KWAME NKRUMAH UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

2022 ACADEMIC YEAR

SECOND SEMESTER

CE 368 TRANSPORTATION &

HIGHWAY ENGINEERING II

LECTURES 7 - 8
FLEXIBLE PAVEMENT DESIGN
(TRL ORN 31 METHOD)

DR. KENNETH A. TUTU

 FLEXIBLE PAVEMENT DESIGN
Two types of pavement design methodologies: empirical and mechanistic-empirical (M-E)

Empirical Design Mechanistic-Empirical Design

• Based on observed pavement performance from • Mechanistic component: Pavement responses (stresses,
road experiments or local experience strains, deflections) due to traffic loading are calculated
• Little or no focus on principles of mechanics • Empirical component: Pavement responses are used to
• Relationships between design inputs and predict distresses (e.g., fatigue cracking, rutting)
performance are developed

• Valid for traffic, material and environmental • Adaptable to new design conditions (traffic, materials
conditions under which it was developed. If and environment)
conditions change significantly, method needs
revision.
• No specific distresses are predicted • Specific distresses are predicted
• Example: AASHTO method uses terminal • Example: Fatigue cracking in 20% of wheelpath area;
serviceability index to describe overall pavement 25mm maximum rut depth
condition at end of design period
• Method is easy to use • Data intensive
• Design inputs are relatively easy to obtain • Distress models are costly to develop

• Relatively less design reliability • Better design reliability due to more reliable pavement
performance predictions

• Typically does not require advanced material • Better utilization of available materials due to advanced
characterization material characterization
Examples: Examples:

• 1993 AASHTO Method • AASHTOWare Pavement ME Design (MEPDG)

• TRL Overseas Road Note 31 • Asphalt Institute Method

Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) Design Method

(Overseas Road Note 31, 4th Edition, 1993)
• Overseas Road Note 31 (ORN 31), produced by the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL),
provides recommendations for the structural design of bituminous surfaced roads in tropical
and subtropical climates.

• ORN 31 accounts for variability in material properties and construction, uncertainties in

traffic forecasting, effects of climate and high axle loads and variability in road performance.

• ORN 31 was based on results of road experiments and performance of as-built existing roads,
where several factors that affect pavement performance were studied and quantified.

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• Local engineering experience and judgement must be a key part in the design process
o Some design scenarios may require modifying ORN 31’s recommendations

ORN 31 Pavement Design Process

• Four primary steps
o Step 1: Estimate traffic loading (ESALs)
o Step 2: Determine subgrade soil strength (CBR)
o Step 3: Select pavement structure from design charts
o Step 4: Provide material specifications

STEP 1: ESTIMATE TRAFFIC LOADING

• Traffic loading (ESALs) is categorized into eight classes (T1 to T8)
• ORN 31 is applicable for design of roads expected to carry 30 million ESALs or less
• If ESALs exceed 30 million, use different design method (e.g., AASHTO)

STEP 2: ESTIMATE SUBGRADE STRENGTH

• Subgrade strength is expressed in terms of California Bearing Ratio (CBR) and categorized
as S1 to S6

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Design CBR Estimation
• Subgrade strength is taken as that of the soil at a moisture content equal to the wettest
moisture condition likely to occur in the subgrade after road is open to traffic.
• Collect subgrade soil samples along the project road at appropriate intervals and depths
• Recall that, at sections with significant fill, the top of the subgrade soil will comprise the
borrow material. Borrow material should be evaluated
• In cut sections, the subgrade soil will be the native soil.
• Perform CBR testing on the samples, after soaking in water for four days (96 hours); more
details will be provided subsequent lectures.
• Alternatively, CBR can be measured in-situ through correlation with DCP test results
• CBR values vary along project road
o If average CBR value is used for pavement design, about one half of pavement is over-
designed and the other half is under-designed
o If minimum CBR value is used, most of the project road is over-designed
o Over-design is costly and under-design may cause premature failure
• Develop a cumulative percentile of CBR values and select the lower ten percentile as design
CBR value. This value is exceeded by 90% of the available CBR values
• If subgrade characteristics change significantly over long sections of project road, determine
different design CBR values for nominally uniform sections. See notes on identification of
uniform subgrade sections below.
• For subgrades with design CBR value less than 2, subgrade soil treatment is necessary

Example: Results of 20 tests produced the following subgrade soil CBR values: 45, 43, 40, 38,
36, 32, 28, 22, 10, 48, 50, 52, 55, 58, 64, 70, 75, 17, 32 and 5. Determine the design CBR.

Solution (Method 1) – Cumulative Percentile Plot

1. Use Excel’s percentrank function to compute cumulative percentile of each CBR value
2. Plot cumulative percentile versus CBR
3. Read off the CBR value at the 10th percentile to obtain the design CBR

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 Design CBR = 17

Solution (Method 2) – Percentile Plot

1. Arrange the CBR values in ascending (or descending) order
2. Find the number of CBR values that is equal to or greater than any given CBR value
3. Compute percent of total number of CBR values that is equal to or greater than (percentile)
4. Plot percentile on y-axis versus CBR on x-axis and draw a best-fit curve
5. Read off the CBR value at 90th percentile to obtain the design CBR

Design CBR = 17

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Identification of Uniform Subgrade Sections
• Identification of uniform subgrade sections helps in better characterizing subgrade conditions
for cost-effective pavement design and rehabilitation.
• Direct plots of soil testing data (e.g., CBR versus distance) may be used to visually identify
uniform sections, but such assessments may be highly subjective.
• The cumulative sum of deviation procedure can be used to identify uniform subgrade
sections more clearly. The equation is as follows:
𝐧𝐧

𝐂𝐂𝐂𝐂𝐂𝐂𝐂𝐂𝐂𝐂 = �(𝐱𝐱 𝐢𝐢 − 𝐱𝐱�)

𝐢𝐢=𝟏𝟏
Where:
CUSUM = cumulative sum of deviations
xi = data measured at point x
x� = mean of measured data

• Plot the cumulative sum of deviations versus distance along the road (chainage)
• Significant change in the slope of the graph indicates a change in the underlying soil
properties; hence a new section can be introduced.
• Length of uniform sections must be practical for analysis and construction purposes. It is not
expedient to change design over very short lengths.
• Determine design CBR value for each uniform section and perform pavement design on a
section-by-section basis, if it is practical to do so. Alternatively, subgrade soil improvement
can be conducted to allow for one pavement design solution.
• The cumulative sum of deviations procedure applies to other pavement data measurements
(e.g., deflection measurements using FWD) other than subgrade testing results.
• Delineation of uniform sections is not exact science, and some variations should be expected.

Illustrative Example
Subgrade soil samples were collected at a 1.0-km interval from a project road and tested for CBR.
Based on the test results in the table below, delineate the project road into nominal uniform
sections.

Solution A (Preferred) – Using Cumulative Sum of Deviations Method

(a) Calculate the mean CBR value
(b) Subtract the mean CBR value from each CBR measurement
(c) Cumulatively sum the deviations from the mean CBR
(d) Plot the cumulative sum of deviations of the CBR values against chainage
(e) Inspect the graph and determine significant changes in slope

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 Section 2 Section 3
Sec. 1

Figure 1. Cumulative Sum of Deviations of CBR versus Chainage

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Solution B (For Comparison Purposes) – Using Raw CBR Values
(a) Plot the raw CBR values against chainage
(b) Inspect the graph and determine significant changes in slope

Section 2 Section 3

Sec. 1

Figure 2. CBR versus Chainage

Delineation of Uniform Subgrade Sections

Uniform Section (km)
Method
1 2 3
Cumulative Sum of Deviations 0–3 3 – 15 15 – 20
Raw CBR Plot 0–4 4 – 11 11 – 20

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STEP 3: SELECT PAVEMENT STRUCTURE
• Use design CBR and ESALs to select a pavement structure from the TRL design charts
• Pay attention to the notes beneath the design charts
• Where very weak soils are encountered, a capping layer may be necessary
o Remove unsuitable material and replace with better quality material
o Improve existing subgrade material (stabilization)
• ORN 31’s recommended pavement thicknesses are minimum requirements
• Compare ORN 31’s thickness recommendations with specifications of GHA Pavement
Design Manual (1998)

Minimum Pavement Layer Thickness Recommendations

(GHA Pavement Design Manual, 1998)
Minimum Layer Thickness (mm)
ESALs (‘000)
Asphalt Concrete Aggregate Base Subbase
50 – 150 50 150 150
150 – 1,000 50 150 150
1,000 – 2,000 50 200 200
2,000 – 5,000 75 200 200
5,000 – 9,000 100 200 200

Example of Design Chart from ORN 31

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STEP 4: MATERIAL SPECIFICATIONS
• ORN 31 was not specifically developed for Ghana, and so the recommended material
specifications may not conform to our local specifications
• Compare ORN 31 material specifications with those of Ghana. Examples:
o Standard Specification for Road and Bridge Works (2007)
o Manual for Low Volume Roads: Part B – Materials, Pavement Design and Construction,
Ministry of Roads and Highways, 2019 – available online
• It is important to specify material properties that conform to our local specifications.

Examples of Material Specifications from ORN 31

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 Examples of Material Specifications from
Standard Specification for Road and Bridge Works (2007)

Natural Subbase and Base Materials

Material Class Typical Use
G80 • Base course
G60 • Base course for low traffic roads

G40 • Base course for sealed rural access roads

• Subbase
G30 • Subbase

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