Implementation of the AASHTO Pavement Design Procedures into MULTI-PAVE

61 Pages·2011·1.57 MB·English

Implementation of the AASHTO
Pavement Design Procedures into
MULTI-PAVE

Master Degree Project

Abiy Bekele

Division of Highway and Railway Engineering
Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering
Royal Institute of Technology
SE-100 44 Stockholm

TRITA-VBT 11:10
ISSN 1650-867X
ISRN KTH/VBT-11/10-SE
Stockholm 2011

Implementation of the AASHTO Pavement
Design Procedures into MULTI-PAVE

Abiy Bekele
Graduate Student
Infrastructure Engineering
Division of Highway and Railway Engineering
School of Architecture and the Built Environment
Royal Institute of Technology (KTH)
SE- 100 44 Stockholm

[email protected]

Abstract: This thesis implements the empirical pavement design procedures
for flexible as well as rigid pavement by American Association of State
Highways and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) into two MATLAB modules
of MULTI-PAVE. MULTI-PAVE was developed as a teaching tool that
performs pavement thickness design for multiple design procedures using a
common input file and a common output format. The AASHTO components
were developed in accordance with the 1993 AASHTO Pavement Design
Guide, and verified against the original design method. The thicknesses of the
Asphalt Concrete, Base Course and Sub-base Course are the design outputs
for flexible pavement. For rigid pavement, the thickness of slab is determined
for various types of concrete pavements. The modules will be included in a
MULTI-PAVE framework to compare the design outputs with other design
methods.

KEY WORDS: AASHTO Flexible Pavement Design, AASHTO Rigid Pavement
Design, AASHTO Road Test, MULTI-PAVE

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Acknowledgement

My first gratitude goes to my families who have been with me all
those ways to get here. I would also want to thank my advisor, Dr Michael T.
Behn, for cooperating with me and facilitating the needs of the project. Above
all I would like to thank God for making this happen.

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List of Symbols

Layer coefficient for AC

Layer coefficient for BC

Layer coefficient for SBC

c Serviceability value when pavement is considered out of
1
function
Initial serviceability trend value

Crack index
Drainage coefficient

Thickness index
Thickness of AC

Thickness of BC

Thickness of SB

Fall deflection

Spring deflection

Elastic modulus of PCC

’ Compressive strength of PCC
c
Reliability factor
Equivalent single axle load factor

J Load transfer coefficient
Modulus of sub grade reaction
Nominal axle load in kips

Axle load parameter

Drainage coefficient for BC

Drainage coefficient for SBC

Resilient modulus

Serviceability trend value
p Initial serviceability value
o
PSI Pavement Serviceability Index
p Terminal serviceability value
t
R Reliability
Combined standard error of traffic prediction

SN Structural Number
SN Structural Number of AC
1
SN Structural Number of BC
2
SN Structural Number of SBC
3
Modulus of rupture of concrete

SV Slope Variance
u Relative damage of a pavement layer
f
Accumulated axle load application
v
Accumulated axle load application up to class 2 crack

develops
Accumulated 18 kips single axle load

Standard normal deviate

Function of axle load and design thickness
Change in pavement Serviceability Index
Function of axle load and design thickness

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List of Abbreviations

AASHTO -American Association of State Highway and Transportation
Officials
AC - Asphalt Concrete
ASTM - American Society for Testing and Materials
BC - Base Course
CRCP - Concrete Reinforced Concrete Pavement
CBR - California Bearing Ratio
ESALs - Equivalent Single Axle Load
HRB - Highway Research Board
JPCP - Jointed Plain Concrete Pavement
JRCP - Jointed Reinforced Concrete Pavement
PCC - Portland Cement Concrete
RD - Rut Depth
SBC - Sub-base Course
WASHO - Western Association of State Highways Officials

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