2.

DESIGN OF FLEXIBLE PAVEMENTS (IRC : 37-2001)

2.1 DESIGN TRAFFIC

The design traffic is considered in terms of cumulative number of standard axles (in the lane
carrying maximum traffic) to be carried during the design life of pavement using

[( + ) − ]
= ∗ ∗ ∗ (2.1 a)

N The cumulative number of standard axles to be catered for in the design life in
terms of msa
A Initial traffic in the year of completion of construction in terms of the number
of commercial vehicles per day
D Lane distribution factor
F Vehicle damage factor
n Design life in years
r Annual growth rate of commercial vehicles

The traffic in the year of completion is estimated using

(2.1 b)
= ( + )
P Number of commercial vehicles as per last count
x Number of years between the last count and the year of completion of
construction

2.2 TRAFFIC GROWTH RATE

Traffic growth rates should be estimated

by studying the past trends of traffic growth, and

by establishing econometric models, as per the procedure outlined in IRC:108

“Guidelines for traffic prediction on rural highways”.

If adequate data is not available, it is recommended that an average annual growth rate of
7.5 percent may be adopted.

2.3 DESIGN LIFE

For the design of pavement, the design life is defined in terms of the cumulative number of
standard axles that can be carried before strengthening of pavement is necessary.

It is recommended that pavements for National Highways (NH) and State Highways (SH)
should be design for a life of 15 years. Expressways and Urban roads nay be designed for a
longer life of 20 years. For other categories of roads, a design life of 10 to 15 years may be
adopted.

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2.4 VEHICLE DAMAGE FACTOR

+ + + ……
(2.2 a)
=
+ + + ……

+ + + ……
= (2.2 b)
+ + + ……

= (2.2 c)

Standard Axle Load

Single Axle : 8160 kg
Tandem Axle : 14968 kg
Where sufficient information on axle loads is not available and project does not warrant
conducting an axle load survey, the indicative values of vehicle damage factor as given
below may be used.

Table 2.1 Indicative VDF Values (Table 1 of IRC:37-2001)

Initial traffic volume Terrain
(CVPD) Rolling/Plain Hilly
0-150 1.5 0.5
150-1500 3.5 1.5
More than 1500 4.5 2.5

2.5 DISTRIBUTION OF COMMERCIAL TRAFFIC OVER THE CARRIAGEWAY

In the absence of adequate and conclusive data for Indian conditions, it is recommended to
assume the following distribution.

Table 2.2 Indicative Lane Distribution Values

Percentage of trucks in Design Lane
No. of Traffic lanes
in two directions Undivided Roads Divided Roads
(Single Carriageway) (Dual Carriageway)

1 100 100

2 75 75

3 ---- 60

4 40 45

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2.6 DESIGN CRITERIA
The flexible pavements has been modeled as a three layer structure and stresses and strains
at critical locations have been computed using the linear elastic model. To consider the
aspects of performance, the following three types of pavement distress resulting from
repeated (cyclic) application of traffic loads are considered:
 Vertical compressive strain at the top of the sub-grade which can cause sub-grade
deformation resulting in permanent deformation at the pavement surface.
 Horizontal tensile strain or stress at the bottom of the bituminous layer which can
cause fracture of the bituminous layer.
 Pavement deformation within the bituminous layer.

Figure 2.1 : Critical Locations in Pavement

While the permanent deformation within the bituminous layer can be controlled by meeting
the mix design requirements, thickness of granular and bituminous layers are selected using
the analytical design approach so that strains at the critical points are within the allowable
limits. For calculating tensile strains at the bottom of the bituminous layer, the stiffness of
dense bituminous macadam (DBM) layer with 60/70 bitumen has been used in the analysis.

2.7 FAILURE CRITERIA

As shown in figure 2.11, A and B are the critical locations for tensile strains (εt). Maximum
value of the strain is adopted for design. C is the critical location for the vertical subgrade
strain (εz) since the maximum value of the εz occurs mostly at C.

Fatigue Criteria:

Bituminous surfacing of pavements display flexural fatigue cracking if the tensile strain at
the bottom of the bituminous layer is beyond certain limit. The relation between the fatigue
life of the pavement and the tensile strain in the bottom of the bituminous layer is
expressed as

12
 . .
(2.3)
= .

Nf Allowable number of load repetitions to produce 20% cracked surface area

εt Tensile strain at the bottom of surface layer (micro strain)
E Elastic modulus of bituminous surfacing (MPa)

Rutting Criteria:

The allowable number of load repetitions to control permanent deformation can be

expressed as

.
(2.4)
= .

Nr Allowable number of load repetitions to produce rutting of 20 mm

εz Vertical subgrade strain (micro strain)

Standard axle load considered is 80 kN. One dual wheel set with a wheel load of 20kN,
center-to-center tyre spacing of 310 mm and tyre pressure of 0.56 MPa is considered for
analysis.

2.8 DESIGN CHARTS AND CATALOGUE

Based on the performance of existing designs and using analytical approach, simple design
charts (Figure 2.2 and 2.3) and a catalogue of pavement designs are added in the code. The
pavement designs are given for subgrade CBR values ranging from 2% to 10% and design
traffic ranging from 1 msa to 150 msa for an average annual pavement temperature of 35 C.
The later thicknesses obtained from the analysis have been slightly modified to adapt the
designs to stage construction. Using the following simple input parameters, appropriate
designs could be chosen for the given traffic and soil strength:

 Design traffic in terms of cumulative number of standard axles; and

 CBR value of subgrade.

The designs relate to ten levels of design traffic 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 20, 30, 50, 100 and 150 msa.
For intermediate traffic ranges, the pavement layer thickness may be interpolated linearly.
For traffic exceeding 150 msa, the pavement design appropriate to 150 msa may be chosen
and further strengthening carried out to extend the life at appropriate time based on
pavement deflection measurements as per IRC : 81.

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 Figure 2.2 : Pavement Thickness Design Chart for Traffic 1-10 msa

Figure 2.3 : Pavement Thickness Design Chart for Traffic 10-150 msa

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 Pavement Design Catalogue
Total PAVEMENT COMPOSITION (mm)
Cumulative
Pavement Bituminous Surfacing
Traffic Granular Granular
Thickness Wearing Binder
(msa) Base Sub-base
(mm) Course Course
CBR 2 %
1 660 20 PC ------ 225 435
2 715 20 PC 50 BM 225 440
3 750 20 PC 60 BM 250 440
5 795 25 SDBC 70 DBM 250 450
10 850 40 BC 100 DBM
20 880 40 BC 130 DBM
30 900 40 BC 150 DBM
250 460
50 925 40 BC 175 DBM
100 955 40 BC 195 DBM
150 975 50 BC 215 DBM
CBR 3 %
1 550 20 PC ------ 225 435
2 610 20 PC 50 BM 225 335
3 645 20 PC 60 BM 250 335
5 690 25 SDBC 60 DBM 250 335
10 760 40 BC 90 DBM
20 790 40 BC 120 DBM
30 810 40 BC 140 DBM
250 380
50 830 40 BC 160 DBM
100 860 50 BC 180 DBM
150 890 50 BC 210 DBM
CBR 4%
1 480 20 PC ------ 225 255
2 540 20 PC 50 BM 225 265
3 580 20 PC 50 BM 250 280
5 620 25 SDBC 60 DBM 250 285
10 700 40 BC 80 DBM
20 730 40 BC 110 DBM
30 750 40 BC 130 DBM
250 330
50 780 40 BC 160 DBM
100 800 50 BC 170 DBM
150 820 50 BC 190 DBM

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 Pavement Design Catalogue
Total PAVEMENT COMPOSITION (mm)
Cumulative
Pavement Bituminous Surfacing
Traffic Granular Granular
Thickness Wearing Binder
(msa) Base Sub-base
(mm) Course Course
CBR 5%
1 430 20 PC ------ 225 205
2 490 20 PC 50 BM 225 215
3 530 20 PC 50 BM 250 230
5 580 25 SDBC 55 DBM 250 250
10 660 40 BC 70 DBM
20 690 40 BC 100 DBM
30 710 40 BC 120 DBM
250 300
50 730 40 BC 140 DBM
100 750 50 BC 150 DBM
150 770 50 BC 170 DBM
CBR 6 %
1 390 20 PC ------ 225 165
2 450 20 PC 50 BM 225 175
3 490 20 PC 50 BM 250 190
5 535 25 SDBC 50 DBM 250 210
10 615 40 BC 65 DBM
20 640 40 BC 90 DBM
30 655 40 BC 105 DBM
250 260
50 675 40 BC 125 DBM
100 700 50 BC 140 DBM
150 720 50 BC 160 DBM
CBR 7%
1 375 20 PC ------ 225 150
2 425 20 PC 50 BM 225 150
3 460 20 PC 50 BM 250 160
5 505 25 SDBC 50 DBM 250 180
10 580 40 BC 60 DBM
20 610 40 BC 90 DBM
30 630 40 BC 110 DBM
250 230
50 650 40 BC 130 DBM
100 675 50 BC 145 DBM
150 695 50 BC 165 DBM

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 Pavement Design Catalogue
Total PAVEMENT COMPOSITION (mm)
Cumulative
Pavement Bituminous Surfacing
Traffic Granular Granular
Thickness Wearing Binder
(msa) Base Sub-base
(mm) Course Course
CBR 8%
1 375 20 PC ------ 225 150
2 425 20 PC 50 BM 225 150
3 450 20 PC 50 BM 250 150
5 475 25 SDBC 50 DBM 250 150
10 550 40 BC 60 DBM
20 575 40 BC 85 DBM
30 590 40 BC 100 DBM
250 200
50 610 40 BC 120 DBM
100 640 50 BC 140 DBM
150 660 50 BC 160 DBM
CBR 9%
1 375 20 PC ------ 225 150
2 425 20 PC 50 BM 225 150
3 450 20 PC 50 BM 250 150
5 475 25 SDBC 50 DBM 250 150
10 540 40 BC 50 DBM
20 570 40 BC 80 DBM
30 585 40 BC 95 DBM
250 200
50 605 40 BC 115 DBM
100 635 50 BC 135 DBM
150 655 50 BC 155 DBM
CBR 10 %
1 375 20 PC ------ 225 150
2 425 20 PC 50 BM 225 150
3 450 20 PC 50 BM 250 150
5 475 25 SDBC 50 DBM 250 150
10 540 40 BC 50 DBM
20 565 40 BC 75 DBM
30 580 40 BC 90 DBM
250 200
50 600 40 BC 110 DBM
100 630 50 BC 130 DBM
150 650 50 BC 150 DBM

17