DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR THE DESIGN OF NH, SH & MDR ABSTRACT A decision support system (DSS) is a computer-based

information system that supports business or organizational decision-making activities. DSSs serve the management, operations, and planning levels of an organization and help to make decisions, which may be rapidly changing and not easily specified in advance. DSSs include knowledge-based systems. A properly designed DSS is an interactive software-based system intended to help decision makers compile useful information from a combination of raw data, documents, personal knowledge, or business models to identify and solve problems and make decisions.DSS systems are not entirely different from other systems and require a structured approach.Such a framework includes people, technology, and the development approach. DSS technology levels (of hardware and software) may include: 1. The actual application that will be used by the user. This is the part of the application that allows the decision maker to make decisions in a particular problem area. The user can act upon that particular problem. 2. Generator contains Hardware/software environment that allows people to easily develop specific DSS applications. Tools include lower level hardware/software. DSS generators including special languages, function libraries and linking modules An iterative developmental approach allows for the DSS to be changed and redesigned at various intervals. Once the system is designed, it will need to be tested and revised for the desired outcome.

Decision Support System for pavement design is primarily required for decision making about suitable road construction techniques for the different layers of pavement layer thickness with minimum construction costs. There are numbers of factors influencing the decision about crust thickness, construction types and design of Bituminous mixes which are also described in the development of the Decision support system. DSS (Decision Support System) developed in work has four different parts 1- Design the crust thickness of the pavement. 2- Design suitable Bituminous mix 3- Decide the suitable construction method for different layers 4- Cost analysis INTRODUCTION

DSS developed an integrated system which eases the crust design of pavements for NH, SH, MDR based on the most recent IRC recommendation and then to design a suitable Bituminous mix for the Bituminous construction as per the demand by MARSHALL Method and then also decide the most suitable and economical method of construction of different layers of pavement. Design for the flexible pavement has been taken in account based on the above recommendations. This involves the design of NH, SH, MDR and ODR, Rural roads. The system involves the decision-making steps about the pavement thickness, bituminous mix and suitable construction technique for different layers based on its cost. The developed Decision Support System in this research work consists of following main elements: Design of pavement for the primary and secondary road systems i.e. NH, SH, MDR, based on the most recent revision of IRC (IRC:37-2001) guideline Selection of suitable road construction technique in different layers of pavement with minimum construction cost based on MOST specification for Road and Bridge works (third revision) Bituminous Mix Design Methods Bituminous mix for the Wearing course, Base course can be suitably designed by Marshall Method, which is generally used. Therefore design of bituminous mixes is based on Marshall Method. DSS for the design of pavement and bituminous mix:The entire architecture for this work has been divided into three parts namely. Decision about the crust thickness of the pavements for o NH, SH, MDR Decision making for the design of bituminous mixes based on Marshall Method. Decision making about the road construction method for different layers of Pavement based on the coat analysis. The steps involve in the Decision Support System can be represented by Flow chart

Selection of Suitable Construction types in Different Layers of Pavement by User

DESIGN MODULES

Determination of Thickness of Pavement Layers

Design of bituminous mixes Using Marshall Method

NH, SH, MDR

Select the Construction Type of minimum cost

Earthwork
Granular Sub Base

Road

Water Bound Macadam Premix Carpet

Road Signs

Select Source of Material

Borrow Area(Earthwork) Select alternative source Quarry(Aggregate) Supplier(Bitumen, Cement, Steel)

Gradation, Undertake cost efficient steps to improve quality Carry out test on quality of material

Size

Specific Gravity Atterberg Limits Aggregate Impact value Flakiness Index Soundness Water Absorption

Convey to approval

Stripping Value Density, CBR

Organize Resource Undertake construction Operation layer by layer

Men Material Machinery

Line, Level, Grade Cross section Camber

Yes
Remedy the defect No Carry out test for each layer Reject the work Go to the next layer

Visual Inspection

Thickness Compaction

 Density
Remedy the deficiency

Open to Traffic

PAVEMENT DESIGN METHODS:The pavement designs given in the previous edition IRC: 37-1984 were applicable to design traffic upto 30 million standard axles (msa). With the increasing traffic and incidence of overloading, arterial roads need to be designed for traffic for greater than 30msa. The analytical method of design has been used to reanalyze the existing designs and develop a new set of the results of designs for design traffic upto 150 msa. The flexible pavement has been modeled as a three layer structure and stress and strains at critical locations have been computed using their linear elastic model. The flexible pavement has been modeled as a three layer structure and stress and strains at critical locations have been computed using their linear elastic model. Based on the performance of existing design and using analytical approach, simple design charts, the pavement design thickness can be obtained for given CBR value ranging from 2 to 10 % and design traffic range from 1 msa to 150 msa for an average annual pavement temperature of 35 C. The layer thickness obtained from the analysis has been modified to adopt the design to stages construction. Using the following input parameters, appropriate designs could be chosen for the given traffic and soil strength. 1. design traffic in terms of cumulative number of standard axles and 2. CBR value of sub grade The procedure for estimating design traffic and assessing the CBR value of the sub grade soil is described below.

NH, SH, MDR

Traffic Load V.D.F. CBR value Type of lane

Computational Operational based on IRC recommendation

Thickness of different layers: Sub base Base Surface

Traffic:The recommended method considers traffic in terms of the cumulative number of standard axles (8160 Kg) to be carried by the pavement during the design life. For estimating design traffic, the following information is needed: I. Initial traffic after construction in terms of number of commercial vehicles per day (CVPD). II. Traffic growth rate during the design life in percentage. III. Design Life in number of years IV. Vehicle damage factor (VDF). V. Distribution of commercial traffic over the carriageway. For the purpose of structural design, only the number of commercial vehicles of gross vehicle weight of 3 tones or more and their axle loading is considered. Traffic growth rate:Traffic growth rates should be estimated: I. By studying the past trends of traffic growth, and II. 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% may be adopted. Design Life:It is recommended for the design of pavement for arterial roads like NH & SH should be designed for the design life of 15 years. Expressways and Urban roads may be designed for a longer life of 20 years. Vehicle Damage Factor:The vehicle damage factor (VDF) is a multiplier to convert the number of commercial vehicles of different axle loads and axle configuration to the number of standard axle load repetitions. It is defined as equivalent number of standard axles per commercial vehicle. The VDF varies with the vehicle axle configuration, axle loading, terrain, type of road and from region to region. The VDF is arrived at from axle load surveys on typical road sections so as to cover various influences factor, such as traffic mix, mode of transportation, commodities carried, time of the year, terrain, road conditions and designing enforcement. For designing a new pavement, the VDF should be arrived at carefully by carrying out specific axle load surveys on the existing roads. Some surveys have been carried out in the country on NH, SH and MDR which reveals excessive overloading of commercial vehicles. Therefore it is recommended that the designer should take the realistic values of VDF after conducting the axial load surveys. Where sufficient information on axle loads is not available and the project size does not warrant conducting an axle load survey, the indicative values of vehicle damage factor as given below:Initial traffic volume in terms of number of Commercial vehicles per day 0-150 150-1500 More than 1500 Rolling / Plain 1.5 3.5 4.5 Terrain Hilly 0.5 1.5 2.5

Distribution of commercial traffic over the carriage way:It is recommended for the time being the fallowing distribution may be assumed for design until more reliable data on placement of commercial vehicle on the carriage lane are available I. Single Lane Road Traffic tends to be more channelised on single lane roads than two lane road and to allow for this concentration of wheel load repetition. The design should be based on total no. of commercial vehicles in both directions. II. Two Lane Single Carriage way Road

The design should be based on 75% of the total no. of commercial vehicle in both directions. III. Four Lane Single Carriage Way Roads The design should be based on 40% of the total no. of commercial vehicle in both directions. IV. Duel Carriage Way Roads The design of Dual two lane carriage way road should be based on the 75% of the total no. of commercial vehicle in each direction. For dual three lane carriage way AND Dual Four Lane Carriage Way Road, the distributation factor will be 60% & 45% respectively. Computation of Design Traffic:The design traffic is considered in terms of the cumulative no. of standard axles in the lane carrying max. Traffic to be carried during the design life of the road This can be computed by the following equation

N = [365 *{(1+r)n -1}*A*D*F]/r

Where N = the cumulative no. of standard axles to be catered for in the design A= initial traffic in year of completion in terms of CVPD The traffic in the year of completion is A=P (1+r)x P= no. of CVPD as per last count X= no. of years between the last count and the year of completion of construction D= lane distribution factor F= Vehicle Damage Factor N= Design Life in Years r = Annual growth rate of commercial vehicles (For 7.5% annual growth rate r =.075) Pavement Thickness and Composition:The design curves relate pavement thickness to the cumulative number of standard axles to be carried over the design life for CBR values of sub grade ranging from 2% to 10%. For the design of pavements to carry traffic in the range of 1 to 150 msa. For the given CBR value and design traffic is the total pavement thickness to be provided and consists of granular sub-base, granular base and bituminous surfacing. The requirement for the component layers are given in IRC: 37-2001. Based on recommended designs giving minimum thickness and compositions of pavement layers for new constructions are given in the Pavement Design Catalogue.

Decision for selection of suitable construction method for different pavement layers:-

Selection of Suitable Construction Method in Different Layers of Pavement

Sub base Granular sub base Crushed Sand Water bound Macadam Wet mix Macadam Over burn brick ballast

Base

Bituminous
Bituminous macadam Built up spray Grout Dense bituminous macadam

NonBituminous
Water bound macadam Wet Mix Macadam Crushed Cement Concrete

Wearing /Surface Open graded premix carpet Surface Dressing Seal coat Semi dense bituminous concrete

Rate Analysis

Selection of Suitable Construction Method of Minimum Cost

DECISION

Decision of Suitable Construction Method for different layers of Pavement Pavement Composition:Sub grade:-

1. Material:-

i.
ii.

The size of coarse material shall not ordinarily exceed 75 mm when placed in embankment and 50 mm when placed in Subgrade. The material should satisfy the density requirement.

Type of Work
(a).

Max laboratory dry unit weight

Embankment not subjected to flooding -height up to 3m -height more than 3m Not less than 1.44 gm/cc Not less than 1.52 gm/cc Not less than 1.52 gm/cc Not less than 1.65 gm/cc

(b) . (c).

Embankment Subjected to flooding Subgrade, earth shoulder

2. Horizontal Alignment:The edges of the roadway as constructed shall be correct within the tolerance limit () 30 mm therefore.

3. Surface Levels:The tolerance limit for surface level for Subgrade will be () 25mm.

4. Surface Regularity:-

Irregularity

4 mm

7 mm

Length(m) Number of irregularities

300 50

75 25

300 6

75 3

5. Density of Compaction:-

1. 2.

Type of material Subgrade and earth shoulder Embankment

Relative compaction Not less than 100 percent standard Procter Not less than 97 percent standard Procter

Acceptance criteria shall be subjected to the condition that the mean density is not less than the specified density.

Sub Base Course:Sub base material comprises of natural sand, moorum, gravel, laterite, kankar, brick metal, crushed stone, crushed slag, crushed concrete or combinations thereof meeting the prescribed grading and physical requirements. Liquid Limit < 25 Plasticity Index < 6 The thickness of sub-base should not be less than 150 mm for design traffic less than 10 msa and 200 mm for design traffic of 10 msa and above.

Granular Sub Base 1. Grading:Gradation requirement for Coarse Graded Granular Sub-Base Percent by weight passing the IS sieve(By wet sieve analysis) IS Sieve Grading 1 Grading 2 Grading 3 75.0 mm 53.0 mm 26.5 mm 4.75 mm 2.36 mm 0.425 mm 0.075 mm 100 55-75 10-30 <10 100 50-80 15-35 <10 100 25-45 <10

Gradation Requirement for Close-Graded Granular Sub-Base IS Sieve Percent by weight passing the IS sieve(By wet sieve analysis) Grading 1 75.0 mm 53.0 mm 26.5 mm 9.5 mm 4.75 mm 2.36 mm 100 80-100 55-90 35-65 25-55 20-40 Grading 2 100 70-100 50-80 40-65 30-50 15-25 3-10 Grading 3 100 65-95 50-80 40-65 20-35 3-10

0.425 mm 10-25 0.075 mm 3-10

1. Atterberg Limit :The passing 425 micron sieve for all the three grading when tested according to IS: 2720 (part 5) shall have liquid limit and plastic index not more than 25 and 6 percent respectively.

2. CBR value: The material with a minimum CBR value of 15 will be acceptable for granular sub-base.

3. Drainage Layer:Grading of course to medium sand for drainage layer

IS Sieve Designation 11.2 mm 5.6 mm 2.56 mm 180 micron

Percent by weight passing 100 80-100 70-90 <5

Base Course:Unbound granular bases which comprise conventional Water Bound Macadam (WBM), Wet Mix Macadam (WMM) or other equivalent granular construction conforming to IRC/MORT&H Specifications shall be adopted. The recommended minimum thickness of granular base is 225 mm for traffic upto 2 msa and 250 mm for traffic exceeding 2 msa. Water Bound Macadam 1. Material a. Coarse Aggregates-

Aggregate impact value Flakiness Index Water Absorption

= 50 percent maximum (sub base) = 40 percent maximum (base) = 40 percent maximum (sub base) = 30 percent maximum (base) = 6 percent maximum (sub base) = 6 percent maximum (base)

2. GradingGrading of course aggregate for WBM Grading no. 1. Size range 90 mm to 45 mm IS Sieve 125 mm 90 mm 63 mm 45 mm 22.4 mm 90 mm 63 mm 53 mm 45 mm 22.4 mm 63 mm 53 mm Percent by weight passing 100 90-100 25-60 0-15 0-5 100 90-100 25-75 0-15 0-5 100 95-100

2.

63 mm to 45 mm

3.

53mm to 22.4 mm

45 mm 22.4 mm 11.2 mm

65-90 0-10 0-5

3. Screening:Screening should consist of same material as the course aggregate. Also nonplastic material such as moorum or gravel with LL less than 20 and PI less than 6 may be used. Fraction passing 75 micron should not exceed 10 percent.

Grading Type Size Range A. 13.2 mm

IS Sieve 13.2 mm 11.2 mm 5.6 mm 180 micron 11.2 mm 5.6 mm 180 micron

B.

11.2 mm

Percent by Weight Passing 100 95-100 15-35 0-10 100 90-100 15-35

4. Surface Level:The tolerance in surface levels of the WBM layer would be as under: (A). Sub base course (B). Base Course I. Machine laid ()10 mm ()15 mm () 20 mm

II. Manually laid

Bituminous Surfacing:The bituminous surfacing shall consist of either a wearing course or binder course with a wearing course depending upon the traffic to be carried. The most commonly used wearing courses are surface dressing, open graded premix carpet mix seal surfacing, semi dense bituminous concrete & Bituminous concrete.

Surface Dressing A. Methodology: 1. The base on which surface dressing is to be laid should be prepared and shaped to the specified lines, grade and cross-section. 2. The bituminous binder should be bituminous material e.g. paving bitumen, modified bitumen or a rapid setting emulsion as decided by the engineer in charge. 3. Bituminous binder should be heated to a temperature specified in table Binder Penetration grade bitumen(S-90) Modified Bitumen Emulsion(RS) Whirling Jets 170C-190C 180C-200C 25C-50C Slot Jets 165c-175C 175C-185C 25C-50C

4. Cover the binder immediately with the stone chippings of suitable size and spread the same uniformly at the rates specified in the table:-

Type of Construction

Normal size of stone chippings 13.2mm 11.2mm

Quantities per 10 sq m Stone chipping 0.10 0.08 Bitumen 10 kg 9 kg Emulsion 11 kg 10 kg

First coat of the two coat surface dressing Second coat of the two coat surface dressing or single coat

5. Immediately thereafter, the entire surface should be rolled with the help of suitable road rollers. Rolling should commence from the edges and the progress towards the centre expect in super elevated portion where it shall proceed from the lower edge to the higher edge.

6. The road may be opened to traffic 24 hours after the work of rolling is complete. 7. Where two coat surface dressing is specified in the contract, the second coat should be applied after the first coat is exposed to traffic for three weeks.

B. Quality control Requirement:1. Material:1. Stone chippings:-

1. Physical

requirements: -Stone chipping should satisfy the requirement given in table:-

Physical requirements of stone chippings for surface dressing Loss angles abrasion value 40 percent maximum Aggregate impact value 30 percent maximum Flakiness and elongation index 35 percent maximum Stripping value 15 percent maximum soundness 12 percent maximum Water absorption 2 percent maximum

2. Grading :The stone chippings should conform the grading given in the table:Grading of chips for surface dressing Type of Construction Single coat surface dressing or first coat of two coat surface dressing Second coat of two coat surface dressing Normal Size 13.2mm Requirement 100 percent passing through 22.4 mm sieve and retained on11.2 mm sieve 100 percent passing through 13.2 mm sieve and retained on 5.6 mm sieve

11.2mm

3. Bitumen : The binder should be liquid bituminous material which may be: Paving grade bitumen(IS 73-1992) Modified bitumen (IRC 53-1999) Rapid setting bitumen emulsion (IS 8887-1995)

4.

Surface regularity :-

The maximum permitted number of surface irregularity would be as given in table-

Irregularity 4 mm Length(m) 300 75 Number of Irregularity 50 25

7 mm 300 75 6 3