commonly studied surface characteristics: friction, smoothness, tire-pavement

noise, and texture

visually assess pavement condition, providing

engineers with a consistent, objective, and
repeatable tool to represent the overall
pavement condition
Pavements are designed to fail after a specific
time – design life
For flexible pavement the failure criteria that is
considered includes fatigue (caused by cracking)
and rutting (caused by permanent deformation)
Cracking or fatigue failure occurs when the
horizontal tensile strain at the bottom of
bituminous layer exceeds the permissible limits
These limiting strains are computed according to
given rules and standards
Bituminous material is visco elastic mat. that acts as
 Brittle material elastic solid at high frequencies and low
temperatures – crack susceptible
 Ductile viscous fluid at low frequencies and high
temperatures – deformation susceptible
 Fatigue cracking

When the pavement is subjected to

traffic loading it causes permanent deformation
In case there is continuous loading at critical locations
stress will be concentrated that leads to the development of
micro cracks
In time micro cracks become macro cracks
 In flexible pavement we can differentiate
 Top down cracking
 Bottom up cracking

Top down – longitudinal cracks

Initiated at the top of bituminous
Layer due to tensile strain on top
Bottom up – initiated at the bottom
Due to tensile strain at the bottom of
Bituminous layer

During the design we set a tolerance limit for the cracks

When the cracked area exceeds the tolerance limit we assume
the pavement failed
Cracks in bituminous pavements

Hairline cracks
Alligator and map cracks
Longitudinal cracks
Transverse cracks
Edge cracks
Reflection cracks
Hairline cracks
Short and fine cracks at close intervals on the
surface
Width < 1mm
Causes
Insufficient bitumen content
Excessive filler in the mix
Improper compaction or compaction of very hot
mixture
Excessive moisture in granular layers
Treatment
Fog seal, rejuvenating agents, slurry seal and
micro-surfacing
Alligator cracking
 an interlaced cracking pattern observed on the asphalt
pavement surface measured in area (square meters)
Causes
 due to tensile strain from repeated traffic loading e.g.
excessive deflection of pavement surface at wheel paths
 initiated at the bottom of asphalt layer and propagates to
the surface – bottom up fatigue crack
 Appear because of weak base caused by e.g.
Moisture
 excessive loading (heavy commercial vehicles) or
combination
 Brittleness of binder caused by aging and lowering of
surface temperature - weather
 Best treatment is full depth
rehabilitation
Alligator cracks or map cracks classification
Low severity
Area of very narrow and isolated cracking
May not be interconnected
Almost no other deterioration
Depth and width of cracks 1-3mm

Extensive
Severely spalled interconnected
Full pattern developed
Depth and width > 6mm
Loose or lost pieces of bitumen
Medium On surface
Interconnected cracks Water and fine material pumping
Small area similar to alligator skin
May have signs of spalling with no visible pumping
Depth and width 3-6mm
Cracking, breaking or chipping of joint/crack edges
Usually occurs within about 0.6 m of joint/crack edge
Causes
Most common cause of alligator cracking is water
penetration - failure to make timely repairs
Potholes and cracks allow water to penetrate
beneath the pavement and reach the base
water erodes the base, allowing areas of the
pavement to sag or subside
unsupported areas can be easily damaged by
normal traffic, and alligator cracking can occur in a
relatively short time
overweight vehicles accessing the pavement
Treatment of alligator cracks
Crack sealing by bitumen emulsions
Crack sealing by rubberized and modified
bitumen
Milling and surface recycling
Longitudinal cracks
near the wheel paths parallel to the centerline of road
run parallel to the direction of traffic flow
from repetitive wheel loads and aging of pavement
Caused by
 poorly constructed joint;
 shrinkage of the asphalt layer from thermal changes;
 cracks reflecting up from an underlying layer
 Poor
Low drainage
severity cracks
Crack seal to prevent entry of moisture and further raveling of crack
edges
HMA can provide years of satisfactory service after
developing small cracks if they are kept sealed

High severity cracks

Remove and replace the cracked pavement layer with an overlay
High – more than 6 mm wide
Low – 1-3 mm wide
Medium–3-6 mm wide Frequent cracks
Infrequent cracks
Treatment of longitudinal cracks
For low and medium cracks
 Crack sealing with rubberized bitumen
For higher severity cracks
 Removing and replacing cracked areas with fresh
patches
Reflection cracking
Cracks that appear in bituminous surfacing over
joints and underneath cracked pavement
Longitudinal, transverse or diagonal block pattern
– any shape depending on cause
Causes
Inadequate repair of old cracks
After pavement widening it will happen on the
junction between old pavement and widened strip
Differential movement across underlying crack or
joint leads to reflection crack development
Treatment
For structurally sound pavement
 Filling of cracks with bituminous
binder of low viscosity
For wide cracks the treatment is different
 Slurry seal or sand bituminous patching
For fine cracks extending over large areas
 Fog seal can be inserted into the cracks and lightly
sanded to prevent removal of binder by traffic
Transverse cracking
Often caused by thermal expansion/contraction run
perpendicular to the pavement centerline (or laydown
direction)
Appear in the transverse direction or
as interconnected cracks forming large
areas perpendicular to the road
direction
Low High - >6mm wide
1-3 mm wide and infrequent Medium – Numerous cracks
3-6mm wide
Transverse cracks are caused by
Reflection cracks or joint in an underlying
pavement layer
Low temperature brittleness of bitumen and
structural failure of concrete base course
Shrinkage of bituminous mix in low
temperature
Treatment
Slurry seal or rubberized bitumen
Edge cracking
Formed parallel to the outer edge of the
pavement 0.3-0.5m inside of pavement edge

Medium High
Low severity Some breakup Considerable breakup
No breakup Some loss of material And loss of material
No loss of material Up to 10% of the More than 10% of
Affected length Affected length
Causes
Lack of lateral support from shoulder
Settlement of underlying material
Inadequate surface drainage
Shrinkage in subgrade soil
Not provided extra length in curve
Inferior quality material in shoulders

Treatment
Providing good drainage along the road edge
Avoiding water accumulation on the edges
Material replacement
Placing thick structural overlay in case of heavy
traffic loading (75-100mm of hot mix)
Fine cracks - fog seal with light cut-back or
emulsified bitumen followed by light sanding
Medium cracks – cleaning of cracks with
compressed air and filling with bituminous binder
of low viscosity followed by light sanding
Wide cracks – a slurry seal, micro-surfacing or
sand bituminous premix patching to fill the cracks
Surface treatment to be used depends on
roadway type
 Make-up of previous coting
 Road condition
 Pavement geometry
 Percentage of heavy trucks
 Climate
 Local environment
Surface dressings are thin road surfacing's made
from waterproof layers of binders with chippings
to provide surface skid resistance
Most common dressings
 Single layer dressing
 Single layer with double chipping spread
 Double layers
 Sandwich layers with emulsion between two layers of
chipping
Road cleaning
Treating the markings (cheaper than grinding them )
Asphalt distributor is used to distribute emulsion on
surface
Chips are spread
Rolling x 3 passes
Another sweep-remove excess material
 It is followed with fog seal
Centerline lapping with it
Shoulder fogging
Fog seal is another thin layer of liquid asphalt that
helps to seal in the stones and extends the life of a
chip seal
Fog seal - adding asphalt to an existing pavement
surface to improve sealing or waterproofing,
prevent further stone loss by holding aggregate
in place, or simply improve the surface
appearance
Used as prevention Fog seal
Extends pavement life cycle
After new pavement installation
Done every 2-4 years
Shields surface from UV, and water

Distributing trucks are used to employ it

Shoulders are sprayed lighter
The material that is sprayed seals the
surface
And rejuvenates it
Rutting
Progressive loss of material from asphalt surface- surface
depression in the wheel path
 Poor quality asphalt mixture and inadequate compaction
 a permanent, longitudinal surface depression that occurs in the
wheel paths of a flexible asphalt road surface due to the passage
of traffic
 permanent deformation in any of a pavement's layers or
subgrade usually caused by consolidation or lateral movement
of the materials due to traffic loading
summation of permanent deformation in all layers, with consideration of temperature and
moisture variation
Types of rutting:
 mix rutting - subgrade does not rut - pavement surface
exhibits wheel-path depressions because compaction or mix
design problems
Wheel load pushes the mixture it does not extend to the subgrade
Caused by poor mix – lacks internal strength to resist permanent deformation
of tire loads

Causes
Excess amount of asphalt in the mix
Using softer grade of binder can accelerate
If binder is selected for temperatures above
recommended grade - rutting will
most probably occur

Excessive mineral filler or not enough

angular aggregate
Types of rutting:
 Subgrade (structural) rutting - subgrade exhibits wheel-
path depressions due to loading - the pavement settles into the
subgrade ruts causing surface depressions

Depression in the subgrade occurs eventually leading to failure of flexible pavement

Causes

Inadequate pavement structure – excessive stress

application

Inadequate stability – poor quality soil cannot

resist wheel loads

Inadequate subgrade preparation (improper

Compaction, replacement, etc.)
Types of rutting:
 Densification - insufficient compaction during construction

 The pavement continues to compact under traffic loading

 Vertical deformation of layers or structural rutting
▪ densification of all pavement layers due to repeated traffic load
▪ Use of less stiff materials and thin layers, improper compaction
or poor mix design (e.g. high asphalt content, too much fines,
not enough angular aggreg.)
 Shear deformation of asphalt layers or instability rutting
▪ Lateral displacement of asphalt material under loading
▪ Hot mix asphalt is displaced downwards, laterally and then upward forming
ridges
▪ Not enough air voids
 Rutting up to 8.5mm can be left untreated
 Over 19mm milling out the affected parts and replacing them
 If caused by poor base and subgrade, full depth rehabilitation
 Effects of rutting:
 Depressions hold the water creating hydroplaning
problems

General classification
Low severity 4-10 mm deep
High severity > 10mm deep
Measured by
straight edge 3m long
The maximum gap is measured
Transverse profiler
2 scanners that takes images and
Draws a profile
High resolution 3D profile of road
By scanning
Stripping - weakening/loss of adhesive bond between aggregate surface
and asphalt binder in the asphalt mix due to the presence of moisture
 the lower layers of the asphalt fall apart first and damage the
upper layers
 Important preparation processes is heating the aggregate to
remove excess moisture
 Hard to determine - by coring a process where representative
samples from existing pavement is extracted for analysis
 the extracted core measure 4 or 6 inches in diameter
Caused by
 water infiltration and poor drainage
 Full depth reclamation is needed to treat top and base layers
 Can be avoided by proper drainage and regular crack sealing
 Bottom-up stripping is very difficult to recognize because it
manifests itself on the pavement surface as other forms of distress
including rutting, shoving
 many variables contribute to stripping type and use of mix, asphalt
characteristics, aggregate characteristics, environment, traffic,
construction practice, and the use of antistrip additives, the
presence of moisture
 employing a ground-coupled Ground-Penetrating Radar
 aggregate loss from surface course, initiated by the failure of the
bond between aggregates and binder
 Starts at the surface and propagated down causing loose debris,
increased roughness and skid resistance reduction on surface
 Pavement friction is the result of tire-pavement interaction
 The friction force developed at the tire-pavement contact zone is
called skid resistance
 Skid resistance is the force developed when a tire that is prevented
from rotating slides along the pavement surface - a measure of
safety for driving on the road surface - important in reducing
accidents
 raveling is caused by the shear forces due to traffic
 the bond is also weakened by ageing effects due to oxygen and
weathering which are considered as indirect causes of raveling
 For low severity raveling (localized): Remove raveled area and then patch
 For high severity raveling (widespread): Remove damaged area and apply an
overlay
 Low, moderate and high raveling

Local wide spread

Low: The aggregate or binder has begun to wear away, but has
not progressed significantly. Some loss of fine aggregate is visible

Moderate: Aggregate and/or binder has worn away and the

surface texture is becoming rough and pitted. Loose particles
exist, and there is loss of fine aggregate and some loss of coarse
aggregate
High: Aggregate and binder have worn away, and the surface
texture is very rough and pitted due to the loss of coarse
aggregate
 Bowl-shaped depressions in the pavement surface
 They stretch through the asphalt layer to the base
 Usually circular with diameter under 75cm and depth >1cm
 Sharp edges & vertical sides and can cause vehicle damage
Causes:
▪ poor quality asphalt mixture (low asphalt binder content, soft aggregate, etc.)
▪ Structural problems - thin pavement, reduced base support
▪ Environmental conditions – freeze thaw cycles
▪ Consequence of not treated alligator cracking
Fixed by patching or filling
▪ removing loose material and cleaning the potholes, applying tack coat and mix
and compacting
 Bleeding or flushing
▪ A film of asphalt binder on the pavement surface usually creates shiny,
glass-like reflecting surface that can become quite sticky
 Leads to loss of skid resistance when wet
 Occurs when asphalt binder fills the aggregate voids in hot weather
and then expands onto the pavement surface
Causes
▪ Excessive asphalt binder in the HMA - improper mix design
▪ Excessive application of asphalt binder – construction deficiencies
▪ Low HMA air void content - not enough room for the asphalt to expand
▪ Traffic – high volume
▪ Environment – excessive hot weather
 Minor bleeding - using coarse sand to blot up the
excess binder
 Major bleeding can be corrected by cutting off
excess asphalt with a motor grader or removing it with a heater planer
 Block cracks - interconnected cracks, divide the pavement
into approx. rectangular pieces
 May range in size from 0.3 by 0.3 m to 3 by 3 m
 caused by shrinkage of the asphalt concrete and daily temp.
cycling, not load associated
 usually indicates that the asphalt has hardened significantly
 Block cracking normally occurs over a large portion of
pavement area.
 Low - cracks are non-spalled –
▪ sides of the crack are vertical or lightly spalled, causing no foreign object
damage (FOD) potential
▪ Non-filled cracks have 6 mm or less mean width, and filled cracks have filler in
satisfactory condition
 Medium - blocks defined by one of the following:
▪ filled or non-filled cracks - moderately spalled, some FOD potential;
▪ non-filled cracks that are not spalled or have minor spalling, some FOD
potential, but have a mean width > 6 mm;
▪ filled cracks with a mean width >6 mm that are not spalled or have only minor
spalling some FOD potential, but have filler in unsatisfactory condition

FOD –foreign object damage

 High - Blocks are well defined by cracks that are severely spalled,
causing a definite FOD potential
 For low severity cracks seals may be used
 High severity – removed and replaced with overlay
 Cracks in asphalt overlay that reflect the existing cracks in underlying
pavement
 Larger than block cracking and can be
▪ Longitudinal
▪ Transverse
▪ Random
 Joint reflection cracking” specifically refers to reflection cracks
arising from underlying PCC pavement joint movement
 Caused by the stress from horizontal and vertical movement of underlying
pavement
 Linea and localized cracks can be sealed
 Extensive and non linear cracks replacement of section
 Reinforced asphalt with grid as prevention
 localized pavement surface with slightly lower elevations than the
surrounding pave.
 often not noticeable until after a rain, when ponding water creates
"birdbath" areas
 Can be located with stains created by the ponding of water
 caused by settlement of the foundation soil or subgrade, or can
be built during construction due to inadequate compaction
 cause roughness & when filled with enough water can cause
hydroplaning of aircraft
 Speed up the bottom up fatigue of pavement
 If < 19mm they can be micro surfaced, >19mm should
be dug out
Classification
▪ Low - located by water ponding or stained area due to
ponding, slightly affects pavement riding quality, may cause
hydroplaning potential on runways (3-13mm)
▪ Medium - located by water ponding or stained area due
to ponding, moderately affects riding quality, causes
hydroplaning potential on runways (13-25mm)
▪ High - readily observed, severely affects
pavement riding quality, and causes definite
hydroplaning potential (>25mm)
two defects that usually occur in flexible pavements
Caused by weak sub-grade conditions, improper rolling, poor
mixing, temperature effect of bitumen, and weak bottom layers
 Corrugation or washboarding - The formation of ripples or waves
on the flexible pavement generally perpendicular to the traffic
flow
 It occurs at the points where traffic starts and stops
 Shoving - bulging of the pavement surface due to plastic
movement of pavement
 occurs at points where a vehicle pulls its brakes or at points
where pavement meets rigid objects

Caused by weak sub-grade conditions,

improper rolling, poor mixing,
temperature effect of bitumen, and weak
bottom layers
1. Weak Sub-grade Conditions
• Subgrade soil is said to be weak when it consists of highly plastic
clays, organic soil etc.
• Presence of water table nearer to subgrade soil also makes it weak
to take loads.
• weak soil is excavated and is replaced with boulders, crushed
stones for the stability of subgrade course.
If the depth of excavation is not up to the hard stratum, then sinking of
stones may occur causing formation of ripples on the pavement surface

2. Improper Rolling
• Improper rolling or inadequate compaction of flexible pavement
may lead to corrugations and shoving of pavement
• layers of pavement are not held together whenever traffic enters
the layers at those places,
it disrupts the layer resulting in formation of waves on the pavement
3. Poor Mixing
• Inappropriate mixing of surface course
• defective mixing may cause corrugation spread to larger areas due
to the continuous traffic
4. Temperature effect
• Bitumen is the surface used in flexible pavements.
• The temperature during mixing and rolling should be maintained
to attain the maximum stability after drying
• very high temp. during any of the above processes may reduce
the stability and waves or corrugations are formed
during compacting.
5. Weak bottom layers
• poorly compacted or defectively graded bottom layers (binder course,
base course, sub-base )
Increase the probability of occurrence of corrugation and shoving
• continuously subjected to vehicular movements, the surface course
gets deformed and
depressed, ultimately resulting in the formation of corrugations

Remedial Measures for Corrugation and Shoving

poor subgrade soil - stabilize the subgrade using suitable stabilizing
agents (lime, cement, chemical mix etc.)
inadequately compacted layers should be removed & reconstructed
with proper compaction
Lower the water table by providing a suitable sub-surface drainage
system
If failure is due to poor mixing of surface course, lay another layer of
surface course with proper mixing.
 Slippage cracks are crescent- or half-moon-shaped cracks having two ends
pointed in the direction of traffic
 They are produced when braking or turning wheels cause the pavement surface
to slide and deform
 usually occurs when there is a low-strength surface mix or poor bond between
the surface and next layer of pavement structure
 Slipping asphalt will create rough riding surfaces, voids, and bulges and will begin
incurring heavier impact forces from traffic, increasing the damage
 This will cause potentially larger damage especially as water channeling and
penetration damage the pavement base and advance the deterioration
 The treatment is removal and reconstruction
 Short transverse cracks usually 25 – 75 mm long & 25 – 75 mm
apart that appear on the mat surface during compaction
 the cracks are usually quite shallow and small
 can indicate mix tenderness causing inadequate compaction
Two principal causes of micro-cracking:
▪ Roller checking.-Mat deflection during compaction that is
great enough to fracture the mat surface, can be caused by:
▪ Excessive pavement deflection during compaction - If underlying layers of HMA, base
or subgrade deflect under roller loads, the mat will also deflect placing portions of
the mat surface in tension – if it overcomes cohesive forces, tiny cracks develop on
the surface.
▪ Mix tenderness - tend to shove when compacted causing
Areas of localized tension in the mat surface – when it
Overcomes HMA cohesive forces tiny cracks develop on surf.
▪ Compacting an excessively cool mat-If rollers are operated
▪ on a cool mat,the surface can be cool and stiff enough to fracture under compaction
 Microcracks can be treated with
microsurfacing, chip seal, thin overlay
 Water bleeding - water from underneath asphalt seeps through to the surface
 most likely to happen in the springtime, as the freeze/thaw cycle causes
changes in pressure that force water up through any cracks or weak spots
Asphalt pumping - this water-saturated asphalt is pushed up through
these same cracks or weak spots, creating small bumps or “pumps” on
surface It is unsightly and dangerous as it creates trip hazards.
It is the result of decreased structural support of the slab that leads to
Linear cracking, corner breaks and faulting
Water intrusion is caused by
 Decreased skid resistance, an indication of high pavement porosity
(water bleeding), decreased structural support (pumping)
 high water table or poor drainage- subgrade drainage should
be improved
 If the problem is a porous mix
in the case of water
bleeding- a fog seal or slurry
seal may be applied
 Pavements that lost their surface texture and angularity by tire caused
abrasion
 Polished aggregates have reduced skid resistance especially when wet
 Caused by repeated traffic over the rough angular particles on surface
 They get polished and loose abrasion resistance
 Polished aggregate can be treated by skid resistant slurry seal or overlay
 Surface dragging defects – torn or streaked areas – that
occur during laydown or compaction
 These areas may have higher air voids and are susceptible
to decreased stiffness, accelerated aging, moisture damage, raveling, rutting, etc.
 critical feature of the paver is the self-leveling screed unit - determines the profile
of the HMA being placed
 The screed takes the head of HMA from the material
Delivery system, strikes it off at the correct thickness and
Provides initial mat compaction

 Mat tearing caused by

 Warped or worn screed plates – larger friction increases the probability of
dragging aggregate particles along mat surface
 Screed plates tend to tear the mat at the beginning of paving if it is not
preheated – hot asphalt heats the screed and this issue is removed
 If screed extension is not properly installed for its crown and elevation, it can
create a small streak at the transition point
 Difference in appearance at the pavement surface
 Coarse and fine particles separate changing the durability
Causes:
 Segregation is one of main causes
 Temperature differential may prevent proper mixing of aggregates
 If mixture is delivered at low temperatures it may not have enough time for compaction
And could cause segregation
▪ Handwork after paver screed include deposition of asphalt material on top of the mat
and is essential for pavement appearance