1 Pavement Material and Design [CEN 4207]

Chapter 5:
TRAFFIC LOADING &
VOLUME
 Traffic Loading on Pavements
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 Traffic Volume and loading are the major factors which

influence the standard of a road
 Traffic volume: the basic criterion used in the geometric
design
 One of the bases for functional classification of roads,
( the design parameters associated with the specific class
are used for design, for example: width, alignment, and
gradients)
 Traffic loading: the most important factor in pavement
analysis and design, and culvert and bridge structures.
 Traffic Loading on Pavements
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 The most important traffic loading factors to be

included in the structural design of pavement
design are:
 Loading magnitude
 Loading configuration
 Number of repetitions
 Speed of loading
 Contact pressure
 Traffic Loading on Pavements
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 Two different procedures for considering traffic loading

effects are widely used in pavement design:
 Fixed Traffic: design thickness of pavements is determined
by single wheel load magnitude independent of load
repetitions.
 Any wheel configurations are converted to equivalent single wheel
load(ESWL).
 Design is performed based on the largest equivalent single wheel
load within all configurations
 Commonly used for airport and heavy-wheel load, but light traffic
volume highways
 Not commonly used today.
 Traffic Loading on Pavements
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 Fixed Vehicle: design thickness of pavement is

determined by the number of repetitions of a standard
single axle load (80KN).
 Any axle configuration is converted to equivalent single
axle load (80KN) by multiplying the number of repetitions
of each configuration by its equivalent axle load factor
(EALF)
 The design traffic load is in terms of equivalent single axle
load (ESAL).
 Because of the great variety of axle loads and traffic, it is
the most commonly used method for design today.
 Traffic Loading on Pavements
Fixed Traffic
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 Fixed traffic: involves converting multiple wheel loads to an

equivalent single-wheel load (ESWL).
 An equivalent single-wheel load is defined as the load on a
single tire that will cause an equal magnitude of stress, strain,
deflection or distress at a given location within a specific
pavement system to that resulting from a multiple-wheel load.
 Commonly used for airport and heavy-wheel load, but light
traffic volume highways
 Different criteria used for converting multiple-wheel load to a
single-wheel load including:
 Equal vertical stress, Equal vertical deflection, Equal contact pressure,
and Equal tensile strain out of which the first three are explained here.
 Traffic Loading on Pavements
Fixed Traffic: Equal vertical Stress ESWL
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 The method of equal vertical subgrade stress is based

upon approximations of stress distribution concepts in
an elastic half- space devised by Boyd and Foster.
 Traffic Loading on Pavements
Fixed Traffic: Equal Vertical Stress ESWL
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 The vertical stress factor σz/q presented in

Chapter Two can also be used to determine
the theoretical ESWL. For the same vertical
subgrade stress, σz.

 And for the same contact radius, the contact

pressure is proportional to wheel load,
or

 In which ps is the single-wheel load, which is the EAWL to be

determined, pd is the load on each of the duals, and qs and qd are the
contact pressures under a single wheel and dual wheels, respectively
 Traffic Loading on Pavements
Fixed Traffic: Equal deflection ESWL
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 In this method, the pavement system is considered as homogeneous half-

space and the vertical deflection at a depth equal to the thickness of the
pavement can be obtained from Boussinesq solutions.
 A single-wheel load that has the same contact radius as one of the dual
wheel and results in maximum deflection equal to that caused by the dual
wheel in the ESWL.
 Using the vertical deflection factor F presented in Chapter Two the
deflections due to single and dual wheel loading are expressed as:
 Traffic Loading on Pavements
Fixed Traffic: Equal interface deflection ESWL
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 In this method , the assumption is that the single wheel

has a different contact radius but the same contact
pressure as the dual wheels.
 The interface deflections for single and dual wheel
with the same contact pressure can be written as:
 Traffic Loading on Pavements
Fixed Vehicle
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 Fixed Vehicle Procedure:

 The number of repetitions of a standard vehicle or number of
standard single-axle load governs the thickness of a pavement.
 Axle loads which are not equal to the standard single-axle load
or consist of tandem or tridem axles are converted to the
standard single-axle load by multiplying them with the
corresponding EALF to obtain the equivalent effect of a
standard single-axle load.
 An equivalent axle load factor (EALF): the damage per pass to
a pavement by the axle in question relative to the damage per
pass of a standard single-axle load, usually the 80KN (18Kip)
single-axle load.
 Traffic Loading on Pavements
Fixed Vehicle
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 Traffic Loading on Pavements
Fixed Vehicle
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 The summation of the ESAL of all axle load during

the design period results in a traffic loading
parameter for pavement design.
 the most commonly used method for design today.
 EALFs in use today are either based on:
 AASHTO Road Test
 Theoretical analysis
 Traffic Loading on Pavements
Fixed Vehicle: AASHTO Equivalent Factors
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 Traffic Loading on Pavements
Fixed Vehicle: AASHTO Equivalent Factors
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 Fixed vehicle procedure-AASHTO Equivalent

Factors:

 Since EALF is not very sensitive to pavement

thickness, a SN=5 may be used for most cases and
a pt value of 2 and 2.5 are assumed.
 Traffic Loading on Pavements
Fixed Vehicle: Theoretical Analysis
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 Fixed Vehicle Procedure-Theoretical Analysis:

 Fatigue characteristics and permanent deformation parameters are
important factors in pavement design.
 To limit the failure due to fatigue cracking, the allowable number of load
repetition is expressed as:
 Traffic Loading on Pavements
Fixed Vehicle: Theoretical Analysis
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 The constant f2 was determined by Asphalt institute and Shell

and the values are 3.291 and 5.671 respectively.
 Traffic Loading on Pavements
Fixed Vehicle: Theoretical Analysis
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 Further, for single axles, it is reasonable to assume that

tensile strains due to the axles in question and the standard
single-axle are directly proportional to axle loads.
 Using 4 as the value of f2 EALF can be approximated by
what is known as the fourth power rule as:

ERA manual

 Where: Axle=mass of axle in kg n=a power factor that varies depending

on the pavement construction type and subgrade but which can be
assumed to have a value of 4.5
 Thank You!
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QUESTIONS?