Professional Documents
Culture Documents
035
19 March 2007
i
Contents
Foreword 3
Pavement Materials 15
Asphalt .........................................................................................................................................16
Function – wearing surface................................................................................................16
Function – structural ..........................................................................................................16
Volumetric analysis ............................................................................................................17
Other Issues.......................................................................................................................20
Composite/ Resin Modified Asphalt .............................................................................................21
Granular Material..........................................................................................................................22
Stabilised Material ........................................................................................................................23
Subgrade......................................................................................................................................25
Traffic 27
Vehicle Types...............................................................................................................................28
Unequal Axle Loads...........................................................................................................29
Equal Axle Loads ...............................................................................................................29
Coordinate System for Vehicles...................................................................................................30
Vehicle Wander ............................................................................................................................32
Payload Distribution .....................................................................................................................33
Traffic Growth...............................................................................................................................35
Dynamic and Static Structural Loading ........................................................................................36
Modelling of Multiple Wheels and Axle Groups ...........................................................................38
Nature of Damage Pulses..................................................................................................39
Design Traffic Loading .................................................................................................................40
Environment 52
Drainage (surface and subsurface)..............................................................................................53
Subgrade Volume Change...........................................................................................................54
Weathering / ageing .....................................................................................................................55
Construction Implications 57
General.........................................................................................................................................58
Compaction, Workability and Layer Bonding ...............................................................................59
Curing...........................................................................................................................................61
Opening to Traffic.........................................................................................................................62
Pavement Maintenance 63
Routine Maintenance ...................................................................................................................64
Major Maintenance.......................................................................................................................65
In-Service Monitoring ...................................................................................................................66
Pavement Rehabilitation 67
Site Investigation ..........................................................................................................................68
Functional and Structural Condition Assessment ........................................................................69
Treatment Types ..........................................................................................................................70
Functional Rehabilitation....................................................................................................70
Structural Rehabilitation.....................................................................................................71
Caveats 73
Case Studies 79
Case Study 1................................................................................................................................80
Loading ..............................................................................................................................80
Pavement Model ................................................................................................................80
Results ...............................................................................................................................81
Appendices 85
Material failure mode and implication...........................................................................................86
Improved asphalt material characterisation .................................................................................87
References 91
Foreword 3
Foreword
The purpose of this Guide is to assist pavement designers and managers with the
planning, design, construction, maintenance and rehabilitation of heavy duty flexible
pavements. Although the principles can be applied to various types of heavy duty
pavements, this guide is primarily directed at port and container terminal pavements.
The Guide covers the assessment of input parameters needed for design. Material
properties, traffic factors, environmental considerations, pavement design methods,
maintenance and rehabilitation treatments and life cycle costing are also discussed.
At the end of the guide a few case studies are presented.
The Guide presents the authors’ attempt to reflect best practice in the design,
construction and rehabilitation of heavy duty flexible pavements. The Guide will steer
the designer through all necessary design considerations and suggests external
sources for research updates. It is intended to be supplementary to other published
design guides with a focus on industrial pavements. The primary tool used in this
guide to carry out the pavement design analysis is a program called HIPAVE that has
been specifically developed for heavy duty flexible pavements.
The Guide is a ‘living document’ that will be regularly updated to reflect advances in
pavement technology and made freely available via the Internet at no charge. It is
the author’s goal to preserve the relevance and currency of the Guide by in-house
research and development and continuous liaison with international experts in
pavement technology.
4 Introduction and Background
The Guide covers the assessment of input parameters needed for design, design
methods for flexible pavements and gives guidance on life cycle costing,
construction, maintenance and rehabilitation issues. The guide is grouped into
sections as briefly described herein.
A brief overview of pavement design including the input variables and structural
analysis is presented, followed by a brief discussion on key performance indicators,
including the concept of level of service. Overall a pavement design system is
presented in this section to assist with heavy duty flexible pavement design. The
core of the design system is mechanistic structural analysis software such as layered
elastic analysis.
The next few sections of the Guide contain a detailed discussion of subgrade
evaluation, pavement materials evaluation, analysis of traffic loading and structural
design in addition to other factors relevant to pavement design.
Various issues associated with construction of heavy duty flexible pavements are
presented including compaction, workability and layer bonding, curing requirements,
and the ability to open to traffic. Pavement maintenance in terms of typical routine
maintenance and major maintenance are presented. Pavement rehabilitation
including site investigation, condition assessment in terms of functional and structural
considerations and the various typical treatment types are presented. The next
section presents the concept of life cycle costing. The analysis period, service life
and the present worth analysis are described in this section. The last section
includes case studies.
The procedures in this Guide are intended for the design of pavements for which the
primary distress mode is load associated. If other modes of stress, for example
environmental distress, have a significant effect on pavement performance, their
effect should be separately assessed.
It is emphasized that this document should be used as a guide only; it should not be
referred to as a design specification. The designer must exercise judgment in choice
of values for the parameters that are incorporated into particular designs.
Pavement design is just one aspect associated with the achievement of sound
pavement performance. Pavement performance also depends on other factors such
as sound material quality control, adequate drainage, construction tolerances and
pavement maintenance.
6 Introduction and Background
Although, this guide is written with emphasis on Australian practices, it does have
relevance to the design and construction of port and terminal container pavements
around the world.
Introduction and Background 7
Alternatively, many designers prefer to use the actual wheel layouts of the vehicles
and these can be used directly in CIRCLY and APSDS.
While CIRCLY and APSDS have been used very successfully for the design of heavy
duty industrial pavements, unwieldy data input makes it very difficult to model more
than one or two payloads per vehicle.
In recent years the ASCE have been developing a Port and Intermodal Yard
Pavement Design Guide. Smallridge and Jacob (2001) give an outline of the Guide.
At the time of writing, the Guide is close to becoming available in draft form (Jacob,
2006).
8 Pavement Design Principles - General
Input Variables
Design Traffic
The wheel layout, load distribution, loading rate (speed) and tyre pressures can all
have a significant influence on pavement performance. In addition to the current
traffic, attention need to be given to future traffic, including the change in volume,
mass and composition during the design period. Detailed consideration of traffic is
presented in the next section.
The static load under stacked containers while considerable is not generally a
structural pavement design issue as the magnitude of the load is generally less than
under heavy vehicles and the loads are relatively widespread. The extreme stress at
the surface under the container corner castings is however critical to the selection of
the surfacing material.
Structural Analysis
The aim of structural analysis is to predict the critical strains and/or stresses which
are induced by the traffic loading in the trial pavement design. Several trial pavement
configurations or designs are analyzed and the most appropriate design is selected
at the end of the analysis based on the technical and economic constraints.
The traffic loading can be more generic ( I’m unsure what this means ) or it can
include the details of each combination of vehicle model and payload.
Distress Prediction
10 Pavement Design Principles - General
The structural analysis is used to estimate the allowable loading and associated
distress of the trial pavement design. The performance criteria, in this case
pavement distress prediction, assigned to pavement materials, and to the subgrade,
are typically relationships between the strain induced by the single application of a
load and the number of such applications which will result in the condition of the
material, or the pavement, reaching an allowable limit. The allowable limit is related
to a maximum distress or level of service.
k is a material constant
If all loads applied to the pavement are of identical type and magnitude, then the
number of repetitions to “failure” can be obtained directly from the limiting strain
versus repetitions criteria. The service life is then determined as the amount of time
(usually in years) during which the number of repetitions is just sufficient to cause
failure.
Determining the service life in these circumstances is more involved. There are two
conventional ways of handling this issue.
The second method used to deal with loads of different magnitudes (i.e. actual
traffic) is to use the concept of cumulative damage.
The system explicitly accumulates the contribution from each loading in the traffic
spectrum at each analysis point by using Miner's hypothesis. The damage factor for
the i-th loading is defined as the number of repetitions (ni) of a given response
parameter divided by the ‘allowable’ repetitions (Ni) of the response parameter that
would cause failure. The Cumulative Damage Factor (CDF) for the parameter is
given by summing the damage factors over all the loadings in the traffic spectrum as
shown in equation 2 below:
The system is presumed to have reached its design life when the cumulative damage
reaches 1.0. If the cumulative damage is less than 1.0 the system has excess
capacity or remaining life and the cumulative damage represents the proportion of life
consumed. If the cumulative damage is greater than 1.0 the system is predicted to
‘fail’ before all of the design traffic has been applied.
The sum of these ratios for all load magnitudes indicates the total distress which will
occur. If this sum is less than or equal to 1.0, then the pavement configuration being
analyzed is assumed to be adequate. Conversely, if this is not the case, then the
trial pavement configuration is deemed to be unacceptable and must be modified in
the next trial so that the deficiency is overcome. The next trial will focus on the
inadequacy and will adjust accordingly. For example, this might mean an increase in
pavement thickness or a modification to stiffness. The process is repeated until a
satisfactory result in achieved.
HIPAVE can also generate graphs that show the variation of the damage factor
across the pavement, as shown by:
Figure 2: HIPAVE cumulative damage graph - Damage Factor vs. lateral position
Introduction and Background 13
From a pavement design viewpoint the choice of acceptable values of the KPIs will
influence the selection of the relevant damage model or transfer function. The
designer should understand the KPI’s on which the damage models are based. For
instance the rut depth limit assumed in the Corp of Engineers subgrade strain criteria
is 25 mm. If the designer considers a lesser value e.g. 15 mm is appropriate then the
model must be modified.
The damage model or transfer function, i.e. the relationship between the calculated
stress/strain and life is a critical element in the design process and the designer
should examine the background research used in the development of the models to
ensure confidence in the outcomes.
Pavement Materials 15
Pavement Materials
The following sections detail typical pavement materials that are used in the various
layers of the pavement structure and is directed to the design of heavy duty flexible
pavements for ports and terminal container areas. For additional information, please
refer to Chapter 6 of Austroads 2004, for a treatise of pavement materials or the
appropriate local material pavement design practices.
For more detailed information on the material properties and performance models to
be used in the design process refer to the “New Pavement Design’ section.
16 Pavement Materials
Asphalt
The following additional considerations should be taken into account, for heavy duty
pavement design:
It is evident however that under the extreme stress of container corner castings,
some punching shear deformation and crushing is inevitable. This will adversely
impact the performance of thin surfacing layers enabling water penetration and
weakening base materials.
Overall, special attention must be given to the design of the asphalt layer. A
minimum asphalt thickness is necessary to ensure there is structural integrity and a
bond with the underlayer. This is especially recommended in areas where heavy
vehicles perform tight turning manoeuvres, where it is advisable to ensure a 50 mm
minimum asphalt thickness for highway vehicles and 100 mm for heavy container
handling equipment, always with a prime coat to ensure a good bond.
Function – structural
Pavement Materials 17
Asphalt base and subbase layers will contribute significantly to the structural
adequacy of the heavy duty pavement design. The design objectives are to provide
high stiffness and load spreading, and control fatigue cracking. Fundamentally both
of these objectives can be met by selecting harder grades of bitumen, and increasing
the bitumen content to improve fatigue performance (taking into account the support
provided by base and foundation layers) The optimisation of the binder content is
discussed in the following section.
Research (Rickards, et al 2006) has shown that the selection of mix gradation,
which is slightly fine of the theoretical maximum density, yields the highest stiffness,
together with a higher filler content (material passing the 75 micron sieve) to stiffen
the mortar. Experience has shown that while the selection of large stone mixes (e.g.
> 20 mm nominal mix size) in theory yields higher stiffness, workability issues and
the tendency to segregate will often jeopardize field performance reducing stiffness
and a resulting in a propensity to moisture damage due to higher relative
permeability. It is suggested that for practical purposes, a 20 mm nominal maximum
aggregate size is used for these types of pavements.
Historically, larger size mix has been used when thick asphalt layers were required.
Conversely, French practice suggests that for a 14 mm nominal mix the layer
thickness should be between 70 mm and 120 mm (5 – 8 times nominal mix size). A
caution is provided about the potential loss of shape in the compaction of a layer at
the maximum thickness but in multi-layer structures any loss of shape may be
corrected by subsequent layers. For all practical purposes individual layers > 120
mm thick will not be required hence a 14 mm mix is a practical upper size. Certainly
this mix will demand more binder than a larger stone mix but it is this factor that will
benefit field performance both at a theoretical level (better fatigue performance) and
practical level (improved homogeneity workability and impermeability).
Volumetric analysis
It is critical to understand the importance of optimising the bitumen content to achieve
optimum air void content in mix design. It is a fundamental requirement that the
binder content be optimised at the in service mix density i.e. the design binder
content must achieve the target air voids at a level of compaction in the laboratory
that faithfully represents the level of compaction in the field.
Less durable;
Lab >> in Significant prone to
Too low Minimal
service density reduction moisture
damage
Existing empirical mix design methods, such as the Marshall method, must be
carefully evaluated prior to use in the heavy duty pavement design. Empirical
evidence from Australian port facilities suggest 75 blow Marshall mixes have
performed well in asphalt base layers but are prone to deformation in wearing course
layers under channelised traffic.
As a general guide, the in service air voids should be greater than 3%. Research
has shown that the strength of the aggregate skeleton is lost due to lack of void
space and subsequent development of pore pressure effects at voids <3%.
Furthermore, deformation will occur under conditions of heavy traffic in hot weather.
If the in service air voids are greater than about 7% for a fine mix (slightly less in
coarse graded mix) the mix will be more permeable to air and moisture and that will
adversely impact durability.
The following laboratory tests can be useful for volumetric analysis in the mix design:
It could also be useful to characterize any existing asphalt that has performed
satisfactorily at the site, under known traffic conditions and subsequently evaluate its
suitability for use in similar applications. (e.g. if construction records are unavailable,
then take representative cores and determine bulk density, modulus, maximum
theoretical density , PSD, binder content, binder viscosity.
The BS RD (BS 598 Part 104) provides a benchmark density value i.e. the practical
maximum density of any mix. For practical mix design purposes for an industrial
pavement, subjected to heavy channelised traffic, it can be assumed the in service
mix density will approach the maximum density (especially unmodified bitumen
mixes). Mix optimisation then is achieved by determining the binder content to give
the target air voids (Va) 3% at BS RD.
For wearing course applications other than under channelised traffic (including heavy
front loaders) 75 blow Marshall mixes have a history of good performance. It is
speculated that deformation resistance of the Marshall mixes under these loading
conditions is adequate because even at low field voids, deformation at the surface is
“ironed out” or rectified by the random traffic path.
The comparison of Marshall and BS RD density is useful and may provide interim
guidance for mix targets. As a suggestion, Table 2 is designed to provide information
on laboratory optimisation conditions, subject to subsequent verification by in service
measures.
Pavement Materials 19
Table 2: Suggested mix design target air voids (Va) relative to design conditions
Basecourse
Subbase asphalt (>
Traffic condition Wearing course asphalt (> 75 mm
150 mm cover)
cover)
Va = 1% @ BS RD
Heavy channelised
Va = 3% @ BS RD Va = 2% @ BS RD or Va = 4% @ 75
traffic
Blow Marshall
Va = 1% @ BS RD
Heavy random Va 4% *@ 75 Blow Va 3% *@ 75 Blow
or Va = 5% @ 75
traffic Marshall Marshall
Blow Marshall
The BS RD has its origins in compaction compliance testing for subbase asphalt with
a minimum requirement of 96% BS RD for acceptance (on layers > 75 mm thick
approximately). In the preceding table this would ensure ≤ 5% voids at construction
– a desirable target. Further the evidence of good performance of 75 blow Marshall
mixes suggests subsequent traffic compaction does not reduce voids to critical
levels.
Note, these values are provided as a general guide and have had limited empirical
verification. The user is advised to verify the design assumptions against field
experience wherever possible. Complete laboratory testing on asphalt mixes
should always be carried out and combined with field data whenever possible.
20 Pavement Materials
Other Issues
Asphalt manufactured with conventional bitumen or SBS based PMB can be prone to
degradation on exposure to hydraulic fluid and fuel leaks. In short, these materials
can soften the binder resulting in a significantly reduced resistance to deformation
and mechanical damage.
Other polymers may resist the softening effect and suppliers should be consulted.
The Shell “FuelSafe” binder has exhibited substantially improved resistance to
damage by hydrocarbon spills. The PRS Rigiphalte product referred to in the
following provides significant resistance to both chemical and mechanical damage.
Pavement Materials 21
The RMA materials have higher stiffness relative to asphalt and may fatigue under
repeated flexure. Their performance parameters (modulus and fatigue) can be
entered into HIPAVE and evaluated as part of the design analyses. In the longer
term it may also be prudent to conduct pavement deflection testing (see below) to
establish tolerable limits to confirm the adequacy of the pavement foundation support
to avoid premature fatigue failure of the RMA.
A comparison of the dynamic modulus of the PRS Rigiphalte and a typical asphalt
surfacing at a slow loading frequency (1Hz) is given in Figure 8 on page 47. It is
observed that the Rigiphalte product has significantly higher modulus and elastic
performance parameters over the temperature spectrum.
22 Pavement Materials
Granular Material
The depth and quality of unbound granular material is a critical parameter in the
heavy duty pavement design process. This layer assists in providing adequate
support for the surfacing materials and also provides resistance to rutting in the
subgrade due to shear failure. The properties required in granular layers are a
function of the applied traffic stress level and load frequency over the design period.
The required depth of selected layers will vary with subgrade strength.
The strength of granular materials varies with applied load stress which sets up
mechanical interlock within the granular matrix and higher stress results in higher
stiffness in the aggregate matrix. The stiffness of an unbound granular layer is also
dependent on the stiffness of support layers and this diminishes with depth in the
pavement. Hence, it is important to utilize unbound granular materials of quality
appropriate to the position in the structure. Well compacted high strength aggregates
are required for high stress locations close to the surface. At lower levels in the
pavement, lesser quality aggregates may be used, provided they are of sufficient
quality to mobilise the assigned layer stiffness. Examination of the stress distribution
throughout the granular layer (e.g. by inspecting HIPAVE outputs), enables
determination of material property needs (strength) throughout the pavement
structure.
Stabilised Material
Unbound pavement materials can be stabilized by either chemical and/or mechanical
processes. Chemical stabilization involves mixing additives such as bitumen or
cement in quantities and to layer depths as determined by the pavement design
requirements. Granular materials treated with bitumen or hydraulic binders (such as
cement) are generally referred to as “stabilised” if they are to act as a bound layer or
“modified” if they are to act as an unbound layer with improved properties such as
reduced plasticity. Engineering judgment needs to be exercised in modeling the
resulting material. .A suggested delimiter between “stabilised” and “modified”
conditions, is a UCS (7 day cured) of 0.8 MPa. Definition or determination of the
degree of stabilisation is important, since a stiff, “stabilised” material will be prone to
flexural fatigue and hence needs to be considered in the design.
The material can be produced in a mixing plant or in-situ, using special equipment.
The plant produced product, in general, should be of better quality due to enhanced
product control in terms of uniformity of raw material and mixing. Conversely, the
quality / variation of in-situ stabilised material may not be fully known, as it is a
function of the random sampling regime. Refer to Austroads (2006b) for further
reading on additives.
Stabilised materials are usually described as ‘modified’ if only a relatively low level of
binder is added (such as up to about 2% by mass). The addition of low quantities of
lime or cement may serve to reduce the plasticity and improve marginal granular
material such that it doesn’t act as a bound layer. If high quantities of cement are
used (e.g. > 2% by mass) shrinkage cracking may ensue, which may reflect through
to the surface. Experience in highway applications suggests that shrinkage cracks
from cement treated subbase layers is substantially retarded when there is at least
175 mm cover. However the caution is noted that the rate of reflection may be related
to the magnitude of vehicle loading.
The type and quantity of stabilant affects the assigned modulus for the layer which
should be determined by laboratory testing. The curing conditions and compaction in
the field can have a significant affect on the modulus and fatigue performance of
bound layers.
Subgrade
The determination of an appropriate modulus of the subgrade layer for heavy duty
pavements is similar to highway and road pavement structures. Designers are
advised to refer to Chapters 4 and 5 of Austroads (2004), or the usual local
standard, for advice on characterizing subgrade materials.
However industrial pavements are often located in areas of extremely complex and
very weak geological conditions with for instance extremely thick layers of saturated
estuarine silts. The designer is cautioned that particularly in the case of extremely
weak or saturated subgrade conditions the need for detailed and competent
geotechnical exploration is essential to ensure a complete understanding of the
conditions and the associated risks (refer Rollings and Rollings, 2005 and ASCE,
2001). While pavement thickness design may ensure the subgrade is adequately
protected to limit deformation by shear failure, geotechnical advice is essential to
prevent the potential for substantially greater loss of shape due to differential
consolidation.
Traffic
The following sections detail typical heavy duty traffic considerations for the design of
heavy duty flexible pavements for ports and terminal container areas.
28 Traffic
Vehicle Types
In order to design a heavy duty pavement, it is important to have detailed information
on the types of vehicles that will operate on the site. It is possible that both off-road
and heavy road-use commercial vehicles, such as semi-trailers, may traffic the site.
Initial contact should therefore be made with the facility operator, to obtain details of
the type of vehicles using the site, including their load configurations and paths
through the site.
For mechanistic pavement design, it is important to know what the typical wheel
loads are for any given payload on the vehicle. Theoretically these loads can be
calculated from the geometry and mass of the vehicle. A more practical approach is
to use axle load values given in specifications provided by equipment manufacturers.
This approach is used in HIPAVE.
In this case, the vehicle loading characteristics are specified in terms of two load
cases that express the axle loads as a function of Container Weight. For example
this could be the Unladen case together with one specific Container Weight.
Figure 3 below illustrates the concept of unequal axle loads. Axle loads for other
container weights are obtained automatically by linear interpolation.
Figure 3: Load Distribution and Position of an Unequal Axle Load Using HIPAVE
Figure 5 illustrates the convention used to define the wheel locations. This example
is for a Hyster Fork Lift -Model H40.00-16CH. HIPAVE will normally model the two
axle loadings as separate components, with the front axle (assumed to be on Y=0) as
component 1 and the rear axle as component 2. Modelling the two axles as separate
components means that the two axles are modelled as two separate load cases, i.e.
there is (assumed to be ?) no interaction between axle loads. In practice, it is usually
only necessary to model the wheels on one side (X ≥ 0) of the vehicle, however, it
may be prudent to model the whole axle, to verify whether there is interaction
between the wheels . It may also be prudent to model all axle groups in one load
case, where the distance between axles is similar to the width of the vehicle.
Traffic 31
Figure 5: Wheel Load Location for a Hyster Fork Lift – Model H40.00-16CH
32 Traffic
Vehicle Wander
Vehicle Wander is the design parameter representing the directional tracking width of
the vehicle, which usually can be represented by a normal distribution, or wander
width, around a notional centre-line along the vehicle path. It is important for the
pavement designer to recognize that vehicles at ports and container terminals may
not always travel along the confined wheel-paths due to the scale of the site and
nature of the operations. Thus, the facility owner should be consulted about details of
typical vehicle movements, including apparent wander width, which the designer can
then use in the design model. One of the unique features of HIPAVE is that it is able
to model vehicle wander, enabling economical pavement design
It should be noted that vehicle wander is not normally considered in routine road
pavement design, due to the narrow lane width, hindering any significant wander.
However, in the design of heavy duty pavements, it should be considered as it can
have a significant impact on long term performance of the pavement structure and
hence, pavement construction cost. For example at ports, gantry crane areas may
result in manouevres that are heavily channelised while in other areas where
vehicles are not as restricted, there might be extensive wander.
Traffic 33
Payload Distribution
Estimating the payload distribution is a critical component of the pavement design
process. The relative proportions of each container weight in the overall spectrum
are important for economical pavement design. A relatively small number of heavy
loads may be more damaging than a higher number of smaller loads. It is also
important to account for the fact that each vehicle will handle a range of container
weights or payloads.
Ideally, the designer should be able to to specify the detailed container weight
distributions. For example, the British Ports Association Guide (1996) includes
information on container weight frequency spectrum, based on data provided by
United Kingdom (UK) ports. Figure 6 shows the container weight distribution for 40
foot containers. HIPAVE, in contrast to other existing techniques, does not force the
designer to use a single design container weight, or to convert all vehicle
characteristics to repetitions of an “equivalent” design vehicle or load. HIPAVE
allows the designer to input detailed container weight distributions which ultimately
provides a more realistic impact of payload distribution on the pavement structure.
34 Traffic
Care should be taken to ensure that the container load spectrum is reasonably up to
date. For example, the summary data provided by the British Ports Association
Guide (3rd edn, 1996), is the same as used in the second edition (1986) – so is at
least 20 years old. Data provided by some major Australian port terminals suggest
that the peak loads may be 4-5 tonnes higher than the BPA data.
Traffic 35
Traffic Growth
The compound growth of traffic volume is commonly specified as a percentage
increase in annual traffic volumes. If compound growth is constant throughout the
design period, the cumulative growth factor over the design period can be calculated
as shown in Equation 3.
(1 + 0.01R)P − 1
= for R > 0
0.01R
Cumulative Growth Factor (CGF) [3]
= P for R = 0
Special attention should be given to high stress areas such as situations where
vehicles conduct tight turns/ cornering manoeuvres, braking/acceleration, or in areas
where the dynamic effects associated with rough surfacings can be of critical
importance. In short, these areas result in higher stress and it is appropriate in those
situations to apply a load multiplication factor. Table 4 provides some guidance on
how to address this situation and is based on British Port Association (1986, 1996).
Traffic 37
For example:
2) In an area where the side lift truck is accelerating and also exposed to a
corner, the load factor could be 1.1 *1.3 = 1.43
The pavement loading is usually represented in the design model, as circular loading,
at constant tyre stress, as applied by the tyre ‘footprints’. It is likely, in reality, that the
tyre footprint is more of an elliptical contact area, with non-uniform contact stress, but
a circular contact area is adopted to simplify calculations. Furthermore, the design
of thin asphalt surfaced pavements, under heavy point loads, may be considered
problematic due to the size of the load footprint and magnitude of the load, in relation
to the layer thickness (refer to further discussion on Asphalt Fatigue … page #).
Given the above comments, as a general rule only groups of wheels that are within
two metres of each other should be modeled as a single load case. For example, the
most appropriate way of modeling a Fork Lift is described in the section Coordinate
System for Vehicles.
Traffic 39
The designer is referred to the US research at the National Airport Pavement Test
Facility (NAPTF). This facility has conducted full scale pavement test loading under
simulated B747 and B777 load gear hence loading and pavement configurations are
of a similar dimension to heavy industrial pavements. Numerous researchers are
analysing the performance of the test pavements and this will lead to improvements
in the design models.
40 Traffic
Design Period
The purpose of the pavement design, is to ensure with a high degree of confidence,
that the pavement is structurally adequate to ensure it remains in serviceable
condition, without significant maintenance expense, throughout the designated
design period.
The design period refers to the serviceable life of the pavement structure. It can also
be considered as the time when pavement distress, sufficient to render the facility
practically dysfunctional, occurs over a significant proportion of the area.
Experience has shown that poor pavement design methodology may reduce the
performance of the pavement, but poor construction quality will devastate the
performance.
Each passage of a vehicle over a unit of pavement area (and indeed within an
effective vicinity) causes damage to pavement material layers. The damage
accumulates with each vehicle pass, resulting eventually in ultimate pavement
failure. The mechanistic pavement design method attempts to determine the design
life of the pavement, in terms of number of load passes until a defined failure of the
pavement has occurred.
In the mechanistic empirical design method two separate modes of failure are
assumed; deformation due to subgrade shear failure, or fatigue cracking of layer(s) of
bound pavement materials (which will ultimately result in subgrade shear failure due
to consequent loss of load spreading). In reality both modes are a simplification of a
complex environment. Deformation may occur as a consequence of consolidation
and shear failure in pavement layers; cracking and loss of strength may occur in
some pavement materials not as a consequence of fatigue.
Care needs to be taken to ensure that realistic data is input and that material
performance models used in design are valid for the load case under consideration.
Caution should be exercised before adopting road-based models for design in off-
road situations, such as airports and ports, because of the much greater magnitude
of loading with the latter cases and non-linearity of subgrade behavior. In general,
the subgrade strain relationship, can be expressed as follows:
N = (k / ε)b [4]
Wardle et al (2001) report on the US Army Corps of Engineers CBR method (Method
S77-1), for design of flexible aircraft pavements, which has yielded generally
satisfactory pavement performance, when used for design of pavements over a
range of subgrade strengths and vehicle loadings. Wardle et al (2001) report the
results of back-analysis pavements on subgrades from CBR 3 – 15%, for aircraft
masses ranging from 40 – 397 tonnes, using APSDS to derive the performance
constants ‘k’ and ‘b’ (see above), below. Accordingly, the following subgrade
performance model is suggested for aircraft between 40 – 400 tonnes (tyre pressures
listed in Wardle et al (2001)), for subgrade design CBR ranging from 3 – 15 %, for
10,000 to 100,000 vehicle passes during the design period:
The above performance relationships may be used with prudence, for design of
pavements supporting heavy off-road vehicles, such as at ports / container terminals.
More recently analyses of the performance data from the full scale trials at the
National Airport Pavement Test Facility (NAPTF) has been carried out (Lancaster
2006) in an attempt to improve the empirical verification of our design models. The
findings from those analyses were inconclusive because of the various failure
mechanisms observed however the analyses did not indicate a need to change the
current modeling practices.
New Pavement Design 45
The derivation of the subgrade performance model (previous section) resulted from
analyses using the Barker-Brabston method derived at the US Corp of Engineers has
been calculated and is shown in Figure 7 below.
E2 320 MPa
MODULUS OF UPPER LAYER (MPa)
E1 150 MPa
t = 200 mm Base
t = 150 mm Base
100
t = 100 mm Base
t = 200 mm Subbase
t = 150 mm Subbase
t = 100 mm Subbase
10
10 100 1000
MODULUS OF SUPPORT LAYER (MPa)
Figure 7: Sublayering of Unbound Granular Layers (after Barker and Brabston, 1975)
The Barker-Brabston model and the derived subgrade damage model assumes the
granular layers to be isotropic. Preliminary analyses of the NAPTF trial data is being
evaluated to test this model and results to date do not indicate a need for change.
It is assumed that the specification limits of strength and durability will ensure the
preservation of the layer stiffness. Empirical evidence suggests this is the case and
there is no evidence of failures attributed to aggregate breakdown in compliant
materials.
To ensure the mobilisation of the Barker-Brabston base layer moduli the contract
documents must specify compaction to be ≥100% modified compaction and dry back
to <70% Degree of Saturation (DOS).
Some natural gravels can also provide satisfactory performance, whilst possibly not
conforming totally with standard specifications for quarry produced crushed rock
however, engineering judgement should be exercised when analyzing properties of
the natural gravel (e.g. PSD, PI) and ideally additional testing such as soaked CBR
and Repeated Load Triaxial Testing should be done to evaluate the material
performance, for ranking against standard materials.
The weighted Mean Annual Pavement Temperature (wMAPT) approach has proven
to be reasonable and the following relationship to Mean Annual Air Temperature
(MAAT) is derived from the Austroads pavement design guide. Essentially the
wMAPT is the notional pavement temperature at which the design traffic causes the
same damage as the segmented traffic over the temperature spectrum.
10000 Rigiphalte
AC 14 MTD
1000
10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
PAVEMENT TEMPERATURE (oC)
With the improved dynamic modulus characterisation available from the SPT a more
rigorous analysis is possible. On conclusion of the HIPAVE spectral damage
analysis the user may reduce the traffic to a selected number of passages of a single
extreme load case and determine damage. The dynamic modulus of the asphalt
and traffic spectrum can then be manually input to represent the full temperature and
traffic spectrum. The damage at each temperature and traffic spectrum is estimated
and the cumulative damage summed and compared with the damage calculated at
wMAPT. In future development of HIPAVE the spectral damage related to
temperature may be automated.
While the fatigue data is not used as a specification parameter it’s application over
many years has established confidence in conservative nature of the asphalt fatigue
models used in design practice (refer to the Shell method following). The flexure test
is of most value in the evaluation of alternative binders, with the limitation being that
the relationship between field and laboratory performance is uncertain and has not
had substantial empirical validation in the Australian environment.
It is known that the fatigue performance of asphalt in the field is considerably greater
than in the laboratory (at given tensile strain). This is thought to be primarily due to
the effects of the healing of micro-cracks in the bitumen binder in warm conditions
during rest periods between loads. The Strategic Highways Research Program
(SHRP) from their comparison of laboratory (NLAB) and field (NFIELD) asphalt fatigue
suggests Shift Factor (SF) of 10 to 14 for 85% and 50% design reliability i.e.
One of the limitations of the laboratory asphalt fatigue test is that it is a continuous
cyclical test at a low temperature in order to complete testing within a reasonable
timeframe. These test conditions do not allow healing of the micro-cracks.
Consequently caution is advised in the interpretation of fatigue in mixes with Polymer
Modified Binder (PMB) because research suggests the healing of binder may be
inhibited by the polymer components.
Considering the magnitude of many industrial pavement projects the cost of specific
materials characterisation is warranted although it must be understood that the
relationship between the laboratory and field performance data is not yet well
calibrated. Notwithstanding, it is valuable to use the laboratory test data as a point of
verification of the input parameters used in the design process. In time, these data
bases will be established and will provide valuable insight into performance.
At the initial pavement design stage the use of predictive models for stiffness and
fatigue performance are considered adequate. A number of approaches of greater or
lesser complexity are available and their use is preferable to simply adopting typical
values. The application of the predictive methods gives the designer a better feel for
the critical mix parameters. One such method based on the Shell Pavement Design
Guide is available in an Microsoft Excel spreadsheet that may be downloaded from
www.mincad.com.au/hdipdg .
New Pavement Design 49
Internationally the trend is to use the triaxial test methods such as the US Simple
Performance Test (SPT) to determine the dynamic modulus of asphalt over the range
of temperature and load frequency (refer to appendix X) expected in the field. For
each material a master curve is developed to enable the designer to input asphalt
properties that enable the estimation of damage across the full climatic spectrum.
This facilitates the move away from the simplifying weighted Mean Annual Pavement
Temperature (wMAPT) approach often used for road pavement design. While this
approach has served us well over decades and seems to be appropriate for
conventional binders it does not adequately treat modified binders because of the
consequent changes in temperature sensitivity.
Interestingly for airport applications (where similar load magnitude to ports are
applied) the US Department of Army & Air Force Technical Manuals (Nov. 1989) TM
5-825-8-1 and AFM 88-6, respectively, state that 75 – 125 mm asphalt thickness
generally suffices, over a thick granular pavement, provided that: “it must be
assumed that if the minimum thickness of asphalt is used as specified in TM 5-825-2
/ AFM 88-6 Chapter 2, then fatigue cracking will not be considered. Thus, for a
conventional pavement, the design problem is one of determining the thickness of
pavement required to protect the subgrade, with adequate controls in place for the
granular components (i.e. material, quality, density, susbsurface moisture control
etc).
This compares with the empirical performance observation of Australian ports where
150 mm asphalt on unbound granular base materials has given good performance
over decades and fatigue cracking in the wheelpaths has generally not been
observed The empirical evidence suggests the pavement thickness required to
protect the subgrade provides sufficiently strong support to protect the asphalt from
fatigue, with adequate controls in place for the granular components (i.e. material,
quality, density, subsurface moisture control etc).
The designer is cautioned about the reliability of the analysis of thin layers –
particularly wearing surfaces. In the design models it is assumed the layers are
homogeneous, the tyre contact stress is uniform and normal to the surface. In
practice it is difficult to compact thin asphalt layers so their properties will be different
to similar materials placed at greater depth; tyre stress is far from uniform and often
has a considerable shear force component due to the tyre properties and
acceleration.
It is suggested that the analysis of layers of thickness < 50% of the model tyre
contact radius be treated with caution. In highway conditions this relates to layer
thickness < 40 mm; in heavy duty applications 80 mm is probably more appropriate.
50 New Pavement Design
The cement treated layers are not usually placed in the upper pavement layers, to
avoid reflection cracking in the surface layer.
Environment
New Pavement Design 53
The designer is again cautioned about need for expert geotechnical advice –
particularly in locations with weak and/or saturated subgrade conditions.
New Pavement Design 55
Weathering / ageing
Bituminous surfacing materials are exposed to the extremes of the weather as well
as loading. The bitumen in the mix will suffer oxidative hardening in the event high
air voids exist due to poor mix design or construction practices. The ageing of the
wearing surface is slow if the insitu air voids are reduced to ≤ 5% by construction and
traffic compaction. The soundness of the aggregate component must be defined in
the specification.
Construction Implications 57
Construction Implications
58 Construction Implications
General
As stated previously deficiencies in established design methods and practices may
have a minor impact on pavement performance whereas poor construction quality
can devastate performance.
The specifier must ensure the contractor has quality assurance procedures in place
during the construction process, and conduct audits to monitor compliance with
design standards. This may include materials performance testing to verify the
assumed values of the pavement design components have been realised.
In recent times lightweight hand held falling weight deflection devices have become
available and comparative testing with the larger FWD’s has shown reasonable
results with some of the alternatives.
Construction Implications 59
Over weak subgrade materials (CBR <5) a capping layer or construction platform
comprising select material is an essential ingredient to provide access to construction
traffic without significant shear deformation and to provide an anvil to enable the
compaction of subsequent layers. The consistency of the select capping material
and it’s strength under the anticipated conditions of moisture and stress must be
assured. The determination of OMC and density should be based on standard
compaction energy recognizing the possibility of low support stiffness.
For granular subbase materials the determination of OMC and density should be
based on modified compaction energy and the target density should exceed 97% of
modified compaction density
For granular base materials the determination of OMC and density should be based
on modified compaction energy and the target density should exceed 100% of
modified compaction density.
On completion of granular base layers they must be allowed to dry back to about
70% Degree Of Saturation (DOS) in order to mobilise maximum stiffness. In recent
times a number of catastrophic failures in heavy duty pavement applications have
been primarily ascribed to the neglect of this fundamental construction requirement.
The base must be primed to toughen the interface and facilitate the bond with the
asphalt surfacing. The base must be thoroughly swept with a stiff broom to remove
fines and dust and present a solid granular matrix.
60 Construction Implications
Curing
Cement treated base materials will require curing prior to trafficking to ensure the
achievement of the design strength over a period of time that may vary depending on
design aims.
Opening to Traffic
Subject only the preceding requirements for curing and surfacing, other pavement
components should normally be able to be opened to traffic on completion.
It is noted that newly placed asphalt may be relatively tender in periods of hot
weather and the surface will be scuffed by turning and sliding tyres (for instance
tridem axle groups). This is generally superficial and aesthetic damage if the asphalt
is placed at the recommended layer thickness and density.
Pavement Maintenance 63
Pavement Maintenance
Pavement maintenance is usually related to the pavement type, design period and
pavement failure mode(s). Routine maintenance costs may be expected to increase
towards the end of the design period, unless proactive rehabilitation treatments (i.e.
major maintenance) are conducted, to extend the pavement life.
Routine Maintenance
These activities are minor in nature and are influenced by the pavement design. The
defects are normally due to environmental factors. Typical examples of routine
maintenance would include:
Major Maintenance
Major maintenance should not normally be required, until the pavement reaches the
end of the design period, unless there are unanticipated conditions such as:
• Shortcomings in design
Container corner castings and trailer legs impart high contact stresses, which may
cause localised pavement distress, potentially resulting in an unserviceable
pavement condition unless maintained.
In-Service Monitoring
Ideally, the pavement inspection protocol would be described in the Pavement
Management System document. The frequency of inspections may need to increase
in the latter part of the design period, to enable timely intervention to address signs of
any unanticipated pavement defects. Records of maintenance activities would be an
integral part of the PMS. The surveys may be done by trained inspectors using
manual methods based on visual condition rating and/or with the assistance of
automated data collection devices such as Laser Profilometers (with video imaging if
needed). For further guidance on implementation / operation of PMS refer to Haas et
al (1994).
Pavement Rehabilitation 67
Pavement Rehabilitation
68 Pavement Rehabilitation
Site Investigation
A thorough geotechnical and pavement investigation is an essential component to
the design of rehabilitation treatments. The existing pavement condition and
composition including layer types and thicknesses, subgrade type and existing
drainage conditions should be examined prior to rehabilitation. The designer must be
confident that the cause of the observed pavement defects is understood before
proceeding with rehabilitation design. It is usual that subgrade conditions would be
investigated to a much greater depth than typically done for road pavement design.
As mentioned above, pavement deflection testing may be a useful (vital) component,
to identify pavement uniformity and strengthening needs.
Pavement Rehabilitation 69
Deflection testing will enable the designer to assess the overall pavement strength
and variability. If visual survey and deflection testing indicate relatively isolated
weakness attention to drainage and/or pavement patching may be an appropriate
interim step to achieve a more consistent condition, depending on cause of defects.
If the weakness is shown to be consistent throughout the site, then a design for full
rehabilitation is appropriate.
By the back-calculation of the Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD) deflection bowl, it
is possible to derive reasonable estimates of the strength of the existing pavement
profile (however, ideally supplemented by knowledge of pavement makeup, material
properties, moisture % and subgrade strength, to refine assumptions.) The back
calculation process may be facilitated by a number of software packages or done
manually by conducting analyses iteratively modifying layer stiffness values (which
may be aided by laboratory & field testing) until a reasonable match is achieved
between the calculated and measured deflection bowl. Once the estimate of the
residual strength of the pavement layers is determined, the design of the appropriate
rehabilitation treatment continues as for a new construction using the derived values
for the remnant pavement.
70 Pavement Rehabilitation
Treatment Types
Functional Rehabilitation
An asphalt overlay, in conjunction with selective patching is generally the most
effective and efficient treatment to address functional deficiencies such as
roughness, rutting and cracking (depending on design life, extent of defects).
Often rutting is confined to shear failure within the asphalt layer as a consequence of
poor mix design or selection. This can be proven by cutting a trench and checking
the profile of the base layer - if the base is sound and not deformed it may be
assumed the failure is confined to the asphalt layer and it may simply be milled and
replaced with more appropriate material. Core sampling and testing of the failed
asphalt is suggested to confirm the probable cause of the deformation.
The presence of isolated minor longitudinal cracking may not warrant deflection
testing and routine maintenance and crack sealing would be the first treatment.
The repair of asphalt damage at corner castings using asphalt is generally only a
temporary fix. Consideration should be given to the use of RMA provided the
strength of the base can be assured.
Pavement Rehabilitation 71
Structural Rehabilitation
Subject to the satisfactory evaluation of the existing remnant pavement and the
conduct of design analyses an asphalt overlay is generally the most expedient
means of improving the bearing capacity of the pavement. Obviously there will be an
attendant elevation of the surface levels. If this is not tolerable, some of the existing
pavement must be removed and replaced, with the associated modification of the
foundation design parameters.
Reprocessing the excavated base materials through an asphalt plant has been
shown to be an effective solution. Generically known as a Bitumen Treated Base
(BTB) the material can be designed and treated to achieve performance properties
close to that of virgin asphalt materials. BTB materials evaluation prior to the design
enables the designer to input the relevant properties into the design analyses.
Another option is to in-situ stabilize (from memory, large stabilizers can readily
pulverize 100 mm AC and blend with say 150 mm granular + bitumen and cement).
Caveats 73
Caveats
Pavement design outputs are essentially dependent on the input values. As noted in
this guide, there are a number of factors, including the accuracy of input material
properties and the constraints of the layered elastic model, that will influence the
reliability of design predictions. The design values chosen for material properties are
likely to be gross simplifications of the complex and variable properties of the
pavement and subgrade materials. This should flag to the designer the importance
of empirical benchmarking and the need to revisit projects to monitor performance
against predictions to aid the verification and calibration of the design assumptions.
Although design software can produce apparently accurate solutions to problems, the
predictions cannot be any more reliable than the degree to which the calibrated
performance relations fit the original empirical data such as full scale trafficking tests.
Thus continuous long term evaluation of material, design, construction and
maintenance practices is important.
Care must be taken to ensure that the sophistication of the analysis method is
consistent with the quality of the input data. Otherwise so many assumptions must be
made about the uncertain parameters that the model predictions will be meaningless.
Life Cycle Costing 75
Preliminary cost estimates can assist the selection of an optimum design period. The
annualised construction cost trends downward as the design period increases. The
annualised maintenance cost – which should include the cost to the owner for facility
disruption – can exceed the initial construction cost. Typically the annualized cost for
repair and rehabilitation may exhibit a minimum value. This reflects the fact that the
lighter construction for a short design period is more prone to damage by the
unplanned overload or mechanical damage. As the design period projects too far
into the future the cumulative cost of regular maintenance interventions mounts.
The designer must also specifically address each component of the pavement
structure when considering an appropriate design period. Conventional wearing
surface materials (asphalt, pavers) will suffer damage by container corner castings
and will require regular cyclical repair and replacement. This is primarily mechanical
and is slightly influenced by structural issues. Innovative materials such as the
generic resin modified asphalt (e.g. PRS Rigiphalte™) provide longer service life
under high stress conditions but will require good structural support.
Life Cycle Costing 77
The future rehabilitation construction cost needs to be discounted to the present time
with a discount rate “r”, as expressed in the following equation:
RHCi
PWRHC = ∑ [6]
i (1 + r)i
Maintenance costs (MC) includes the yearly maintenance cost which increases at a
certain rate, and scheduled one-time maintenance costs for any specified year(s).
The present worth of total maintenance cost is the summation of yearly maintenance
cost:
MC i
PWMC = ∑ [7]
i (1 + r) i
r = discount rate
The residual cost in a life cycle analysis refers to the salvage values and the terminal
value. The salvage return percent of each layer material is specified by the designer
as an input. The terminal value is determined based on the remaining serviceability
of the pavement at the end of analysis period.
Case Studies 79
Case Studies
80 Case Studies
Case Study 1
Loading
The only vehicle used for the design was a Kalmar ESC340 (front cabin)
straddle carrier with an unladen weight of 62 tonne and a tyre pressure of 0.56
MPa.
(tonne) (%)
0–5 15%
5 – 10 15%
10 – 15 10%
15 – 20 15%
20 – 25 25%
25– 30 20%
For each container weight range the heaviest container weight in the range
was assumed for all containers in that range.
Pavement Model
Figure 9 shows the Pavement Structure used for Case Study 1.
Case Studies 81
????(comment about fatigue properties, vb=11% for asphalt, Wardle et. al 2001 for
subgrade.) Barker-Brabston for Base and subbase.)
Results
Table 7 summarizes the maximum CDF for each layer.
Figure 10 is the Asphalt Damage Factor "profile" across the pavement. Note that X =
0 corresponds to the centreline of each vehicle.
82 Case Studies
Figure 12 is the Spectral Damage Graph showing the Asphalt Damage Factor
contribution from each container load.
Case Studies 83
Figure 13 is the Spectral Damage Graph showing the Subgrade Damage Factor
contribution from each container load
For the subgrade (Figure 13), the greatest damage contribution is due to the heaviest
container weight (30 tonne). For the asphalt layer (Figure 12), the greatest damage
contribution is due to the unladen machines.
Appendices 85
Appendices
86 Appendices
The Superpave volumetric mix design procedure developed in the Asphalt Research
Program (1987–1993) of the Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP) does not
include a simple, mechanical “proof” test analogous to the Marshall stability and flow
tests or the Hveem stabilometer method. Instead, the original Superpave method
relied on strict conformance to the material specifications and volumetric mix criteria
to ensure satisfactory performance of mix designs intended for low-traffic-volume
situations (defined as no more than 106 equivalent single axle loads [ESALs] applied
over the service life of the pavement). For higher trafficked projects, the original
SHRP Superpave mix analysis procedures required a check for tertiary creep
behaviour with the repeated shear at constant stress ratio test (AASHTO TP7) and a
rigorous evaluation of the mix design’s potential for permanent deformation, fatigue
cracking, and low-temperature cracking using several other complex test methods in
AASHTO TP7 and TP9.
User experience with the Superpave mix design and analysis method, combined with
the long-standing problems associated with the original SHRP Superpave
performance models supporting what was then termed “Level 2 and 3” analyses,
demonstrated the need for such simple performance tests (SPTs). In 1996, work
sponsored by FHWA began at the University of Maryland at College Park (UMCP) to
identify and validate SPTs for permanent deformation, fatigue cracking, and low-
temperature cracking to complement and support the Superpave volumetric mix
design method. In 1999, this effort was transferred to Task C of NCHRP Project 9-19,
“Superpave Support and Performance Models Management,” with the major portion
of the task conducted by a research team headed by UMCP subcontractor Arizona
State University (ASU).
The research team was directed to evaluate as potential SPTs only existing test
Methods measuring hot mix asphalt (HMA) response characteristics. The principal
evaluation criteria were (1) accuracy (i.e., good correlation of the HMA-response
characteristic to actual field performance); (2) reliability (i.e., a minimum number of
false negatives and positives); (3) ease of use; and (4) reasonable equipment cost.
The research team conducted a comprehensive laboratory testing program to
statistically correlate the actual performance of HMA materials from the MnRoad,
Wes-Track, and FHWA Accelerated Loading Facility (ALF) experiments with the
measured responses of specimens prepared from original materials for 33 promising
test method–test parameter combinations.
88 Appendices
Based on the results of this testing program, the research team recommends three
test-parameter combinations for further field validation as an SPT for permanent
deformation: (1) the dynamic modulus term, E*/sinφ, (determined from the triaxial
dynamic modulus test; (2) the flow time, Ft, determined from the triaxial static creep
test; and (3) the flow number, Fn, determined from the triaxial repeated load test. All
combinations exhibit a coefficient of determination, R2, of 0.9 or greater for the
combined correlation of the laboratory test results with performance in the MnRoad,
Wes-Track, and FHWA ALF experiments.
For fatigue cracking, the experimental results are far less conclusive. The research
team recommends the dynamic modulus, E*, measured at low test temperatures; the
modulus offers a fair correlation with field performance data and provides some
consistency with one of the tests recommended for permanent deformation. For low
temperature cracking, the team recommends the creep compliance measured by the
indirect tensile creep test at long loading times and low temperatures; this
recommendation is based solely on work carried out for SHRP and C-SHRP and
recently confirmed in NCHRP Project 1-37A, “Development of the 2002 Guide for the
Design of New and Rehabilitated Pavement Structures.”
The NCHRP report 465 includes a detailed description of the experimental program,
a discussion of the research results and the basis for selection of the candidate
SPTs, a description of the future field validation effort, and five supporting
appendixes presenting test methods for the candidate SPTs:
The dynamic modulus master curve clearly distinguishes the benefits of modified
binders by quantifying the improvement in stiffness and elastic response at high
temperature and/or slow loading conditions. This is particularly advantageous
because historical modulus measurements at a single temperature (typically 20o or
25oC) often fail to discriminate between conventional and modified binders.
Further research into the effect of confinement in the field is needed. Intuitively the
significant increase in dynamic modulus and elasticity (reduction in phase angle)
observed in the triaxial cell with confining pressure is likely in the field. Early work by
Marchionna et al supports this intuition by the observation that deflections on thick
asphalt pavement structures did not appear to increase with temperature.
Fatigue testing is routinely carried out in Australia (4 point flexure) and serves to rank
the performance of different mix gradations and binder types. At this stage of
development we tend to use the laboratory fatigue test more to verify the predictive
fatigue models developed by Shell and implemented by Austroads. As more
performance evidence is gained the apparently conservative predictive models will
be recalibrated.
Of value is the use of the fatigue test to develop appropriate damage models for
innovative materials. Figure 14 below compares the fatigue performance of
conventional asphalt against the resin modified asphalt PRS Rigiphalte.
Figure 14: Fatigue performance of conventional asphalt against the resin modified
asphalt PRS Rigiphalte.
100
The Dynamic Shear Rheometer (DSR) is another laboratory tool to enhance the
selection of the best bitumen and filler combination to enhance mix properties. In
common with the SPT the DSR provides the material characterisation over the full
combination of temperature and loading frequency. The DSR can test bitumen and
the bitumen filler mastic to develop complex shear modulus master curves, and to
measure the elastic and viscous component of the binder. These latter parameters
are considered to be significant in both fatigue and deformation resistance potential.
In application available binders and fillers would first be characterised and then the
binder exhibiting the most potential would be incorporated in asphalt samples to
determine the (more arduous) dynamic modulus master curve evaluation.
References 91
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92 References