CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1. Introduction

The beginning of road construction could be dated to the time of the

Romans. With the advancement of technology from carriages pulled by two horses to
vehicles with power equivalent to 100 horses, road development had to follow suit.
The construction of modern highways did not begin until the late 19th to early 20th
century.

The first research dedicated to highway engineering was initiated in the United
Kingdom with the introduction of the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL), in 1930.
In the USA, highway engineering became an important discipline with the passing of
the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1944, which aimed to connect 90% of cities with a
population of 50,000 or more. With constant stress from vehicles which grew larger
as time passed, improvements to pavements were needed.

Design policies standards used in the United States are typically based on
publications of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation
Officials as well as research promulgated by the Transportation Research Board,
the Institute of Transportation Engineers, the Federal Highway Administration, and
the Department of Transportation.

2.2 Types of roads

Different types of roads are classified into two categories, depending on whether
they can be used during different season of year:
1. All weather roads
2. Fair weather roads
All weather roads are those which are negotiable during all weather, except at major
river crossings where interruption to traffic is permissible up to a certain extent, the
road pavement should be negotiable during all weathers.
Roads which are called fair weather roads; on those roads, the traffic may be
interrupted during monsoon season at causeways where streams may overflow across
the road.
Based on the type of the carriage way or the road pavement, the roads are classified
as:
1. Paved roads, if they are provided with a hard pavement course which should be a at
least a water bound macadam (WBM) layer.
2. Unpaved roads, if they are not provided with a hard pavement course of at least a
WBM layer. Thus earth roads and gravel roads may called unpaved roads.
Based on the type of pavement surfacing provided; the road type are divided as:
1. Surfaced roads, which are provided with a bituminous or cement concrete surfacing
and
2. Unsurfaced roads, which are not provided with bituminous or cement concrete
surfacing. The roads provided with bituminous surfacing are also called black toped
road.

2.3 Classification of roads

2.3.1 National Highways (NH)

The main highways running through the length and breadth of the country
connecting major ports, state capitals, large industrial and tourist Centre’s, etc.
2.3.2 State Highway (SH)
The State Highways provide linkages with the National Highways, district
headquarters, important towns, tourist Centre’s and minor ports and carry the traffic
along major centers within the state. These arterial routes provide connectivity to
important towns and cities within the state with National Highways or State Highways
of the neighboring states.

2.3.3 Major District Roads (MDR)

MDR are the important roads with in a district serving areas of production and
markets and connecting those with each other or with the main highway of a district.
MDR has lower speed and geometric design specifications than NH/SH.
2.3.4 Other District Roads (ODR)
ODR are roads serving rural areas of production and providing them with
outlet to market center block development headquarters or other main roads. These
are of low design specifications than MDR.
2.3.5 Village Roads (VR)

These are important roads within a district connecting areas of production with
markets and connecting these with each other or with the State Highways & National
Highways.

2.4 Classification of road on the basis of pavements

The two types of pavements according to the basis of pavements are:

1. Flexible pavement
2. Rigid pavement

2.4.1 Flexible pavement

Flexible pavements are those, which on the whole have low or negligible flexural
strength and are rather flexible in their structural action under the loads. The flexible
pavement layers reflect the deformation of the lower layer on-to the surface of the
layer. Thus if the lower layer of the pavement or sub-grade is undulated, the flexible
pavement surface also get undulated. A typical flexible pavement consists of four
components:
1. Sub-grade soil
2. Sub-base course
3. Base course
4. Surface course

The flexible pavement layers transmit the vertical or compressive stress to the
lower layers by grain to grain transfer through the points of contact in the granular
structure. A well compacted granular structure consist of strong graded aggregates can
transfer the compressive stresses through a wider area and thus forms a good flexible
pavement layer. The load spreading ability of this layer therefore depends on the type
of materials and the mix design factor. Bituminous concrete is the one of the best
flexible pavement layer materials. Other materials which fall under the group are, all
granular materials with or without bituminous binder, granular base or
sub-base course materials like the Water Bound Macadam, crushed aggregates,
gravel, soil-aggregates mixes etc.
 Figure 2.1. Components of a Flexible Pavement

2.4.2 Rigid pavement

Rigid pavements are generally used in constructing airports and major

highways, such as those in the interstate highway system. In addition, they commonly
serve as heavy-duty industrial floor slabs, port and harbour yard pavements, and
heavy-vehicle park or terminal pavements. Like flexible pavements, rigid highway
pavements are designed as all-weather, long-lasting structures to serve modern day
high-speed traffic. Offering high quality riding surfaces for safe vehicular travel, they
function as structural layers to distribute vehicular wheel loads in such a manner that
the induced stresses transmitted to the subgrade soil are of acceptable magnitudes.

Portland cement concrete (PCC) is the most common material used in the construction
of rigid pavement slabs. The reason for its popularity is due to its availability and the
economy. Rigid pavements must be designed to endure frequently repeated traffic
loadings. The typical designed service life of a rigid pavement is between 30 and 40
years, lasting about twice as long as a flexible pavement.

One major design consideration of rigid pavements is reducing fatigue failure

due to the repeated stresses of traffic. Fatigue failure is common among major roads
because a typical highway will experience millions of wheel passes throughout its
service life. In addition to design criteria such as traffic loadings, tensile stresses due
to thermal energy must also be taken into consideration. As pavement design has
progressed, many highway engineers have noted that thermally induced stresses in
rigid pavements can be just as intense as those imposed by wheel loadings. Due to the
relatively low tensile strength of concrete, thermal stresses are extremely important to
the design considerations of rigid pavements.

Rigid pavements are generally constructed in three layers - a prepared

subgrade, base or subbase, and a concrete slab. The concrete slab is constructed
according to a designed choice of plan dimensions for the slab panels, directly
influencing the intensity of thermal stresses occurring within the pavement. In
addition to the slab panels, temperature reinforcements must be designed to control
cracking behaviour in the slab. Joint spacing is determined by the slab panel
dimensions.

Figure 2.2. Typical Rigid Pavement Structure

2.5 Types of Rigid Pavement

Rigid highway pavements can be divided into three general types: plain
concrete pavements, simply reinforced concrete pavements, and continuously
reinforced concrete pavements. The definition of each pavement type is related to the
amount of reinforcement used.

2.5.1 Jointed Plain Concrete Pavement (JPCP)

Plain concrete pavement has no temperature steel or dowels for load transfer.
However, steel tie bars often are used to provide a hinge effect at longitudinal joints
and to prevent the opening of these joints. Plain concrete pavements are used mainly
on low-volume highways or when cement-stabilized soils are used as subbase. Joints
are placed at relatively shorter distances (10 to 20 ft) than with other types of concrete
pavements to reduce the amount of cracking. In some cases, the transverse joints of
plain concrete pavements are skewed about 4 to 5 ft in plan, such that only one wheel
of a vehicle passes through the joint at a time. This helps to provide a smoother ride.

Figure 2.3. Typical Jointed Plain Concrete Pavement

2.5.2 Simply Reinforced Concrete Pavement

Simply reinforced concrete pavements have dowels for the transfer of traffic
loads across joints, with these joints spaced at larger distances, ranging from 30 to 100
ft. Temperature steel is used throughout the slab, with the amount dependent on the
length of the slab. Tie bars also are used commonly at longitudinal joints.
 Figure 2.4. Typical Simply Reinforced Concrete Pavement

2.5.3 Continuously Reinforced Concrete Pavement (CRCP)

Continuously reinforced concrete pavements have no transverse joints, except

construction joints or expansion joints when they are necessary at specific positions,
such as at bridges. These pavements have a relatively high percentage of steel, with
the minimum usually at 0.6 percent of the cross section of the slab. They also contain
tie bars across the longitudinal joints.

Figure 2.5. Typical Continuously Reinforced Concrete Pavement

2.5. Advantages and disadvantages of rigid pavement

The advantages of rigid pavement include:

1. Having a high compressive strength

2. Low maintenance cost

3. High value as a base for future resurfacing with asphalt

4. Load distribution over a wide area, decreasing base and sub grade requirements

5. Ability to be placed directly on poor soil

6. No damage from oils and greases

7. Strong edges

The disadvantages of rigid pavement include:

1. High initial cost

2. Joints required for contraction and expansion

3. Generally rough riding quality

4. High repair cost

2.6 Importance of Joints in Rigid Pavement

Joints are installed in concrete pavements to control stresses induced
by volume changes in concrete. These stresses may be produced in concrete slab
because of
1. Its contraction due to uniform temperature drop or decrease in moisture
2. Its expansion due to uniform temperature increase in moisture
3. The effect of warping of pavement due to vertical temperature or moisture
differential in the slab.
To control the stresses resulting from the above, four types of joints are
commonly provided for concrete pavement
1. Transverse contraction joints
2. Transverse expansion joints
3. Transverse construction joints
 4. Longitudinal joints

2.6.1 Transverse Contraction Joint of Rigid Pavement

These are "dummy" contraction joints. These joints control cracking of
the slab and also relieve the warping stresses in slab. These are weekend plain joints
by creating groove of depth 0.25 of slab thickness. Dowel bars are provided in these
joint if heavy vehicle are expected on these road.

Figure 2.6. Contraction joint of rigid pavement

2.6.2 Transverse Expansion Joint of Rigid Pavement
The purpose of the expansion joint is to allow the expansion of the
pavement due to rise in temperature with respect to construction temperature. These
joints are full depth joint and the width are 19-25 mm. Dowel bars are provided in
these joint if heavy vehicle are expected on these road.

Figure 2.7. Expansion Joint of Rigid Pavement

2.6.3 Longitudinal Joint of Rigid Pavement

During initial period of curing, shrinkage crack usually develops in CC
pavements when length or width of the slab exceed 4.5 to 5 m width or more. Hence
longitudinal joint are provided which spacing depend on width of traffic lane. For
instance if width is 3.5 or 3.75, then spacing of longitudinal joints is also 3.5 or 3.75
m respectively.
 Figure 2.8. Longitudinal joint with tie bar

2.6.4 Joint Fillers and Sealers

Joints are placed where continuity of the concrete slabs is broken.

These joints, if not filled with proper materials and allowed to remain open, grid may
be filled in them and subsequently. In summer, the slabs may be pushed apart due
expansion in the slab, expansion not being allow at the joint due to muck filled in it.
During rains water will infiltrate through joints into the soil sub-grade thus damaging
it. This also results in mud pumping, especially where sub-grade is made of expansive
soils.

Due to above mentioned difficulties, the joints may be filled with such
a material which is compressible, elastic and durable. A material which is used for
filling the joints is known as fillers. Some depth at the top of the joints is filled with a
material which could seal the joint completely against the entrance of water. The
material which is used for sealing the joint is known as sealer.

Essential properties for fillers are elasticity, compressibility and

durability, whereas for sealers adhesion with cement concrete, ductility, resistance for
ingress dust and durability are desirable properties.
 Figure 2.9. Joint Fillers and Sealers

2.7 Construction Steps of Rigid Pavement

Construction steps of rigid pavement involves following stages:
1. Preparation of sub-grade
2. Preparation of sub-base
3. Fixing of forms
4. Batching of materials and mixing
5. Carrying and placing concrete
6. Compacting and finishing
7. Curing