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Mechanistic - Empirical Approach for Design of Low Volume Pavements

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DOI: 10.1080/10298436.2014.960999

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Mechanistic–empirical approach for design of low

volume pavements
a b b
Ankit Gupta , Praveen Kumar & Rajat Rastogi
a
Civil Engineering Department, Indian Institute of Technology (Banaras Hindu University),
Varanasi 221 005, UPIndia
b
Transportation Engineering Group, Civil Engineering Department, Indian Institute of
Technology Roorkee, Roorkee 247667, UttarakhandIndia
Published online: 18 Sep 2014.

To cite this article: Ankit Gupta, Praveen Kumar & Rajat Rastogi (2014): Mechanistic–empirical approach for design of low
volume pavements, International Journal of Pavement Engineering, DOI: 10.1080/10298436.2014.960999

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 International Journal of Pavement Engineering, 2014
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10298436.2014.960999

Mechanistic –empirical approach for design of low volume pavements

Ankit Guptaa*, Praveen Kumarb1 and Rajat Rastogib2
a
Civil Engineering Department, Indian Institute of Technology (Banaras Hindu University), Varanasi 221 005, UP, India;
b
Transportation Engineering Group, Civil Engineering Department, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee 247667,
Uttarakhand, India
(Received 19 September 2013; accepted 10 August 2014)

This study proposes a more rational method to design low-volume roads (LVRs), which accounts for permanent deformation
development in granular layers. Rutting is regarded as the main distress mode in unsealed and thinly sealed pavements.
Hence, it is desirable that it be analytically approached rather than empirically. Twenty low-volume pavement sections from
Downloaded by [Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee] at 22:45 23 September 2014

West Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand regions were considered for full scale in situ tests conducted annually for the period of
4 years to include the effect of weather and seasons on the rutting of granular pavements. The properties of the pavement
material were then used in mechanistic analysis using finite element method for calculation of failure stresses and strains,
and this leads to the mechanistic – empirical basis for design. Finally, the framework of the proposed method contributes to
LVR pavement design procedures mainly due to its simplicity.
Keywords: low volume pavements; mechanistic – empirical; granular layer; finite element method; performance criteria;
design charts

Introduction
Throughout the world, reduced time and cost of travel, as
well as increased safety, are the ultimate deliverables of a
well-engineered road system. Researches have been
focused on material technology, sustainability, traffic
management and information services for highway
engineering standards in order to meet the increasing
demand in the sector.
In India, the hierarchy of roads is categorised according
to their function and capacities. The basic classification
consists of six broad groups: National Highways, State
Highways, Major District Roads, Other District Roads and
Village Roads. Among these, the last one provides access to
less populated areas, i.e. villages and rather shorter journeys
and carries low volume of traffic. Although the focus of
mass infrastructure investment is towards high-volume
roads, special attention must be drawn to the low-volume
roads (LVRs). These are usually part of the curve A, B, C of
IRC:SP:20 (2002), which represents traffic of 0 –15, 15– 45
and 45 – 150 commercial vehicle per day (CVPD),
respectively, i.e. 0.1, 0.3 and 1 msa (million standard
axle), respectively. With the ever increasing size and
volume of traffic number of heavy trucks using LVRs, it is
an escalating challenge to construct and maintain these
pavement structures in an economic manner using
inexpensive materials and techniques (Gupta et al. 2014).
LVRs are defined by different researchers in different
ways. Gourley and Greening (1999) defined LVRs as those
carrying less than 200 vehicles per day and which, over a
20-year period even with high growth rates, are unlikely to
be carrying more than 1 million equivalent standard axles.
Hall and Bettis (2000) reviewed different low-volume
design procedures as followed in the USA and suggested
that LVRs are generally defined as roads carrying an
average daily traffic of less than 500. Chilean structural
guide for LVRs (Thenoux et al. 2003) defines low-volume
pavements as those that are designed for a life cycle of
1 million equivalent single axle loads (ESALs). Thube
(2006) defined LVRs as those carrying daily traffic less
than 450 CVPD. LVRs 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 (Gupta et al. 2011).
These help the villages by increasing their accessibility
to schools, health centres and to more employment
opportunities. Indirectly, roads act as a catalyst of growth
through changes in socio-economic attitudes of people by
facilitating the dispersal of knowledge and reduction of
inequalities leading to demand for goods and services.
For all these reasons, it is important to invest in
research that increases our ability to sustain and improve
such roads in an economic manner. Such pavements,
sealed and unsealed, generally comprise a great length of
road networks throughout the world, especially in
developing countries, hence requiring attention. Thin or
low-volume pavements represent 75% of the road network
(MoRTH 2010) in India.

*Corresponding author. Email: anki_ce11@yahoo.co.in

q 2014 Taylor & Francis
 2 A. Gupta et al.
Literature review
It must be highlighted that the techniques involved in
designing LVRs are consistently different from those used
in the other branches of highway engineering. Based on
the widely-supported idea that traditional highway
engineering standards are not appropriate for LVRs
(Coghlan 1999, Visser and Hall 2003, El Abd et al.
2004) and that most current pavement design guides for
roads constructed largely or entirely of unbound layers
(TRL 1993, HMSO 1994, Austroads 1995) specify
aggregate assessment for unbound pavements according
to tradition, more appropriate design methods are required.
Hall and Bettis (2000) highlight that the use of standard
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methods for designing LVRs may result in structures of
substantial, and perhaps unwarranted, sections, resulting in
fewer miles of low-volume roads pavements constructed,
having, therefore, unwanted effect in local economies.
A methodology to design this specific type of pavement
structures should be accurate enough so that the main cause
of distress in LVRs – permanent deformation or rutting
(Arnold 2004, Dawson et al. 2005) – can be avoided and the
level of serviceability sustained. For this reason, one of the
key parameters to be carefully studied whilst analysing an
LVR design method is its competence in predicting the layer
permanent deformation development.
Most current pavement design guides (TRL 1993,
HMSO 1994, Austroads 1995) assume that the permanent
deformation is restricted to the subgrade soil foundation,
neglecting the contribution of the unbound granular
material (UGM) from the base layers in the total rutting.
The criterion for limiting vertical compressive strains (1z)
in the subgrades, which governs permanent deformation, is
based on Dormon’s (1962) research. Dormon and Metcalf
(1965) first proposed pavement design thickness charts
based on a relationship between traffic loading N (in
ESALs) and the vertical compressive strain on top of
subgrade. Many organisations such as Shell (1978),
Austroads (2004) and Indian Roads Congress (IRC:37
2001) have adopted this approach for developing
performance criteria for rutting.
Use of mechanistic modelling techniques, like the
finite element (FE) method, is least used in the
development of design procedures, especially for LVRs.
Mechanistic evaluation of the pavement section is required
to consider its effect on the design approach. A more
sustainable and rational approach can be developed using
both approaches i.e. mechanistic – empirical (M – E)
approach to develop design charts that can be used by
the road implementation agencies with ease.
Methodology and data collection
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 Figure 1.
The roads were selected on the basis of criteria, 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. A total of 20 test sections having different
traffic intensities and subgrade strengths were selected in
the 16 districts of states of Uttarakhand and Western Uttar
Pradesh, in India. The locations of the states and roads are
shown in Figure 2.
The detailed project reports were examined to collect
the data on population size, rainfall intensity in the area,
the section of the road, the California bearing ratio (CBR)
value of the subgrade soil, the depth of water table, design
traffic, dry density of layer, pavement section details
(material type and thickness), grade of bitumen used, etc.
Field investigations were carried out on the selected
road test sections to examine the in situ properties of the
pavement layers and materials. Field investigations were
carried out after the rainy seasons (under worst conditions
of pavement). Test pit evaluation, deflection measure-
ments, pavement dynamic cone penetrometer, rutting,
MERLIN roughness (machine for evaluating roughness
using low-cost instrument) and visual distresses were
measured as according to the provisions of the Bureau of
Indian Standards (IS) codes. In case an IS code was not
available on any aspect, then American Society of Testing
and Materials (ASTM) codes were followed.
During the field observations, it was observed that all
the sites have the thin surfacing layer of 20 mm (the
structural impact of this thin surfacing is neglected in this
study, as we consider this layer as non-structural layer).
The seasonal and weather conditions for all the sites were
similar in nature. The granular layer was observed in the
range of 375– 450 mm.
Laboratory investigations were carried out on pave-
ment layer materials obtained during test pit evaluation
to characterise their properties. Various tests including
gradation of the materials (IS:2386 – Part 1 1963), field
moisture content determination (IS:2720 – Part 2 1973),
subgrade soil classification (IS:1498 1970, ASTM D3282-
09 2009), standard Proctor compaction tests (IS:2720 –
Part 7 1980), subgrade strength (IS:2720 – Part 16 1987)
and shear properties tests (IS:2720 – Part 11 1993, ASTM
D2850-03a 2003), and resilient modulus tests were
conducted under different combinations of moisture
content and dry density. The resilient modulus tests were
conducted as per the standard procedure given in ASTM
D5311 (2004). The cyclic load producing vertical cyclic
stresses (s1) of 108 kPa and 195 kPa were applied at the
rate of 70 cycles per minute. For each loading cycle, three
confining pressures (s3) of 40, 70 and 120 kPa were
selected to produce six deviator stresses, (s1 – s3). A very
low deviator stress of 2 12 kPa (s1 ¼ 108 kPa and
 International Journal of Pavement Engineering 3

Selection of Roads &

Test Sections

Data Collection

Data Extraction from Laboratory

Field Investigations
DPRs Experimentation

Data Analysis
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Empirical FEM based

Functional Characteristics Structural Characteristics Model Formulation and Validation

with Linear Material

Development of Relations Analysis with Nonlinear

between Material Material Characteristics
Characteristics, Pavement
Performance and Distresses

Linear Nonlinear

Mechanistic-Empirical Design
Terminal Conditions
Criteria

Development of Design Charts

Figure 1. Methodology flow chart.

s3 ¼ 120 kPa) and a very high deviator stress of 155 kPa
(s1 ¼ 195 kPa and s3 ¼ 40 kPa) were not considered.
These conditions produce 80 specimens to be tested for 20
types of subgrade soils. 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.
On the basis of the available literature and using the
results of the riding quality survey conducted in this study,
the thresholds limits given in Table 3 are suggested for
different riding qualities on thin surfaced LVRs.
Table 3 indicates that roughness higher than 9
International Roughness Index (IRI) gives uncomfortable
riding on LVRs. This value looks to be on the high side,
when compared with values given by the QDMR (2000)
and Yu et al. (2006). The corresponding values of rut depth
and longitudinal depression are 25 and 7.2 mm, respect-
ively. Hence, these values are considered as terminal
conditions for LVRs.
Mechanistic analysis
The empirical approach is in use for the design of LVR
pavements in many countries, including India. However,
a shift towards the use of mechanistic principles in the design
methods is observed nowadays, to make the design more
rational. For the purpose of LVR pavement design,
computations of the stress–strain state in granular layers,
when performed, are often simplified so that only linear
 4 A. Gupta et al.
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Figure 2. Location of road test sections. Source: http://maps.unomaha.edu/peterson/funda/MapLinks/India_files/image001.gif,

accessed on 13 October 2008 and http://maps.google.com/maps?ftr¼earth.promo&hl¼en&utm_campaign, accessed on 13 October 2008.

elastic conditions are assumed. The stress distribution allows
for calculation of the resilient behaviour, but does not assist
with calculation of the plastic deformation that classically
takes place in the form of rutting. The purpose of the
calculations performed now is that, by looking into the stress
state of the pavement and using nonlinear elastic modelling.
The performance criteria developed should correlate the
performance of the pavement (number of load applications
carried before a specified magnitude of rut developed or
roughness value) to the identified mechanistic response(s).

Table 1. Characteristics of subgrade soils.

Classification
Passing Degree of
ID IS 75 mm LL PI OMC FMC MDD FDD compaction
S. No. No. sieve (%) (%) (%) IS AASHTO (%) (%) (kg/m3) (kg/m3) (%)
1 UP-1 45 17.0 10.4 SC A-4 12.32 6.60 1737 1605 92.0
2 UP-2 48 16.0 9.5 SC A-4 12.76 7.30 1794 1683 93.8
3 UP-3 63 26.3 14.7 CL A-6 13.56 11.58 1770 1730 97.7
4 UP-4 45 28.2 17.0 SC A-6 13.14 11.23 1817 1218 67.0
5 UP-5 56 29.2 17.6 CL A-6 14.23 11.57 1830 1677 91.6
6 UP-6 52 24.2 13.7 CL A-6 12.47 10.55 1834 1657 90.3
7 UP-7 68 20.6 5.3 ML-CL A-4 14.95 15.28 1832 1588 86.7
8 UP-8 40 21.0 9.3 SC A-4 12.58 11.68 1824 2003 109.8
9 UP-9 57 31.4 17.3 CL A-6 14.37 14.05 1738 1744 100.3
10 UP-10 35 22.1 15.2 SC A-2-6 14.04 6.90 1697 1752 103.2
11 UP-11 31 24.2 17.6 SC A-2-6 15.21 8.23 1759 1867 106.1
12 UP-12 59 23.1 10.4 CL A-4 12.86 12.67 1773 1285 72.5
13 UK-1 21 20.7 10.7 SC A-2-6 14.21 9.96 2035 1598 78.5
14 UK-2 65 24.5 13.1 CL A-6 13.21 11.40 2140 1603 74.9
15 UK-3 42 21.2 6.9 SM-SC A-4 14.08 14.25 2040 1748 85.7
16 UK-4 55 18.3 10.3 CL A-4 11.57 7.97 2165 1801 83.2
17 UK-5 55 21.4 17.8 CL A-6 10.18 3.56 2230 1730 77.6
18 UK-6 58 29.1 24.3 CL A-6 12.01 4.835 2090 1630 78.0
19 UK-7 46 22.1 13.6 SC A-6 11.24 8.457 2220 1580 71.2
20 UK-8 60 22.0 13.0 CL A-6 11.12 8.988 2260 1000 44.3
Note: 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.
 International Journal of Pavement Engineering 5

Table 2. CBR and shear strength properties of subgrade soil.

FMC-FDD condition OMC-MDD condition

FMC-FDD condition OMC-MDD condition
S. No. IF No. CBR CBR k n MR (MPa) k n MR (MPa)
1 UP-1 2.2 7.39 303.6 2 0.63 32.5 114.2 2 0.37 97.1
2 UP-2 2.5 7.73 450.6 2 0.71 36.1 101.5 2 0.32 88.0
3 UP-3 0.5 1.04 90.6 2 0.43 19.6 68.0 2 0.31 59.4
4 UP-4 1.1 3.78 203.9 2 0.62 22.4 88.6 2 0.47 72.4
5 UP-5 0.6 3.23 92.2 2 0.51 15.1 72.5 2 0.58 56.3
6 UP-6 1.5 4.41 229.8 2 0.64 23.6 71.0 2 0.47 58.0
7 UP-7 0.5 2.45 61.4 2 0.38 15.7 60.2 2 0.68 44.6
8 UP-8 1.3 1.56 61.6 2 0.26 24.6 82.7 2 0.46 68.0
9 UP-9 1.1 2.12 384.9 2 0.77 24.6 78.0 2 0.43 64.8
10 UP-10 1.4 3.51 1592.3 2 1.14 27.7 97.9 2 0.76 70.1
11 UP-11 1.6 3.84 162.2 2 0.48 29.3 77.3 2 0.38 65.7
Downloaded by [Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee] at 22:45 23 September 2014

12 UP-12 2.6 5.87 102.6 2 0.30 35.3 128.0 2 0.43 106.9

13 UK-1 1.1 2.76 232.4 2 0.64 23.9 79.6 2 0.57 61.9
14 UK-2 2.8 6.54 1264.9 2 0.98 38.3 154.6 2 0.63 116.8
15 UK-3 3.1 6.87 453.5 2 0.66 43.8 91.9 2 0.47 75.0
16 UK-4 3.6 5.91 680.4 2 0.78 42.6 158.6 2 0.59 122.8
17 UK-5 3.8 7.89 283.4 2 0.53 42.5 128.1 2 0.32 111.6
18 UK-6 6.7 12.41 205.6 2 0.34 78.3 125.2 2 0.35 142.0
19 UK-7 2.4 3.84 149.9 2 0.43 32.6 132.6 2 0.68 98.8
20 UK-8 4.2 6.78 116.0 2 0.25 47.9 90.5 2 0.53 71.6
Note: CBR, California bearing ratio in %; k, n, regression constants; MR, resilient modulus.

Based on this study, a wheel contact width of 200 mm was

Table 3. Threshold limits for performance indicators for LVRs.
adopted. To simulate the wheel load (20 kN) (Sunkavalli
Average et al. 2008) of a standard axle with a tyre pressure of
Roughness Average longitudinal 0.56 MPa (IRC:81 1997), the length of contact area was
(IRI) rut depth depression
computed as 180 mm. Therefore, an element of size
Riding quality (m/km) (mm) (mm)
200 mm £ 180 mm was considered for the FE model.
Very good , 4.8 ,3 ,3.5 On low-volume single lane roads, vehicles mostly use the
Good 4.8– 6.2 3–6 3.5 – 4.5 central portion of the carriageway. This places axle load
Fair 6.2– 7.5 6– 15 4.5 – 5.7
Poor 7.5 – 9 15 – 25 5.7 – 7.2
symmetrically about the centre line. Due to symmetry in
Very poor .9 .25 .7.2 longitudinal and transverse directions and to save the
computational efforts, a quarter model was considered.
The plan view of the quarter model considered is shown in
A three-dimensional (3D) FE model is developed and Figure 3. The FE geometry of the quarter model in ANSYS
analysed to capture the effect of nonlinear materials or the is shown in Figure 4.
effect of combination of loads, including asymmetric or A subgrade depth of 2500 mm was considered in the
different loading types. The SOLID45 element (ANSYS present study. Sensitivity analysis was carried out to
2011) has been selected for developing the 3D FE model in examine the influence of model geometry by considering
ANSYS environment. Low-volume rural roads are vertical strain values over subgrade with subgrade depth.
generally, single-lane roads of 3.75 m carriageway width It was found that the rate of change of vertical strain after a
with shoulders on both sides of the carriageway. One- subgrade depth of 2500 mm has reduced considerably.
fourth of the dual wheel load configuration of a single axle This suggested that a subgrade depth of 2500 mm is
was considered for loading the pavement. The load was appropriate. Details of the pavement considered for
assumed to be transmitted to the pavement through a sensitivity analysis are shown in Figure 5.
rectangular contact area of wheels at a uniform vertical Various types of boundaries have been examined in
contact pressure. No horizontal surface shear stresses were different models, including rigid boundaries and flexible
considered. The centre-to-centre distance between dual boundaries. In this case, the nodes on each face except the
wheels was taken as 310 mm in the present study as surface are constrained from moving in the direction
suggested by Sunkavalli et al. (2008). Sunkavalli (2007) perpendicular to that face. This means that lateral
measured the dimensions of tyre imprints for various displacements ux and uy are restrained in x and y
combinations of load and tyre pressure. It was found that directions, respectively, along the axis of symmetry
the width of imprints varies between 190 and 200 mm. (ux ¼ 0 and uy ¼ 0). They are free to move in z direction.
 6 A. Gupta et al.
Downloaded by [Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee] at 22:45 23 September 2014
Figure 3. Top view of pavement considered for FE analysis.
Figure 4. FE geometry of the pavement model.
Figure 5. Typical two-layer pavement considered for
sensitivity analysis.
All intermediate nodes were considered for movement in
all the directions. Validation of the FE model was done to
check the results (in terms of stress and strains) given by it
with linear elastic theory results. KENPAVE, a linear
elastic layered analysis programme developed by Huang
(2004) was used to validate the FE model. Comparison of
the results obtained using the FE model and KENPAVE for
a linear elastic layered system is shown in Figure 6. The
results of the two analyses were found match well. Hence,
the developed FE model could be considered fit for
carrying out an FE analysis of the pavement structure as
modelled.
Modelling nonlinearity in granular and subgrade layer
Modelling the nonlinearity of granular material and
subgrade soil was done by considering the plastic
behaviour of unbound materials by most of the general
purpose FE 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 behaviour in
granular layers and cohesive soils. k – u model is a simple
model, which requires two material constants. Pandey and
Naidu (1994) developed a relationship between resilient
modulus and bulk stress for the similar conditions. This is
given by Equation (1) and was used in the present study.
M R ¼ 3:47ðuÞ0:7375 ; ð1Þ
where MR is the resilient modulus in MPa and u is the bulk
stress in kPa.
As ANSYS is a general purpose FE 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 Equation (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. Because this is an iterative
approach, the material properties change at each iteration
according to the stress state of each element until the
selected convergence criterion is met. The convergence
criterion used by Sahoo and Reddy (2010) was used in the
present study. It is given by Equation (2).
PN
absðEnewi 2 Eoldi Þ
i¼1
PN £ 100 # 5; ð2Þ
i¼1 Eoldi
where N is the number of elements in the granular layer,
Enewi is the elastic modulus of ith element for a given
iteration, and Eoldi is the elastic modulus of ith element in
the previous iteration.
Using the above theory, the FE analysis was carried
out considering nonlinearity in the granular layer.
 International Journal of Pavement Engineering
(a)
Downloaded by [Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee] at 22:45 23 September 2014
Vertical Stress
Figure 6. Comparison of results obtained using FE model (807 linear) and KENPAVE.
In most of the FE analyses, the behaviour 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
the subgrade by using elastoplastic material models for
subgrade layer. Saad et al. (2005) used the elastoplastic
strain hardening (modified cam-clay model), whereas
Hossain and Wu (2002) used the elasto-perfectly
plastic (DP) 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– sd model
developed by Seed et al. (1962) for the similar type of soils
was used in this study. It is given by Equation (3).
M R ¼ 300s20:5
d ; ð3Þ
where MR is the resilient modulus in MPa, and sd is the
deviator stress in kPa.
A 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
7
(b)
Vertical Strain
purpose. The moduli values changed in each iteration until
the selected convergence criterion (as given by Equation (2))
was met.
Structural analyses of pavement sections
The road test sections were analysed as bi-layer systems
consisting of a granular layer and subgrade layer using 3D
FE modelling. Analyses considering nonlinearity of
materials were carried out. The material property (i.e.
resilient modulus) as given in Table 2 is used for FE
modelling of each test section. 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 4.
Development of performance criteria
The M– E approach for design of flexible pavements
consisted of two parts:
. 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
 8 A. Gupta et al.

Table 4. Responses at top of subgrade from pavement analysis.

Nonlinearity in granular layer Nonlinearity in both layers

S. No. Section ID Vertical strain Vertical stress (MPa) Vertical strain Vertical stress (MPa)
1 UP-1 5.01 £ 1024 5.27 £ 1022 5.35 £ 1024 2.57 £ 1022
2 UP-2 4.68 £ 1024 2.74 £ 1022 5.16 £ 1024 2.72 £ 1022
3 UP-3 5.38 £ 1024 2.55 £ 1022 5.84 £ 1024 2.21 £ 1022
4 UP-4 5.85 £ 1024 2.48 £ 1022 5.46 £ 1024 1.89 £ 1022
5 UP-5 5.06 £ 1024 2.89 £ 1022 5.39 £ 1024 1.96 £ 1022
6 UP-6 5.30 £ 1024 1.96 £ 1022 5.53 £ 1024 2.53 £ 1022
7 UP-7 5.53 £ 1024 2.85 £ 1022 5.54 £ 1024 2.64 £ 1022
8 UP-8 6.09 £ 1024 3.79 £ 1022 6.98 £ 1024 4.83 £ 1022
9 UP-9 7.22 £ 1024 4.33 £ 1022 7.14 £ 1024 4.25 £ 1022
10 UP-10 5.26 £ 1024 3.90 £ 1022 5.88 £ 1024 1.91 £ 1022
11 UP-11 7.07 £ 1024 1.85 £ 1022 7.58 £ 1024 2.66 £ 1022
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12 UP-12 6.88 £ 1024 9.43 £ 1022 7.29 £ 1024 6.53 £ 1022

13 UK-1 5.38 £ 1024 6.21 £ 1022 6.12 £ 1024 4.75 £ 1022
14 UK-2 6.67 £ 1024 4.07 £ 1022 7.71 £ 1024 4.12 £ 1022
15 UK-3 5.29 £ 1024 6.34 £ 1022 5.62 £ 1024 1.78 £ 1022
16 UK-4 6.97 £ 1024 1.06 £ 1021 6.72 £ 1024 4.57 £ 1022
17 UK-5 5.11 £ 1024 1.47 £ 1022 5.78 £ 1024 2.54 £ 1022
18 UK-6 8.66 £ 1024 1.03 £ 1021 8.68 £ 1024 5.51 £ 1022
19 UK-7 8.45 £ 1024 5.09 £ 1022 9.13 £ 1024 4.52 £ 1022
20 UK-8 7.49 £ 1024 7.26 £ 1022 8.27 £ 1024 5.23 £ 1022

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 LVRs with thin bituminous surfacing,
most of the rutting was reported to have occurred in the
subgrade. Also LVRs in India are built as per the
guidelines of Bureau of Indian Standards, which includes
the use of good quality aggregate in the construction of
such roads. Locally available material can be used only
if they qualify the standards given in the IS codes for
LVRs. The mechanistic criterion was expressed as
number of standard axle load repetitions required to Figure 7. Subgrade strain due to standard axle load repetitions
cause a rut depth of 25 mm. Rutting on all the pavement considering nonlinearity in the granular layer (criterion – rutting).
sections were measured annually during the study
period. Rutting projections of all the sections were
drawn with number of standard axle load repetitions.
These graphs were extrapolated to find the ‘N’ at rutting
failure of 25 mm. The following section presents
subgrade strain criteria examined for explaining the
performance of pavements.

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 (FEM analysis). These are
presented in Figures 7 and 8, respectively. The criteria are Figure 8. Subgrade strain due to standard axle load repetitions
given by Equation (4) (nonlinearity in granular layer) and considering nonlinearity in both the layers (criterion – rutting).
 International Journal of Pavement Engineering
Equation (5) (nonlinearity in the granular and subgrade
both).
1z ¼ 0:005N 20:166
ð4Þ
ðR 2 ¼ 0:73; t-statistics ¼ 26:65; 216:67Þ;
1z ¼ 0:0058N 20:171
ð5Þ
ðR 2 ¼ 0:83; t-statistics ¼ 28:94; 221:02Þ;
where 1z is the vertical compressive strain over subgrade,
and N is the number of standard axle load repetitions
leading to failure.
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The R 2 values of the developed relations i.e. Equations
(4) and (5) 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-statistics values for
parameter estimate were found to be statistically
significant at 95% confidence level.
Based on the statistical examination (i.e. higher R 2
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
Equation (5).
The subgrade strain performance criterion selected for
LVRs 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 Figure 9. The developed
criterion was found to be similar in trend to the TRRL
(given by Paterson 1987) criterion. Lower limiting strain
values were observed in the present study for lesser
number of standard axle load repetitions (, 1 £ 105) and
somewhat more for greater repetitions. Performance
criteria by Shell (1978), Theyse et al. (1996), Austroads
Figure 9. Comparison of rutting performance criteria.
9
(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 with the present study. As the
number of standard axle repetitions increased the
difference in limiting strain values decreased for Shell
(1978) and Sahoo (2009). 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 LVRs.
Thickness design charts for LVRs
The basic thickness to be selected in the case of LVRs is
the thickness of UGM, which would limit the vertical
compressive strain at the top of the subgrade to an
acceptable level. The analysis discussed so far was now
focused to develop the design chart for finding the
thickness of the granular layer to be laid on LVRs. It was
done for varying subgrade modulus and pavement design
life. The subgrade modulus can be determined from field
or laboratory testing or from correlation with other
material properties like CBR. The subgrade moduli were
varied in the range of 20 –150 MPa. For a given pavement
design life denoted by number of standard axle load
repetitions, the limiting subgrade strain was estimated
using Equation (5). The design traffic was varied between
104 and 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. The thickness design chart developed
for the LVRs is shown in Figure 10.
 10 A. Gupta et al.
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Figure 10. Design chart for thin surfaced LVRs.
The design chart can be used to find the thickness of
the granular layer with the help of design traffic and
resilient modulus of subgrade.
Conclusions
A rational design criterion for the design of LVRs was
developed in this study. Presently, most of the design
criteria are empirical in nature and consider only the past
performance of the pavements. The development of M– E
design criteria would provide a better, accurate and more
rational solution for the design of the low traffic volume
roads having thin bituminous surfacing. The present study
focuses on the development of such criteria. This was
based on the periodic performance (structural and
functional) evaluation of the selected road test sections;
material characterisation and engineering property esti-
mation through laboratory and field testing; and develop-
ment of FE models to analyse elastic behaviour of layers
under repetitive loading. The empirical and mechanistic
parameters so obtained were used as inputs in the
development of M– E design criteria for the low traffic
volume roads. Still the developed criteria could not
consider the effect of the different types of aggregates and
subgrades. Similarly, the effect of weather and seasonal
condition can be explored in the future studies with the
collection of data after each season. With the developed
criteria, following significant conclusions were drawn:
1. The vertical strain at the top of the subgrade was
estimated, based on rutting criteria for the standard
axle load repetitions. The developed criterion bore
some similarity to criteria given by Shell (1978),
TRRL (given by Paterson 1987) and Sahoo (2009).
2. Thickness design charts were developed based on
the subgrade strain criterion considering nonlinear-
ity in both the layers for granular pavements with
thin surfacing. These charts are applicable for road
sections designed for traffic up to 1 msa and
subgrade modulus ranging between 20 and
150 MPa. The thickness of base course was
restricted to 150 mm, and any additional thickness
was proposed to be laid as sub-base.
3. 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 as compared with charts using CBR
values.
Notes
1. Email: pkaerfce@iitr.ernet.in
2. Email: rajatfce@iitr.ernet.in
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