feasibility study, is
the focus of many social assessment
activities. It is thus imperative that
those tasked with preparation of the
feasibility study are given clear;
focused terms of reference and
specific guidance on how to carry out
the necessary analyses to ensure social
dimensions are adequately addressed.
Table Social Dimensions Activities During the Project Cycle
Project Stage
Social Dimension Activities
Project Concept & Prefeasibility
identification of social dimensions and associated processes that may be

important in the project
selection of key elements of social analysis
identification of initial potential social issues and impacts
initial social assessment
Feasibility Study
social analysis
involuntary resettlement planning
indigenous peoples planning
gender analysis
poverty impact analysis
benefit monitoring and evaluation planning
* Senior Social Safeguards Specialist, Intercontinental Consultants & Technocrats Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi E-mail: ansari@ictouline.com
TECHNICAL PAPERS
Project Stage
Social Dimension Activities
Project
Implementation
Monitoring
monitoring of social indicators developed during the project design

review missions to assess social dimensions and associated processes
progress reporting by the executing agency for example, beneficiary participation
by number, gender, income group; participation by adversely affected groups;
formation of beneficiary groups; numbers by gender and income class
3 Conducting
a
Social
Assessment
The basic steps for incorporating social
dimensions into a project are:
a) Social analysis;
i) identifying the population
ii) assessing needs
iii) assessing demand
iv) assessing absorptive capacity
v) conducting gender analysis
vii) assessing adverse impacts on
vulnerable groups

- poverty impact assessment

- indigenous peoples

- involuntary resettlement
b) Targeting;
c) Designing participatory development
processes;
d) Formulating delivery mechanisms;
and
e) Benefit monitoring and evaluation.
4 Basic Steps
Social analyses are becoming a
requirement of most assessments
undertaken in developing countries. These
analyses involve three principal steps:
initial issue identification; preliminary
assessment of all issues; and detailed
social analysis of the potential for the
major impacts. Initial issue identification
may be carried out in an adhoc or informal
way, by seeking expert opinion, and by
public involvement. The key to success
is to incorporate a range of perspectives
in the process. Since the widest range of
social, economic, cultural, resource use
and infrastructure effects occur at the
local level, local people generally identify
arrangements for resettlement

information dissemination on role of beneficiaries
ongoing stakeholder consultation
strengthen beneficiary organizations
improving absorptive capacity of target groups
mitigating adverse effects on vulnerable groups
most potential effects and are key to the

identification of issues. The success of a
social analysis can be enhanced by taking
the following measures: (i) involve a
qualified social impact specialist with
a solid background in social sciences;
(ii) incorporate some form of participatory
development process; (iii) hire local
experts; (iv) use local knowledge as well
as scientific data; and (v) use realistic
assumptions for development practices
such as construction practices rather than
ideal or worst case.
5 Gender Issues
The social analysis must include an
examination of gender issues, including:
(i) an assessment of differences in values,
roles, and needs of men and women in
terms of the impact of these factors on
decisions to use the project; and (ii) an
assessment of the access of men and
women to the project, and to related
training and employment opportunities
including identification of constraints for
example, time, finances, transportation,
literacy, health, social, cultural, legal or
religious constraints faced by women or
men in gaining access to the project.
The term gender refers to the social facets
of culture, religion, and class which
condition the way in which masculine and
feminine roles and status are constructed
and defined in each society. Gender
relations are dynamic and changing over
time in response to varying socioeconomic
conditions and ideological circumstances.
As gender, the social differentiation
between women and men is socially and
culturally constructed, gender roles can
be transformed by social changes.
Failure to recognize the importance of

gender in international assistance to
developing countries has often resulted
in men being the major beneficiaries of
the development projects. Women often
gain very little benefit and, in some cases,
conditions for them are worsened. In
almost all developing countries, women
are in a much lower position than men,
especially in power relations; this can
usually be attributed to culture especially
religion and traditions. Although women
must fulfill many duties, both at home and
in the community, they rarely have the
right to decide or to take part in decision
making processes or contribute to solving
problems that directly affect them. This
not only disadvantages women, it also
reduces development efficiency because
it does not fully utilize the knowledge
and capacity of women. The elimination
of inequality between men and women
through the process of gender and
development aims at integrating women
more fully into the development process
as participants as well as beneficiaries.
The basic rationale for gender analysis in
project planning is: (i) women and men
have different economic capacities and
some work done by women for example,
household work is not easily quantified,
although this work will be costly to
replace; (ii) women tend to have less
control than men over resources; (iii)
women play a multitude of social and
economic roles and may have limited
time available to participate in the project
or partake of the project benefits; and
(iv) acceptable social behavior in some
cultures may limit womens ability to
participate effectively and take part in
decision making.
TECHNICAL PAPERS
Gender responsiveness in project
planning is tightly linked to participatory
development processes and targeting
women and men as separate groups. Gender
considerations can be incorporated into
project planning and design by ensuring
that: (i) gender disaggregated data is
collected and analyzed; (ii) consultations
include women and, depending on the
cultural context, these consultations
may have women facilitators consulting
with women, separate from men; (iii)
participatory development processes are
directed at creating socially acceptable
ways for women to become an integral
part of decision making; (iv) strategies
of participation in the projects, and
management of project impacts is
targeted on both men and women; and
(v) monitoring and evaluation programs
should include specific indicators
relating to women and include women
in the collection and interpretation of
monitoring data.
6 Human Health Impacts
Analysis
Health impact assessment procedures
have evolved independently in several
development sectors, including irrigation,
agriculture, power, roads, highways,
railway, multipurpose reservoirs, water
supply, sewerage, wastewater, solid waste
management and chemical manufacturing
industries. The methods and procedures
are used and the problems encountered
share many similarities. Examples of
potential health impacts associated
with irrigation, industry, fisheries and
aquaculture, watershed development,
forestry, land clearing and rehabilitation,
dams and reservoirs, coastal zone
development, thermal power, mining and
mineral processing, electricity oil and gas
distribution lines, airports, highways and
roads, ports and harbors etc.
7 Vector Borne Diseases
One important group of health risks,
vector borne diseases, has received
considerable attention in development
sectors associated with water resources,
such as irrigation and reservoirs. Such
developments change the distribution
and flow of surface waters, creating a
favorable habitat for vector breeding.
Human exposure to biting mosquitoes and
10
insects or contaminated waters provides

the conditions necessary for an increased
health risk. Expensive mitigation measures
take the form of vector control through
chemical application of environmental
modification.
An important component of social
management occurs at the design stage.
Decisions about infrastructure, location
and resettlement could help reduce vector
populations or prevent exposure. It covers
the subsectors of irrigated agriculture and
multipurpose reservoirs, and assists the
user to identify: (i) the specific vector
borne disease hazards which occur
regionally and in different habitats; (ii)
the vulnerable communities; and (iii)
the capabilities of the health service to
monitor, safeguard, and mitigate.
8 Conclusions
The social assessment study of
infrastructure projects devotes attention
on social concerns in terms of land use,
quality of life, and public participation.
Social impacts result from the changes
of environment. Land use impacts mainly
focus direct impacts from expropriation
such as residents, agriculture area, and
commercial area. Quality of life emphases
impact assessment from pollution and
relocation of facilities and services. The
public participation is conducted for
surveying peoples attitude and needs,
and informing the relocated people. Both
negative and positive impacts are studied
by social assessment study, however
negative impacts are mainly considered.
Impact analysis of social assessment
study generally assesses direct impacts
because further analysis requires budget,
surveys, methods, models, techniques
and approaches. Following guidelines are
recommended:
i) Clear
impact
identification
Main methodology of guideline
development is use data sorting and
data mapping; the impacts are sorted
into the developed matrix;
ii) Assessment in community level The existing community profile uses
questionnaires in sampling groups to
draw community characteristics;
iii) Assessment in actual land use of
community - The social assessment
guideline assesses not only property
expropriation but also peoples living

on their land use. Living of people
related to their land use is condition
of resident, agriculture activities,
and operation of religious rituals.
Mobility and accessibility of residents
in community are assessed. The land
use is not only physical aspect but
also psychological aspect; so that
religious rituals are accounted;
iv) Social value identification - Social
values of community are subjective
and unique assessment; thus residents
are a key to evaluate these values;
v) Assistance programs of relocation
- Relocation impact assessment
cannot stop only fair compensation
for relocated people because it is not
guarantee that their replacements are
enough decent living. If relocated
people are low income or distinctive;
they may face exploitation on their
quality of life;
vi) Broad economic impacts The
social assessment study uses results
of random sampling to draw the
socioeconomic condition of study area
and to predict what economic changes
are. The opponents of this assessment
argue that economic of community is
not only income or employment but
also viability of economic sectors or
components; and
vii) Disadvantage identification - Civil
rights system between developed and
developing countries are definitely
different so that implementation of
civil rights in developing countries
consumes additional resources as
limited. Actually, this is true only
in one respect; but it is not a reason
to neglect civil rights in feasibility
study.
Successful
social
assessment
implementation requires effective public
participation to identify subjective
impacts and cooperative environment
among relevant agencies to achieve
sustainable development. Monitoring of
assessed impacts enhance cross check
of assessed impacts and improvement of
assessments. People or residents are vital
to define what impacts are; proper public
participation can enhance precision of
assessment.
Pavement Design for Lalsot-Dausa section of NH-11A Ext.

in the state of Rajasthan - A case study
Shabana Thabassum*, Rajesh Gavvala** and Apparao G***
ABSTRACT
India is one of the fastest growing nations in the world. Indias economy has grown manifolds in the recent past and likely to grow
further as per the present trends. The Government of India has launched major initiatives to upgrade and strengthen National Highways
(NH) through various phases of National Highways Development Project (NHDP). The project stretch of NH-11A Ext. starts from
Dausa at km. 0.000 and ends at Lalsot at km. 41.000 in the state of Rajasthan. The major commodity plying along the project stretch
is sand. Bamanwas is one of the very good sand quarries of Rajasthan. This quarried sand is being transported to Bharatpur, Agra and
beyond from Bamanwas along this route with approximately 90% overloading giving very high VDF values. The pavement design for
this section is very critical due to the high vehicle damage factor (VDF) values. Different flexible pavement design options and rigid
pavement design have been tried and it is concluded that flexible pavement design with stage construction as per IRC:37-2012 using
new form of construction and materials is economical for this project stretch.
1 INTRODUCTION
India is one of the fastest growing
nations in the world. Indias economy
has grown manifolds in the recent
past and likely to grow further as
per the present trends registered in
the past couple of years. Increase in
the economy has lead to increase of
loading on the infrastructure corridors
available within the country. Surge for
better infrastructure corridor facilities
for sustained growth of economy have
been well realized and recognized
by the Govt. of India in line with the
rising trends of economy.
National Highways Authority of
India (NHAI) is an autonomous
organization under the Ministry of
Road Transport & Highways and was
constituted by an act of Parliament, the
National Highways Authority of India
Act, 1988. NHAI is responsible for
the Development, Maintenance, and
Management of National Highways
and for matters concerned thereto. The
Government of India has launched
major initiatives to upgrade and
strengthen National Highways (NH)
through various phases of National
Highways
Development
Project
(NHDP).
2 PROJECT LOCATION
The section of NH-11A Ext. starts from
Dausa at km. 0.000 and ends at Lalsot
at km. 41.000 in the state of Rajasthan.

The total length of the project is
41.000 km. the Project road passes
through Kareda, Bhurti, Rajdhira Pura
and Hodayali. The existing pavement
is of totally flexible type.
3 PROJECT CORRIDOR
NETWORK AND
IMPORTANCE
The project corridor is important for
various reasons. The project corridor
NH-11A Ext. is connecting NH-11
with NH-12 in shortest path. It further
connects Sawai Madhopur and Karauli
to Jaipur. Apart from connectivity
considerations, the development of
this corridor has been perceived to
be important from the perspective of
enhanced mobility levels of people, and
with time more importantly in terms
of direct benefits to the community
by the way of VOT and VOC savings,
towards achieving development in
Rajasthan at large and in Lalsot and
Dausa regions in particular.
4 SOCIO ECONOMIC PROFILE
OF THE PROJECT AREA
The project stretch passes through the
state of Rajasthan, which is the Western
State of Indian Peninsula. Rajasthan is
the largest state in the country with
a geographical area of 3.42 lakh sq.
km. comprising seven administrative
divisions and 33 districts. It occupies
about 10% of the total area of India.

The west and north-west part of the
state comprising of twelve districts
having about 61 percent of the total
area of the state is either desert or
semi-desert and is known as the
Great Indian Desert, Thar. It is the
driest part of the country. The average
annual rainfall of the state is 530 mm
which is erratic. As a result Rajasthan
witnesses frequent droughts. Around
30.9% of the state's area is classified
as wastelands.
According to the 2011 Census,
the State has a total population of
68,621,012. Out of this, 75.1% is
rural and 24.9% is urban population.
The population density of 201 persons
per sq. km. in the state is lower than
the national average of 370 person per
sq. km. The literacy rate in Rajasthan
has seen upward trend and is 67.06%
as per 2011 population census. As per
Economic Review- 2011 of Rajasthan,
62% of the working population are into
agriculture and allied activities. The
primary sector in Rajasthan employs
62% of the workforce and contributes
to 26% of State GDP. The tertiary
sector employs 31% of workforce and
similarly the secondary sector employs
only 7% of workforce.
As per the land utilization statistics of
2008-09, out of the total geographical
* Associate Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, St. Martins College of Engineering, Hydrabad, E-mail: sabnam@gmail.com,
** Assistant Executive Engineering, Irrigation & CAD Department, APPSC., *** Assistant Professor, Department of Civil
Engineering, GITAM University, Hydrabad
11
TECHNICAL PAPERS
area, the combined cropped area of the
project district was 341406 hectares
with net sown area of 222022 hectares

as shown in Table 1.
4% 0%
AADT Vehicle Composition

38%
31%
Table 1 Land Use Pattern

S. No.
Unit
Dausa
1)
Total Reporting Area for Land Utilization
Land Utilization Particulars
Hectare
350789
2)
Total Cropped Area
Hectare
341406
3)
Net Area Sown
Hectare
222022
4)
Net Area Irrigated
Hectare
161315
5 TRAFFIC VOLUME COUNT

ANALYSIS
5.1 Traffic Surveys and Collection of
Data
An accurate estimate of the traffic that
is likely to use the Project road is very
important as it forms the basic input
in planning, design, operation and
financing. A thorough knowledge of
the travel characteristics of the traffic
likely to use the Project road as well
as other major roads in the influence
area of the study corridor is essential
for future traffic estimation.
In order to capture the entire traffic,
Classified Traffic Volume Count
surveys are carried out at km. 36.500.
To capture the traffic and travel
characteristics of predominant category
of vehicles, Origin-Destination surveys
by Road side Interview (RSI) method
are conducted along the project stretch
at the same TVC location. Axle Load
surveys are conducted at km. 36.500
for 2 normal days. A map showing the
Project stretch with all survey locations
is enclosed in Fig. 1.
Fig. 1 Traffic Survey Location
12
5.2 Annual Average Daily Traffic

The Annual Average Daily Traffic
obtained by multiplying the Average
Daily Traffic (ADT) with the seasonal
correction factor of 1.02 for petrol
vehicles and 1.04 for diesel vehicles.
The AADT of vehicles for the year
2013 along the Project stretch is
presented in Table 2.
Table 2 Annual Average Daily Traffic
(AADT)
Vehicle Type
km.
36.500
Passenger Vehicles
4834
2 Axle
317
3 Axle
680
M Axle
352
HEM
27
LCV/LGV
137
Mini LCV
331
Tractor and tractor with trailer
395
Non Motorized Veh and others
264
Total Traffic
7365
5.3 AADT Modal Split

Car Traffic is about 21% in the total
traffic along the corridor.
The share of non-motorized
vehicles from 1 to 3%.
The
commercial
vehicles
contribute 28% and buses constitute
4% of the total vehicles using the
corridor.
Two wheelers and three wheelers
together constitute 44% of the total
traffic along this corridor as shown
in Fig. 2.
2W
3W
Car/Jeep (White)
Car/Jeep (Yellow)
Bus
Goods
Non Moor zed
Exempted Vehicles
Fig. 2 AADT Vehicle Composition
6 OR I G I N - D EST I N AT I O N
SURVEY AND ANALYSIS
O-D surveys are to assess spatial
patterns (Origin & Destination) of
travel by all types of Passenger and
Goods vehicles currently using the
project road.
Table 3 O - D Sample Size
Vehicle Type
km. 36.500
LCV
28%
2 Axle
24%
3 Axle
30%
M Axle
21%
Mini LCV
24%
Dausa, Manoharpur, Baradi, Shah

pura, Bairas, Lalsot, Tonk and Dhan
darin the state of Rajasthan and Delhi
are the major influencing zones in
terms of trip generation and attraction.
Desire lines are the straight lines
connecting origins with destinations,
summarised into different area groups.
The width of such line is drawn
proportional to the number of trips in
both directions. Building materials,
exclusively Sand from Bamanwas on
NH-11 A Ext. travels to reach other
parts of Rajasthan and India. The desire
line diagrams indicate the importance
of project corridor in the economic
growth of Dausa and Sawai Madhopur
districts of the state of Rajasthan. The
spatial pattern of the goods vehicles
showing trips from Lalsot to Dausa,
Agra, Sainthal and Delhi regions of
Rajasthan and India.
7 AXLE LOAD SURVEY AND
VEHICLE DAMAGE FACTOR
The ever increasing vehicle population
and heavy axle loads has caused
substantial damage to Indian roads.
TECHNICAL PAPERS
Trucks carry loads much in excess of
legal limits and are largely responsible
for poor road conditions in addition
to the inadequate structural capacity
of pavements and diminishing
allocation of funds year after year for
maintenance and rehabilitation. Very
huge capital investments are now
needed to upgrade and rehabilitate
the existing road network to make it
capable to withstand high stresses
and tyre pressures caused by heavy
wheel loads. There are several input
parameters that are required to design
a pavement structure. One vital
component is an accurate account of
the expected magnitude and frequency
of traffic loads over the design life of
the pavement. Key factors in designing
a pavement structure are the magnitude

and number of repeated equivalent
single axle loads (ESALs). Traffic can
be characterized using ESALs. ESALs
convert the effect of mixed axle load
applications into the equivalent number
of applications of standard axles that
would be required to produce the same
amount of pavement distress. Axle
pads with digital recording meters are
being employed to weigh the loads of
vehicles.
An assemblage of two or more
consecutive axles considered together
in determining their combined load
effect on a pavement structure is
called an axle group. The standard
and permissible axle loads for Indian
conditions are given in Table 4.
Table 4 Axle Types and Loads
number of commercial vehicles of

different axle loads to Standard Axle
Loads (SAL). Equivalency factor
(EF) is normally worked out by using
the Fourth Power Rule derived by
AASHTO and approved by CRRI.
With the help of equivalency factors
and frequency distribution of axle
loads, Equivalent Axle Loads (EAL)
are computed. The VDF calculated
for different categories of commercial
vehicles based on fourth power rule
are as shown in Table 6.
Fig. 3 Load Spectrum Analysis

Table 6 Vehicle Damage Factor (VDF)
Axle Type
Permissible Load in Tonnes as

per IRC:3-1983
Standard Load in Tonnes as

per IRC:37-2012(8)
Single Axle (Single wheel)
6.00
6.50
Single Axle (Duel wheel)
10.20
8.00
2 Axle
9.20
0.58
9.2
Tandem Axle (Duel wheel)
18.00
14.80
3 Axle
53.23
0.47
54
22.40
M Axle
54.64
8.39
55
LCV
8.39
0.04
8.5
Tridem Axle (Duel wheel)
To provide adequate information on

axle load distributions, axle loads
are required. Such a survey can
conveniently be made using portable
weigh pads that are widely available.
This survey was conducted for 2
normal days in both directions of
traffic simultaneously with volume
count of commercial vehicles (Trucks
and LCV) at km. 36.500 along the
project stretch. The random selection
of vehicles for axle load measurement
was done, ensuring suitable sample for
each category of commercial vehicles
consisting of overloaded and empty
vehicles. The sample size for the
survey is presented in Table 5.
Table 5 Sample Size
Mode
To Dausa
To Lalsot
2 Axle
21%
23%
3 Axle
31%
21%
M Axle
20%
21%
LCV
26%
33%
The load spectrum analysis has been

done to check the distribution of
wheel loads over the pavement and
the results are presented in Fig. 3. It
is found from the analysis, that over
90% of the commercial vehicles are
overloaded in this stretch. There are
legal limits for the axle loads and
gross weights of vehicles but they are
neither observed by the transporters nor
enforced stringently by the authorities.
Unchecked overloading has a
disastrous effect on the performance
of pavements and overriding influence
on pavement design. It is believed that
the damage caused to a pavement by an
axle load twice the standard axle load
is 16 times the damage by the standard
axle is carried by vehicles with their
gross weights with in legal limits.
The Vehicle Damage Factor (VDF)
is an index characterizing the traffic
loading for a highway and is defined
as a multiplier for converting the
Mode
Km 36.500
To Dausa
Adopted
To Lalsot
The major commodity plying along the

project stretch is sand. Bamanwas is
one of the very good sand quarries of
Rajasthan. This quarried sand is being
transported to Bharatpur, Agra and
beyond from Bamanwas on this route.
It is observed from the axle load survey
that 90% of the vehicles are overloaded.
Generally sand is transported in 3 and
Multi axle vehicles, hence the VDF for
these vehicles is above 50, which is a
very high value and throws a challenge
to the pavement designer.
8 PAVEMENT DESIGN
The pavement design basically aims
at determining the total thickness
of the pavement structure as well
as thickness of individual structural
components. Pavement is the most
significant component of a road and
therefore its design strengths must be
assured to support the projected traffic
loading throughout the design period.
13
TECHNICAL PAPERS
The pavement design is carried out
for both flexible and rigid option by
using IRC and AASHTO methods.
The overall thickness of both types
has been worked out, the results were
compared, and the optimized solution
based on characteristics of existing
materials, best engineering judgment
and environmental conditions has
been adopted.
8.1 Million Standard Axles (MSA)
Design traffic in terms of Million
Standard Axles has been determined
for the given period using the following
relationship.
N = 365*[(1 + r) n - 1] *A*D*L*F/r
Where,
N: The cumulative number of standard
axles to be catered for in the design
in terms of msa.
A: Initial traffic in the year of
completion of construction in
terms of the number of commercial
vehicles per day
L: Lane Distribution Factor (0.75)
D: Directional Distribution Factor
(0.50)
n: Design Life in years
r: Annual Growth rate of commercial
vehicles.
F: Vehicle Damage Factor
The above said traffic parameters and
VDF for individual vehicles have
been used for the computations of
cumulative million standard axles.
The monsoon brings relief to the sultry
and sun-baked terrain of Rajasthan
during the month of June in the
eastern region and mid- July in the
western arid regions. The temperature
drops from 400 to 350. With the fall in
temperature, humidity increases. The
state receives maximum rainfall during
this period. There is a second phase of
monsoon that continues from July to
September. In view of the above it is
assumed that, the sand quarrying will
be off in rainy season. So, 300 days
in a year is considered for calculation
of msa and the results are given in
Table 7.
14
Table 7 Million Standard Axles (MSA)

From (km)
To (km)
Length (km)
8 Years msa
15 Years msa
20 Years msa
0.000
41.000
41.000
100
210
320
8.2 Design of Flexible Pavement by

IRC:37-2012
The flexible pavement has low flexural
strength and hence layers reflect the
deformation of the lower layers/
subgrade on to the surface layer after
the withdrawal of wheel load. To
control the deflections in the subgrade
so that no permanent deflections results
the pavement thickness is so designed
that the stresses on the subgrade soil
are kept within its bearing power.
Loading of bituminous pavement
requires the stiffest layers to be placed
at the surface with successive weaker
layers down to subgrade.
Two options have been considered for
pavement design and are as follows
Option-A : Stage
Construction
(8 years from COD)
Option-B : Total
Construction
(15 years from COD)
The guidelines present fatigue and
rutting model corresponding to
80% and 90% reliability while the
old code deals with 80% reliability.
Traffic greater than 30 msa should
be designed for 90% reliability.
Different grades of bitumen can be
used depending upon the requirement.
For traffic greater than 30 msa, VG
40 has been recommended for both
DBM and BC. DBM has air voids 3%
after rolling (Bitumen content being

0.5-0.6% higher than optimum).
For lower traffic, VG 30 may be
used. Effective CBR concept is also
introduced to account for difference in
CBR of embankment and sub grade.
The guidelines recommend construction with cementitious materials in
the interest of saving the environment
and using the local and marginal
materials after stabilization. Pavement
design is carried out for the following
base and sub-base options.
Case 1: Granular base and sub-base.
Case 2: Cementitious bases and subbases with a crack relief layer of
aggregate interlayer below bituminous
surfacing.
Case 3: Cementitious bases and
sub-bases with SAMI in between
bituminous
surfacing
and
the
cementitious base layer for retarding
the reflection cracks into the
bituminous layer.
Case 4: Bituminous surfacing over
treated RAP and cemented sub base.
Stage construction is not permitted
when cemented base and sub-bases
are used according to the guidelines of
the code as it may lead to cracking of
the stabilized layer leading to failure
of the pavement. Input parameters
for both the options are presented in
Table 8.
Table 8 Inputs for the Pavement Design

Design Inputs
Option-A (Stage)
Option-B (Total)
Wearing Course (granular base and sub base)
8 Years
8 Years
Wearing Course (cemented base and sub base)
NA
15 Years
Granular Sub-base and Base Course
15 Years
15 Years
Cemented base and sub- base
NA
15 Years
Wearing Course
100
100*
Sub-base and Base Course
210
210
Cemented base and sub- base
NA
390
MSA
Sub-grade CBR
10%
Embankment CBR
7%
* Note: msa of 100 is restricted to make use of the existing road with overlay.
TECHNICAL PAPERS
The designed flexible pavement
composition using above input for
both the options in case 1 is given in

Table 9.
Table 9 Pavement Composition for Case 1

Option
Eff. CBR
MSA
VG
Option-A
10%
100
Option-B
10%
100
Crust Composition (mm)

BC
DBM
WMM
GSB
Total
VG-40
50
110
250
200
610
VG-40
50
110
250
200
610
be carried out at the end of 7th year and

the characteristic deflections has to be
worked out. Suitable overlay will be
designed for the projected traffic and
the characteristic deflection at the end
of the 7th year.
Based on the AASHTO Guide lines
the layer coefficients for the Pavement
at the time of opening to the traffic and
after some design period are given in
Table 10.
8.3 Strengthening of New Pavement

in 8th Year as per AASTHO
Guidelines
The flexible pavement has to be
designed for a period of 15 years.
But in this case, design for full 15
years is uneconomical. To minimize
the initial investment, the pavement
has been designed for two options
as explained above. The Benkelman
Beam Deflection (BBD) studies has to
Table 10 Layer Coefficients as per AASHTO

Pavement
Component
New Pavement
Pavement after Design Period
Layer
Coefficient
Drainage
Coefficient
Layer
Coefficient
Drainage
Coefficient
BC
0.36
1.00
DBM
0.36
1.00
0.24
1.00
WMM
0.14
0.90
0.14
0.90
GSB
0.11
0.90
0.11
0.90
Because of continuous movement of

heavy traffic in the design life, it is
assumed that at the end of the design
period, the total surface layer (BC) will
be get deteriorated, the effect on DBM
will be very less or negligible and no

effect on sub-base and base layers.
Actual pavement thickness for 15
years design period and the Structural
Number (SN) is given in Table 11.
Table 11 Pavement Thickness and its SN

Description
Base and Sub

Base Course
Thickness (mm)
Wearing and
Binder Course
Thickness (mm)
Total
Thickness
(mm)
SN
GSB
WMM
DBM
Design Life of 15 Years (SN 15)
200
250
165
50
665
5.07
Design period of 8 years (SN 8)
200
250
110
50
630
3.06
The required overlay at the end of

design period is estimated from the
BC
SN15 and SN8 and the details are

given in Table 12.
Table 12 Required Overlay at the End of the 8th Year

Structure Numbers (SN)
Overlay Thickness (mm)
SN15
SN8
SN15 - SN8
BC
DBM
Total
5.07
3.06
2.01
50
80
130
8.4 Strains
in
the
Pavement
Structure
The designed flexible pavement
composition using above input for
both the options from Case 2 to 4 are

given in Table 13.
The actual tensile strains were
calculated using the various pavement
design parameters as inputs in

the IITPAVE program. The actual
strains are computed using various
trial pavement structural layer
combinations. The tyre pressure used
in the analysis is 0.56 MPa. Standard
axle used is dual type, having a mass
of 8160 kg. This resulted in a single
tyre load of 20,012 N. The Poissons
ratio of bituminous layer is taken
as 0.5, 0.25 for CTB & CTSB and
0.35 for Aggregate Inter Layer &
sub-grade layers. Resilient modulus/
Elastic modulus for Bituminous layers
as 3000MPa, 450MPa for Aggregate
Interlayer, 5000 Mpa for CTB, 600
MPa for CTSB and 77 MPa for
Subgrade. The calculated strains are
presented in Table 14.
9 DESIGN
OF
RIGID
PAVEMENT
It is a general practice to design rigid
pavement for heavy loaded corridors.
Rigid pavement will be done in
accordance with IRC:58-2011.
a) Design
Life
and
Traffic
Parameters
30 years design period has been
considered for the project stretch. The
cumulative number of commercial
vehicles in the predominant direction
over 30 years design life is estimated
and 25% of this traffic is considered as
design traffic. The design tyre pressure
has been taken as 0.8 MPa.
b) Wheel Base Characteristics
Axles with spacing of less than 4.5
m (transverse joint spacing) are
considered for the estimation of topdown cracking damage analysis. The
percentage of axles with less than 4.5
m wheel base are estimated from the
axle load survey.
c) Temperature Differential
According
to
Table
1
of
IRC:58-2011,
the
temperature
differential is a function of
geographical location of the project
road and the temperature differential
to be adopted for the project area i.e.,
Rajasthan.
15
TECHNICAL PAPERS
Table 13 Pavement Composition
Case
Eff.
Options
Option-A
Option-B
Option-A
Option-B
Option-A
Option-B
2
3
4
MSA
VG
10%
210
VG-40
10%
210
VG-40
10%
210
VG-40
CBR
Crust Composition (mm)

BC
DBM
AIL
CTB
CTSB
Not Recommended
50
70
100
110
250
Not Recommended
50
50
SAMI
170
250
Not Recommended
50
70
160 (RAP)
250
Total
580
520
530
Table 14 Pavement Structural Analysis

Case
MSA
Thickness in mm
BC
2
3
4
DBM
AIL
CTB
Total
Ten.
Allowable Strains (Micro)
Ten.
Ver.
Ten.
Strain on
Strain
Strain
Strain
SG
Below BT Below CTB
below BT
Ten.
Strain
below CTB
Ver. Strain
on SG
150
210
150
50
50
50
50
70
50
100
100
SAMI
110
110
160
250
250
250
560
580
510
136
120
-
51
46
56
204
188
181
153
140
-
65
63
65
292
271
292
210
150
210
50
50
50
50
50
70
SAMI
170
160 (RAP)
160 (RAP)
250
250
250
520
510
530
136
123
53
-
172
265
242
153
140
63
-
271
292
271
d) Modulus of Sub-Grade Reaction

Dry Lean Concrete (DLC) sub base is
generally recommended for a modern
concrete pavement, particularly those
with high intensity of traffic.
Effective CBR of the sub grade soil

is considered as 10%
150 mm DL Clayer is provided as
sub-base.
Effective k-value, after providing
DLC layer is 300 MPa/m
e) Concrete Strength
The 90 days flexural strength for the
pavement quality concrete (PQC) has
been taken as 4.95 Mpa for the purpose
of design.
f) Modulus of Elasticity, Poissons
Ratio & Coefficient of Thermal
Expansion
The values of the various para meters
adopted are:
Modulus of Elasticity = 30000 MPa
Poissons Ratio = 0.15
Coefficient of thermal expansion
= 10 x 10-6/C
g) Design of slab thickness
The flexural stress due to the combined
action of traffic loads and temperature
differential between the top and bottom
fibers of the concrete slab is considered
16
Actual Strains (Micro)
CTSB
for design of pavement thickness.

Positive temperature during day time
will create bottom-up cracking and
negative temperature during night will
create top-down cracking in concrete
slab. Hence analysis has been done
for these two cases. For bottom-up
cracking case, the combination of load
and positive non-linear temperature
differential has been considered where
as for top-down cracking analysis, the
combination of load and negative linear

temperature differential has been taken.
For a trial slab thickness and other
design parameters, the pavement will be
checked for cumulative bottom-up and
top-down fatigue damage.
h) Design Thickness
Following Rigid Pavement design
elements are proposed as shown in
Table 15 for the project road under
consideration.
Table 15 Pavement Composition for Rigid Pavement

S. No.
Item
Rigid Pavement Design with Tied Concrete Shoulders
PQC of M40 grade, mm
290
DLC of M10 grade, mm
150
GSB, mm
150
Dia. of Dowel bar, mm
36
Length of Dowel bar, mm
450
Spacing of Dowel bar, mm
380
Dia. of Tie bar, mm (Ribbed bars)
16
Length of tie bar, mm
800
Spacing of tie bar, mm
1185
10 Conclusions
The design life msa for 8 years is 100,
15 years is 210 and for 20 years is 320
for the project stretch. IRC:372012
provides flexible pavement design upto
150 msa maximum. So it is concluded
that stage construction technique
should be followed for the design of
flexible pavement to minimise the

initial construction cost and for the full
utilisation of pavement layers for the full
design life. Reconstruction of the entire
project stretch with rigid pavement is
not a feasible option by considering
difficulties in diversion of existing traffic
and construction cost.
Influence of Recycled Aggregates on Mechanical & Permeability

Properties of Pavement Quality Concrete (PQC)
G.D. Ransinchung R.N.*, Praveen Kumar**, Abhishek Jindal***,
Pallavi Prakash****, S.D. Meena**** and S. Prashanthi****
ABSTRACT
Many structures are now either reaching the end of their design life or were not constructed according to the specifications. Demolition
or maintenance work on such structures results in large amount of concrete waste. Use of recycled aggregate in concrete has become
compulsion for many countries due to the scarcity of natural aggregates. The use of demolished concrete debris as aggregates in
concrete results in significant economical and environmental benefits. In present research work, an attempt has been made to study
the effect of recycled aggregate on mechanical and permeability properties of concrete with or without recycled coarse aggregates.
Replacement of natural aggregates by recycled aggregates in proportion of 0%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 100% and keeping water cement
ratio same 0.45. Experimental results shows up to 23.33% reduction in compressive strength and increase in permeability of the
hardened concrete from 10-12 m/s to 10-8 m/s and a noticeable reduction in workability of fresh concrete with increase in percentage
of recycled aggregates.
1 INTRODUCTION
Use of concrete has been increased
many folds during the last few decades.
This is due to the easy availability
of its basic components (cement,
coarse aggregate, fine aggregate and
water), little maintenance service,
high workability, durability and
economy. This leads to the scarcity
of natural resources like coarse
aggregates necessitating the recycling
of concrete. As sustainability is a
pressing issue all over the world, the
word recycle forms one of the most
important keywords today. Recycling
construction waste and demolition
debris dates back to the time of the
Romans, who often reused stones from
previous roads in rebuilding newer
ones
(www.romanceconcrete.com).
Also, it is difficult to dispose of tons of
masonry and concrete waste generated
daily from demolition activities,
thus adoption of recycled aggregate
from concrete waste becomes a
burning issue. Hence, recycling and
resource saving have been strongly
advocated in the construction industry.
It is estimated that the construction
industry in India generates about
10-12 million tons of waste annually.
Recycling and reusing demolished
concrete waste save a lot of and land
otherwise required for disposing
waste, reduces carbon footprint of
new projects and also bring down the

economy of the project. Projections
for building material requirement of
the housing sector indicate a shortage
of aggregates to the extent of about
55,000 million cu.m. An additional
750 million cu.m. aggregates would
be required for achieving the targets of
the road sector (Alexander MG, 1996).
Recycling of aggregate material from
construction and demolition waste
may reduce the demand-supply gap
in both these sectors. Researchers
from various countries have been
investigating on the applicability of
recycled concrete aggregates in new
construction works and the problems
pertaining to the same. Ransinchung
et. al. (2012) observed that the initial
rate of water absorption was
substantially high for concrete
containing RCA in comparison to
conventional concrete. On an average,
the initial rate of water absorption
was approximately 50% higher than
secondary rate of water absorption
irrespective of type of aggregate.
Ahmed et. al.(2013) conducted an
experiment on strength behaviour of
recycled aggregate concrete using
RCA with different replacement ratio
of 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8 and1. Based on the
results they concluded that the water
absorption of natural aggregate is
more than the RCA due to the
presence of cement mortar adhered
on the aggregate surface which results

decrease in strength. Xiao et. al.
(2006) conducted study to analyze the
relationships between the mechanical
properties of recycled aggregate
concrete. They found an approximately
linear relationship between cube
strength and mass density using a
statistical regression analysis. The
equation is fck = 0.069-116.1. The
relationship between cube strength and
flexural strength is given by fcr = 0.75
fck . Muscal et.al. (2011) presented
a paper on the suitability of RCA in
the construction of rigid pavement in
the European country. They concluded
if maximum 30% of conventional
aggregate is replaced by RCA, then
the performance characteristics of
hardened concrete are not significantly
affected. S.C. Kou and C.S. Poon
(2012) discussed the impact of using
recycled aggregates in concrete
thereby reducing its compressive
strength and render the concrete less
durable. Various methods have been
attempted to compensate for the lower
quality of the recycled aggregates for
concrete production. It has been stated
from the past researches that recycled
concrete aggregates when incorporated
in production of new concrete tends to
bring down the quality of new concrete.
Researchers from the past discusses
that adhered mortar clinging around
aggregate particle accounts for high
* Associate Professor, E-mail: gdranfce@iitr.ernet.in, ** Professor, E-mail: pkaerfce@iitr.ernet.in, *** Ph.D. Scholar, and
**** B.Tech. Student (Department of Civil Engineering, IIT-Roorkee)
17
TECHNICAL PAPERS
water absorption capacity and causes
improper bonding between aggregate
particle and new mortar. This led
to various researchers around the
world proposing different techniques
to remove adhered mortar from the
aggregate particle, to be known as
beneficiation methods. However, even
after beneficiation concrete produced
using recycled aggregates still have
lower quality in comparison to
concrete manufactured using primary
aggregates.
Even incorporation of optimum
recycled aggregate content in best
moisture state still produces inferior
quality concrete; therefore it is
proposed to improve the performance
of concrete by including some mineral
admixtures in the concrete. Research
from the past shows that mineral
admixtures when used in concrete
tend to improve their performance.
Tehmina Ayub et. al. (2013) discussed
how the durability characteristics of
concrete are affected on incorporations
of mineral admixtures in the study.
They reviewed the applications of
different mineral admixtures such
as Fly Ash (FA), Silica Fume (SF),
Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag
(GGBS), metakaolin (MK) and rice
husk ash (RHA). Durability related
properties that were reviewed included
permeability, resistance to sulfate
attack, Alkali-Silica Reaction (ASR),
carbonation, chloride ion penetration,
freezing and thawing, abrasion, fire,
acid, and efflorescence. Weerachart
Tangchirapat et. al.(2013) studied the
effects of fineness and replacement
of fly ash on the fresh and hardened
properties of recycled aggregate
concrete. The results indicate that the
slump loss of the recycled aggregate
concrete with fly ash was reduced
to lower than that of the recycled
aggregate concrete without fly ash
when the fineness of the fly ash was
increased, which increased the slump
loss of the fresh concrete. Fly ash can
be used to increase the compressive
strength of recycled aggregate
concrete, depending on its fineness
18
and the degree of fly ash replacement.

P. Saravanakumar and G. Dhinakaran
(2012) investigated the effects of
incorporating High Volume Fly Ash
(HVFA) in concrete manufactured using
recycled aggregates. Incorporations of
fly ash as part replacement of cement
reduced the cost by 40 %. Ozgur Cakir
and Omer Ozkan Sofyanh (2014)
studied the effects of incorporating
Silica Fume (SF) in the concrete
mix design to improve the quality
of recycled aggregates in concrete.
In this study Portland cement was
replaced with SF at 0%, 5% and 10%.
Concrete properties were evaluated by
means of compressive strength, tensile
splitting strength, water absorption and
ultrasonic pulse velocity and it was
found that, using 10% SF as a cement
replacement for recycled aggregate
concretes enhanced the mechanical
and physical properties of concrete.
The use of Recycled Concrete
Aggregate (RCA) for the production of
concrete involves breaking, removing,
and crushing existing concrete into a
material with specified size and quality.
Recycling of concrete is important
because it helps to promote sustainable
development in the protection of
natural resources, and reduces the
disposal of demolition waste from
old concrete. Unprocessed RCA is
useful to be applied as many types of
general bulk fill, bank protection, subbasement, road construction, noise
barriers and embankments. Processed
RCA can be applied to new concrete
for pavements, shoulders, median
barriers, sidewalks, curbs and gutters,
and bridge foundations. It also can be
applied to structural grade concrete,
soil-cement pavement bases, lean
concrete and bituminous concrete.
2 Limitations and Future
Scope
Incorporations of waste material for
new construction works is a concept
being practised since roman times.
Recycled material when incorporated,
affect the quality of new construction
depending upon the quality and source
of reclaimed material. Thus it becomes
significant to investigate the properties

of recycled material before bringing
them into use. Literature from various
researchers discusses how the quality
of new construction work gets lowered
upon using recycled materials. This
restricts the inclusions of recycled
materials into study up to a certain
level only. In order to compensate,
researchers from around the world have
proposed incorporating some mineral
admixtures to improve the durability
and mechanical properties of the
manufactured concrete. Keeping this
in view few countries have developed
codal provisions and specifications for
bringing recycled concrete aggregates
into use, however in India no such
rules or specifications are available.
This presses the need for an exhaustive
research in the field relating to the
mechanical and durability aspects of
concrete manufactured incorporating
recycled concrete aggregates. Also
some code or specifications should be
developed guiding the use of recycled
materials in new construction works in
the country.
2.1 Experimental Work
The main objective of present work is to
study the mechanical and permeability
properties of hardened concrete
containing different percentage of
recycled aggregate.
2.2 Materials
2.2.1 Cement
Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) 43
grade conforming to IS:8112 was used
as binder in presence of moisture.
2.2.2 Aggregates
Three types of aggregates were used
in the present study which includes
natural fine aggregate, natural coarse
aggregate (20 mm and 10 mm) and
recycled coarse aggregates (20 mm
and 10 mm). Recycled aggregate was
extracted from demolished concrete
slabs. Initially, tested concrete cubes
were hand broken into smaller pieces
then fed into mini crusher for obtaining
requisite size of aggregates. Material
passing 22.4 mm but retained on
19 mm IS sieve size was collected as
TECHNICAL PAPERS
20 mm down size aggregate. Similarly,
material passing 12.5 mm sieve but
retained on 4.75 mm IS sieve size
was collected as 10 mm down size
aggregate. River bed sand used was
conforming to grading zone-II when
tested as per IS:383-1970.
2.2.3 Mix Proportions
The referral concrete mix was
established with water-cement ratio of

0.45 for ascertaining its mechanical
and permeability properties of
hardened concrete so as to compare
with various concretes containing
recycled aggregate. The various
combinations of recycled aggregate
and normal aggregate are presented
in Table 1. Constant water cement
ratio of 0.45 was adopted for concrete

mix proportions under same working
condition irrespective of type of
aggregate used. Different dosage
of chemical super plasticiser was
added in order to maintain uniform
workability of the concretes. Total
five different concrete mix proportions
were considered in the present study.
Table 1 Mix Proportions of Concrete Mixes with or Without Recycled Aggregates

Mix
Cement
Designation Content
(kg/m3)
P1
395.5
Water
(lit/m3)
Fine
Virgin Aggregate (VA) (kg/m3) Recycled Aggregate (RA) (kg/m3)
Aggregates
20 mm (60%) 10 mm (40%) 20 mm (60%)
10 mm (40%)
(kg/m3)
177.97
572.5
697.14
547.76
SP Dosage
(%) by wt. of
Cement
W/C
0.5
0.45
273.88
0.6
0.45
328.66
0.6
0.45
383.43
1.1
0.45
547.76
1.0
0.45
Incorporating recycled aggregates (VA = 50%, RA = 50%)

RP1
395.5
177.97
572.5
348.57
273.88
348.57

RP2
395.5
177.97
572.5
273.88
219.10
418.28

RP3
395.5
177.97
572.5
209.14
164.33
487.99

RP4
395.5
177.97
572.5
2.3 Experiment and Test Conducted

In overall, total forty five and thirty
concrete test specimens were prepared
for ascertaining compressive and
flexural strength of hardened concrete
respectively.
The
compressive
strength of the hardened concrete
was determined by casting 100 mm x
100 mm x100 mm size cubes. Whereas,
for flexural strength test, 100 mm x
100 mm x 500 mm size beams were
cast. Concrete test specimens were
prepared in such a manner that three
cubes and two beams each could be
tested for compressive strength and
flexural strength respectively, at the
age of 3, 7 and 28 days in accordance
with IS:516. Tests like slump and
697.14
compaction factor were conducted on

fresh concrete during laboratory casting
to measure workability and degree
of compaction considering the slump
requirement 30 15 mm for PQC. The
room temperature maintained during
testing was 28 3C.
In addition to the above tests, efforts
have also been made to record the
rebound hammer number and ultrasonic
pulse velocity in accordance with
IS:13311 Part-2 & Part- 1 respectively,
to assure the quality and uniformity
of the hardened concrete. Fifteen
cylindrical specimens of diameter
150 mm and height 150 mm were
cast to determine the permeability
characteristics of concrete with or
without recycled aggregate.

To supplement the permeability
results of concrete with or without
recycled aggregate, Scanning Electron
Microscope (SEM) images at two
different magnifications i.e. 250 X &
1000 X were captured for different
days of moist curing.
2.4 Test Results and Interpretation
Test result of compressive strength
(3, 7 and 28 days), flexural strength
(3, 7 and 28 days), permeability
(28 days), rebound hammer test &
ultrasonic pulse velocity test of harden
concrete and slump value, compaction
factor of fresh concrete is shown in
Table 2.
Table 2 Test Results of Compressive & Flexural Strength, Permeability of Hardened Concrete and
Slump & Compaction Factor for Fresh Concrete Mix
Sample Proportion
Compressive Strength (Mpa)
Flexural Strength (Mpa)
Permeability
(m/s)
Density, Slump Compaction

kg/m3
(mm)
Factor
3-days
7-days
28-days
3-days
7-days
28-days
28 days
28days
100% NCA + 0% RCA
20.32
28.78
44.36
3.00
4.31
4.68
9.83x10-12 m/s
2542.2
35
0.826
50% NCA + 50% RCA
18.96
26.07
39.62
2.90
4.03
4.40
1.25x10-10 m/s
2424.2
28
0.812
-9
40% NCA + 60% RCA
18.28
25.4
37.93
2.71
3.84
4.31
1.89x10 m/s
2393.0
20
0.796
30% NCA + 70% RCA
17.61
24.04
35.89
2.62
3.65
4.12
7.55 x10-8 m/s
2359.5
17
0.790
0% NCA + 100% RCA
16.59
22.35
33.52
2.25
3.00
3.75
1.51x10-8 m/s
2306.3
15
0.766
19
TECHNICAL PAPERS
2.5 Tests on Fresh Concrete
2.5.1 Slump
Table 2 details the slump taken for
each mix of concrete with 0%, 50%,
60%, 70% and 100% replacement of
RA. Reduction in slump reading is
more pronounced for higher content
of recycled aggregate in the mix.
The percentages reduction of slump
readings were 20, 42.86, 51.43 and
57.14 when recycled aggregates
were incorporated @ 0%, 50%, 60%,
70% and 100% respectively. This
reduction is mainly due to the high
water absorption capacity of recycled
concrete aggregates.
2.5.2 Compaction Factor
As we know that compaction factor
test is also designed to measure the
workability of concrete as in the case
of slump test. But this test being more
precise and sensitive than the slump
test particularly for low workability
concrete mixes, effort was also made
to ascertain the workability of concrete
mixes by employing compaction
factor test and results were compared
with slump readings. Incorporation
of recycled aggregate @ 50%, 60%,
70% and 100% led to reduction in
compaction factor by 1.7%, 3.6%,
4.4% and 7.3% respectively. The
variations in percentage reduction
of compaction factor are relatively
smaller as compared to slump readings
for the same mixes. Hence, these
analyses hinted that compaction factor
test would be the most appropriate
tests for determining consistency of
concrete mixes particularly for low
workability PQC mix.
2.6 Tests on Hardened Concrete
2.6.1 Density
Table 2 clearly suggested that there
is a nominal decrease in hardened
density of concrete when recycled
aggregate was incorporated. About
4.64%, 5.87%, 7.19% and 9.28%
hardened density reductions were
observed for 50%, 60%, 70% and 100%
20
recycled aggregate replacement levels

respectively. The analysis revealed
that decrease is more pronounced for
higher percentage replacement level of
recycled aggregate. This phenomenon
is attributed to the presence of higher
percentage of lighter weight (adhered
mortar) clung around the recycled
aggregate particles.
2.6.2 Compressive Strength
the particles. The gain of compressive

strength at the early age is relatively
higher than that of later age strength (28
days strength). This analysis implies
that with prolong curing; the rate of
compressive strength development
is sluggish in comparison to early
age strength for recycled aggregate
concrete. This finding is in agreement
with Yong and Teo (2009).
Fig. 1 Compressive Strength @ 3, 7, 28

Day Curing
Fig. 2 Flexural Strength @ 3, 7

& 28 Day Curing
Fig.1 shows that incorporation

of recycled aggregate reduces
compressive strength of concrete
irrespective of days of moist curing.
Percentage of reduction in compressive
strength is more pronounced for
higher percentage replacement of
virgin aggregate by recycled aggregate
particularly after 50% replacement
level. It can be observed that all
concrete mixes containing recycled
aggregate could not produce 40 MPa
which is characteristics compressive
strength of M40 grade concrete at the
age of 28 days. However, strength of
concrete increases with the increase
of days of moist curing irrespective of
recycled aggregate content. The trend
of decrease of compressive strength
due to incorporation of recycled
aggregate is gradual for all the
replacement levels. It is well known
that the strength of concrete depends
on the cement matrix, the aggregates
and the interfacial bond between the
cement matrix and the aggregates. The
lower compressive strength of concrete
prepared with recycled aggregate may
be attributed to the movement of water
from cement matrix to dry recycled
aggregate, creating relatively low local
water cement ratio in the vicinity of
Fig.2. clearly depicts that referral

concrete gains strength gradually
and attain higher flexural strength
irrespective of days of moist curing. As
expected, it can be seen that at all test
ages, the flexural strength of concrete
prepared with recycled aggregate
showed lower strength than that of
the corresponding referral concrete
irrespective of recycled aggregate
content. The percentage reduction
in flexural strength development is
smaller than the percentage reduction
in compressive strength for all recycled
aggregate concretes. From the present
study, it appears that incorporation of
recycled aggregate compromised more
in compressive strength than flexural
strength. This is most probably due
to movement of water from cement
matrix towards the recycled aggregate
particles and cement particles may
accumulate around the recycled
aggregate particles. As a result of
which a stronger bond might have
formed between the cement matrix
and aggregate particles.
An attempt was also made to establish
a relation between average flexural
strength and average compressive
strength for recycled aggregate
TECHNICAL PAPERS
concrete and compared with the
existing equation given in IS:456.
Fcr = 0.7fck as per IS:456
... 2
Fcr = 0.68fck ( R2 = 0.842)
proposed
... 3
where fck is the characteristic
compressive strength of concrete
in MPa. As it can be seen from the
present analysis, equation (3) gives a
very close coefficient as comparable to
that of equation (2). However, further
study in this regard is suggested as in
the present study very small sample

sizes were considered while deriving
this equation.
2.6.3
Rebound Hammer Test
Rebound hammer test is done to find

out quality of concrete mix and the
probable compressive strength of
concrete by using rebound hammer as
per IS:13311 (Part 2)-1992.The rebound
value is read from a graduated scale and
is designated as the rebound number.
The compressive strength can be read
directly from the graph provided. The

overall quality of the concrete is found
out to be fair, which is satisfactory.
Table 3 clearly suggested that the
actual compressive strength lie well
within the stipulated ranges obtained
from the rebound hammer test. This
analysis gives a quite clear idea about
the employability of rebound hammer
test for ascertaining indirect strength
of concrete containing recycled
aggregates as dispersion values lie
very close to referral concrete.
Table 3 Rebound Hammer Test Results and Quality Grading of Concrete with or Without
Recycled Aggregates at 7 & 28 Days Moist Curing
Sample
7 days
Rebound
No.
Probable Comp.
Strength (Mpa)
28 days
Dispersion
(Mpa)
Quality
Rebound Probable Comp.

No.
Strength (Mpa)
Dispersion
(Mpa)
Quality
100% NCA +0%RCA
33.33
31.5
6.55
Fair
42.93
48.0
7.4
Good
50%NCA+50%RCA
32.46
29.0
6.45
Fair
38.47
40.0
7.0
Fair
40%NCA+60%RCA
32.13
29.0
6.45
Fair
37.26
38.5
6.925
Fair
30%NCA+70% RCA
29.60
25.0
6.25
Average
35.8
36.0
6.8
Fair
0%NCA+100%RCA
28.33
23.0
6.15
Average
34.27
33.0
6.65
Fair
2.6.4 Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity

Test
The UPV test is done to assess the
quality of concrete by ultrasonic
pulse velocity method as per IS:13311
(Part 1)-1992. The method consists
of measuring the time of travel of an

ultrasonic pulse passing through the
concrete being tested. Comparatively
higher velocity is obtained when
concrete quality is good in terms of
density, uniformity, homogeneity etc.
concrete quality from UPV test results

can be classified as good. Table 4
suggested that all considered concrete
samples with or without recycled
aggregate are satisfactory as far as
quality of concrete is concerned.
Table 4 UPV Test Results of Concrete with or without Recycled Aggregates

Sample
7 days
28 days
Quality
Cube 4
Cube 5
Cube 6
Cube 7
Cube 8
Cube 9
100% NCA +0%RCA
4070
4180
4130
4330
4150
4260
Good
50%NCA+50%RCA
4080
3920
4050
3830
3970
4150
Good
40%NCA+60%RCA
3700
3830
3970
3970
3830
3600
Good
30%NCA+70% RCA
3690
3770
3660
3750
3670
3860
Good
0%NCA+100%RCA
3860
3820
3620
3750
3870
3620
Good
2.6.5 Permeability
Table 2 gives the permeability
characteristics for different proportions
of recycled aggregate concrete.
From the results, it is evident that
permeability of RA concrete is greater
than that of VA concrete. Highest
permeability was offered by 100% RA
concrete followed by 70%RA, 60%
RA, 50% RA and 0% RA concrete
respectively. This higher coefficient
of permeability is mainly attributed
by hardened mortar clung around

coarse aggregate particles of recycled
aggregates.
An attempt has been made to
establish a relationship between
surface permeability and percentage
of RA contained in concrete. An
eqn. (1) is derived to calculate surface
permeability of concrete for different
percentages RA content in M 40 grade
of concrete.
y = 9.059e0.079x ( R2 = 0.898)
... 1
where,
y is permeability * 1012 and x is
percentage of RA.
2.6.6 Surface Morphology Analysis
using SEM Technique
The Scanning Electron Microscope
(SEM) is used to generate highresolution images of shapes of
objects and to show spatial variations
in chemical compositions. SEM
examinations were carried out on the
fracture surfaces of the concretes.
21
TECHNICAL PAPERS
are more pronounced in RA concrete.
Comparatively higher amount of
macro air voids are also seen. As
results of which higher coefficient of
permeability was recorded for recycled
aggregate concretes.
Fig. 3 Interfacial Morphology of Cement

Paste between VA Aggregate-Cement
Matrix 1000 X
Fig. 4 Interfacial Morphology of Cement

Paste Between Recycled AggregateCement-Matri 250 X
Fig.3 is a view of virgin aggregate

concrete-cement interface microstructure, in which the interfacial
zone appeared to consist mainly of
loose particles, noticing formation of
C-S-H gels and few remnant cement
particles. Presences of inevitable air
voids are also noticed. Considerable
amount of remnant cement grains
associated with old hardened mortar
is distinctly noticed from Fig. 4.
Formation of hydrated compounds
like calcium hydroxide and ettringite
For the recycled aggregates-cement

system, although it is anticipated
that chemical reactions between
the new cement matrix and the
residual cementitious materials in
the recycled aggregates would create
some interfacial bonding effects,
the microstructure study showed a
relatively loose interfaces. This may
be partly due to the moisture condition
of the recycled aggregate. The high
porosity and water absorption capacity
of the recycled aggregates coupled
with its low initial water content
rendered the aggregate to take up a
large amount of water during the initial
mixing stage and hence the open and
loose interfacial zone in the hardened
concrete. Another possibility is the
localized release of carbon dioxide
as a result of the reaction between the
carbonated cementitious residuals in
the aggregates with the fresh cement
matrix. The interfacial transition
zone microstructure in concrete with
recycled aggregates appears to be an
important factor in governing strength
development of the recycled aggregate
concrete. The interfacial transition
zone formation is related to moisture
movement and chemical reactions
in the recycled aggregate concrete.
The porous interfacial transition zone
microstructure in the normal-strength
concrete can be attributed to the higher
porosity and absorption capacity of the
recycled aggregate.
3 Conclusions
The following conclusions have drawn
from the present experimental study:
1. As expected, incorporation of
recycled coarse aggregate results
in 4.6% and 23.33% decrease in
compressive strength at 3 & 28
days moist curing respectively as
compared to conventional concrete.
Higher reduction in compressive
strength was observed than flexural
strength for same concrete mix
under same working condition.
Incorporation of recycled aggregate
beyond 50% compromises the
mechanical properties of concrete
considerably.
2. Relation between compressive
strength and flexural strength
of recycled aggregate concrete
is found to be comparable with
the empirical equation given in
IS:456.
3. Use of recycled coarse aggregate
results in increase in permeability
of the hardened concrete and its
variation with the proportion of
RCA is found to be in the range of
10-8 to 10-12 m/s.
4. Based on rebound hammer test,
the quality of concrete is found
to be fair. Whereas, according to
ultrasonic pulse velocity test results
quality and uniformity of recycled
aggregate concrete is found to be
good.
5. Formations of hydrated compounds
like ettringite, CH and remnant
cement grains are quite prominent in
100% recycled aggregate concrete
in comparison to conventional
concrete.
NEWS & NOTES

Dr. M. Parida, Professor, Civil Engineering & Head, CTRANS, Department of Civil Engineering, Indian
Institute of Technology Roorkee has been awarded S.R. Mehra Memorial Award and a Citation for the year
2014 by the IIT Roorkee for his outstanding contribution in the area of Transportation Engineering. Dr. Parida
is an active Member of IRC.
22
PERFORMANCE EVALUATION AND DESIGN CRITERIA

FOR LOW VOLUME FLEXIBLE PAVEMENTS
Dr. Ankit Gupta*, Dr. Praveen Kumar** and Dr. Rajat Rastogi**
ABSTRACT
Low volume rural roads comprise 80% of the total road length in India. Design of these pavements is done using an empirical approach
with subgrade California Bearing Ratio (CBR) as the main input as per IRC:SP:20-2002 and IRC:SP:72-2007. Rational design of low
volume roads in India requires the development of performance evaluation criteria. For this purpose, this study was taken up with
some selected road test sections in the northern part of India to gather experience on the performance of such roads under varying
subgrade and traffic conditions and to develop a mechanistic-empirical performance criterion for low volume roads.
Laboratory investigations were carried out for the material which was collected from the test pit evaluation on the test sections.
Pavement responses (like vertical subgrade stress, vertical subgrade strain and surface deflections) were obtained from the Finite
Element (FE) analysis of the 3-D model developed in the present study. A mechanistic-empirical performance criterion was developed
correlating the pavement life with vertical subgrade strain. Thickness design charts were prepared based on the subgrade strain
criterion developed in the present study for the granular pavements with thin surfacing. The thickness obtained from this chart was
compared with the chart given in IRC:SP:20-2002 and IRC:SP:72-2007. For IRC:SP:20-2002 it was observed that for design traffic
upto 0.3 million standard axle (msa) and for lower CBR ( 5%), lower thicknesses were obtained from the developed design chart as
compared with the thickness provided in the IRC:SP:20 (2002).
1 INTRODUCTION
India owns the second largest network
of roads in the world, next to USA.
The total road length in the country
at present is over 3.3 million km,
which gives the spatial road density of
about 1 km/sq. km. of area (MoRTH,
2010), which is highly inadequate in
comparison to many other developing
and developed countries. The pace of
road development has not been of the
required order to meet the increased
demand. As a result, the existing trunk
route system has become structurally
and functionally inadequate to sustain
the high magnitude of stresses imposed
by unanticipated increase in traffic
volumes and axle loads and untimely
failure of the road pavements. The
only option left is to manage the roads
within the available limited resources,
in an optimal manner, by making use
of the scientific pavement management
tools.
to be carrying more than one million

equivalent standard axles. Hall and
Bettis (2000) reviewed different low
volume design procedures as followed
in USA and suggested that low volume
roads are generally defined as roads
carrying an Average Daily Traffic
(ADT) of less than 500. Chilean
structural guide for low volume roads
(Thenoux et al., 2003) defines low
volume pavements as those which
are designed for a life cycle of one
million Equivalent Single Axle Loads
(ESALs). Thube (2006) defined low
volume roads as those carrying daily
traffic less than 450 Commercial
Vehicles Per Day (CVPD). Low
volume roads serve as one of the key
infrastructures needed for integrated
rural development, which has become
a matter of growing urgency for
consideration of social justice, national
integration and economic uplift of the
rural areas.
2 LOW VOLUME ROADS

Low Volume Roads (LVR) are defined
by different researchers in different
ways. Gourley and Greening (1999)
defined low volume roads as those
carrying less than 200 vehicles per day
and which, over a 20-year period even
with high growth rates, are unlikely
3 LITERATURE REVIEW
Pavements in low volume roads have
very similar road structures to those in
other sectors of highway engineering,
except for the thick bitumen bound
layers which usually have high costs
for the asphalt binder. Hence, the
granular layers are traditionally the
most common layers and have the

function to spread the load over a
weaker subgrade. There are various
issues concerning Low Volume
Roads engineering: Coghlan (1999),
Visser & Hall (2003) and El Abd
et al. (2004) confirm that traditional
highway engineering standards may
not be appropriate and that little data
concerning LVR performance, cost,
use, etc. is available. Most pavement
design methods are based on linear
elastic calculations; such methods give
good results for rigid pavements, with
bituminous or cement treated base and
subbase layers.
However, for low traffic pavements
with unbound granular layers they are
considerably less satisfactory because
of the stress dependency of this
materials behaviour and because of its
variability due to source and climatic
variations (Fig. 1).
High stress levels
and high shear in
bound layers
High stress levels

and high shear in
granular base
Asphaltic seal & chips
Fig. 1 Schematic Profile of

(a) High-Volume Road & (b) Low-Volume
Road Pavement (Brito, 2011)
Unbound Granular Materials (UGM)

(and subgrade soils) exhibit two main
* Assistant Professor, Civil Engg. Department IIT, BHU. E-mail: anki_ce11@yahoo.co.in, ** Professor, Transportation Engg. Group,
Civil Engg. Department IIT Roorkee. E-mail: pkaerfce@iitr.ernet.in, ***Associate Professor, Transportation Engg. Group,
Civil Engg. Department IIT Roorkee E-mail: rajatfce@iitr.ernet.in
23
TECHNICAL PAPERS
deformation modes when subject to
cyclic loading: resilient deformation
(which may be elastic or inelastic
that is, hysteretic in nature),
which can be responsible for fatigue
cracking of the granular base layers,
and permanent (plastic) deformation,
responsible for rutting in the wheel
paths. The permanent deformation is a
consequence of the small contribution
caused by each cycle wheel pass.
Although the resilient deformation
(recoverable) is almost invariably
greater than the plastic deformation
(non-recoverable) caused by one
cycle, after many cycles the plastic
component often becomes significant
and may lead to an eventual failure of
the pavement due to excessive rutting.
Despite the importance of rutting
of UGMs, especially in low traffic
pavements, there is nowell-established
method to study the permanent
deformation of UGMs in the laboratory,
and to predict their rutting in the
pavements. Mohanty et al. (1996)
collected pavement performance
data from several sections of village
roads having granular pavements
with thin bituminous surfacing and a
performance based rutting criterion

was
developed. According
to
(El Abd et al., 2004), in the absence
of a satisfactory method to predict
rut depth, the design of pavements
with unbound granular material layers
remains, in most design methods, very
empirical. Due to these oversimplified
methods, it is not possible, today, to take
full advantage of the real performance
of UGM. There is a strong need to
improve this situation, and to develop
and introduce into current practice:
Appropriate
mechanical
performance tests to determine
the resistance to permanent
deformation of unbound granular
material;
More appropriate models to predict
their permanent deformation in
pavements.
The roads were selected on the basis

of criterion, like traffic volume,
surrounding environmental conditions,
population base of the villages
connected through the selected road,
and the type of section with respect
to the adjoining land. Twenty test
sections having different traffic
intensities and subgrade strengths
were selected in the sixteen districts
of states of Uttarakhand and Western
Uttar Pradesh, in India.
4 METHODOLOGY AND DATA

COLLECTION
Methodology was formulated to
develop the performance models and
performance criteria. The methodology
consists of various stages, starting from
selection of test sections and ending at
the development of design criteria and
charts. The methodology adopted for
the present study is shown in Fig. 2.
Fig. 3 Field Investigations
Field investigations were carried

to examine the in-situ properties of
the pavement layers and materials
(Fig.3).
Details
of
deflection
measurements, pavement dynamic
cone penetrometer, rutting and
MERLIN roughness (Machine for
Evaluating Roughness using Low cost
Instrument) are given in Figs. 4, 5, 6
and 7 respectively.
Fig. 2 Methodology Flow Chart
24
Fig. 4 Characteristic Benkelman

Deflection Trends with Age
TECHNICAL PAPERS
Fig. 7 DCP Index Variation on Test

Sections
pressures (3) of 40 KPa, 70 KPa and

120 KPa were selected to produce
six deviator stresses, (1 - 3). A very
low deviator stress of -12 KPa (1
= 108 KPa and 3 = 120 KPa) and a
very high deviator stress of 155 KPa
(1 = 195 KPa and 3 = 40 KPa) were
not considered. These conditions
produce 80 specimens to be tested for
20 types of subgrade soils. To measure
the axial strain in the specimen, digital
dial gauge was used. For measuring the
resilient (recoverable part) strain, the
specimens were kept free of deviator
stress until the dial gauge reading had
stabilized. The test was conducted
upto 10,000 cycles of load application
owing to instrument limitation.
Permanent and resilient strains were
observed after 1, 10, 100, 1,000 and
10,000 cycles. Deviatoric stress of
40 KPa was selected by Uzan (1998)
for estimation of resilient modulus
of soil subgrade, hence the resilient
modulus corresponding to 38 KPa was
selected in this study for estimation of
resilient modulus.
Characteristics of the subgrade soils are
shown in Table 1 and CBR and shear
strength properties of the subgrade soil
are shown in Table 2.
Laboratory investigations were carried

out on pavement layer materials
obtained during test pit evaluation
to characterize their properties.
Various tests including gradation
of the materials, field moisture
content
determination,
subgrade
soil classification, standard Proctor
compaction tests, subgrade strength
and shear properties tests, and resilient
modulus tests were conducted under
different combinations of moisture
content and dry density.
The tests were conducted as per the
standard procedure given in ASTM
D5311 (2004). The cyclic load
producing vertical cyclic stresses (1)
of 108 KPa and 195 KPa were applied
at the rate of 70 cycles per minute. For
each loading cycle, three confining
5 FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS

A 3-D finite element (FE) model is
developed and analyzed to capture
the effect of non-linear materials or
the effect of combination of loads,
including un-symmetric or different
loading types. SOLID45 element
(ANSYS, 2011) has been selected
for developing the 3-D FE model in
ANSYS environment. Low volume
rural roads are generally, single lane
roads of 3.75 m carriageway width
with shoulders on both the sides of
the carriageway. One fourth of the
dual wheel load configuration of a
single axle was considered for loading
the pavement. The load was assumed
to be transmitted to the pavement
through rectangular contact area of
wheels at uniform vertical contact
Fig. 5 Rut Depth Variation on Test

Sections with Age
Fig. 6 Roughness Variation on Test

Sections with Age
pressure. No horizontal surface shear

stresses were considered. The center
to center distance between dual wheels
was taken as 310 mm in the present
study as suggested by Sunkavalliet al.
(2008). Sunkavalli (2007) measured
the dimensions of tyre imprints for
various combinations of load and tyre
pressure. It was found that the width of
imprints varies between 190 mm and
200 mm. Based on this study, a wheel
contact width of 200 mm was adopted.
To simulate the wheel load (20 kN)
(Sunkavalliet al., 2008) of a standard
axle with a tyre pressure of 0.56 MPa
(IRC:81, 1997), length of contact area
was computed and it came out to be
180 mm. Therefore, an element of size
200 180 mm was considered for the
FE model. On low volume single lane
roads, vehicles mostly use the central
portion of the carriageway. This
places axle load symmetrically about
the center line. Due to symmetry in
longitudinal and transverse directions,
a quarter model was considered.
The plan view of the quarter model
considered is shown in Fig. 8.
Fig. 8 Top View of Pavement Considered

for FE Analysis
A subgrade depth of 2500 mm was

considered in the present study.
Sensitivity analysis was carried out
to examine the influence of model
geometry by considering vertical strain
over subgrade with respect to subgrade
thickness. It was found that the rate
of change of vertical strain after the
subgrade depth of 2500 mm has
reduced considerably. This suggested
that a subgrade depth of 2500 mm is
appropriate.
25
TECHNICAL PAPERS
Table 1 Characteristics of Subgrade Soils
S. No. Id No.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
Passing IS 75
micron Sieve
(%)
LL
(%)
PI (%)
45
48
63
45
56
52
68
40
57
35
31
59
21
65
42
55
55
58
46
60
17.0
16.0
26.3
28.2
29.2
24.2
20.6
21.0
31.4
22.1
24.2
23.1
20.7
24.5
21.2
18.3
21.4
29.1
22.1
22.0
10.4
9.5
14.7
17.0
17.6
13.7
5.3
9.3
17.3
15.2
17.6
10.4
10.7
13.1
6.9
10.3
17.8
24.3
13.6
13.0
UP-1
UP-2
UP-3
UP-4
UP-5
UP-6
UP-7
UP-8
UP-9
UP-10
UP-11
UP-12
UK-1
UK-2
UK-3
UK-4
UK-5
UK-6
UK-7
UK-8
Classification
IS
AASHTO
SC
SC
CL
SC
CL
CL
ML-CL
SC
CL
SC
SC
CL
SC
CL
SM-SC
CL
CL
CL
SC
CL
A-4
A-4
A-6
A-6
A-6
A-6
A-4
A-4
A-6
A-2-6
A-2-6
A-4
A-2-6
A-6
A-4
A-4
A-6
A-6
A-6
A-6
OMC
(%)
FMC
(%)
MDD
(kg/m3)
FDD
(kg/m3)
Degree of
Compaction (%)
12.32
12.76
13.56
13.14
14.23
12.47
14.95
12.58
14.37
14.04
15.21
12.86
14.21
13.21
14.08
11.57
10.18
12.01
11.24
11.12
6.60
7.30
11.58
11.23
11.57
10.55
15.28
11.68
14.05
6.90
8.23
12.67
9.96
11.40
14.25
7.97
3.56
4.835
8.457
8.988
1737
1794
1770
1817
1830
1834
1832
1824
1738
1697
1759
1773
2035
2140
2040
2165
2230
2090
2220
2260
1605
1683
1730
1218
1677
1657
1588
2003
1744
1752
1867
1285
1598
1603
1748
1801
1730
1630
1580
1000
92.0
93.8
97.7
67.0
91.6
90.3
86.7
109.8
100.3
103.2
106.1
72.5
78.5
74.9
85.7
83.2
77.6
78.0
71.2
44.3
LL: Liquid Limit

PI: Plasticity Index
IS: Indian Standard
OMC: Optimum Moisture Content
FMC: Field Moisture Content
MDD: Maximum Dry Density
FDD: Field Dry Density
AASHTO: American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials
Table 2 CBR and Shear Strength Properties of Subgrade Soil
S. No.
Id No.
FMC-FDD Condition
c (KPa) (Degree) CBR
UP-1
8.9
17
2.2
17.7
30
7.39
303.6
-0.63
32.5
114.2
-0.37
97.1
UP-2
11.2
19
2.5
23.4
32
7.73
450.6
-0.71
36.1
101.5
-0.32
88.0
UP-3
24.0
0.5
54.5
1.04
90.6
-0.43
19.6
68.0
-0.31
59.4
UP-4
17.9
18
1.1
32.4
15
3.78
203.9
-0.62
22.4
88.6
-0.47
72.4
UP-5
42.6
0.6
64.2
3.23
92.2
-0.51
15.1
72.5
-0.58
56.3
UP-6
27.5
1.5
57.8
4.41
229.8
-0.64
23.6
71.0
-0.47
58.0
UP-7
23.7
0.5
43.7
2.45
61.4
-0.38
15.7
60.2
-0.68
44.6
UP-8
25.8
20
1.3
32.6
20
1.56
61.6
-0.26
24.6
82.7
-0.46
68.0
UP-9
27.5
1.1
43.3
2.12
384.9
-0.77
24.6
78.0
-0.43
64.8
10
UP-10
24.3
19
1.4
45.1
25
3.51
1592.3
-1.14
27.7
97.9
-0.76
70.1
11
UP-11
27.5
22
1.6
47.9
35
3.84
162.2
-0.48
29.3
77.3
-0.38
65.7
12
UP-12
30.6
2.6
51.6
5.87
102.6
-0.30
35.3
128.0
-0.43
106.9
13
UK-1
23.8
14
1.1
35.7
24
2.76
232.4
-0.64
23.9
79.6
-0.57
61.9
14
UK-2
42.7
2.8
63.6
6.54
1264.9
-0.98
38.3
154.6
-0.63
116.8
15
UK-3
42.4
11
3.1
57.8
15
6.87
453.5
-0.66
43.8
91.9
-0.47
75.0
16
UK-4
45.8
3.6
64.3
5.91
680.4
-0.78
42.6
158.6
-0.59
122.8
17
UK-5
47.1
3.8
71.4
7.89
283.4
-0.53
42.5
128.1
-0.32
111.6
18
UK-6
37.8
6.7
61.6
12.41
205.6
-0.34
78.3
125.2
-0.35
142.0
19
UK-7
45.0
10
2.4
60.3
13
3.84
149.9
-0.43
32.6
132.6
-0.68
98.8
20
UK-8
46.2
4.2
73.8
6.78
116.0
-0.25
47.9
90.5
-0.53
71.6
c: Cohesion
MR: Resilient Modulu
26
OMC-MDD Condition
c (KPa) (Degree)
CBR
: Angle of Internal Friction
FMC-FDD Condition
k
n
MR (MPa)
CBR: California Bearing Ratio in %
OMC-MDD Condition
k
n
MR (MPa)
k, n: Material Constants
TECHNICAL PAPERS
5.1 Modeling Nonlinearity in Granular and Subgrade Layer
Modeling the nonlinearity of granular
material and subgrade soil was done
by considering the plastic behavior
of unbound materials by most of the
general purpose finite element software
packages. Zaghloul and White (1993),
Hossain and Wu (2002), Saleh et al.
(2003) and Suleiman and Varma (2007)
used Drucker-Prager (DP) plasticity
model to represent nonlinear behavior
in granular layers and cohesive soils.
k- model is a simple model, which
requires two material constants.
Pandey and Naidu (1994) developed a
relationship between resilient modulus
and bulk stress. This is given by Eq. 1
and was used in the present study.
MR = 3.47()0.7375
... 1
Where,
MR = Resilient modulus in MPa, and
= Bulk stress in KPa
As ANSYS is a general purpose finite
element code, it does not include
specific stress dependent nonlinear
elastic models for granular materials.
Macros were written to assign material
properties for individual elements and
compute the elastic modulus (using
Eq. 1) for each element in the granular

layer depending on the stress condition.
A seed modulus was initially assigned
to all the elements of the layer for
computing the bulk stresses for each
element. Geostatic pressure due to
self-weight of pavement layers was
considered in the model for estimating
the bulk stress.
In most of the FE analyses the
behavior of subgrade is considered as
linear-elastic. The main focus of these
analyses remains on the nonlinearity
of bituminous layer and granular layer.
Some studies adopted nonlinearity
in subgrade by using elastoplastic
material models for subgrade layer.
Saadet al. (2005) used the elastoplastic
strain hardening (modified Cam-Clay
model), whereas Hossain and Wu
(2002) used the elasto-perfectly plastic
(Drucker-Prager) model to account for
the nonlinearity in the subgrade layer.
For roads sections having thick
bituminous surfacing, the stress in the
subgrade layer is usually small and
hence considering the subgrade to be
linearly elastic is not likely to have a
significant effect on the response of the
upper layers. But for thin bituminous
surfaced pavements, granular materials
constitute the main structural layer

and the relatively larger stresses on
subgrade cause the material to behave
nonlinearly. To assess the effect of
nonlinearity in the subgrade layer,
the k-d model developed by Seed et
al. (1962) was used in this study. It is
given by Eq. 2.
MR = 300d0.5
... 2
Where,
MR = Resilient modulus in MPa, and
d = Deviator stress in KPa
Seed modulus was initially assigned to
all the elements of the subgrade layer
for computing the deviator stress for
each element. Macros were written for
this purpose.
5.2 Structural Analyses of Pavement
Sections
The road test sections were analyzed
as bi-layer systems consisting of a
granular layer and subgrade layer
using 3-D FE modeling. Analyses
considering non-linearity of materials
were carried out. In the first one, the
granular layer was considered to
behave nonlinearly and in the second
case both the layers were considered
to behave nonlinearly. The responses
at the top of the subgrade are given in
Table 3.
Table 3 Responses at Top of Subgrade from Pavement Analysis

S. No.
Section Id
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
UP-1
UP-2
UP-3
UP-4
UP-5
UP-6
UP-7
UP-8
UP-9
UP-10
UP-11
UP-12
UK-1
UK-2
UK-3
UK-4
UK-5
UK-6
UK-7
UK-8
Nonlinearity in granular layer

Vertical Strain
Vertical Stress (MPa)
5.01 10-4
5.27 10-2
4.68 10-4
2.74 10-2
5.38 10-4
2.55 10-2
5.85 10-4
2.48 10-2
5.06 10-4
2.89 10-2
5.30 10-4
1.96 10-2
5.53 10-4
2.85 10-2
6.09 10-4
3.79 10-2
7.22 10-4
4.33 10-2
5.26 10-4
3.90 10-2
7.07 10-4
1.85 10-2
6.88 10-4
9.43 10-2
5.38 10-4
6.21 10-2
6.67 10-4
4.07 10-2
5.29 10-4
6.34 10-2
6.97 10-4
1.06 10-1
5.11 10-4
1.47 10-2
8.66 10-4
1.03 10-1
8.45 10-4
5.09 10-2
7.49 10-4
7.26 10-2
Nonlinearity in both layers

Vertical Strain
Vertical Stress (MPa)
5.35 10-4
2.57 10-2
5.16 10-4
2.72 10-2
5.84 10-4
2.21 10-2
5.46 10-4
1.89 10-2
5.39 10-4
1.96 10-2
5.53 10-4
2.53 10-2
5.54 10-4
2.64 10-2
6.98 10-4
4.83 10-2
7.14 10-4
4.25 10-2
5.88 10-4
1.91 10-2
7.58 10-4
2.66 10-2
7.29 10-4
6.53 10-2
6.12 10-4
4.75 10-2
7.71 10-4
4.12 10-2
5.62 10-4
1.78 10-2
6.72 10-4
4.57 10-2
5.78 10-4
2.54 10-2
8.68 10-4
5.51 10-2
9.13 10-4
4.52 10-2
8.27 10-4
5.23 10-2
27
TECHNICAL PAPERS
Calculating the response of the

pavement materials to the applied
loading.
Predicting
the
pavement
performance from these responses.
The present study identified rutting
and roughness as the criteria
indicating early failure of the
pavement. Roughness is based on
users perspective of riding quality of
the surface of a pavement, which may
vary across persons. Moreover, the
present study is an effort to develop a
mechanistic criterion which should be
based on a factor defining structural
strength. Rutting defines this aspect. It
is supported by Qiu et al. (2000), who
found that for low volume roads with
thin bituminous surfacing, most of the
rutting was reported to have occurred
in the subgrade. The mechanistic
criterion was expressed as number
of standard axle load repetitions
required to cause a rut depth of 25
mm. The following section present
subgrade strain criteria examined for
explaining the performance of
pavements.
6.1 Subgrade Strain Criteria
This approach was adopted in the
present study to develop a correlation
between the pavement life (number
of standard axle load repetitions)
and vertical compressive strain
over the subgrade. The subgrade
strain criteria were developed by
considering nonlinearity in granular
layer, as well as nonlinearity of the
granular layer and the subgrade both.
These are presented in Figs. 9 and 10
respectively. The criteria are given by
Eq. 3 and 4 respectively.
28
Vertical Subgrade Strain
The mechanistic-empirical approach

for design of flexible pavements
consisted of two parts:
Criterion -Rutting
1.00E-02
1.00E-03
1.00E-04
1.00E+04
1.00E+05
1.00E+06
1.00E+07
Standard Axle Load Repetitions
Fig. 9 Subgrade Strain due to Standard

Axle Load Repetitions Considering
Nonlinearity in the Granular Layer
(Criterion Rutting)
Vertical Subgrade Strain
6 DEVELOPMENT OF PERFORMANCE CRITERIA
Criterion - Rutting
1.00E-02
1.00E-03
1.00E-04
1.00E+04
1.00E+05
1.00E+06
1.00E+07
Standard Axle Load Repetitions
Fig. 10 Subgrade Strain due to Standard

Axle Load Repetitions Considering
Nonlinearity in Both the Layers
(Criterion Rutting)
z = 0.005N0.166 (R2 = 0.73;

t = -6.65, -16.67)
... 3
z = 0.0058N0.171 (R2 = 0.83;
t = -8.94, -21.02)
... 4
Where,
z = Vertical compressive strain over
subgrade, and
N = Number of standard axle load
repetitions leading to failure
The R2 values of the developed relations
i.e. Eq. 3 and Eq. 4 were found to be
satisfactory, thus indicating a better
correlation of the pavement life with
the strain value obtained from the FE
analysis. The t-stat values for parameter
estimate were found to be statistically
significant at 95% confidence level.
Based on the statistical examination
(i.e. higher R2 value) of the two sets
of the above developed criteria, the
decision to consider rutting as a
failure condition with material in both
the layers behaving nonlinearly was
confirmed. The adopted criterion is
given by Eq. 4.
The subgrade strain performance
criterion selected for low volume
roads in the present study is compared

with the works of Shell (1978), TRRL
(given by Paterson, 1987), Theyse et
al. (1996), Austroads (2004) and Sahoo
(2009). A comparison is given in Fig.
11. The developed criterion was found
to be similar in trend to the TRRL
(1987) criterion. Lower limiting strain
values were observed in the present
study for lesser number of standard
axle load repetitions (< 1105) and the
trend reversed after that. Performance
criteria by Shell (1978), Theyse et al.
(1996), Austroads (2004) and Sahoo
(2009) were also found matching
closely with the present developed
criterion. Generally higher values of
limiting strain were observed in these
studies as compared to the present
study. As the number of standard axle
repetitions increased the difference in
limiting strain values decreased for
Shell (1978) and Sahoo (2009). They
both converged at 1108 repetitions
with the results of the present study.
For the studies by Theyse et al. (1996)
and Austroads (2004), the difference in
limiting values increased as compared
with the values of the present study.
The results of the analysis are now
used in the development of thickness
design charts for the granular layers to
be laid in low volume roads.
Fig. 11 Comparison of Rutting

Performance Criteria
7 THICKNESS DESIGN CHARTS

FOR LOW VOLUME ROADS
The basic thickness to be selected
in the case of low volume roads is
the thickness of unbound granular
material, which would limit the
vertical compressive strain at the top
of the subgrade to an acceptable level.
The analysis discussed so far was now
TECHNICAL PAPERS
focused to develop the design chart for
finding the thickness of the granular
layer to be laid on low volume roads.
It was done for varying subgrade
modulus and pavement design life.
The subgrade moduli were varied in
the range of 20 MPa to 150 MPa. For
a given pavement design life denoted
by number of standard axle load
repetitions, the limiting subgrade strain
was estimated using Eq. 5. The design
traffic was varied between 104 to 106
cumulative standard axle repetitions.
To keep the subgrade strain within the

computed value, the thickness of the
granular layer was varied for a given
subgrade modulus. The procedure
resulted in different thickness curves
correlating the pavement design life
with subgrade modulus. Thickness
design chart developed for the low
volume roads is shown in Fig. 12.
chart was made and is presented in

Table 4.
A comparison between the obtained

thickness from IRC:SP:20-2002,
IRC:SP:72-2007 and developed design
Fig. 12 Design Chart for Thin Surfaced

Low Volume Roads
Table 4 Granular Layer Thickness by IRC:SP:20, IRC:SP:72 and Present Study
S. No.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
Note:
CBR (%)
MR (MPa)
Design Traffic
(msa)
Thickness of Granular Layer (in mm) as per
IRC:SP:20 (2002)
IRC:SP:72 (2007)
Design Chart given in Fig. 7.6
0.1
425
375
270
2
60
0.3
515
475
390
1
595
650
530
0.1
350
325
255
3
69
0.3
415
425
360
1
480
525
485
0.1
275
325
235
4
77
0.3
350
425
335
1
410
525
450
0.1
250
275
215
5
83
0.3
315
325
310
1
360
425
420
0.1
225
275
215
6
89
0.3
275
325
290
1
325
425
390
0.1
210
225
208
7
94
0.3
265
300
275
1
300
375
365
0.1
195
225
200
8
99
0.3
245
300
260
1
275
375
340
0.1
188
225
193
9
103
0.3
230
300
250
1
260
375
325
0.1
180
175
187
10
107
0.3
220
275
240
1
245
350
310
0.1
150
175
170
15
124
0.3
180
275
220
1
200
350
280
Design traffic of 0.1 msa, 0.3 msa and 1 msa represents traffic of 15, 45, 150 CVPD respectively i.e. as per curve A, B, C of IRC:SP:20-2002
for design life of 10 years.
The thickness obtained from the present study

were compared with the thickness of the
granular layer obtained from IRC:SP-20-2002.
It was observed that for the design traffic of 0.1
msa (curve A, 0-15 CVPD in IRC:SP:20-2002
the thickness of the granular layer obtained from
the design chart developed in the present study
was lower for CBR up to 7%. IRC:SP:20-2002
recommends higher thickness of the granular
layer for low CBR ( 7%) of subgrade and
vice versa. In case of design traffic of 0.3 msa
(15-45 CVPD i.e. curve B of IRC:SP:20-2002
higher thickness of granular layer was found
recommended as per IRC:SP:20-2002 for CBR
up to 5%. In general, lower thickness of granular
layer was found for design traffic of 1 msa (45150 CVPD i.e. curve C of IRC:SP:20-2002 in
the present code as compared to the thickness
recommended in the design chart developed in
the present study.
When the thicknesses obtained from the present
study was compared with the IRC:SP:72 (2007),
it was found that for all the cases, except for
one case (i.e. for design traffic of 0.1 msa and
10 CBR), the thicknesses of the granular layer
coming from the present study were coming
less.
In the present study most of the selected road
sections were designed for traffic 0.1-0.3 msa.
Based on the comparison it could be inferred
that for design traffic upto 0.3 msa and for lower
CBR ( 5%), lower thickness of granular layer
could have been laid. It was also observed that
sections with high CBR value (mostly hilly
sections) were laid with lower thickness of
granular layer as per the developed design chart
in this study.
As an outcome of the above scenario
a modified thickness design chart was
developed for the three traffic conditions i.e.
0-0.1 msa, 0.1-0.3 msa and 0.3-1 msa. The
prepared modified design chart is shown in
Fig. 13 and original design chart as per
IRC:SP:20 (2002) is shown in Fig. 14 for
comparison.
29
TECHNICAL PAPERS
Fig. 13 Modified Granular Layer Thickness

Design Chart
Fig. 14 Granular Layer Thickness Design Chart as per

IRC:SP:20-2002
Note: Curve D (i.e. for design traffic of 150-450 CVPD)
is not shown as traffic upto 1 msa was only
considered for design of low volume roads.
30
8 CONCLUSIONS
1. Higher values of structural and functional
distresses were observed on roads in hills
compared to roads in plains. The major
cause of the surface distresses could be
attributed to extreme climatic conditions
prevailing in hills.
2. The values of CBR at FMC-FDD were
found to be 55% less than the values of
CBR at OMC-MDD respectively.
3. Resilient modulus of the subgrade soils at
FMC-FDD were found to be 60% less than
the values of resilient modulus at OMCMDD conditions respectively.
4. The vertical strain at the top of the subgrade
was estimated, based on rutting criteria
for the standard axle load repetitions.
The developed criterion provide a mixed
condition of the criteria given by Shell
(1978), TRRL (1987) and Sahoo (2009);
and showed a trend similar to Austroads
(2004).
5. Thickness design charts were developed
based on the subgrade strain criterion
considering nonlinearity in both the layers
for granular pavements with thin surfacing.
These charts are applicable for road sections
designed for traffic upto 1 msa and subgrade
modulus ranging between 20 MPa and 150
MPa (equivalent CBR of 0.1% to 25.5%).

The thickness of base course was restricted
to 150 mm and any additional thickness was
proposed to be laid as sub-base.
6. Resilient modulus was used as an input in
this chart as it defines the more accurate
characteristic strength of the subgrade
under dynamic conditions of load. Hence it
is more rational to use this thickness chart.
7. Variation was observed in the design
thickness proposed in this study and the
estimated thickness from IRC:SP:20-2002
and IRC:SP:72-2007. When compared
with IRC:SP:20-2002, the thickness laid
for traffic upto 0.1 msa was found to be
deficient on road test sections with subgrade
CBR above 7%, whereas it was above 5% in
the case of traffic upto 0.3 msa. The granular
layer thickness for almost all the cases
were estimated low value from the present
study when compared with thickness from
IRC:SP:72-2007.
8. Finally, a modified granular layer thickness
design chart was proposed for the three
traffic conditions usually present on low
traffic volume roads in India, namely design
traffic 0-0.1 msa, 0.1-0.3 msa and 0.3-1
msa. The thickness was proposed for the
CBR% varying between 2 to 20.
31
32
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The Indian Roads Congress

Founded : December 1934

Review of Recent Trends in Road Accident Modeling

Social Assessment of Infrastructure Projects: An Interactive Method and Participatory Approach

Dr. Ankit Gupta

Dr. Mohammad Isa Ansari

Dr. G.D. Ransin

Dr. Praveen Kumar

Dr. ankit Gupta

News & Notes

Tender Notice, NH Raipur

Tender Notice, NH Raipur

Jamnagar House, Shahjahan Road,

Dr. Praveen Kumar

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

From the Editors Desk

Dedicated Safety Directorate in Highway Construction:

INDIAN HIGHWAYS, December 2014

Review of Recent Trends in Road accident Modeling

countries from 1-2% of their annual

to most of the accidents in India.

INDIAN HIGHWAYS, December 2014

to have quadratic relation with high

as a case study. The study found that

INDIAN HIGHWAYS, December 2014

INDIAN HIGHWAYS, December 2014

single factor into account. The model is

the study of Andhra Pradesh, a state

Hills et al. (2002). Its a good model

INDIAN HIGHWAYS, December 2014

lighting conditions, etc. are found to be

INDIAN HIGHWAYS, December 2014

careless driving (71%) in developing

Social assessment of infrastructure projects: An interactive

Many of the methods and approaches

realized and negative social impacts

Table Social Dimensions Activities During the Project Cycle

Social Dimension Activities

Project Concept & Prefeasibility

identification of social dimensions and associated processes that may be

INDIAN HIGHWAYS, December 2014

Social Dimension Activities

monitoring of social indicators developed during the project design

arrangements for resettlement

most potential effects and are key to the

INDIAN HIGHWAYS, December 2014

Failure to recognize the importance of

insects or contaminated waters provides

expropriation but also peoples living

INDIAN HIGHWAYS, December 2014

Pavement Design for Lalsot-Dausa section of NH-11A Ext.

at km. 41.000 in the state of Rajasthan.

about 10% of the total area of India.

INDIAN HIGHWAYS, December 2014

with net sown area of 222022 hectares

AADT Vehicle Composition

Table 1 Land Use Pattern

Total Reporting Area for Land Utilization

Land Utilization Particulars