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A Guide to the Structural Design
of Flexible Pavements for Ports
and Container Terminals

Australian flexible Pavement Association

Pavement Design and Monitoring

March 2021
Pavement Design
Guide to the Structural Design of Flexible Pavements for
Ports and Container Terminals
Authors

Dr Bevan Sullivan, Fulton Hogan

Mr Brendan Leader, SMEC

Mr Michael Kartsounis, Aurecon

Dr Erik Denneman, Puma Energy

Mr Bobby Lau, Patrick Stevedores

Mr Alvin Prasad, Fulton Hogan

Dr Ian Van Wijk, GHD

Mr Keith Patrick, Fulton Hogan

March 2021

Australian flexible Pavements Association Head Office: 2/20 Sabre D, Port Melbourne Vic 3207 Tel: (03) 8416
4500 E-mail: info@afpa.asn.au Web: www.afpa.asn.au
Revision Register

Date Procedure Updates

November 2020 All Issue for General Industry Comment
March 2021 All Issue for General Release
Preface

The Australian flexible Pavement Association is the peak body representing the flexible pavement
industry in Australia and is committed to leading the way in technology and research through its National
Technology and Leadership Committee. Recognising the lack of guidance for the design of flexible
pavements for port and terminal operators, AfPA working with Industry, Consultants and Operators
have developed the Guide to the Structural Design of Flexible Pavements for Ports and Container
Terminals.

This guide has been developed to assist in the management and design of flexible pavements for port
and container terminal operations. The guide covers the design of all types of flexible pavements within
container handling terminals and similar cargo handling terminals. As the characterisation of failure
used in this manual is different from that of highway and airfield pavements, it is not recommended that
this procedure be used in these applications.

The procedures presented in this guide are intended for the design of terminal pavements for which the
primary distress mode is load associated. If other modes of stress, for example, settlement and/or
environmental distress, have a significant effect on performance, their effect should be separately
assessed. This document should only be used as a guide and should not be referred to as a design
specification. The designer must exercise professional judgment in assessing the risk and performance
of the pavement.

This guide should only be used in conjunction with the services of a qualified pavement engineer or
experienced consultant to ensure that specific project details and circumstances are taken into
consideration. While all reasonable care has been taken in the preparation of this guide, the designer
must review the correctness and applicability of the data or information contained within this guide
specific to the project.

Acknowledgements
As with all AfPA publications, this document was the result of a collaborative effort between AfPA
members. AfPA acknowledges the expertise provided by the members of the following working
groups for the development of the Guide to the Structural Design of Flexible Pavements for Ports and
Container Terminals:

• the AfPA Pavement sub committee

• the AfPA National Technology and Leadership committee
Disclaimer

Australian flexible Pavement Association Limited ACN 000 770 123 (“AfPA”) has made this document
available for you to view and use in accordance with the Preface (set out above). While every effort has
been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this document, AfPA cannot
guarantee that it is entirely accurate and error-free. You must make your own assessment of the
information contained in this document and, if you choose to rely on it, it is wholly at your own risk.

You agree that AfPA cannot, and do not, give you legal, commercial or other consulting or professional
advice; that AfPA are not a consulting or professional services firm; and you must consult with a
commercial or other appropriately qualified advisor for advice concerning the suitability of the contents
of this document.

AfPA disclaims any warranties, whether expressed or implied, including any warranty as to the quality,
accuracy, or suitability of this information for any particular purpose. AfPA cannot be held responsible
for the continued currency of the information, for any errors or omissions, and for any consequences
arising therefrom. To the extent permitted by law, AfPA excludes all liability for any loss or damage
arising out of the use of the information contained in this document.

In no event will AfPA or its officers, committee members, employees, contractors or agents be liable to
you or anyone else for any decision made or action taken in reliance on the information obtained in this
document or for any consequential, special or similar damages, even if advised of the possibility of such
damages.

Copyright Notice

This work is copyright. Apart from any use permitted under the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth), no part of it
may be reproduced by any purpose without the written permission from the publisher. Requests and
inquiries concerning reproduction rights should be directed to the publisher.

Publisher:

Australian Flexible Pavement Association Limited ACN 000 770 123 PO Box 848, Port Melbourne VIC
3207, Australia

www.afpa.asn.au

© Australian Flexible Pavement Association Limited

Contents

Introduction: A Guide to the Structural Design of Flexible Pavements for Ports and Page
Container Terminals
I.1 Introduction I-1
I.2 Scope I-2
I.3 Format of the Guide I-3
I.4 List of Abbreviations I-4
Procedure 1: Guide to Defining the Performance of Terminal Pavements
1.1 Introduction P1-1
1.2 Shape P1-1
1.3 Rutting P1-3
1.4 Cracking P1-5
1.5 Ravelling P1-6
1.6 Accounting for Corner Castings P1-7
1.7 Asphalt Surface Requirements P1-9
1.7 Overall Structural Capacity P1-9
Procedure 2: Outline of Container Handling Equipment
2.1 Intro to Modes of Operation P2-1
2.2 Terminal Operation Types and Areas P2-1
2.3 Terminal Operational Areas P2-2
2.4 Terminal Equipment P2-7
2.5 Required Movements per Container P2-11
2.6 Re-handling in Grounded Container Operations (Container Stacks) P2-13
2.7 Container Trade P2-14
2.8 Equipment Weights and Capacities P2-16
2.9 Axle Loadings P2-20
Procedure 3: Procedure for Calculation of Critical Loading in Terminal Operations
3.1 Introduction and General Operations P3-1
3.2 Calculation of Container Movements P3-2
3.3 Calculation of Percentage Movements in Laydown Areas and Connecting Roads P3-3
3.4 Calculation of Percentage Movements within Container Stacking Areas P3-6
3.5 Truck Grids P3-8
3.6 Direct Intermodal Transfers P3-9
3.7 Truck Loading Zones P3-10
3.8 Wheeled Storage and Truck Connection Roads P3-11
3.9 Unloaded movements P3-11
3.10 Traffic Wander P3-11

Procedure 4: Guide to the Characterisation of Pavement Materials for Terminal Design

4.1 Introduction P4-1
4.2 Characterisation of Subgrade P4-2
4.3 Characterisation of Aggregate Base Courses P4-3
4.4 Characterisation of Bound Materials P4-6
4.5 Characterisation of Concrete Block Pavers P4-9
4.6 Characterisation of Asphalt P4-9
4.7 Characterisation for Crack and Seated Concrete Pavements P4-14
Procedure 5: Procedure for Structural Design of Terminal Pavements
5.1 Scope P5-1
5.2 Design for Static Loading P5-1
5.3 Design Life P5-1
5.4 Design Options P5-2
5.5 Design for Corner Castings P5-4
5.6 Design Process P5-6
5.7 Mechanistic Method P5-7
Appendix A6: Sub Procedures
A6.1 Procedure for Determination of Design Subgrade Modulus A6-1
A6.2 Procedure for Determination of Basic Thickness A6-3
A6.3 Procedure for Calculation of Axle Loadings A6-6
A6.4 Procedure for Assessing the Effect of Vehicle Wander A6-7
A6.5 Procedure for Calculating WMAPT A6-9
A6.6 Procedure for Characterisation of Asphalt Modulus A6-11
A6.7 Procedure for Characterisation of Unbound Granular Materials A6-13
A6.8 Procedure for Determination of Fatigue Relationship Based on Standard Test A6-15
Results
A6.9 Procedure for Characterisation of Cement Treated Base Materials A6-17
A6.10 Procedure for Calculation of Layer Deflection above the Elastic Limit A6-19
A6.11 Procedure for Determination of Cumulative Damage of Bound Layers A6-22
A6.12 Procedure for Calculating Incremental Increase in Permanent Deformation A6-23
A6.13 Procedure for Development of Dynamic Modulus Master Curves A6-26
Appendix A7: Design Examples
A7.1 Example of Road-to-Road Pavement Design A7-1
A7.2 Port Terminal Traffic Analysis A7-8
Guide to the Structural Design of Flexible
Pavements for Ports and Container Terminals March 2020

I. Guide to the Structural Design of Flexible Pavements for Ports

and Container Terminals

I.1 Introduction
The importance of container terminals, both port and intermodals and their pavements to the
Australian economy cannot be overstated. Ports Australia places the value of merchandise
trade through terminals at a total of $A502.4 billion ($A248.0 billion exports and $253.5 billion
imports) equating to approximately 33 per cent of GDP in 2012-13. This trade is expected to
continue to grow, with the federal bureau of infrastructure, transport and regional economics,
forecasting a national rise from 7.2 million TEU’s per annum, in the financial year 2012-13, to
19.4 million in 2032-33. With this amount of Australia’s GDP going through terminals, it is in
our national interests to have terminals that are efficient in getting a product to market both
domestic and international. Most of this trade will be handled through both port and intermodal
container terminals, placing ever-increasing requirements on the pavement materials and
structure.

The majority of pavements used in terminals across Australia are flexible pavements, surfaced
with either asphalt or Concrete Block Pavers (CBP) with these pavements having been used
successfully for decades. While flexible pavements form the majority of pavements used in
terminals little standardised guidance, existed both nationally and internationally combining all
aspects of the design of flexible pavements in terminal operations. While guides such as the
British Ports Association (BPA) (1996) are in practice, the guide was developed principally for
the structural design of CBP surfaced pavements with heavily bound bases built in locations
with low subgrade support. For this reason, the BPA guide is limited in its applicability for the
subgrade conditions generally experienced and the materials (asphalt, unbound granular and
Cement Treated Bases) traditionally used in Australia. In addition, there is limited guidance
available for the determination of the critical design traffic loading required for pavement
design, for the different operational layouts of terminals.

As loadings and the definition of failure for port and terminal pavements is different from that
of roads and highways. The use of design procedures and material characterisation methods
developed for highway pavements, such as AGPT-Part 2 (2017) are generally not applicable
for the design of pavements for ports and container terminals without further significant
calibration and validation.

As no one guide covered the loading analysis, environment and materials found in Australia,
the design of flexible pavements in most cases were traditionally undertaken using a
combination of design procedures and in house methods, such as the empirical British Port
Association method, Knapton (1996), the Austroads Guide (AGPT-Part 2 (2017)), and FAA
airfield design procedure (2016), amongst others. In most cases, this results in:

 Advances in materials and testing not being incorporated.

 Performance is ill-defined.
 The design process is not validated and calibrated, resulting in unquantifiable risk.
 Valuable comparison of designs between different designers using differing
procedures is not possible.
 Robust verification of design is challenging.

To address these limitations, the Australian flexible Pavement Association (AfPA), in

conjunction with consultants and Australian terminal operators undertook to develop standard

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Guide to the Structural Design of Flexible
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guidelines for the structural design of flexible pavements, to establish a calibrated and
validated design procedure covering the following topics:

 Assessment of pavement condition in terminal pavements and the characterisation of

failure.
 Typical container handling equipment.
 Typical terminal layouts and operations.
 Determination of critical loading based on equipment and operations for each
operational area.
 Material characterisation including;
o Site investigation and the determination of characteristics of subgrade
materials,
o Subgrade testing and analysis to determine design values,
o Cement Treated Base (CTB) characterisation,
o Unbound granular material characterisation, and
o Asphalt material characterisation.
 Flexible pavement design.
 Maintenance management and planning.
 Life cycle prediction, risk analysis, and performance expectations.

I.2 Scope of the Design Guide

This guide sets out procedures for the design of flexible pavements in terminal operations.
The guide has been developed for the design of all types of flexible pavements within container
handling terminals and similar cargo handling terminals. As the characterisation of failure used
in this manual is different from that of highway and airfield pavements, it is not recommended
that this procedure be used in these applications.

This guide focuses on the structural design of pavements rather than design detailing. The
procedures presented in this guide are intended for the design of terminal pavements for which
the primary distress mode is load associated. If other modes of distress, for example,
settlement and/or environmental distress have a significant effect on performance, their effect
should be separately assessed. This document should only be used as a guide and should
not be referred to as a design specification. The designer must exercise professional
judgement in assessing the risk and performance of the pavement.

This design guide is only intended to provide general guidance based on the latest research
and development related to the operations of terminals and pavement performance. The guide
should only be used in conjunction with the services of a qualified pavement engineer or
experienced consultant to ensure that specific project details and circumstances are taken
into consideration.

While all reasonable care has been taken in the preparation of this guide, the designer must
review the correctness and applicability of the data or information contained within this guide
specific to the project. AfPA disclaims any responsibility or liability in connection with the use
of this document.

I.2.1 Pavement Types

Flexible pavements have been used successfully for well over half a century and are the main
pavement types used in port and intermodal (container terminal) pavements throughout
Australia.

Typical pavements include:

a) Full/partial depth asphalt pavements, with 120-350 mm of asphalt.

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Guide to the Structural Design of Flexible
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b) Cement Treated Base (CTB) pavements with asphalt surfacing of 80-150 mm.
c) CBP pavements on variable flexible bases.
d) Un-Bound Granular (UBG) pavements (surfaced and unsurfaced) for low operational
duty terminals.

N.B. The performance of unsurfaced UBG materials is not analysed or predicted as

performance is highly dependent on local materials and operation.

I.2.2 Design Principles

Experience has shown that the use of mechanistic-empirical procedures currently provide the
most accurate estimates of pavement performance and are justified for use in terminal
pavement design. The mechanistic-empirical design method recommended in this guide has
been developed over several years of practice and has been calibrated and validated against
accelerated loading facilities and the known performance of terminal pavements.

In terms of structural performance, the guide is consistent with most mechanistic-empirical

design procedures in that:

 Fatigue of asphalt and bound layers is determined based on the magnitude of

horizontal tensile strain at the bottom of the layer.
 Top-down fatigue/erosion (crushing) of CTB is determined by stress to strength ratio
on the surface of the CTB layer.
 Rutting is controlled by limiting vertical deformation within granular material layers in
addition to any deformation from crushing of the CTB.

The effect of loading distribution is accounted for by the use of a cumulative damage approach
and consideration of traffic wander is undertaken by the use of a traffic reduction factor.

The guide can also be used for the design of “brownfield” pavements, which may need to be
strengthened by either overlay or inlay of existing structures, taking advantage of the existing
strength of the pavement to achieve cost and productivity cost savings.

I.2.3 Validation and Calibration of the Guide

The design procedure presented in this guide is based on mechanistic-empirical design
procedures, where the stress or strain condition in the pavement is used to predict the level
of damage. These levels of damage have been assessed and validated against existing
designs of known performance to determine the lab-to-field shift factor for bound materials to
produce visible fatigue cracking and the maximum acceptable level of surface deformation at
failure.

I.3 Format of the Guide

The guide is organised into seven (7) separate procedures or outlines described as follows:

 P1 Guide to Defining the Performance of Terminal Pavements

 P2 Outline of Terminal Operations
 P3 Procedure for Calculating Critical Loading in Terminal Operations
 P4 Procedure for Characterising Materials for Terminal Pavements
 P5 Procedure for the Structural Design of Terminal Pavements
 A6 Sub Procedures
 A7 Design Examples

The full description and scope of each procedure are described in the introduction and scope
part of the procedure.

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I.4 List of Abbreviations

AASHTO American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials

AAPA Australian Asphalt Pavement Association (now AfPA)
AfPA Australian flexible Pavement Association
AGPT Austroads Guide to Pavement Technology
BPA British Ports Association
CapEx Capital Expenditure
CBP Concrete Block Pavers
CBR California Bearing Ratio
CTB Cement Treated Base
DCP Dynamic Cone Penetrometer
FAA Federal Airports Administration
FBB Foamed Bitumen Base
FEL Front End Loader
FWD Falling Weight Deflectometer
GDP Gross Domestic Product
ISO International Standards Organisation
Lo-Lo Load on-Load off
M-E Mechanistic-Empirical
NAPTF National Aircraft Pavement Test Facility
OpEx Operational Expenditure
RTG Rubber Tyred Gantry
Ro-Ro Roll on-Roll off
RS Reach Stacker
SP Side Picker
TEU Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units
TP Top Picker
UBG Un-Bound Granular material
UCS Unconfined Compressive Strength
USACE United States Army Corps of Engineers
WMAPT Weighted Mean Annual Pavement Temperature

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References

Australian Bureau of Statistics (2002) Trade through Australian Ports

www.abs.gov.au/Ausstats/abs@.nsf/0/.../Trade%20through%20Australia's%20ports.pdf,
accessed 09 February 2018.

Austroads (2017). AGPT-Part 2 Pavement Design A Guide to the Structural Design of Road
Pavements. Austroads Publication.

British Ports Association/Interpave, Knapton (1996) The Structural Design of Heavy Duty
Pavements for Ports and other Industries, 3rd ed., Interpave, Leicester

Federal Aviation Administration (2006) AC 150/5320-6F - Airport Pavement Design and

Evaluation https://www.faa.gov/airports/resources/advisory_circulars/index.cfm/go/
document.current/documentnumber/150_5320-6, accessed 10 February 2019

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AfPA | Guide to the Structural Design of Flexible Pavements for Ports and Container Terminals I-6
A Guide to the Structural Design of Flexible
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1 P1-Guide to Defining the Performance of Terminal Pavements

1.1 Introduction
The objective of any pavement design and management strategy is to ensure that an
adequate level of performance is achieved throughout the life of the pavement. Due to a lack
of any other guidance documents, pavement engineers often refer to road standards for the
assessment and definition of the required level of service in terminal pavements. While these
standards are useful as a guide, it needs to be understood that for terminal pavements the
definition of performance is not the same as that of either road or airfield pavements.
Throughout the world, terminal pavements operate with levels of ravelling, rutting, cracking
and roughness that would be unacceptable on airport or road pavements, without having any
effect on the terminal operations. For example, many airfield assessment procedures define
failure, in terms of rutting, to have occurred when a rutting depth of 12-20 mm has occurred.
While according to Port of Los Angeles (2008), terminal pavements with rutting of up to 50
mm are in service and still provide serviceability and acceptable performance.

Along with the differing levels of service, terminal pavements are not and never will be
maintenance-free and the required maintenance activities to maintain serviceability need to
be considered as part of the design. This was found by Shakel (2003) who concluded,
“Worldwide it has been reported that no form of pavement including reinforced concrete has
proven immune to damage by containers”. Given the harsh nature of loadings, it is clear,
terminal pavements cannot be maintained to the standard as road pavements, nor do they
need to be. The question a designer needs to determine in conjunction with the operators is
then, what is the level of service required by the pavement and when has the pavement failed
to meet this level of service.

1.1.1 Scope
The scope of this procedure is to provide guidance for pavement engineers on both the
definition of failure and the required level of service. The guidance in this procedure is based
on a review of the performance of over twenty in-service container terminals across Australia
and New Zealand. The pavements covered the full range of expected lives having been in
service for up to 30 years and having a pavement condition, up to and including complete
failure. Loading ranged from Front End Loaders (FEL), reach stackers, yard trucks and
straddle carriers.

Based on the results of this study, guidance has been developed for the factors that influence
failure, serviceability and the appropriate maintenance intervention. This guidance has been
developed in terms of; surface shape, rutting, cracking, ravelling and corner casting
deformation. These factors are used to emphasise the requirements for the design,
maintenance planning and detailing of port and terminal pavements.

1.2 Shape (Roughness)

Port and terminal pavements are often built on reclaimed land, marine environments
developed beyond the natural shoreline and on inland or coastal swamps. For such situations
it is not uncommon for settlements of over 100 mm to occur in the first years of operations and
the pavement designer must consider this in both the pavement design and in developing the
maintenance management plan, which may require a multi-phase design solution. For more
established terminals where rehabilitation designs are being undertaken, settlement is less
common, however, it still can occur and again, the pavement designer must include this as
part of their design and increased maintenance management planning.

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A Guide to the Structural Design of Flexible
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Settlement nearly always results in a loss of shape of the pavement surface. Generally, the
sole impediment to serviceability from this loss of shape is the tendency of the deformed area
to pond water. While a hindrance, by itself, the loss of shape is not generally regarded as
damage. The only times where settlement becomes an issue and represents damage is:

a) Where settlement results in a differential in the pavement surface within stacking

areas, especially at corners of stacks. This settlement can result in buckling of
containers, especially under high loading situations, see Figure 1-1(a).
b) Where settlement causes an abrupt change in level height against a rigid structure
transverse to the direction of travel, see Figure 1-1(b).
c) Where settlement causes a loss of surface shape within roadway areas that affects
the stability of the load being carried by the container handling equipment. As a rule,
settlement of 70 mm over a length of less than one meter may cause issues with
stability of the containers. However, this figure should be assessed at each location
based on equipment type and mode of operation with the input of the terminal
operators.

(a) Settlement around drainage structure (b) Settlement at joint between rigid and
flexible pavements
Figure 1-1 Shape Loss due to Settlement

1.2.1 Damage due to Design Shape Changes (Cross-fall)

Quite often, the geometric design is done in isolation of pavement design and the resulting
operational layout of the facility may result in a change of gradient within the operational areas.
These designed changes in cross-fall can result in both issues with the support of containers
and load being concentrated over a small proportion of a corner casting. This can result in
significantly higher pressures that exceed the strength of most surfacing materials resulting in
casting damage.

These changes in cross-fall can also limit the ability for loading to be re-distributed on the
bottom rails of the container (as will be discussed in Section 1.6). In such cases, damage
should be expected in any pavement material.

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A Guide to the Structural Design of Flexible
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(a) Change in cross fall in middle of stack (b) Damage due to load concentration
Figure 1-2 Shape Loss/Settlement

Where possible it is recommended that the designer place a change in cross-fall only within
the roadways or outside of the stacking areas. Additionally, changes should be parallel to the
main direction of travel with a gradient, not over 2%. If this is not possible, isolated damage
should be expected and planned for in maintenance.

1.3 Rutting
Rutting is the formation of deformations or bowls within the wheel-paths and in loading and
unloading zones of the pavement. For flexible pavements, there are three principal
mechanisms, which may lead to rutting: structural deformation, consolidation and shear flow.

Localised structural deformation is more commonly attributed to soft spots in the subgrade,
weak CTB materials, or poor drainage rather than structural design. Rutting from structural
deformation is a result of inadequate thickness or stiffness of the surfacing and/or base
materials, which results in a lack of cover over the subgrade or high strains within the unbound
layers, which could lead to widespread deformation throughout the terminal. Rutting from
structural deformation has also been found to occur as a result of crushing and erosion of
bound layers in container terminals. This rutting typically occurs in pavements with lightly
bound bases with relatively low traffic volumes and in medium strength bases with high traffic
volumes. In these failures, cover over the CTB layer is a significant factor affecting the level
of both, the initiation and progression of this type of rutting.

Typically, rutting within the asphalt layers is characterised by steep-sided bowl and “humps”
of material on either side of the wheel path, which helps to differentiate this defect from other
kinds of rutting. Rutting within the asphalt layers is exacerbated by heavy slow-moving loads
or starting and stopping traffic experienced in terminal operations. Specialist mixes, binders
and design methods are required to limit this type of rutting as road authority mixes are not
designed for these loadings and have shown poor performance, see Figure 1-3 (a, b and c).

Consolidation or densification of asphalt layers in terminal operations principally occurs in

poorly designed and/or specified asphalt layers. In terminals, most asphalt materials are
typically constructed with in-place air voids of 5-8%. During the first summer of operations
under container handling equipment loading, most asphalt layers will consolidate to a level
approaching the refusal density of the mix. If voids are maintained at refusal, this level of
consolidation will stabilise resulting in a limited amount of rutting, if however, voids are not
maintained and the asphalt mix consolidates to less than 2% air voids, this mix can lose
stability resulting in a plastic flow of the mix and ever-increasing rut depths. To limit this risk
the asphalt mix design process needs to be developed to ensure voids are maintained to limit
the possibility of plastic flow of the mix and subsequent rutting.

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For terminal pavements, some level of rutting should be expected and it is common to have
rut depths of over 50 mm within a terminal, which may not affect serviceability. According to
Port of Los Angeles (2008) “Port pavements typically experience rut depths of up to 2”(50 mm)
before issues arise in terminal operations”. This is consistent with observations in Australia,
which have found that rut depths of less than 50 mm typically do no impede operations. As a
general rule rut depths over 50 mm for greater than 10 m should trigger maintenance planning,
however, this is not a fixed level. As discussed following there are various reasons rutting may
become an impediment to serviceability and this level of serviceability is not constant across
a terminal or with equipment.

1.3.1 Straddle Carriers Operational Areas

Straddle carrier operations are generally more channelised than FEL operations and as such
when rutting occurs, especially for automated straddles, steep bowls generally form that may
have up-heaves at the edge of the bowl. See Figures 1-2(a) and (d).

Within stacking areas rutting over 60 mm has been experienced with no impediment to
operations, however, at this level rutting will pond water and stability and cracking of the
asphalt may become an issue. At the locations where straddles are entering and exiting the
stacking area to the roadways rutting within the stacks will become transverse to the direction
of travel and may create stability issues for straddle operations. In such locations lower levels
of rutting (<30 mm) may be required for the safe operation of the terminal.

1.3.2 Reach Stacker Operations

Due to the effect of equipment wander and the non-channelised nature of operations, when
rutting occurs in reach stacker operational areas, it generally forms a relatively shallow bowl,
see Figure 1-3(c). Due to the shallower nature of the bowl, higher levels of rutting may be
tolerable and facilities are in operation with no reduction in serviceability with rutting over 50
mm.

For reach stacker operations, when the rutting occurs in the central proportion of the container
stack, the rutting may not cause any serviceability issues as long as all four-corner castings
of the container are in contact with the pavement. This is due to the requirements for
containers to be designed to support the load on all four-corner posts. However, where rutting
causes a differential in the surface shape, resulting in containers with loss of support on a
corner of over 1 m, the rutting may cause buckling of the containers, see Figure 1-3(c).

1.3.3 Truck Grids

One of the most critical locations for rutting in terminals is not due to container handling
equipment. It is a result of slow-moving truck operation within the truck transfer grids and
entry/exit gates. This rutting is due to the highly channelised, slow-moving traffic in addition to
the high pressures of the truck tyres. Rutting can occur within the truck wheel paths and it is
common to see distinct dual wheels paths in the rutting. This rutting is typically confined to the
asphalt and is a result of poorly designed/specified asphalt mixes.

In these locations, the use of standard road authority mixes is not recommended as they are
not designed for the slow-moving traffic and these mixes have shown poor performance.
Advice should be sought from the asphalt supplier on the most appropriate mix for these high-
stress locations.

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(a) 80mm Rutting within straddle roadway (b) Rutting within asphalt at truck grids
due to crushing of CTB

(c) Rutting within reach stacker (d) Rutting within straddle roadway
operations

(e) Rutting and shoving in CBP due to (f) Rutting in CBP due to crushing of
crushing of a lightly bound CTB crushing of a lightly bound CTB

Figure 1-3 Pavement Rutting

1.4 Cracking
Fatigue cracking is a progressive form of deterioration that typically occurs in the wheel-paths.
Generally fatigue cracking start as a single or several longitudinal cracks, as the cracking
continues, the cracks will interconnect forming cracking resembling “crocodile” skin and is
commonly referred to as crocodile cracking, as shown in Figure 1-4(c and d). After the cracking
has occurred, the cracked area will allow the entry of moisture and may begin to pump fines
from the base and subgrade, deform and pothole, see Figure 1-4(b).

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For concrete pavements, in the final stages of fatigue, the concrete slabs crack into smaller
pieces, with sizes ranging from 350 to 1000 mm. Due to the high loads of the container
handling equipment typically, these pieces are seated firmly into the foundation, see Figure 1-
4 (a). This layer can still provide a functional pavement, provided the no voids exist under the
slabs and the slabs are not rocking under loading.

In the initial stages, cracking by itself does not impede serviceability. Failure only occurs when
the cracking causes potholes, is associated with large deformation (>50 mm) or results in
disintegration of the surface and/or pavement. Notwithstanding this, cracking can quickly
deteriorate forming potholes and deformation and is a sign of impending serviceability issues.
All fatigue cracking should trigger maintenance planning.

(a) Fatigue cracking in concrete pavement (b) Fatigue cracking leading to surface
disintegration

(c) Fatigue cracking with Surface (d) Fatigue cracking with Surface
Deformation Deformation
Figure 1-4 Fatigue Cracking

1.5 Ravelling
Ravelling is the progressive loss of fines in a surfacing material and occurs in all surfaces
used in terminal pavements. Continual ravelling will eventually lead to the loss of coarse
aggregate from the pavement surface. There are several potential causes for ravelling,
including; moisture damage, low density or low binder content, however, in terminal
pavements, the majority of ravelling is caused by damage to the surface by container casting
or screwing of the wheels of container handling equipment.

The extremely high loadings under corner castings (>10,000 kPa) plus the effect of dropping
and dragging of containers damage the surfacing material (crushing and disintegration) leads
to the erosion of the surface and or base, as seen following in Figure 1-5 (a and b). Damage

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can also occur in locations of braking and turning (screwing) of wheels when the container
handling equipment is loading or unloading containers. This can impart high shear forces on
the surface material, resulting in the loss of some aggregate from the surface. However, this
ravelling typically occurs in new asphalt surfaces and settles after a few weeks.

While a sign of deterioration, ravelling will generally not impede the operations and
serviceability of a facility, in fact, many facilities have continued to operate with what would
typically be defined as excessive ravelling for years. Ravelling, however, does accelerate
deterioration and severe ravelling needs to form part of a maintenance management plan.
Experience has shown that the ravelling is an avenue for water ingress leading to potential
saturation at the top of the granular layer, reducing the strength of support and accelerated
asphalt fatigue.

In asphalt surfaced pavements the resistance to crushing damage is increased with the
thickness of the asphalt surfacing of the pavement with thicknesses of greater than 80 mm
found to provide resistance to ravelling, where thicknesses of less than 50 mm are highly
prone to ravelling. Ravelling can be minimised by the correct specification of material
properties in the surfacing layers and placement techniques, as discussed in Section 1.7.

(a) Thin Asphalt Surface (b) CBP surface

Figure 1-5 Surface Ravelling

1.6 Accounting for Corner Castings Deformation

1.6.1 Casting Damage
Corner casting damage is the isolated deformation(s) that occurs on the pavement surface
due to creep of the surfacing material, under static loading of the corner castings (feet). This
deformation is typically isolated to the surface of the pavement where pavement materials are
unconfined and the loading exceeds that the unconfined strength of the material. Mostly, this
deformation is limited to the upper 20 mm of the surface where the confinement is low. As
confinement increases with depth, deformation is not observed for well-designed materials.
This is considered controlled deformation.

For controlled deformation, a marking or a number of markings, in the shape of the container
casting can be seen on the pavement surface, which stabilise at a depth of 15-20 mm, as
seen in Figure 1-6. This is opposed to uncontrolled deformation that continues to deform under
loading and can result in material breakdown, see Figure 1-7.

1.6.2 Container Design

The load-carrying element of all standardised shipping containers is the steel framework,
which consists of four corner posts, two bottom side rails, two top side rails, two bottom cross
members, a front top end rail and a door header. International Standards Organisation (ISO)

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(2013) specify certain minimum requirements for the loading capacity and ease of stacking
containers. Under ISO standards, it must be possible to stack six ISO containers loaded to
the maximum weight vertically on top of one another. However, many modern containers are
designed to be stacked eight or nine high and the maximum stacking load must be marked on
the container. In addition to being able to support the loads within their steel framework,
containers must be designed so all containers are capable of being supported by their bottom
corner fittings (castings) only and all containers shall also be able to be supported only by load
transfer areas in their base structure.

Because containers can support loads on their base structure, it is a common practice in
terminals in both Australia and internationally (Knapton (2006)), to have containers resting
solely on their bottom rails with castings sitting within a localised deformed area. This common
practice does not affect serviceability or operations of the facility and does not necessarily
make the pavement unfit for purpose and nor should it be considered a defect. This approach
additionally allows controlled deformation to be considered in the design. If however, any
material continues to deform when sitting on its rails or the deformation has caused instability
in the surfacing material, serviceability issues may occur and the containers may lose their
ability to support the imposed loads and should trigger maintenance planning.

1.6.3 Requirements for Controlled Deformation

While controlled deformation may occur, it is essential that the deformation mustn't cause any
other mode of failure. This failure may be in the form of shoving, de-compaction and/or spalling
due to deformation moving into tertiary flow with the accompanying loss of stability under
corner casting loading.

Controlled deformation under corner castings is shown in Figure 1-6 (a and b) following, this
deformation is typically less than 20 mm, has limited associated spalling and no tertiary flow
or de-compaction. If however, the material loses stability, as shown in Figure 1-7 (a and b),
which shows a case of asphalt mix failing under the corner casting loading, the deformation
will cause the subsequent failure of the asphalt by shoving and/or tertiary flow of the asphalt
with associated up-heaves and surface cracking.

(a) Stable Asphalt (b) Stable Asphalt

Figure 1-6 Controlled Deformation

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(a) Unstable asphalt (b) Unstable asphalt

(shoving and de-compaction) (de-compaction and spalling)
Figure 1-7 Un-controlled Deformation

1.7 Asphalt Surface Requirements

Asphalt surfacing layers should be compacted to a uniform dense surface. If this is not
achieved and the surface is open, the high shear forces under turning motion of container
handling equipment may cause the asphalt to ravel. This is especially true on new asphalt
mixes where loading has not closed the asphalt surface. This risk is increased by the
preference of some asphalt suppliers to use 20 mm mixes over 14 mm in wearing course
mixes for rut resistance. To limit this risk, suppliers need to ensure rolling patterns are
sufficient to ensure that a uniform dense impermeable mix is achieved, as shown in Figure 1-
8.

(a) Ravelling due to “open” texture (b) Dense uniform surface

Figure 1-8 Un-controlled Deformation

1.8 Overall Structural Capacity

The evaluation of over 20 terminal pavements found that the total pavement deflection gives
a reliable indication of the overall pavement stiffness and the level of subgrade support. The
evaluation found that the structural capacity of the pavement could be assessed by using the
normalised (40 kN) central deflection from a Falling Weight Deflectometer FWD (D0). This
deflection can be used to identify areas of inadequate pavement thickness, poor quality
material and soft subgrade material and areas likely to suffer from shape loss and rutting.

For loaded terminal pavements, it was found that:

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 Values of deflection greater than 0.5 mm were prone to significant shape loss shape
with limited FEL movements and lower values are an indication of sections in need of
further investigation.
 Values of less than 0.25 mm have been found to perform adequately under high traffic
loadings.

For loaded container terminals, the initial structural design should ensure that the overall
structural thickness will result in deflection of less than 0.5 mm. The sub-procedure included
in Appendix 6.2 outlines the approach to undertake this assessment.

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References

British Ports Association/Interpave (1996). The Structural Design of Heavy Duty Pavements
for Ports and other Industries, 3rd ed., Interpave, Leicester.

ISO Standard 1496-1 (2013) General Cargo Containers for General Purposes, International
Organisation for Standards.

Knapton, J (2006), Concrete Block Paving as a Surfacing Material for Container Storage
Areas, 8th International Conference on Concrete Block Paving, San Francisco, California
USA.

Los Angeles Port Authority, Moffat and Nichol (circa 2006), Container terminal and
Intermodal Rail Yard Operational Area Considerations for Pavement Design,
https://www.portoflosangeles.org/pdf/Port_Pavement_Design_Guide.pdf, accessed 21st
September 2017.

Shackel. B, Person. A and Holt,(2003) A Survey of Australian Container Port Pavements

Surfaced with Concrete Segmental Paving, Proceedings 8th International Conference on
Concrete Block Pavements.

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2 P2 Outline of Container Terminal Equipment and Operations

Introduction to Modes of Operations

In Australia, both rail and waterside terminal operations utilise two main operational types,
either, Lift on-Lift off (Lo-Lo) operations or Roll-on Roll-off (Ro-Ro) operations. These two
modes of operation require several individual steps to move containers through the terminal.
To operate effectively, the selected mode and the associated layout must be sufficiently well
matched to the throughput of container handling and the typical parcel size. While the delivery
vessel may be different, both shipping terminals and intermodal rail facilities have very similar
operations, where containers are stored before transport and the principal terminal operations
can be divided into three processes, as summarised following:

1. The receiving and unloading of containers from trucks, rail or ships to a laydown area
(shipside) and transfer of containers from the laydown area to stacks or road or rail.
2. The movement of the container within and to-and-from the stacking areas for storage
of containers within the yard.
3. The transfer of containers to trucks or rail carriers from the stacking areas.

or in reverse for incoming containers.

Dividing the terminal into these various operational areas based on the anticipated traffic and
wheel loads allows for optimising the pavement design. The designer can designate an
appropriate pavement thickness for each operational area by identifying the type of load and
efforts. However, these operations need to be understood by the designer.

2.1.1 Scope
The scope of this outline is to identify and explain the typical various modes of operation
currently operating in terminals throughout Australia. This is to provide the pavement engineer
with sufficient understanding to gather the required information from the terminal operator so
traffic loadings equipment types and movements can be understood and enable the designer
to back brief the operator. This outline also presents typical container weights and distributions
found in terminals and parameters of the equipment types required for pavement design in
terms of loading, axle configuration, tyre types and pressures and operational speeds.

Many of the descriptions of operations in this outline are based on in-depth descriptions of
Port operations found in the Ports of Los Angeles (2006) design manual. Where used, these
descriptions have been amended for general terminal and Australian operations where
required.

Terminal Operational Types and Areas

2.2.1 Terminal Types

Broadly, two main container terminal operational types exist in Australia, Lift on-Lift off (Lo-Lo)
operations and Roll on-Roll off (Ro-Ro) operations.

Lo-Lo, operations are the predominant operating system used in Australia, with the operation
varying significantly dependant on the equipment utilised in the terminal. Generally, the
incoming containers are taken from the delivery vessel (ship, truck or rail) via a gantry crane
or Front End Loader (FEL) and placed into stacks by container handling equipment. The
container handler is then used to transfer the container to rail or road, with the reverse typically
occurring for outgoing containers. In intermodal terminals, grounding of containers does not
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always occur, with trucks directly receiving containers from rail or transfer from rail-to-rail. Due
to security restrictions, the direct transfer of containers to trucks rarely occurs in port
operations. In some terminals, mobile harbour cranes are used for handling of containers from
vessels or within the yard. These cranes are extremely heavy and slow moving when moving
and impose considerable loads through their outriggers when moving cargoes. N.B. mobile
harbour cranes do not pick-and-carry.

Ro-Ro terminals also operate in smaller ports in Australia; these are terminals where wheeled
cargo, such as road trailers, roll trailers and railroad cars, are driven on and off the ship on
their wheels, via ramps or link-spans. In the case of vehicle import/export terminals, the
vehicles are generally driven off under their power; this may include road-legal vehicles and
construction/industrial/military mobile plant.

Ro-Ro vessels use either built-in or shore-based ramps or link-spans that allow the cargo to
be rolled on and off the vessel at the terminal, moved to either wheeled storage, on roll trailers
or the container is moved into stacks by container handling equipment. Container handling
equipment is then used to transfer the container to rail or road.

There are cases of oversized and overweight cargoes (project cargoes), normally associated
with heavy industry and are considered exceptional cargoes. Unless the terminal is specific to
the project, it is not normal to design the pavement for these cases. Specialist logistics
contractors should specify and provide a platform vehicle know as a self-propelled modular
transporter or Multi Wheeled Vehicle (MWV) having assessed the capability of the pavement
and the weight of the cargo. Where onwards haulage of a single heavy oversized cargo on
the MWV is necessary, it will be configured to be fit for use across road pavement network
beyond the terminal, as road pavements are usually of lighter construction. The terminal
pavements are unlikely to be overloaded in such a case.

Terminal Operation Areas

Most container terminals have several operational areas, with different loading (equipment
wheel loads and container volumes). It is only by reviewing the usage of each of these areas
can the pavement designers fully understand the risk and optimise the solution by providing
the appropriate materials and pavement for each operational area. Identifying the operational
areas and loading on each area will require the pavement designer to document the functional
concept of the different operational areas and to work closely with the terminal operator to
develop a detailed understanding of routine and exceptional loading.

Terminal complexes may include; wharves, container stacking (storage) areas, intermodal
railroads, truck gate facility, trailer storage areas and container handling equipment parking
and maintenance areas, container maintenance areas, as well as buildings, and car park
areas.

In terminal operations in Australia, containers are generally grouped according to their

destination or another criterion and therefore movements are not evenly distributed. For more
complicated layouts and operations, it may be necessary to undertake movement modelling
or obtain information from density (heat) maps from the terminal operator to understand
operations.

2.3.1 Wharf or Front Berthing Area

The wharf area is the area where the transfer of containers from ship-to-shore and shore-to-
ship occurs. The most common method employed in moving containers from ship-to-shore

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and shore-to-ship is by gantry crane to a laydown area. These cranes can handle up to two
20’ containers or a single 40’ container.

The typical layout, as seen in Figure 2-1, of a wharf utilising container-handling equipment
consists of:

 Runway for the ship to shore crane

 Access lane(s) for traffic (trucks and straddles)
 Laydown area for containers

Figure 2-1 Wharf Area Layout

In some terminals, the ship-to-shore crane will place the containers down between the crane
rails and will place the ships hatch covers in the back-reach of the crane. In other terminals,
this arrangement is reversed. If the pavement is to be loaded with a stack of ships hatch
covers, this static load case needs to be considered.

There are several methods of moving containers from the wharf to the container stacking area
or from the stacking area to the wharf. The most common methods are straddle carriers, reach
stackers or with yard trucks and trailers (also known as terminal tractors).

In wharf areas all containers pass through the Front Berthing Area at some stage, however,
movements are generally distributed across the full berthing area, especially where a one-way
system is in place. Where travel perpendicular to the crane rail is permitted, movements tend
to be more concentrated mid-berth as ships are generally not as long as the available berth.

2.3.2 Gantries and Gantry Roads

Gantries both (Rail Mounted and RTG) are used in conditions requiring high storage density
and frequent container re-handling between adjacent stacks. Typical modern gantry cranes
span a space in which containers are stacked six wide and four to five high, this is typical for
shipping terminals. In the latest large intermodal terminals gantries can span stacks of around
10-wide. The exchange between the gantries and the trucks can include a truck travel lane
within the span, a truck travel lane immediately outside the span, or an exchange area either
one or both ends of container block spanned by the gantry and has a gauge of about 25 m.

The height of a gantry is normally expressed in terms of the maximum effective stack height,
plus the pass-over height space. The typical layout, as seen in Figure 2-2, for a terminal
unloading rail or truck using RTGs, includes:

 Container stacking rows (also referred to as blocks, or modules).

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 Runway or rail for the gantry to traverse.

 Access lane(s) for trucks to be loaded/loaded.
 Rail track(s) for rail cars to be loaded/loaded

(a) to Road (b) to Rail

Figure 2-2 Gantry Crane Layout

There can be many variations on this layout, based on the configuration of the site, container
movements, and dimensions of the gantry and the nature of the truck and rail traffic.

When rubber-tyred gantry cranes are used, the area which is the high wheel loading is
occurring represents approximately 7% of the terminal area, while the stacking area covers
60-65% of the area and the remaining area for truck loading and unloading. These figures
exclude the consideration of the wharf, gate and administration land-take.

2.3.3 Container Stacking Areas

Container stacking or storage areas are the areas within a terminal where containers are
stacked and stored before leaving the terminal on, ship, rail, or truck. In Australia, moving of
containers within the yard is typically undertaken with straddle carriers and in smaller terminals
(and as a backup) Front End Loader (FEL) type of equipment, as seen Figure 2-3 following.
In some of the larger terminals, containers are transported using automated straddle carriers
(Autostrads).

(a) With Straddles (b) With FEL (Reach Stacker)

Figure 2-3 Stacking Area Layout

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For terminals which load on to trucks within the yard, trucks commonly traverse the entire
length of the FEL block in a single lane, unloaded part of the way, are loaded and the loaded
truck travels the remaining length of the block. At many terminals, which operate a single gate
location, the circulation system demands that the truck travels along a different FEL block in
its entirety on either its inbound or outbound leg as well as running along the block in which it
is loaded or unloaded. The gap between adjacent storage blocks is typically large, frequently
20 m or more, so there is usually room for manoeuvring. However, simultaneous access to
both adjacent FEL blocks can reduce this flexibility.

2.3.4 Container Stacking Terminology

The typical terminology of a container yard consists of blocks, each block consists of a set of
bays, each bay consists of a set of stacks, and each stack consists of a set of tiers, as shown
in Figure 2-4, after Gheith et al. (2012). Many operators interchange the terms bays and stacks
for consistency, in this guide the operator drives into a bay and places containers in a stack.
Slots are the number of bays by stacks, while capacity is the slots by number or tiers.

Figure 2-4 Stacking Area Layout

2.3.5 Truck Grids (Gates) with Highway Trucks

Many straddle and gantry based terminals have an interchange area where trucks and
straddle carriers can exchange containers. This area is generally laid out for maximum safety
and visibility, because of the hazards inherent to the operation. The layout of this area will
vary considerably between terminals, depending on local safety practices, truck-driver skill,
and straddle driver skill.

Before the implementation of newer technologies, incoming trucks would be stopped by

security, followed by a transaction process via communication pedestals, and finally a physical
inspection of container and trailer by mechanics. In newer terminals, some or all of the
processes have been automated and/or eliminated. However, even the most automated gates
require trucks to stop for processing.

There are many different configurations in use for gate complexes. In general, as seen in
Figure 2-5, they have in common several basic components:

 Queuing Lanes: In-stream queuing space for trucks waiting for processing.
 Remote Processing Stations: Locations where the truck driver can interact with
terminal staff through communication equipment, without leaving the truck cab.
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 Scales or Weighbridges: Weigh scales where the weight of the truck notably outbound
trucks is checked.
 Inspection Stations: Locations where the truck is visually inspected and paperwork is
exchanged.
 Holding Areas: Locations where trucks are parked awaiting resolution of problem
transactions or are otherwise out of the main gate traffic stream.

(a) Truck Grid with Straddles (b) Truck Grid with Gantry
Figure 2-5 Truck Grids

Only road legal trucks and trailers pass through terminal gates, yard trucks and trailers are
not suitable for open-road use, and they are generally not registered for use on public
highways.

The stop and go nature of the operations in the truck grid needs to be considered in selecting
the pavement material as well as the overall pavement thickness. This is an area, prone to
slow movement and low-speed braking.

2.3.6 Truck Connection Roads

The truck connecting roads are usually single lane one-directional roads connecting the
external terminal roads to the truck grid or laydown area.

These may operate within the stacking area or under gantry cranes and will, therefore, need
to take movements of container handling equipment. For separated roads, loading may only
need to consider truck movements and the structural design of these roads should follow the
AGPT-Part 2 (2017).

2.3.7 Intermodal Rail Roads

Intermodal railroads are the area of an intermodal terminal where containers are taken from
rail-to-rail, truck or stacks or from rail, truck or stacks to rail. In larger facilities, containers on
trains may have double-stacked containers that are loaded and unloaded by gantry cranes or
by standard container handling equipment, usually reach stacker. A typical intermodal facility
consists of several railroads, including; working tracks, storage tracks, arrival and departure
tracks and a run around track.

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(a) Intermodal with FEL (b) Intermodal with Gantry

Figure 2-6 Truck Grids

The pavement designer needs to work with the terminal operators to identify the tracks that
will be paved and all possible affected operational modes and associated equipment such as
top picks, RMGs, RTGs, reach stacker. They will also need to identify laydown areas
designated for pre-staging inbound and outbound containers.

2.3.8 Equipment Parking and Maintenance Areas

Parking areas are the areas of the terminal used for storage and maintenance of the container
handling equipment, with the typical layout of these areas usually consisting of several bays.
Due to extended parking and maintenance that occurs in these areas, the surface of the
pavement needs to be capable of resisting lubricant spills. In more established terminals, there
is a tendency that the maintenance areas are built over with steel and cladding structures to
provide a weatherproof enclosure or part-enclosure for maintenance operations.

2.3.9 Wheeled Trailer Parking Areas

In wheeled container storage areas, containers are normally mounted and stored on road-
capable trailers. While parked, the front end of the road trailers sits on their dolly legs, which
are retracted for travel. The pads or wheels fitted to the end of the dolly legs generate a high
ground pressure, frequently causing local pavement damage. Road trailers have twist locks
at each corner to secure the container for road travel. Trailers for 40’ containers are just over
12.5 m long. They have a “gooseneck” which mates to a well built into the underside of the
standard container. Trailers for 20’ containers are generally 9 m or longer, to avoid exceeding
legal axle load limits on roads.

Containers may also be mounted on dedicated terminal trailers or roll trailers. These trailers
are generally not road-legal as they are wider than 2.5 m. They can be equipped with flare
guides at each corner, making container mounting faster and easier. Terminal trailers are
typically 12-14 m long and can hold two 20' containers with a total rated load of 48 tonnes.

Terminal Equipment
The major pieces of equipment used for storing containers in a terminal are; straddle carriers,
Front End Loaders (FEL), rubber-tyred gantries (RTG), wheeled (container on trailers) and
rail-mounted gantries (RMG) or the variant of RMG, the Automatic Stacking Cranes (ASC).
Intermodal Terminals commonly use a combination of RMG and FEL to store containers.

Modern generation waterside terminals will generally use a combination of ASC/RMG/RTG

for the main stacking and handling, with truck-and-trailer, or more commonly one-over-one

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(auto) straddle carriers to transfer containers from the waterside laydown to the end of the
stack.

Each type of equipment has a distinct mode of operation and specific movements that are the
most damaging to the pavement. The type of equipment is usually selected based on the yard
configuration and the volume of cargo to be handled each year. Experienced operators will
consider variants within the selected equipment type, which are less damaging to the
pavement; the most effective feature is an increase in the number of axles and the axle
spacing.

2.4.1 Rubber Tyred Gantry Cranes

Typical modern RTG spans a space that can include up to six container stacks and a truck
travel lane with a gauge of up to 25 metres and a self-weight between 100 to 150 tonnes, see
Figure 2-7 following. The stresses exerted by this machine on the pavements are extremely
high due to both the weight of the equipment and the traffic being channelled onto tracks
parallel to container storage and concentrated parking on one area. Some older machines
have four wheels, one wheel on each leg. However, newer machines have can have up-to
sixteen wheels, in eight dual-wheels, although the most common machine has eight wheels.

Some operators elect to install reinforced concrete runway beams flush with the finished
paved level to reduce the pavement maintenance along the RTG alignment.

In some circumstances the wheels or bogies on the RTG must be rotated, it is common that
temporary or permanent plates are in place to prevent the heavy scuffing of the turning tyres.

Rubber Tyred Gantries are a common choice in medium to large container terminals, but in
recent years, operators are favouring ASCs. ASCs require a slightly different operational
layout in the yards but allow for more ground slots for the area, thus more storage and operate
with superior reliability, speed, tempo and lower running costs. ASCs are more expensive than
RTG equipment and the capital cost of the associated civil engineering assets are generally
more expensive.

(a) (b)
Figure 2-7 Rubber Tyred Gantry Cranes

2.4.2 Straddle Carriers

Straddle carriers combine the ability to stack and transport containers over long distances.
The straddle carrier positions a container between its two rows of wheels and lifts it to the
desired stacking height. Most straddle carriers operating in Australia are built for “one-over-
two” operations. Some terminals are now using “one-over-three” straddle carriers. Straddle
carriers are equipped with three to four single-wheel axles, with the steering of the wheels
coordinated to generate a tight turning circle, see Figure 2-8 following.

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The straddle carrier is generally less aggressive for pavements than the reach stacker
owing to better load centring conditions. Laden with a 40’ container, the load per wheel is
generally between 14 and 16 tonnes. The exception to this rule is the 3-wheeled straddle
carrier used for loading/unloading trailers (skels). This unit is an exceptionally
manoeuvrable configuration; however, this comes at the cost of being very damaging to the
pavement.

Automated straddle carriers, also referred to, as AutoStrads or Shuttles, operate with little
lane wander unless the terminal management deliberately implements this. This process is
called lane shuffle. Designers should document and design for the degree of lane shuffle
the operator undertakes to implement, this is key to an economical design. AutoStrads also
minimise dynamic effects.

(a) 1 over 3 Straddle Carrier (b) Straddle Carrier in Truck Grid

Figure 2-8 Straddle Carriers
In addition to the one over two and one over three straddles, one-high straddles also
operate in Australian terminals as transporters only.

(a) One over One Shuttle Carrier (b) Shuttle Carrier One over Trailer
Figure 2-9 Shuttle Carrier/Terminal Transfer Vehicles

2.4.3 Front End Loaders

The term Front End Loader (FEL) is a generic term a broad range of equipment. All types of
FEL pick up a container in a position cantilevered ahead of the machine’s wheelbase. FELs
come in three common configurations (see Figure 2-10):

 Top Pick (TP): The spreader is mounted on a vertical mast. The container is picked up
by its four top corner castings. The machine is used for both loaded and empty container

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operations. Top-picks frequently have a forklift attachment that allows picking up, loaded
20’ containers by their bottom forklift slots.
 Side Pick (SP): The spreader is mounted on a vertical mast. The container is picked by
the two top corner castings closest to the FEL. The machine is used for empty container
movements only. Designers should enquire as to whether the operator intends to operate
Side-Picks with the capacity to carry two empty containers simultaneously.
 Reach Stacker (RS): The spreader is mounted on a hydraulically lifted, extensible boom.
The container is picked up by its four top corner castings. This piece of equipment is used
for both loaded and empty container movements, reach stackers can handle containers
at some distance from the machine.

FEL can have an un-laden weight of up to 80 tonnes and front axle weights may reach more
than 100 tonnes when fully loaded, resulting in very high load levels on the pavement. The
manoeuvring on its two single steering rear wheels can generate very high shear stresses on
the pavement wearing courses.

(a) Reach Stacker (b) Empty Container Forklift

Figure 2-10 Front End Loaders

2.4.4 Terminal Trailers and Trucks

Terminal Trailers (Figure 2-11) are designed to move standard ISO containers and cargo
around terminals. These trailers may come in single, dual or tri-axle configuration (½) axle,
with both pneumatic and solid tyres. The pressure these trailers apply to the pavement through
their solid tyres is related to the rubber stiffness, with solid tyres applying a pressure of about
1700 kPa. Additionally, the lack of suspension in these trailers results in high dynamic forces
into the pavement. Of equal concern is the reduced number of axles on a trailer that sees load
per wheel significantly increased relative to road-legal configurations, the result can be far
more damaging to the pavement.

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(c) Roll Trailer (d) Yard Trailer

Figure 2-11 Terminal Trailers

Required Movements per Container

Movements within the container stacks is not only a function of the number of containers but
also by the amount of re-handling of containers required. The amount of re-handling is
principally affected by the type of handling equipment and the utilisation of the facility.

When containers are placed into stacks ready for pickup for rail or road transportation, several
movements of the container handling equipment are required to reach the target container.
These movements are a function of the equipment, the number of bays and stack utilisation.
This number of movements may be significantly more than would appear necessary at first
review even in instances where the operators are skilled and experienced.

While export loads are typically sorted in runs corresponding to ship stowage patterns and
require relatively rare re-handling, in import load areas re-handling is more common. In this
case, the additional movements required for the re-handling of containers needs to be
considered in calculating load repetitions.

2.5.1 Straddle Carriers

When a straddle carrier is required to move a container, each container storage or retrieval
operation typically requires the straddle carrier to traverse the entire length of the storage row.
Straddle carriers are capable of effective re-handling containers and minimising movements
per container. Terminal operators typically want to limit the distance a straddle needs to move
to find an open slot for a re-handled box. This requires that a certain number of slots be kept
clear, reducing the effective stacking height.

Additionally, in considering straddle carrier loading there is a need to consider the additional
passes of the straddle using the adjacent row.

2.5.2 FEL Operations

For FEL, most container handling is done without turning, simply travelling forward and
backward perpendicular to a storage stack. When retrieving a container, Top Picks (TP) and
Side Picks (SP) can only access the top-most container in the outer-most stack in any
container block. Reach stackers have some ability to re-handle containers into the stack
second from the front, but rehandling is usually done by the same method same as for TPs
and SPs.

When a FEL is required to move a container that is blocking the required target container, the
FEL is required to do the following:
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1. Pick up the obstructing container

2. Back up and turn
3. Traverse to the next block
4. Turn and align to the block
5. Set down the re-handled container
6. Backup and turn
7. Traverse to the original block
8. Turn and align to the block
9. Load target container

The motions of FELs in serving railroads are similar to those described above. The FEL
typically moves forward and backwards, turning frequently to move from car-to-car. While the
area of pavement immediately adjacent to the track sees a great deal of traffic.

In grounded terminal operations, the stacks can be in fixed locations and so the FEL tyre
wander does not vary greatly over time. In intermodal operations, the alignment of rail cars is
not constant, as each train has a different mixture of cars and platform lengths and positions
because of the tyre loading area shifting constantly, spreading the repetitions over a much
greater area.

2.5.3 Gantry Operations

A typical work sequence for a gantry retrieval operation would be as follows:

1. The truck arrives adjacent to the target storage location with a bare trailer.
2. The gantry gantries to the truck's location.
3. The gantry re-handles obstructing containers to other stacks typically without
gantrying.
4. The Gantry retrieves target container and sets it on the truck trailer.
5. The truck departs with loaded trailers.

Outgoing loads are typically arranged to mimic the ultimate outgoing vessel stowage pattern.
In many gantry terminals, a single set of adjacent outgoing stacks would have a single
common stowage designation. Import loads are typically arranged in the order they are
retrieved from road or rail since the order of delivery to the gate is unknowable. These patterns
minimize the number of gantry moves required during outgoing operations but maximise the
number of gantry moves required during gate operations.

For gantry operation, there is no movement of equipment in the stacking area and the area
has to only to support the loaded containers.

Container trucks commonly traverse the entire length of the gantry block in a single lane and
direction, unloaded part of the way and loaded the rest of the way. In many terminals, adjacent
blocks are laid out to create some bypass room for trucks.

2.5.4 Wheeled Storage Operations

Removing a trailer from storage is a simple truck motion. Placing a trailer into storage generally
requires some manoeuvring, especially for highway trucks. Parking slots are typically 3-3.5 m
wide, and long-wheelbase terminal trucks have some difficulty backing a 12 m trailer easily
into this width. The access aisles running between rows of parked containers frequently
double as general traffic circulation roads for the terminal. As such, the number of truck
repetitions is not directly related to just the storage and retrieval operations within a row. Truck
repetitions within a row will depend on the overall traffic layout of the terminal. If the terminal

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is amply supplied with dedicated arterial circulation roads, traffic will be diminished in the
storage rows.

Rehandling in Grounded Container Operations (Container Stacks)

When containers are placed into stacks ready for pickup for rail or road transportation typically
several movements of the container handling equipment is required to reach the target
container. These movements are a function of the equipment, the number of bays and stack
utilisation. Figure 2-12 following shows the influence of the equipment type on the number of
re-handling movements to reach the target container. It also needs to be noted that small
changes in a stack configuration and utilisation can have a significant influence on the number
of reshuffling movements necessary to reach the target container as seen in Table 2-1.

3 1

6
13 1

9 5 2

(a) Reach stacker movements

7 3

8 4 1

9 5 2

(b) FEL (Top Pick, Side Pick, Fork)

2 1

3 2

(c) Straddle Carrier

Figure 2-12 Container Re-stacking Operations

Table 2-1 Reshuffling Movements

Equipment Type Partially Utilised Partially Utilised Fully Utilised
(1 to 3 tiers by 3 (2 to 4 tiers by 3 (4 tiers by 3 bays)
bays) bays)
Straddle Carrier 1.5 2.1 2.5
Reach Stacker 2.5 4 5.5
Front End Loader 4.8 5 6.5

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Container Trade
Intermodal containers are standardised shipping containers, designed and built for goods
transport allowing containers to be used across different modes of transport i.e. from ship to
rail-to-road without unloading and reloading their cargo. Intermodal containers exist in several
types of standard sizes. However, according to the World Shipping Council (2013) greater
than ninety percent of the global container fleet is the “general purpose" containers. These
containers are closed steel boxes, mostly of either twenty or forty foot (6 or 12 m) standard
length (CSI container services (2013)). Heights of containers range from 1.3 m to 2.9 m;
however, the common heights are 2.6 m and 2.9 m High Cube containers. Regardless of
length and height, the widths of containers are standardised at 2.44 m.

A study by the Port of Brisbane (2013) found that in 2012, the Port’s total container throughput
was 1,031,000 containers (TEUs). Of these;

 45% (462,000) were full imports,

 32% (331,000) were full exports, and
 23% were empty containers.

Of import/export containers, 95% were transported to/from the Port by road and 5% were
transported by rail through the Brisbane Intermodal Terminal.

At major ports in Australia, it is common to see a reasonable amount of empty containers

being exported as the substantial majority of Australian exports by value and by tonnes
comprise bulk materials, which are generally not containerised.

2.7.1 Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit

The Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit (TEU) is an inexact unit of cargo capacity that is commonly
used in Australia to describe the throughput of a container terminal. It is based on the
equivalent volume of a standard 20’ long shipping container. Although, containers are
commonly characterised by their length, as there is a lack is of standardisation in heights.
Table 2-2 following summarises the container types and volumes as well as the TEUf
equivalency factor for the standard containers used in Australia.

Table 2-2 Container TEU Data

Container Type Length (m) Height (m) Volume (m3) TEUf
20ft 6.1 2.6 33.2 1
40ft 12.2 2.6 67 2
45ft 13.7 2.6 86.6 2 or 2.25
48ft 14.6 2.6 92.4 2.4
53ft 16.2 2.6 102.1 2.65
20ft (high cube) 6.1 2.9 43 1
20ft (half-height) 6.1 1.3 19.3 1

2.7.2 TEU and Operations

The forty-foot containers have found wider acceptance, as they can operate within the limits
of national road regulations (truck and trailer of 19 m), requiring no special permits. Containers
with a length of 48’ (14.63 m) or 53’ (16.15 m) are restricted and 43’ container requires
specialized trucks.

A survey in 2017 of over five thousand (5,000) containers in both port and intermodal terminals
in Australia found the vast majority (>99.9%) of containers are 20, 40 or 48’ containers.

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Considering this, in general cargo operations, it is applicable that for pavement design
containers can be assumed to consist only of 20, 40 or 48’ operations.

The same survey found that for road transportation overall the usage of 20 and 40’ containers
was almost evenly split, with 45 and 55% of containers being either 20 or 40’ containers
respectively. Table 2-3 shows the typical breakdown of different intermodal terminals found in
the study.

Table 2-3 20/40/48’ Splits

Operation 20’ 40’ 48’
Rail-to-Rail 16 39 43
Rail-to-Road 45 55
Ship-to-Rail 16 39 43
Ship-to-Road 45 55

For road-to-road operations, rail-to-road operations can be used.

2.7.3 Container Weight Distributions

For specialised operations such as mining exportation, containers will generally be loaded to
a set weight (typically 25-30 tonnes) and movement will be either of a loaded or unloaded
container. In general cargo situations, containers will be loaded with variable weights, Table
2-4 following shows the typical container weight distributions, obtained between 2015-18 of
loaded containers in Australian terminal operations. In this distribution, container weights of
less than five tonnes generally represent the movements of empty containers.

Table 2-4 Container Weight Distributions

Rounded Sydney Perth Adelaide Melbourne Brisbane Typical
Weight
(tonnes)
1 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
2 3% 1% 3% 1% 3% 2%
3 7% 2% 4% 3% 4% 4%
4 8% 4% 6% 6% 4% 6%
5 9% 6% 10% 8% 6% 8%
0-5 27% 13% 23% 18% 17% 20%
6 6% 7% 7% 7% 3% 6%
7 8% 9% 4% 7% 1% 6%
8 3% 3% 3% 4% 4% 3%
9 3% 3% 2% 3% 2% 3%
10 2% 2% 2% 2% 4% 2%
5-10 22% 24% 18% 23% 14% 20%
11 2% 2% 2% 2% 3% 2%
12 2% 3% 3% 3% 6% 3%
13 2% 2% 3% 3% 2% 2%
14 2% 3% 2% 3% 3% 3%
15 2% 3% 2% 2% 2% 2%
10-15 10% 13% 12% 13% 16% 12%
16 2% 3% 2% 3% 3% 3%

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17 2% 3% 3% 3% 3% 3%
18 2% 2% 2% 2% 4% 2%
19 2% 2% 3% 2% 4% 3%
20 2% 3% 2% 3% 5% 3%
15-20 10% 13% 12% 13% 19% 14%
21 3% 4% 3% 4% 3% 3%
22 6% 4% 4% 5% 4% 5%
23 3% 4% 4% 4% 3% 4%
24 3% 4% 4% 4% 3% 4%
25 3% 4% 3% 3% 5% 4%
20-25 18% 20% 18% 20% 18% 20%
26 4% 5% 4% 4% 5% 4%
27 3% 4% 4% 3% 4% 4%
28 3% 4% 4% 3% 2% 3%
29 2% 2% 4% 2% 3% 3%
30 1% 2% 2% 2% 3% 2%
25-30 13% 17% 18% 14% 17% 16%

2.7.4 Container Stacking

In container terminals, containers for various destinations, weights, and due dates arrive at a
container yard randomly. In addition, some containers need special treatment, such as
containers carrying hazardous material or reefer (refrigerated) containers. The terminal
operator’s task is to find good storage slots for incoming containers, where several objectives
might be addressed, e.g. minimising the number of future relocations, minimising the overall
crane utilization, or storing containers of equal destination within the same bays. While this is
optimised at most terminals, a degree of rehandling of containers will be required.

Equipment Weights and Capacities

As discussed in Section 2.4 several different pieces of equipment operate in container
terminals across Australia. As a reference, the axle capacity and loading characteristics
(loaded weight, unloaded weight and lift capacity) for several pieces of this equipment typically
found in terminals Australia is summarised on Table 2-5 following. While supplied as a
reference it is recommended that the specifications be confirmed with the terminal operator
for the exact piece of equipment used.

NB for straddle carriers and shuttles axle weights include the two single gears either side of
the carrier.

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Table 2-5 Equipment Configurations

Rear Axle (Loaded

Container Capacity

(loaded/Unloaded)
Axle Configuration

Operating Speed
Equipment Type

(Front/Rear)
Wheel Base

Track Width
/Unloaded)

Tyres Size
Front Axle
Model
Make

L4/
CL ALf AULf ALr AULr B10 S2
L3
km/
t t t t t mm mm mm
hr
Unloaded Carriers (Side Pickers)
Kalmar
DCE90 9 4-2 21.7 7.8 2.5 15 5000 5000 12.0x24 29

DCE100 10 4-2 23.1 8.1 2.5 16 12.0x24 29

DCE120 12 4-2 26.5 8.3 2.5 16 12.0x20 29

Omega
12-12N 12 4-2 30.5 11.7 3.2 10 3450 2543 12.0x20 28

14S-6 14 4-2 26.5 7.6 2.5 8.4 2921 12.0x20 28

16-12N 16 4-2 37.9 12.2 2.8 11 3450 12.0x20 28

Loaded Carriers (Top Pick)

Hyster
H40XM 35 4-2 90.1 40.8 5.5 20 5900 3030 18.0x25 22

H44XM 40 4-2 94.9 40.1 8.2 24 5900 3030 18.0x25 22

H48XM 40 4-2 101.2 44.5 6.4 23 5900 3030 18.0x25 22

H50XM 40 4-2 104.1 47.2 9.3 26 5900 3030 18.0x25 22

Kalmar
DCF360 36 4-2 98 41.3 7.6 25 6000 4450 18.0x33 26

DCF410 41 4-2 101 42.3 9.3 27 6000 4450 18.0x33 26

DFC450 45 4-2 110 44 9.5 31 6000 4450 18.0x33 26

Reach Stackers
Omega
RS6525 45 4-2 104.9 38.1 13 34 6500 3035 2800 18.0x33 26
RS65-
45 4-2 107.7 40.3 16 38 6500 3035 2800 18.0x33 25
33S
Kalmar
DRG 100 10 4-2 38.6 22.3 10 17 5400 3285 2600 14.0x24 30

DRF 400 40 4-2 6000 3007 2600 18.0x25 25

DRF 420 42 4-2 6000 3007 2600 18.0x25 25

DRF 450 45 4-2 100.6 34.6 15 35 6000 3007 2600 18.0x25 25

Taylor
TS-9972 45 4-2 100 37.2 17 36 6500 3048 3454 18.0x25 22

Hyster
RS45 45 4-2 99.9 33.2 14 37 6200 3057 18.0x25 22

RS46 46 4-2 103.2 36.5 22 43 6200 3057 18.0x33 23

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Straddle Carrier
Liebherr
2000/
SC 440S 40 2-2-2-2 25.75 15.6 - - 4470 - 16.0x25 25
3700
Kalmar
Auto
Strad 50 2-2-2-2 29.75 17.25 - - - 16.00x25 25
350WA
FCSC
40 2-2-2-2 27.2 17.25 - - - 16.00x25 25
440
FCSC
50 2-2-2-2 29.75 17.25 - - - 16.00x25 25
450
Shuttle Carrier
Kalmar
SHC 240 40 2-2-2-2 - - 6790 4547 - 18.0x33 18

SHC 250 50 2-2-2-2 - - 6790 4547 - 18.0x33 18

Front End Loaders

Cat 988K 15 4-2 27

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B10 B10

C1

L4
L4

L3
S2

a) FEL b) Straddle Carrier

B10

C1
L4

c) Yard Trailer

Figure 2-13 Gear Configurations Layouts

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2.8.1 Tyre Types and Pressures

While numerous variants of container handling equipment, including FELs, RTGs, straddle
carriers, yard truck, yard trucks with trailers and street legal trucks operate in terminals all use
a relatively small number of standardised tyres. Table 2-6, following, lists tyre pressures for
different makers and different tyre sizes of container handling equipment as well as the centre-
to-centre (c-c) spacing of dual wheels (see Figure 2-13). The minimum distance from the
centre of one tyre assembly to another on a dual tyre axle is required to prevent, tyre rubbing,
excessive heat generation, and stone damage (those caught between tyres).

Table 2-6 Tyre Types and Pressures

Size Maker Tyre Pressure Dual Spacing (c-c)
(kPa) C1
11R22.5 Goodyear 990 330
12.0x20 990 345
12.5R24.5 350
14.0x24 Goodyear 990
Kalmar spec 950
16.00x25 Goodyear 1050 N/A
Kalmar spec 800
18.0x25 Goodyear 1150 690
Mitas 950
Kalmar spec 900
Ecomega 1000
Paceco Spec 950
18.0x35 Goodyear 1000 690
Kalmar Spec 900
21.00x25 Goodyear 772 N/A
Kalmar spec 800

N.B. Tyre pressures are cold tyre pressures and hot tyre pressures may be higher

Axle Loadings
Mechanistic pavement design requires the knowledge of axle loading for any given container
load which is being handled by the equipment. Procedures such as the British Ports
Association (1996) use a theoretical approach based on the geometry and mass of the vehicle
to calculate axle loading where information is available, approaches such as these may be
used. Alternatively, the axle loading characteristics of handling equipment (loaded weight,
unloaded weight and lift capacity) as shown in Table 2-5 may be used to approximate axle
loading for any container weight from linear interpolation. This concept is shown conceptually
in Figure 2-14 following, with the documented procedure presented in A6.4.

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Figure 2-14 Axle Weight Calculation

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References

Australian Bureau of Statistics (2002) Trade through Australian Ports

www.abs.gov.au/Ausstats/abs@.nsf/0/.../Trade%20through%20Australia's%20ports.pdf,
accesses 09 February 2018.

Gheith Mohamed (2012) Container Pre-marshalling Problem: a Review and Solution

Framework, the IEEE International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Engineering
Management, Hong Kong

Los Angles Port Authority, Moffat and Nichol (circa 2012), Container Terminal and
Intermodal Rail Yard Operational Area Considerations for Pavement Design,
https://www.portoflosangeles.org/pdf/Port_Pavement_Design_Guide.pdf, accessed 21st
September 2017

Port of Brisbane (2013) Import/Export Logistics Chain Study,

https://www.portbris.com.au/PortBris/media/General-
Files/Factsheets%20and%20brochures/1PoB-Logistics-Chain-Study_Sept-2013_web.pdf,
accessed January 2018.

Tanco,(1986) A.J, A Study of Potential Pavements for Container Terminals, Thesis Submitted
in Partial Satisfaction of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Engineering, University
of California, Berkeley.

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3 P3 Procedure for Calculation of Critical Loading in Terminal

Operations

3.1 Introduction and General Operations

As detailed in Section 2, throughout Australia, terminal operators use several systems to move
containers through the terminal efficiently based on throughput, terminal layout and area. While different
delivery systems are used, both shipping terminals and intermodal rail facilities have very similar
operations where containers are grounded and the terminal operations can be divided into three
processes, as summarised following:

1. The receiving and unloading of containers from trucks, rail or ships to a laydown area (shipside)
and transfer of containers from the laydown area to stacks or road or rail.
2. The transfer of the container within and to and from the stacking areas for storage of containers
within the yard.
3. The receiving of containers to trucks or rail carriers from the stacking areas.

Or in reverse for incoming containers.

Each of these principal operational areas will have different loadings based on the anticipated type of
traffic and wheel loads. The understanding of these operations and loading allows for optimisation of
pavement options, as the designer can designate an appropriate pavement thickness for each
operational area.

3.1.1 Scope of Procedure

This procedure is used to calculate the number of containers moved through a terminal over a design
period and the percentage of these containers handled in each operational area of a terminal. This
procedure is based on using the annual TEU throughput and the layout of the terminal to calculate the
critical loads in different operational areas throughout the terminal. Firstly, the procedure calculates the
number of containers handled through the terminal using the TEU and container distributions, sub-
procedures are then used to calculate the percentage of containers handled for each of the following
operational areas and the equipment movements per container:

 Roadways
 Laydown area
 Container stacking areas
 Truck Grids
 Direct intermodal transfer
 Rail siding or truck loading areas

Finally, the procedure determines the effective lane width the equipment movement operates over.

Where the operator can supply information beyond TEU, such as the number of containers or actual
operational percentages or numbers, this information should be used and the method followed for all
subsequent calculations where further information is not available.

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3.2 Calculation of Container Movements

The amount of cargo moved through a terminal is typically measured in TEU’s, with the resulting number
of containers handled over the design period being a function of the TEU volume, the design period,
terminal growth and the split in the size of the shipping containers.

Shipping containers are standardised internationally to allow the use of containers across different
modes of transport i.e. from ship to rail-to-road without unloading and reloading their cargo. Intermodal
containers exist in several types and standard sizes, however, according to the World Shipping Council
(2013) greater than ninety percent of the global container fleet are “general purpose" containers. These
containers consist mostly of twenty or forty foot (6 or 12 m) standard lengths. 48’ containers are also
present in Australia for domestic movement on the rail network. For nearly all operations, the movement
of containers can be based on the split of 20, 40 and 48’ units.

Most terminals have business plans, which have forecast growth targets for the operation of the
terminal, these plans are typically in terms of an annual growth percentage. Where available, this annual
growth should be used for the calculation of the yearly growth in containers.

The following method uses the standard information of the TEU of a terminal and the split of 20, 40 and
48’ units to calculate the annual container throughput, in terms of the number of containers. The terminal
growth plans are then used to calculate the cumulative growth factor over the design period and both
are then used to calculate the design containers for the terminal, as shown following.

3.2.1 Method
Step:

1) Calculate the annual container throughput, Ac, handled through the terminal, using the
container split by:

𝑃 𝑃 1 𝑃 1 (3-1)
𝐴 = 𝑇𝐸𝑈 + 𝑇𝐸𝑈 + 𝑇𝐸𝑈
100 100 𝑇𝐸𝑈 100 𝑇𝐸𝑈

Where:

Ac is the annual of containers handled through the terminal.

TEUa is the annual number of TEU’s.

TEUf is the TEU factor for 40’ and 48’ containers from Table 2-2 (usually 2 & 2.3
respectively).

P20/40/48 is the percentage of 20, 40, 48’ containers. Ideally, obtain the 20/40/48 split
from the terminal operator, if unknown typical Australia distributions can found
in Table 2-3.

2) The Cumulative Growth Factor (CGF) can then be calculated using the anticipated compound
growth over the design period by:

(1 + 0.01𝑅) − 1 (3-2)
𝐶𝐺𝐹 =
0.01𝑅
Where:

R is the annual container growth rate (%)

P is the Design Period (years).

N.B. Where business plans are not available or known, growth of container volume should be
determined bases on a percentage increase in annual volumes from historical data.

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3) Calculate the design number of containers (DC) over the design period using Equation 3-3
following.

𝐷𝐶 = 𝐶𝐺𝐹 × 𝐴 (3-3)

3.3 Calculation of Percentage Movements in Laydown Areas and Connecting

Roads
In typical terminal operations where containers are stored (stacked), the incoming containers are
obtained from the laydown areas or trucks or rail carriages on the truck/railroad (unloaded area). These
containers are then transported along the internal roadways directly to the stacks, in the case of
operations with a single container block row or through connecting roads for terminals with multiple
rows of blocks. In many situations movements in the roadway are typically higher compared to
movements within the container blocks, however, due to potential changes in operations roadways can
often become stacks, stacks can become roadways, and the highest number of movements from both
locations should be considered in the design.

Some operators have operational heat (density) maps of operations, which can be used to determine
the location and percentage of movements at the critical location. Where these maps are not available,
the critical movements can be estimated by considering the movements occurring at the most central
connecting roadway, closest to the laydown area. See Figure 3-1 following, which shows a typical
arrangement for layouts which run between rail sidings or a wharf. In nearly all operations, this area
has the highest number of movements, with movements decreasing with further the distance from this
location.

The method used to calculate movements at this location firstly calculates the number of movements
using the unloading area (laydown areas or truck/railroads) and then calculates the number of
movements in the connecting roads entering the stacks.

Laydown area or Truck/Rail Road (Unloading Areas)

Roadway Critical location

Container Block Row

Roadway
Connecting Road
Connecting Road

Container Block Row

Figure 3-1 Typical Terminal Operational Movements

3.3.1 Method
Where heat (density) maps of operations are not available, the design percentage of connecting
roadway movements may be estimated by:

Step:

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1) Where terminals operate with a single block and single-sided entry, there are no connecting
roads and the percentage movement, PMi, is determined by the position of the centremost
unloading area from the end of the roadway (or wharf), Le, and the length of the roadway, L, as
shown:

𝐿 (3-4)
𝑃𝑀 = 100𝑈
𝑁 𝐿
Where:

NZ is the number of laydown zones

Uf is the utilisation factor for the critical stack, to account for non-uniformly
distributed utilisation of operations, typically 1.5 for large terminals and 1.2 for
small terminals.

N.B. This is also relevant for container terminals, which operate straddles with no connecting
roads with straddles moving through bays to adjoining rows.

Otherwise, Determine the Percentage of Movements entering the connection roads, PMEC, from
the unloading area (rail/truck road or wharf). If there is a single block of containers with access
(operations) from only one side then, PMEC = 100, otherwise:

𝐶 − (𝑁 𝐶 ) 𝑃 (3-5)
𝑃𝑀 =
𝐶 100
Where:

PMEC is the percentage of movements entering the connecting roads.

Pg is the percentage of grounded containers (containers that are not directly

transferred). Typically 100% for wharves and (50-90% for intermodals).

CT is the total number of container slots in the facility

CSM is the maximum number of containers slots on either operational sides of the
loading/unloading area (laydown area or the truck/railroad).

Typically, for wharf or gantry crane operations where stacks are principally on
one side of the unloading zone, CT = CSM. For rail, truck or rubber-tyred gantry
operations, stacks may be on both sides of the area and operations may be
either single double-sided and CT is not equal to CSM.

C1R is the number of containers in the 1st row accessed from the unloading zone.

NES is a factor relating to the number of entry sides for the 1st row to the bays (1 for
one-way movement, 0.5 for both sides. i.e. straddles may have a movement
plan with a one-way flow in stacks and only enter from one side, while FEL's
generally operate from both sides of stacks).

N.B., where bays are used as connecting roads or a one-way entry exists on
the opposite side to the unloading zone all movements enter the connecting
roads and NES is 0.

2) Calculate the percentage of movements on the central connecting roads, where the Number
of Connecting Roads (NCR) >2

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100 (3-6)
𝑃𝑀 =
𝑁 −1

Where:
PMCR is the percentage of movements on the connecting road.
NCR is the number of connecting roads.

where NCR ≤ 2 PMCR = 50% for both one and two roads.

3) Calculate the Percent Movements on the internal roadway (PMi) by applying a utilisation
(weighting) factor, Uf, to account for non-uniformly distributed utilisation of operations, usually
taken as 1.2 for small terminals to 1.5 for large terminals and calculate the design percentage
movements by Equation 3-7 as follows.

𝑃𝑀 𝑃𝑀 (3-7)
𝑃𝑀 = 100𝑈 ×
100 100

N.B. The method is only for the case of loading or unloading within a zone, where loading and unloading
occur in the same area. The process should be run twice for the loading and unloading case and the
percentages added.

Some straddle terminals operate without connecting roads with straddles passing over bays to move to
roadways. In such cases, the number of connecting rows equals the number of bays and this loading
should be added to the loading within the stacks of Section 3.4.

3.3.2 Effective Lane Width

For FEL carrying a container, the effective lane width and the subsequent wander is controlled by the
container width and the available lane width of the roadway and can be determined by:

𝐿 = 𝐿 − (𝐶 ) (3-8)
Where:

Le is the effective lane width.

Lw is the available lane width.

Caw is the greater of the average container width or equipment width (Typically 6.1 m for
20” container, 4.15m FEL(unloaded) and 4.5m straddle.

N.B. Lane width may be different for turning into the connecting road compared to within the connecting
road.

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3.4 Calculation of Percentage Movements within Container Stacking Areas

In container terminals, containers for various destinations, of differing weights and due dates arrive at
a container yard randomly. In addition, some containers need special treatment, such as containers
carrying hazardous material or reefer (refrigerated) containers. The terminal operator’s task is to find
good storage slots for incoming containers, where several objectives might be addressed, e.g.
minimising the number of future relocations, minimizing the overall crane utilization, or storing
containers of equal destination within the same bays. Whilst operational managers will seek to optimise
at least some rehandling of containers is inevitable. Movements within the stacks are controlled by the
number of stacks and the amount of rehandling of containers, which is principally affected by the type
of handling equipment.

N.B. In the case of FEL, the skill and experience of the operators will have a direct bearing on the
number of false moves; that is moves not associated with productivity but not arising from rehandling.

Due to relatively low number of operations, operations at the entry to each bay are rarely critical in
comparison to the adjoining roadway, however, this assumption needs to be checked especially for
terminals with a low number of stacks. For FEL operations the critical area is at the entry to each bay
and is a function of loaded entry pass for stacking the container and two movements (reversing and
forward) for the retrieval of each loaded container. As the FEL goes deeper into the bays, the number
of operations decreases and wander increases.

For straddle operations, the straddle will typically transverse the whole stack for each container
placement and retrieval and part of the stack for each restacking movement. In considering movements
in straddle carrier operations, there is a need to consider the additional passes of the straddle using the
adjacent row; this can be taken into account by an adjacent row factor of two (2).

It is typical for some blocks and bays to be utilised more than others are and a utilisation factor is
required to take into account the non-uniform distribution of loading.

3.4.1 Method
Step:

1) Calculate the percentage of movements at the entry to each stack by Equation 3-9 following:

100𝐶 𝑃 (3-9)
𝑃𝑀 = 𝑈 𝐴 + 2𝑁 𝐴
𝐶 𝑁 𝑁 100
Where:

PMs is the percentage of movements using each stack.

Cs is the number of container slots in the design block.

NB is the number of bays in the design block, where marked bays do not exist the
number of bays should be the length of the stacking area divided by a typical
container width of 12.3 m.

NES is the number of entry sides for each bay (1 for one-way traffic flow in stacks
or 2 for double-sided operations).

NRH is the number of re-handling (shuffling) movements per container (See Table
2-1).

Af is adjacent rows factor to account straddles operating in adjacent rows (2).

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Uf is the utilisation factor for the critical stack, to account for non-uniformly
distributed utilisation of operations typically 1.5 for large terminals and 1.2 for
small terminals.

3.4.2 Effective Lane Widths

For FEL operations, the effective lane width is a function of the size of the bay and the size of the
container in the bay and to a lesser extent the turning radius of the container handling equipment and
the number of bays. For design, the effect of turning radius and number of bays can be ignored and the
effective lane width can be calculated using Equation 3-10 and can be assumed to operate over a
normal distribution.

𝐿 =𝑊 −𝐶 (3-10)
Where:

Le is the effective lane width.

Wb is the width of the bay.

Caw is the average container width based on the percentage of 20, 40 and 48’
containers.

Where containers are not placed in marked bays, for design purposes movements should be assumed
to be a rectangular distribution over 75% of a typical container width of 9.5 m and the number of bays
is the length divided by 9.5.

In Straddle stacking blocks, straddles typically operate in predefined paths; in more advanced automate
facilities movement of the containers is programmed in, so loading is distributed over the whole
container width.

a) For straddle operations, with no programed wander, the effective lane width should be assumed
normally distributed with a width 600 mm.
b) For AutoStrads, with pre-defined wander, the effective lane width (Le) should be assumed as a
rectangular distribution with the width equal to the short end container width (2.4 m).

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3.5 Truck Grids

It is becoming increasingly common for larger container handling terminals, which utilise straddle
carriers to operate truck grids for loading and unloading of containers from external highway trucks.
These containers are transported from the stacking area from the roadway or directly from the laydown
area to the truck grid. This critical loading in the truck grid is a function of:

 Percentage of containers moved by road

 Grid distribution
 Grid utilisation factor

For import containers, the critical loading in the truck grids is the braking operations at the entry to each
grid for the loaded straddle, less critical is the acceleration movement on the exit from the grid, with the
reverse happening for export containers.

3.5.1 Method
Where heat (density) maps are not available, the design percentage of grid movements may be
estimated by:

Step:

1) Obtain from the terminal operator the percentage of containers being transported by road (Pr)
2) Calculate the percentage of movements to use the critical bay, by;

𝑃 (3-11)
𝑃𝑀 =𝑈
𝑁
Where:

PMTG is the percentage of movements using the critical bay in the truck grid.

NG is the number of truck grids.

Uf is the Utilisation factor for the critical bay, typically 1.2 to 1.5.

Pr is the percentage of movement by road.

This logic can be applied where straddles are used to load containers on or off trucks. The structural
design of these roads should follow AGPT-Part 2 (2017).

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3.6 Direct Intermodal Transfers

For direct intermodal transfer i.e. rail-to-rail where containers have been pre-marshalled at the origin or
where containers are moved directly from rail-to-road, very little storage and re-handling of containers
occur and the percentage of movements along the siding is 100% or slightly higher than 100% due to
occasional double movements of grounded containers. For rail-to-rail operations where containers are
pre-marshalled at the point of departure for re-handling, the percentage of movements is determined
using the percentage of grounded containers.

For direct intermodal transfer, loads do not travel on a roadway and are distributed over the rail siding,
however, to aid in the comparison of results, the method calculates movements over a typical container
width. For the typical Australian rail-to-rail operations, with a 20/40/48 split of 6/39/4 percent, this
equates to an average container size of 12.3 m. This width is used as the design lane width and the
percentage of container movements over this lane then calculated. Typically for FEL operations, there
are 1.5 loaded movements per container (Mc) for equal import and export operations (two movements
to take a loaded container off (reverse and forward) and one (forward) to place on the loaded container)
for ports operating with straddles only one movement is typically needed.

3.6.1 Method
Step:

1) Calculate the percentage of movements of direct intermodal containers by;

𝑃𝑀 = 100 + 𝑃 (3-12)
Where:

PMDI is the percentage of movements in direct intermodal operations.

Pg is the percentage of containers grounded.

2) For pavement design, these movements should be assumed to be a rectangular distribution

over 75% of the siding length

(𝑀 )𝑃𝑀 (𝑂𝑃 )(𝑈 )12.3 (3-13)

𝑃𝑀 =
𝑆𝐿
Where:

PMRR is the percentage of movement for the rail siding or truck loading zone.

Mc is the movements per container (typically 1.5 for FEL and 1 for straddles).

SL is the Siding Length or truck loading zone length.

Uf is the Utilisation factor, normally 1.5.

OPc is the Operations or false moves per container (loaded), typically 1.2.

a) For pavement design, these movements should be assumed as a rectangular distribution

occurring over the 12.3 m length.
b) Where rail-to-rail operations are not pre marshalled at the point of departure, the critical
percentage movements in the railroad will generally occur in the centre of the roadway and
will be the same as for a laydown area moving into a single row of container blocks, see
Section 3.3.1.

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3.7 Truck Loading Zone

For terminals without dedicated truck grids, an area of the terminal is typically set aside for the loading
and unloading of trucks. The percentage of movements in these areas is determined by the length of
this area and the number of sides for loading and unloading.

The procedure uses one loaded movement per export container (load to the truck) and two per import
container (unload from the truck) (reverse from the truck and forward movement).

This procedure uses an effective lane width based on the typical Australian rail-to-road container split
of 20/40/48 containers of 45/55/0, which equates to an average container size of 9.5 m. This method
uses the container width as the design lane width and the percentage of container movements over this
lane then calculated.

3.7.1 Method
Step:

1. Calculate the percentage of containers movements in the truck zone (PMTZ) by;

𝑃 (𝑂𝑃 )9.5 𝑃 2(𝑂𝑃 )9.5 (3-14)

𝑃𝑀 =𝑈𝑃 +
(𝑂𝑆)𝑆𝐿 (𝑂𝑆)𝑆𝐿
Where:

Pr is the percentage of movement by road.

Pe is the percentage of exports.

Pi is the percentage of imports.

SL is the Siding Length or truck loading zone length.

Uf is the Utilisation factor, normally 1.5.

OS is the operational sides (2) for loading and unloading on both sides of the truck,
1 for single-sided operation.

OPc is the Operations Per container (loaded), typically 1.2.

2. For pavement design, these movements should be assumed as a rectangular distribution over
75% of the 9.3 length design width (7.125 m).

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3.8 Wheeled Storage & Truck Connection Roads

The truck connecting roads are the usually single lane roads connecting the external terminal roads to
the truck grid or laydown area. These may operate within the stacking area and therefore need to be
designed for movements of container handling equipment.

For separated roads, the design may need only to consider truck movements, which will be equal to the
percentage of movements by road, Pr.

The structural design of these roads should follow AGPT-Part 2 (2017).

For terminals which utilise wheeled storage:

 Loading in roadways should be as per the method described for roadways.

 For storage in bays, the percentage in each bay should be determined as per the method for
as per truck grids.

The effective Lane width should be assumed equal to the bay width.

3.9 Unloaded Movements

While typically not critical for structural design considerations, unloaded movements are still considered
in the design process. Due to synchronisation of loading, where the container handling equipment picks
up a container directly after unloading a container, unloaded movements are generally not equal to
loaded movements. For fully automated terminal synchronisation can be quite high and unloaded
movements may be as low as 50% of the loaded movements, for general cargo terminals operated with
a FEL a figure of 80% is generally considered appropriate.

3.10 Traffic Wander

Vehicle wander is the variation of the paths taken by successive vehicle movements over the allowable
travel path. Increased wander reduces pavement damage by effectively reducing the number of load
repetitions experienced across the path. Advanced computer programs can simulate wander, they do,
however, need a standard deviation of the wander of the vehicle. Which is estimated using the following
method.

3.10.1 Method
Step:

1) Determine if the distribution is a roadway (normal) or a lay-down area (rectangular).

a) The standard deviation of wander or a roadway can then be estimated using a normal
distribution by;

𝐿 (3-15)
𝑆𝐷 =
6∗
b) For rectangular distributions, such as in laydown areas, such as rail and quayside or truck
unloading areas, the standard deviation is given by;

𝐿 (3-16)
𝑆𝐷 =
3.5∗
Where:

SD is the standard deviation of the vehicle wander for the container handling equipment

*assume 99.6% of the vehicles travel in the effective lane

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3.11 Example -1
A rail-to-road intermodal terminal currently handling 250,000 TEU’s pa business growth of 5% per year.
The terminal operator has requested a 20-year structural design and as the designer determine the
number of containers through the terminal over the 20-years.

Step:

1) Calculate the Annual number of containers, Ac,

as the terminal is rail-to-road use container split of 45 and 55% for 20 and 40’ container
respectively.
45 55 1 0 1
𝐴 = 250,000 + 250,000 + 250,000 = 181,250
100 100 2 100 2.3

2) Calculate the Cumulative Growth Factor, CGF

(1 + 0.01(5)) −1
𝐶𝐺𝐹 = = 33
0.01(5)

3) Determine the Design Container Throughput

𝐷𝐶 = 33 × 181250 = 6.0 × 10

3.11.1 Stacking Bays

The pavement design is for the stacking bays on a small rail siding on which a RS operates loading and
unloading containers. The siding has one block and with 25 bays by 3 deep (i.e. 75 slots) and has one
operational side, the yard is partially utilised. What is the percentage of movements to use each bay?

NB = 25.

NES =1

NRH = 4 (Partially utilised site with a RS) (See Table 2-1).

Af =1

Cb /Cs = 75

From Eqn 3-9;

100(75) 100
𝑃𝑀 = 1.2 ((1) + 2(4)(1)) = 43%
75(25)(1) 100

3.11.2 Container Transfer

The site additionally contains a container transfer area between two 500 m railroads where pre-
marshalled containers are transferred to and adjoining railroad with 10% grounded containers, what is
the percentage movements over the design lane width of 12.3 m in this area, from Eqn 3-13.

SL = 500, OPc =1.2, Uf= 1.5, PMDI = (100+10)

(1.5)110(1.2)(1.5)12.3
𝑃𝑀 = = 7.3%
500

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References

Austroads (2017) AGPT-Part 2 Pavement Design- A Guide to the Structural Design of Road
Pavements. Austroads.

British Ports Association/Interpave, Knopton J (1996). The Structural Design of Heavy Duty Pavements
for Ports and other Industries, 3rd ed., Interpave, Leicester.

World Shipping Council (2013), Global Container Fleet, http://www.worldshipping.org/about-the-

industry/containers/global-container-fleet, accessed 17 January 2018.

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4 Guide to the Characterisation of Pavement Materials for Terminal

Design

4.1 Introduction
The design guide has been developed to allow the designer to select between several materials to
determine the most appropriate flexible pavement from a number of options. This choice should be
based on the structural requirements, economics, durability, material availability and construction
considerations. In general, the guide classifies materials into four main categories:

a) Unbound granular materials (including subgrade)

b) Bound (cemented) materials
c) Asphalts, including grout filled asphalt
d) Concrete Block Pavers (CBP)

The procedure used in this guide for characterising each granular material has been developed in
conjunction with the design process presented in “P5 Procedure for Structural Design of Terminal
Pavements”. While alternative methods exist for the characterisation of materials, the use of alternative
methods may invalidate the calibration and validation of this procedure, therefore it is not recommended
to use alternative methods unless there are specific circumstances not covered in this procedure.

As this design guide is based on mechanistic-empirical principles using layered elastic analysis, the
procedure requires materials to be classified in terms of their elastic properties of modulus and
Poisson’s ratio. The performance of these materials is then determined based on the response of the
pavement to the loading and material response models, which can include both elastic properties and
strength properties.

4.1.1 Scope
The scope of this guide covers the material characterisation, in terms of modulus, deformation (rutting)
resistance, crushing resistance and cracking resistance (fatigue capacity), of several typical materials
used under the typical loadings of terminal pavements, including:

 Subgrade
 Aggregate base-subbase courses
 Bound materials
o Foamed Bitumen Bases
o Cement Treated Bases
 Asphalt
 Concrete Block Pavers

4.1.2 Environment
The environment in which a pavement operates has a significant effect on both the performance and
characterisation of materials for both moisture and temperature.

The effect of moisture on the reduction in a granular material modulus has long been known to
pavement engineers, with research by Hicks and Monismith (1971) showing that subgrade modulus
values in a wet environment can be up to 25% lower than that of a dry environment. In this design
procedure, the effect of moisture is accounted for by the selection of appropriate soaking conditions in
the laboratory for the given environment and drainage conditions.

Asphalt materials are viscoelastic and have the properties of both a liquid and a solid with the ratio of
each significantly related to the temperature of the asphalt. At high temperatures (and low rates of
loading) the asphalt begins to act more as a liquid than a solid, at low temperatures (and high rates of

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loading) the asphalt will act as mostly a solid. In this procedure, the effect of temperature on the
characterisation of asphalt is taken into account by the use of equivalent pavement temperature. This
procedure uses the Weighted Mean Average Pavement Temperature (WMAPT), originally developed
by Shell (1978) to model the effect of temperature. Adjustments are made to this procedure are made
to account for the more brittle nature of thin asphalts less than 170 mm.

4.2 Characterisation of Subgrade

4.2.1 Subgrade Investigation

Site investigations need to be undertaken to determine the characteristics of the subgrade materials
that will affect the construction, design and maintenance of the pavement. The site investigation must
obtain sufficient information to enable understanding of risk for the development of an economic
pavement design, which balances CapEx and OpEx requirements and enables the undertaking of
construction in a predictable manner. Insufficient information on the characteristics of the subgrade may
result in a conservative pavement design, under-design of the pavement, or encountering of
unpredicted conditions during construction.

Wheel loads from the heaviest container handling equipment may influence the subgrade to a depth of
up to 3 m below the pavement surface level and the strength and properties of the soils to these depths
need to be considered. Additionally, while not considered in the structural design method, the imposed
loads from the container stacks are likely to affect the soils to a greater depth. The deeper soils will be
subject to medium term, stationary loads. The purpose of the subgrade investigation is to determine the
properties of the soils within these zones of influence. As a minimum, the scope of the subgrade
investigation should include:

1. Soil description and classification and thickness of subgrade layers

2. Insitu moisture content
3. Depth to the water table or any perched water within the influence zone
4. The depth to bedrock or the influence of the bedrock on pavement response

Other factors such as the plasticity (plastic limit, liquid limit, and plasticity index) and particle size
distribution are commonly assessed in the site investigation. These, however, are not used directly in
the pavement design but may be used to assess the suitability to modify the subgrade.
For design, it is important to have an understanding of the final elevations on the terminal, as in many
situations, it may be the case, that over a metre of fill will be required over the area proposed for the
terminal.

4.2.2 Measurement of Subgrade Strength

Subgrade support in this procedure is characterised in terms of strength (CBR) of the subgrade, which
is then converted to stiffness (resilient modulus (E)). In this procedure the strength of the subgrade can
be directly determined from a) the results of laboratory soaked CBR tests, or, b) insitu DCP testing,
converted to CBR.

For most new designs, subgrade strength should be determined from laboratory testing at density and
moisture content, which is representative of the service conditions. Testing should be carried out
following AS 1289 6.1.1 or equivalent standard, with the number of samples taken based on the required
level of confidence for the design.

Site-specific information and/or local knowledge is preferred for determining the moisture content to be
used in CBR testing. A guide to typical moisture conditions (soaking) for laboratory CBR testing of
subgrade materials is provided in Table 4-1. For existing subgrade and fill material, a compaction level
of 95% is typically adopted for CBR testing with the adopted compaction level being a consideration in
specification requirements.

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Table 4-1 Recommended Laboratory CBR Soak Times

Mean Annual Rainfall Excellent Drainage Poor Drainage

<300 mm Un-soaked (OMC) 2 days
300-700 mm 2 days 4 days
700-1200 mm 4 days 7 days
> 1200 mm 4 days 10 days

Where DCP testing is undertaken to determine CBR it should be undertaken following AS1289 6.3.2.
Testing with DCP should be limited to fine-grained subgrades to avoid misleading results obtained from
larger particles. The CBR can then be estimated using Equation 4-1, as follows.

𝐶𝐵𝑅 = 330𝑃 . (4-1)

Where:

CBR is the California Bearing Ratio (%).

P is the penetration in mm/blow.

4.2.3 Subgrade Modulus

The modulus of the subgrade is determined by use of the empirical Shell relationship shown in Equation
4-2, following.

𝐸 = 10𝐶𝐵𝑅 (4-2)
Where:

Esg is the effective modulus of the subgrade (MPa).

Typically, a maximum modulus of 150 MPa would be adopted for subgrade stiffness derived from CBR
testing.

4.2.4 Subgrade Construction Considerations

Localised deformation in the pavement is often attributed to soft spots in the subgrade or poor drainage.
Soft spots can often be identified at the time of construction by proof rolling, with proof rolling undertaken
with loading similar to that of the design loading.

4.2.5 Subgrade Rutting

The procedure for prediction of rutting used in this procedure has been developed using the results of
accelerated pavement testing at the National Aircraft Pavement Testing Facility (NAPTF). This
procedure models deformation of all granular layers and for rutting prediction, the subgrade is
considered an unbound granular layer, with the modelling approach described in Section 4.3.4.

4.2.6 Bedrock
The presence of shallow bedrock or stiff layer may have a beneficial effect on the pavement ability to
support the overlying pavement structure. The presence of bedrock can be determined from either a
geotechnical investigation or indirectly determined from FWD surveys. Where a shallow bedrock layer
exists the bedrock layer may be included in the pavement design as a stiff layer with a modulus of 5000
MPa and a Poisson’s ratio of 0.2.

4.3 Characterisation of Aggregate Base Courses

Granular materials are often the main load-bearing layer(s) of the pavement and have the role of
distributing the load evenly over the subgrade. The materials used for unbound layers usually consist
of crushed stone, crushed slag or selected natural gravels.

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The quality of granular material is highly significant to performance, with higher quality material being
required in the upper layers where the material is subjected to higher loadings. As the layers move
further down in the structure away from the load and closer to the subgrade the required quality of the
material may be reduced.

4.3.1 Granular Materials on Flexible support

The primary factor in determining the modulus of granular materials is the loading regime or the state
of stress in which they operate and the stiffness of the underlying layers, with nearly all-materials being
strain hardening. Strain hardening materials are materials where the modulus increases with increased
loading. Due to the strain hardening nature of granular material, the use of procedures developed for
road pavements is typically not relevant for terminal pavements, as the loading is an order of magnitude
higher. This procedure uses the approach developed by the USACE, Barker et al. (1977) for the
estimation of the stiffness of granular layers and the Green and Hall (1975) model to estimate the upper
modulus of the granular material, as both have been developed for loadings similar to that of terminal
pavements.

Under this procedure, the base and subbase layers are subdivided into layers of between 100 and 200
mm and their moduli determined based upon the thickness of the layer and the elastic modulus of the
underlying layer. The ratio of each sublayer is dependent on the quality of the material, i.e., whether
they are base or subbase materials as shown in Equation 4-3 and 4-4 for base and subbase materials
respectively.

𝐸 =𝐸 (−4.37 + 3.82𝐿𝑜𝑔(𝑑 ) − 1.56𝐿𝑜𝑔(𝐸 )𝐿𝑜𝑔(𝑑 ) + 2.19𝐿𝑜𝑔(𝐸 )) (4-3)

𝐸 =𝐸 (−7.42 + 5.99𝐿𝑜𝑔(𝑑 ) − 2.10𝐿𝑜𝑔(𝐸 )𝐿𝑜𝑔(𝑑 ) + 2.98𝐿𝑜𝑔(𝐸 )) (4-4)

Where:

Ei is the modulus of the ith sublayer

di is the thickness of the ith sublayers.

The modulus of this layer is then assessed against the Green and Hall relationship, Equation 4-5 to
ensure the sublayer modulus does not exceed the maximum modulus (Eu) of the granular material. The
use of this relationship should be limited to select fill, subbase and base materials with a CBR >25%.
.
𝐸 = 39𝐶𝐵𝑅 (4-5)

4.3.1.1 Equivalent Modulus

In this design procedure, each sublayer may be considered as a separate layer in the linear elastic
analysis or each sublayer converted into equivalent moduli (Eeq) using the method of equivalent
thickness as shown in the following relationship.

(4-6)
∑ 𝐸 𝑑
𝐸 =
𝑡ℎ
Where:

Eeq is the equivalent modulus of the layer

th is the total thickness of the layer.

A full description of the procedure for the calculation of the equivalent layer modulus can be found in
Section A6.7.

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4.3.2 Granular Materials on Stiff Subbase

For granular materials placed directly on stiff cement subbase layers, no sublayering is required. The
modulus is determined from the upper modulus value from the Green and Hall relationship, Equation
4-5.

4.3.3 Other Elastic Parameters

Poisson’s ratio for unbound granular layers is dependent on the quality of the material and the moisture
conditions. For crushed aggregate base materials and naturally occurring unbound materials, Poisson’s
ratio can be taken as 0.35. All base-course, sub-base granular materials should be isotropic.

4.3.4 Rutting of Unbound Layers

The rutting model used in this procedure is the modelling approach recommended by Sullivan and
Leader (2020) developed from the NAPTF accelerated testing and validated against the performance
of terminal pavements. This approach uses the concept of the layer deformation above the elastic limit
(del(i)) as a measure of the rutting potential of a granular layer (i).

In this approach, the layer deformation above the elastic limit is calculated as the integral of the strain
profile of each layer beyond the elastic limit. This is shown conceptually in Figure 4-1 following, with the
elastic displacement not contributing to permanent deformation shown in the yellow area and the
deformation above the elastic limit in the blue, green and purple areas for the base, subbase and
subgrade.

It is recommended that for calculation purposes the shape of the strain (r) profile and layer thickness
(d) be directly integrated by fitting a power curve to the data. The procedure for the calculation of the
equation and the integral of the strain profile can be found in Section A6.10.

Figure 4-1 Deformation above the Elastic Limit Concept

The validation of this modelling approach against the actual performance of terminal pavements in
Australia found, as with the calibration, that constant model parameters could be used for all granular
layers, regardless of whether the layer was a base, subbase or subgrade, for the elastic limit (EL) and

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the model shape constants. The resulting calibrated and validated rutting model for granular layers is
of the form.

𝑅𝐷 = 𝑅 𝛼𝑑 (4-7)
( )𝑁

Where:

dae(i) is the deformation above elastic limit in (m) for each layer (i) or ∫ (𝜀 − 𝜀 ) 𝑑𝑡

Rf is the project reliability factor, discussed in Procedure 5.

 is 1.38x10-2

b is 0.22.

EL is 1000 

N is the number of loading cycles.

4.4 Characterisation of Bound Materials

4.4.1 Foam Bitumen Bases
Foamed bitumen stabilisation can be used to improve the strength of granular materials while retaining
a flexible pavement, Foam Bitumen Base (FBB) can be designed to be either fully bound or an improved
unbound granular material (semi-bound). In Australia, typically both bitumen and a secondary
stabilisation agent of lime or cement is used in foamed bitumen stabilisation, with bitumen contents
usually ranging from 2.75% to 4.0% bitumen and 1.0 to 1.5% hydrated lime or cement adopted
depending on the design objective. Class 170 bitumen is the preferred binder for foamed bitumen bases
with the addition of a foaming agent.

Foam bitumen stabilisation can be achieved by either insitu (mixed in place) or plant mixed stabilisation
of granular materials. Mixed-in-place bases are compacted soon after blending, while plant mixed can
be mixed and stockpiled at the site for up to 48 hours before placement with a paver or grader.

The use of semi-bound FBB has been successful on many airfield projects with gear loading similar to
terminal pavement loadings. In this approach, it is important to achieve sufficient strength to improve
the material but limit the strength of the material to ensure the material does not form a fully bound
material. This is achieved by using the following criteria:

 Maximum dry strength UCS 1.5 MPa, ITS 750 kPa

 Minimum soaked strength UCS 0.5MPa, ITS 250 kPa
 Minimum retained strength ratio 40%, recommended 50% (soaked to dry)

The semi-bound FBB material should be modelled as a high-quality granular base course material with
a maximum modulus of 700-900 MPa, which does not require sub-layering, providing the supporting
layer exceeds 250 MPa and asphalt-surfacing thicknesses are greater than 120 mm and less than 250
mm.

This layer is subject to rutting model calculated following Section 4.3.4.

4.4.2 Cement Treated Base

Cement Treated Bases (CTB's) are a mixture of aggregate and cement used to improve the strength
and stiffness of granular materials.

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CTB may be mixed in place or mixed in a plant using selected material (often-crushed aggregates).
Mixed-in-place CTB is compacted after blending, while CTB mixed in a central plant is typically hauled
to the placement area in dump trucks and placed in the pavement with a grader or paver.

CTB may exhibit two structural modes of failure, namely bottom-up fatigue failure resulting in cracking
of the CTB layer and crushing/erosion of the surface of the CTB layer resulting in the breakdown of the
CTB layer. This mode of failure has been found to occur in lightly bound CTB’s or pavement subjected
to high numbers of loading repetitions. While two modes of failure exist, this procedure has been
developed to allow bottom-up cracking to occur without causing a failure of the pavement, the time to
cracking simply represents the first phase of the life of the CTB pavement.

In this procedure, the CTB's are designed to resist crushing in a single-phase and have an extended
cracking life comprised of two phases, as below;

 For rutting,
o The CTB is subject to crushing and acts as a cracked material, which transfers loads
to the underlying granular layers, which are subject to potential rutting.
 For cracking,
o firstly, as a fully bound material where the CTB is subject to fatigue cracking, and
o secondly, the CTB is a cracked material which has an extended life acting as an
unbound granular material providing support to the overlying asphalt which is subject
to cracking. Additionally, crack sealing should form part of the Maintenance
Management Plan for CTB’s.

4.4.2.1 Strength of CTB

Normally, the strength of CTB is typically specified in terms of the Unconfined Compressive Strength
(UCS), with the UCS typically being determined after a 28-day curing period (UCS28d). Analysis of
testing undertaken by Austroads (2014) has shown that the long terms UCS (UCSLT) is 1.45 times
higher than the 28-day strength with the long-term strength estimated as follows.

𝑈𝐶𝑆 = 1.45𝑈𝐶𝑆 (4-8)

N.B. Flexural Strength(FS) can be used instead of UCS where UCS = FS/0.2

Although used extensively overseas, limited information exists in Australia at present on the
performance of both Lean Mix Concrete (LMC) and Roller Compacted Concrete (RCC) in terminals. As
such, both LMC and RCC should me modelled as a high strength CTB, with a conservative 28-day
strength of 12-15 MPa used for both materials.

4.4.2.2 Bottom-up Fatigue Relationship

Currently, limited data is available to validate the fatigue performance of CTB in terminal environments,
principally due to most CTB pavements having significant secondary capacity. However, validation
against a limited number of terminal pavements has found that the use of a constant relationship for all
CTB materials is appropriate and is in general alignment with observed performance.

250 (4-9)
𝑁=
𝜇𝜀

While not directly included in the relationship, the use of higher quality materials increases the life of
the CTB layer by increasing the modulus and reducing the strains for any given pavement.

4.4.2.3 Crushing Fatigue

Crushing fatigue occurs due to repeated compressive strain at the top of the bound layer once this
crushing fatigue initiates rapid rutting occurs to the pavement. In terminals, crushing has been found to
occur in lightly stabilised layers or heavily trafficked pavements and is related to the compressive

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strength to stress ratio and loading repetitions. To limit compressive fatigue, researchers from South
Africa (De Beer 1990) proposed a top-down compressive-fatigue model, as shown in Equation 4-10.

𝑘 𝜎 (4-10)
log 𝑁 = 8 1 −
𝑈𝐶𝑆
Where:

N is the number of repetitions to fatigue cracking/erosion

c is the compressive stress at the top of CTB, MPa

Calibration against actual performance in Australian terminal found that the coefficient, k2, is related to
the level of surface rutting (RD) caused by the top-down fatigue and erosion by:

𝑘 = 2.3 − 0.05(𝑅𝐷) + (𝑆𝐷 − 1)2.25 (4-11)

Where SD is the static Dynamic Ratio, (see Table 5-2).

As the calibration of the model was based on the long term UCS, there is no requirement to account for
the lower initial strength leading to accelerated damage in the initial stages in modelling.

It should be noted that in this model there will be a given number of cycles before any rutting occurs
and as the limiting stress to strength ratio is approached, a significant number of cycles will occur before
any rutting occurs.

N.B. Equation 4-10 is used to estimate life (rutting) of undamaged CTB layers. Where a rehabilitation
design is being undertaken and the damaged CTB is left in place, the CTB may be considered as an
unbound layer, with a measured CBR, or if the damaged material is removed to a sound layer, the cover
over the undamaged CTB assessed using Equation 4-10.

4.4.2.4 Design Modulus of CTB

Due to reasons such as micro-cracking induced by shrinkage, insitu modulus values of CTB materials
are significantly lower than laboratory determined values. Analysis of CTB’s of terminal pavement has
found that the insitu modulus of the CTB layer is directly proportional to the long term UCS, by the
following relationship:

𝐸 = 1100𝑈𝐶𝑆 (4-12)

To account for this lab to field variation, where the modulus is directly determined from laboratory testing
(EL), the insitu modulus should be reduced by a factor of 5100MPa, as shown following.

𝐸 = 𝐸 − 5100 (4-13)

A Poisson’s ratio of 0.2 should be used for all CTB layers when bound.

4.4.2.5 Damaged Modulus

The modulus of CTB reduces because of fatigue damage, erosion or weathering. After complete
damage (i.e., failure), the modulus of CTB reverts to the modulus of granular material. The U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers (1994) developed a relationship between the deteriorated modulus (Ed) of CTB and
the original strength. When adjusted for the higher bulk stress in terminal pavements, the relationship
may be approximated by:

𝐸 = 68𝑈𝐶𝑆 . (4-14)

With no sublayering of the layer and a Poisson’s ratio 0.35

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N.B. For lightly stabilised materials, Equation 4-14 may produce a lower modulus than the sublayering
approach of Section 4.3.1. In such cases, the sublayering approach may be used to estimate the
modulus of the damaged layer, using the CBR of the unmodified aggregate.

4.5 Characterisation of Concrete Block Pavers

Concrete Block Pavers (CBP) have been used to provide a durable wearing course over flexible
pavements to provide a level of resistance to damage and indentation to the surface of the pavement.
For design, CBP may be characterised in terms of the performance of an equivalent elastic layer, which
is isotropic and linearly elastic. While CBP can be classified as linear elastic, CBP's tend to “stiffen”
under traffic due to the progressive rotation and wedging until and eventual “equilibrium” is achieved.

The modulus of the segmental block pavers should be based on a multiphase design approach:

1. Model the 1st phase with up to 10,000 cycles with a modulus of 750 MPa
2. Model a second phase with traffic up to 20,000 cycles with a modulus of 1500 MPa
3. Model the equilibrium phase with a modulus of 2500 MPa.

Where a Pneumatic Tyred Roller (PTR) is used as part of the construction process to bed-in the CBP
a modulus of 2500 MPa may be used for all phases. To maintain this modulus during the life of the
pavement it is essential to undertake periodic maintenance of the "locking" sand to ensure locking of
the pavers. If maintenance cannot be guaranteed a modulus of 750 MPa should be used for all phases.

4.6 Characterisation of Asphalt

Asphalt is a mixture of crushed aggregate and a bituminous binder, used to provide a durable and easily
repairable wearing course and structural layers in terminal pavements.

Asphalt acts and is designed as a fully bound material, which is subject to fatigue cracking, with the
stiffness of the asphalt being a function of both the mix selection (binder type) and the operating
environment. In this procedure, rutting within the asphalt layer is controlled by specifying minimum
material properties to limit rutting with the asphalt layers and does not form part of the structural design
procedure.

4.6.1 Mix Design of Requirements

4.6.1.1 Gradation
Asphalts mixes used in terminals tend to be coarse graded and are normally always coarser than
standard SRA and airport mixes. While terminal mixes are course graded they normally tend to fall
within the grading envelope but at the extremes of the SRA grading control points.

4.6.1.2 Binder Class and Content

Australia has four major paving grades of binder C320, C450, C600 and Multigrade binders, none of
which are well suited for use in the rutting zone (upper 120 mm) of terminal pavements. For asphalt
placed within the rutting zone, it is recommended that all binders be either polymer-modified or a
specialty binder, conventional binders can be used in the lower non modified asphalt layers.

Due to the higher stiffness of plastometric and stiff elastomers mixes, they offer greater ability to spread
loads within the asphalt layer and to the underlying layers, and as such, these stiffer mixes should be
preferred over low stiffness elastomers in terminal mixes. Low stiffness elastomers have been found to
contribute to failures in terminal pavements due to their low stiffness, which can concentrate load to
lower asphalt layers increasing deformation within these lower layers.

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4.6.1.3 Air Voids

The design air voids of terminal mixes do not vary to a significant extent across Australia. As such, air
voids have been found to have a very low impact on modulus values over the design range. It is
therefore relevant that for Australian conditions the effect of voids can be ignored, provided the design
air void range remains in the typical range of terminal mixes produced in Australia (5.0-7.0%).
Furthermore, it has been found that asphalt mixes quickly compact (typically in less than a year) to an
air void level which approaches the refusal void level and adjusting for higher initial voids is not typically
required.

4.6.1.4 Aggregates
As all SRA specifications in Australia control the shape and angularity of the aggregate, the effect of
aggregate type is not measurable in Australian mixes. Provided the aggregates comply with the local
SRA specifications, aggregate type and grading need not be considered in the design.

4.6.1.5 Deformation Resistance

Experience has found that acceptable rutting resistance is achieved when an asphalt mixes resistance
to deformation is less than 2-3 mm, when tested following the Austroads wheel tracking test (AG: PT-
T231), modified with testing undertaken at 65oC, and, to 60,000 cycles. Typically, this test has been
applied to wearing course mixes, however, for terminals, the critical layer is normally always the base
course asphalt and, if present, any base course asphalt must meet this requirement.

4.6.2 Elastic Characterisation

Temperature has a significant effect on the stiffness of asphalt mixes. Under the typical operating
temperatures experienced in Australia, the modulus of asphalt mixes can vary between 1,000 MPa to
25,000 MPa. In this procedure, the effect of temperature is taken into account by determining the
effective temperature for pavement design and stiffness of the asphalt at this temperature, while time
is related to the speed of the vehicles.

The elastic characterisation of asphalt mixes in this procedure uses dynamic modulus master curves,
developed using the time-temperature superposition principle. In applying this principle in this guide, a
reference temperature of 25oC is selected and data measured at various other temperatures is then
shifted with respect to time until the curves merge into a single smooth function. This concept is seen
in Figure 4-2, which shows a typical set of results from a dynamic modulus test in the frequency space.

The amount of shifting required at each temperature then describes the temperature dependency of the
material and therefore both the master curve and the temperature shift factors (T) are required for the
description of the load rate and temperature effects, which can be described by a polynomial equation
shown in Equation 4-15

𝛼 = 10 ( ) ( ) (4-15)
Where:

T = pavement design or testing temperature (oC)

a and b = Fitting coefficients of the polynomial equation

the reduced pulse time at the design temperature is then determined using the temperature shift factor
(aT) as shown in Equation 4-16 following:

𝑡 ( ) = 𝑎 𝑡 (4-16)
Where;

aT = temperature shift factor

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thp(r) = the reduced load pulse time at the design temperature (seconds)

Figure 4-2 Typical Dynamic Modulus Curve

Research conducted by Witczak et al. (1996) has shown that the modulus master curve can be
represented by a sigmoidal function of the form shown in Equation 4-17 following. While these curves
may be represented in both the frequency of time-space, for consistency and to aid in interpretation,
this procedure only presented master curves in the equivalent haversine pulse time (thp) space as, as
shown in The AAPA APSfL project (2015), the haversine pulse is directly related to the vehicle loading
pulse. This approach is detailed in Appendix 6.13.

𝛽 (4-17)
log(|𝐸 |) = 𝛼 + ( ( (
1+𝑒 ( ) )))

Where:

Emix is the modulus of the min (MPa)

thp(r) is the reduced haversine pulse load at the reference temperature (seconds)

 is the minimum value of the mix stiffness

 is the difference between the maximum and minimum stiffness of the mix

 are shape fitting parameters, determined through numerical optimisation of

experimental data

The use of master curves allows the modulus values recorded at any temperature and time rate of
loading to be shifted to any other temperature and time rate of loading of interest.

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This procedure includes two methods for the development of master curves a) direct measurement and
b) estimating from specified or the results of resilient modulus testing.

4.6.3 Use of Test Data

Dynamic modulus master curves can be determined directly from the results of frequency sweep testing
undertaken following AASHTO TP62 or AASHTO TP79. As part of the APS-fL (2015) project, it was
found that there is no difference between the dynamic modulus determined by both methods and
therefore either could be used to determine the dynamic modulus of the mix. Frequency in these test
methods must be converted to time as recommended in the AAPA APS-fL (2015).

Due to the effect of confinement on stiffness, particularly at the high loading and low loading speed of
terminal environments, dynamic modulus testing should be carried out with confinement of 200 kPa.
Tensile based testing such as flexural modulus or resilient modulus is not recommended for the
development of master curves in this procedure.

Section A6.13 describes the full procedure for the calculation of dynamic modulus master curves from
frequency sweep testing.

4.6.4 Use of Specified Resilient Modulus Results

If full master curves are not available or the designer is specifying the asphalt requirements, the results
of the resilient modulus test undertaken following AS 2891.13.1. can be used in conjunction with
standard master curves developed from extensive testing, undertaken as part AAPA APS-fL (2015)
project. In this procedure, the master curve is then obtained by:

1) Using the standard temperature shift factor, as shown in Table 4-2.

2) Based on the binder type select the standard shape factors for the specified binder type as
shown in Table 4-3.
3) Determine the minimum modulus value, , from the resilient modulus test and binder type as
shown in Table 4-3.

Table 4-2 Temperature Shift Factors

Binder a b
Conventional Binders -0.001 0.116

Table 4-3 Master Curve Fitting Parameters

Mix    
Conventional Mixes log(𝑀 ) − 1.81 2.36 -0.47 0.66
EME2 log(𝑀 ) − 1.81 2.36 -0.47 0.66
SBS (A10-15E) log(𝑀 ) − 2.03 2.98 -0.25 0.65
SBS (A5E) log(𝑀 ) − 2.52 2.98 -1.01 0.64
EVA log(𝑀 ) − 2.52 2.96 -0.83 0.58

4.6.5 Rate of Loading

Due to the visco-elastic nature of asphalt, the rate of loading (speed) can have a significant effect on
the modulus of the asphalt mix, with the slower the rate the lower the modulus. As nearly all loading
on terminal pavements is applied at a slow walking pace, a single rate of loading has been used in the
development of this guide of 10 km/hr or 0.65 seconds. Unless specific special circumstances exist this
speed should be used in all locations within a terminal.

4.6.6 Fatigue of Relationship for Asphalts

The use of empirical fatigue relationships is not recommended as part of this procedure, as these have
been typically developed for conventional binders, which are typically not used in terminal asphalts.

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Instead, the fatigue relationship for asphalt mixes is directly related to material testing and includes two
procedures;

1) Determination from multipoint fatigue testing, or

2) Single point fatigue testing and modulus shift factors.

4.6.6.1 Multipoint Testing.

The fatigue relationship of the mix may be determined from multi-point fatigue testing undertaken using
AGPT-T274 or similar, at different strain levels, , and temperatures (modulus). Linear optimisation,
such as Excel® solver, can then be used to solve the regression parameters, k1, K2 and K3 in the
standard fatigue equation as shown following.

𝑘 (4-18)
log 𝑁 = 𝑅 𝐾 𝑙𝑜𝑔 + 𝐾 𝑙𝑜𝑔(𝐸 ∗ )
𝜇𝜀

Where:

E* is at the modulus of interest (or in test modulus)

Rf is the reliability factor (as shown in Section 5)

 is the micro-strain

4.6.6.2 Single Point and Modulus Shifting

Alternatively, the fatigue relationship can be determined from the method recommended by Sullivan et
al. (2020b) using the Number of cycles to failure, Nf200, obtained (or specified requirements) under the
standard test conditions of AGPT-T274 (2016), 20oC 10Hz and 200. Typical values of the Nf200 of
Australian mixes are provided in Table 4-4.

The Nf200 is then used with Equation 4-19 to determine the fatigue capacity at any other time or
temperature and the design modulus of the mix.

860 × 𝑙𝑜𝑔 𝑁 − 1900 (4-19)

log 𝑁 = 𝑅 5 × 𝑙𝑜𝑔 − 2𝑙𝑜𝑔(𝐸 ∗ ) + log(𝐸 ) + 3.8
𝜇𝜀

Where:

𝐸 is the measured modulus under AGPT-T274 standard test conditions (see

typical values in Table 4-4)

Table 4-4 Typical Nf200 and Eref values

Binder Type Typical Nf200 Typical Eref (MPa)
C600 100,000 6,500
SBS (A10-15E) 1,000,000 3,500
SBS (A5E) 500,000 8,500
EVA (A35P) 250,000 8,000
Multigrade (M1000) 250,000 7,000
EME2 300,000 11,000

N.B. Typical Eref modulus may be calculated using the specified resilient modulus (Mr), a time of
loading of 0.1 seconds and a temperature of 20oC using the standard master curve parameters as
detailed in Appendix 6.8.

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4.7 Characterisation for Crack and Seated Concrete Pavements

When the cracked segments of a fatigued concrete pavement are seated firmly into the supporting
layer, the pavement may be suitable for rehabilitation with an asphalt overlay. Where the concrete
pavement does not fall into this category, especially where large voids exist, and the broken segments
are not seated and “rocking” alternative strategies such as slab stabilisation, crack and seating or
rubblisation need to be considered.

For the rehabilitation of cracked and seated slabs, the determination of the required overlay thickness
requires the stiffness of the cracked (broken) slabs. It has been found that the modulus of the broken
concrete depends on many parameters such as; the size of fractured pieces, the thickness of the
concrete slab, the original strength of slab and the layer support.

Ideally, the effective stiffness of this layer should be determined from back analysis of structural testing
using a FWD, however, for conceptual and preliminary design, in the absence of any other information,
the modulus can be assumed using Figure 4-2.

Figure 4-2 Suggested Moduli Values Crack and Seated Concrete Pavements

4.7.1 Minimum Overlay Thickness

Overseas experience has shown that increasing the thickness of the asphalt overlay has a significant
effect of reducing reflective cracking. As guidance, where no crack relief membrane is used, it is
recommended that a minimum overlay thickness of 140 mm be used with this thickness including a
minimum 30 mm corrector course. Where a synthetic fabric or stress absorbing interlayer is
recommended, the overlay thickness can be reduced to a minimum 100 mm. Where used, it is
recommended that the synthetic fabric or stress-absorbing interlayer be placed over the levelling
(corrector) course.

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References

Austroads AGPT-Part 2 (2012). Pavement Design- A Guide to the Structural Design of Road
Pavements. Austroads Publication.

Austroads AP-R463-14 (2014) Framework for the Revision of Austroads Design Procedures for
Pavements Containing Cemented Materials, Austroads Publication

Barker, W. and Brabston, W. (1975). Development of a structural design procedure for flexible airport
pavements. Report No. S-75-17. US Army Corps of Engineers, Waterways Experiment Station,
Vicksburg, Miss.

British Ports Association/Interpave (1996). The Structural Design of Heavy Duty Pavements for Ports
and other Industries, 3rd ed., Interpave, Leicester

Corp of Engineers. 1994. Soil Stabilization for Pavement. Department of the Army, the Navy, and the
Air force.

De Beer, M. 1990. Aspects of the Design and Behaviour of Road Structures Incorporating Lightly
Cementitious Layers. Ph.D. dissertation, Faculty of Engineering, University of Pretoria, Pretoria
(February)

Green, J.L. and Hall, J.W. (1975), Non- destructive vibratory testing of airport pavement: Experimental
tests results and development of evaluation methodology and procedure, FAA-RD-73-205, Federal
Aviation Administration, Washington D.C.

Hicks, R. G. and Monismith, C. L. (1971). Factors Influencing the Resilient Response of Granular
Materials. Highway Research Record. No. 345, pp 15-31.

Moffat and Nichol, Container Terminal and Intermodal Rail Yard Operational Area Consideration for
Pavement Design, https://www.portoflosangeles.org/pdf/Port_Pavement_Design_Guide.pdf, accessed
21st September 2017

Rada, G and Witczak, M. (1981) Comprehensive Evaluation of Laboratory Resilient Moduli Results for
Granular Material, Transportation Research Record 810, TRB, National Research Council, Washington,
D.C., 1981.

Shackel. B, Person. A and Holt,(2003) A Survey of Australian Container Port Pavements Surfaced with
Concrete Segmental Paving, https://cmaa.blob.core.windows.net/media/1063/tp4-a-survey-of-
australian-container-port-pavements-surfaced-with-concrete-segmental-paving.pdf, accessed 7th
December 2017

Shell pavement design manual: (1978) Asphalt pavements and overlays for road traffic, Shell International
Petroleum Company, Ltd, London

Sullivan, B, Leader B, (2020) (a) Development of an Improved Rutting Performance Model for Port and
Container Terminal Pavements, DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.13158.45126

Sullivan, B, Kartsounis, M Petho, L and Denneman, E (2020) (b) Development of Mix Specific Fatigue
Relationships Based on Single Strain Testing, DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.34968.83203

Tanco, A.J, (1986) A Study of Potential Pavements for Container Terminals, Thesis Submitted in Partial
Satisfaction of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Engineering, University of California,
Berkeley,

AfPA | Guide to the Characterisation of Pavement Materials for Terminal Design P4-15
Guide to the Structural Design of Flexible
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U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station, Technical Report No. 3-529, (1959) Compaction
Requirements for Soil Components of Flexible Airfield Pavements

Witczak, M, Fonseca, O (1996) Revised Predictive Model for Dynamic (Complex) Modulus of Asphalt
Mixtures, Transport Research Record: Journal of Transport Research Board, National Research
Council, Washington, D.C

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5 P5 Procedure for Structural Design of Terminal Pavements

5.1 Scope
This procedure is used for the calculation of pavement structural requirements (materials and
thickness) to achieve a user-defined level of performance at a specified risk level, in terms of
rutting and fatigue cracking. The process defined in this procedure has been used to calibrate
and validate the pavement response models and project risk levels. As such, any deviation
from this procedure will result in un-calibrated pavement response and unknown project risk
levels.

Firstly, the procedure presents several design options available to the designer. Secondly, the
procedure then presents the process for undertaking a mechanistic design to determine the
pavement response to the critical loading. As part of this procedure several sub-procedures
have been developed, which are presented in Appendix 6 for:

1) Determination of design subgrade

2) Determination of basic thickness
3) Determination of axle loading
4) Assessing the effect of vehicle wander
5) Calculation of WMAPT
6) Characterisation of asphalt modulus
7) Characterisation of unbound granular materials
8) Determination of fatigue relationship
9) Characterisation of CTB layers
10) Layer deflection above the elastic limit
11) Procedure for determination of cumulative damage of bound layers
12) Procedure for calculating the incremental increase in permanent deformation
13) Procedure for determination of secondary post cracked life

To aid in the understanding of the procedure, a design example is included which is a

continuation of the design example in started in P3 Procedure for the Calculation of Critical
Loading in Terminal Operations, which can be followed through in the procedure and sub-
procedures. Additional design examples are presented in Appendix 7.

5.2 Design for Static Loading

For design purposes, it is normally sufficient to choose the pavement thickness to suit the
container-handling vehicles rather than the static loads. However, the influence of container
stack loads on such factors as the consolidation of compressible subgrades should be
checked by geotechnical engineers.

5.3 Design Life

Due to high loadings and low repetitions, the endurance limit concept for asphalt is not
considered relevant for Terminal pavement design and design life should be considered as a
function of CapEx and OpEx considerations. Typically, due to ongoing maintenance,
requirements design lives of 20 to 30 years are used.

5.3.1 Design for Fatigue of Asphalt

Analysis of the validation sites used to develop this guide, which exhibited some level of
cracking, found that all sites had reached the maximum allowable rutting level before the onset
of fatigue damage and it is unclear if cracking occurred as a result of excess rutting or pure
fatigue.

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While asphalt fatigue does not appear to be the controlling factor for design, it is good
engineering practice to perform a check for the fatigue capacity in the final design. When
fatigue is critical, it may be possible to allow for the fatigue of asphalt in maintenance planning
and if possible, it may be beneficial to allow for maintenance within the structural life of the
pavement and not have asphalt fatigue governing the design.

5.4 Design Options

5.4.1 Full/Partial Depth Asphalt

The concept of the full and partial depth asphalt pavements is to provide a relatively stiff rut
resistant layer. Fatigue of the asphalt layer can be controlled by mix design (specification of
fatigue performance and stiffness) and by thickness. The asphalt thickness is also designed
to ensure cover over unbound granular and subgrade layers.

The advantages of full and partial depth asphalts are:

 Isolated failures can be easily repaired.

 Fatigue failure of the asphalt will not cause immediate failure of the pavement and
gives time for maintenance planning.
 Relatively simple construction and speed.

The disadvantages and risks, which must be considered, are:

 Potential surface damage around corner castings.

 Poorly designed and/or specified asphalt is prone to rutting.

In this concept the asphalt properties in terms of deformation resistance, aggregate gradation,
and fatigue resistance will need to be controlled by end-product performance specifications,
in particular, the asphalt will need to meet performance requirements for;

 dynamic modulus,
 fatigue resistance, (beam fatigue), and
 permanent deformation resistance (repeated load).

5.4.2 Asphalt Pavement with Concrete Block Paver Surfacing

This flexible design option is based on the concept of the Concrete Block Pavers (CBP)
providing a durable hard wearing surface and the asphalt layers below provide a relatively stiff
(rut resistant), yet flexible base layer.

The advantages of this pavement type are:

 Isolated failures can be easily repaired.

 CBP absorb less heat than standard asphalt, therefore reducing asphalt rutting
potential.
 CBP's protect asphalt layers, in terms of depth, which therefore reduces the
temperature of the asphalt and rutting potential.
 Failure of the asphalt will not cause immediate failure of the pavement as it is covered
by the pavers

The disadvantages and risks, which must be considered, are:

 Deformation repairs are expensive and timely, as CBP's need to be removed and re-
laid.
 CBP may break down with corner casting loading

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 Potential for pavers not to interlock increasing risk of premature failure due to rutting
and/or fatigue

In this concept the asphalt properties in terms of deformation resistance, aggregate gradation,
and fatigue resistance will need to be controlled by end-product performance specifications,
in particular, the asphalt will need to meet performance requirements for;

 dynamic modulus,
 fatigue resistance, (beam fatigue), and
 permanent deformation resistance (repeated load).

The CBP pavers will need to meet requirements for;

 deformed shape and thickness, and

 strength

5.4.3 Cement Grout Filled Asphalt

The asphalt pavement with a cement grout filled asphalt-wearing course is a similar concept
to that of the CBP surfaced asphalt pavement. In that, the cement grout filled asphalt is
designed as a durable stiff wearing course able to withstand the traffic loadings while the
asphalt base layers are designed as a flexible yet stiff base layer designed to have both
deformation and fatigue resistance.

The advantages of this type of pavement are:

 The cement grout filled asphalt is a stiffer and potentially a more stable surface than
CBP.
 The surface should be more durable than traditional asphalt surfaces.
 Relatively simple deformation repair (mill and re-sheet).

The disadvantages and risks involved with this option are:

 Limited use and experience in large port areas.

 Shrinkage cracking can occur in the surfacing layer but does not extend to asphalt
layers.
 Isolated failures are more difficult to repair, than both asphalt and CBP surfaces.
 Risk of grout not following the full depth of layer and filling gaps in asphalt surface.

In this concept the asphalt properties (both grout filled and dense-graded) in terms of
deformation resistance, aggregate gradation, and fatigue resistance will need to be controlled
by end-product performance specifications, in particular, the asphalt will need to meet
performance requirements for;

 dynamic modulus,
 fatigue resistance, (beam fatigue) (for cement grout filled asphalt strains are typically
less than 100)
 and, permanent deformation resistance (repeated load).

5.4.4 CTB with Asphalt Surfacing

The concept of the CTB pavement is to provide a stiff fully bound rut resistant layer. As
flexibility cannot be designed into a CTB, fatigue resistance can only be provided by increases
in thickness. In addition to traditional bottom-up fatigue, CTB layers are susceptible to
crushing/erosion of the surface, which can be controlled by either increasing the strength of
the CTB layer or the cover over the CTB layer.

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Currently, the determination of the fatigue capacity of CTB in container terminals is highly
unpredictable due to; the large variations in the achieved insitu material properties of CTB
layers, CTB materials being highly susceptibility to variation in loadings, and the high variability
and sensitivity of CTB fatigue models. To manage this risk, it is recommended, that all CTB
pavements be designed with a post-cracked (secondary) life that can accommodate the
pavement loadings when cracked and have a pavement makeup where the surfacing layer
will not crack with cracking of the underlying CTB layer. To accomplish this, it is recommended:

 A minimum cover of 120-140 mm asphalt, specifically designed for terminals is

provided over the CTB layer.
 Crushing/erosion failure of the CTB layer will not occur in the primary phase.
 The minimum basic thickness is determined from the post-cracked modulus of the
CTB.
 A minimum of 5 years of structural capacity is present in the secondary life stage.

The advantages of the CTB pavement are:

 Low deformation potential, if properly compacted and adequate strength.

 Relatively simple construction and speed.

The disadvantages and risks involved with this option are:

 A potential lack of bonding between multiple stabilised layers could lead to a rapid
fatigue failure, which is mitigated by using the two-phase approach.
 Without secondary capacity, failures are rapid with little warning for maintenance
planning.
 Less suitable for areas of high settlement potential.
 Performance models are less defined and a higher risk of poor performance.

In this concept, the CTB properties in terms of deformation resistance, strength, stiffness, and
fatigue resistance will need to be controlled by end-product performance specifications, in
particular, the CTB will need to meet performance requirements for;

 Strength, in terms of UCS28-day,

 And, optionally, Indirect modulus (stiffness)

5.5 Design for Corner Castings

Deformation under corner casting is common for most surfacing materials used in container
terminal pavements and these isolated relatively small deformations do not cause any
disruption to the operation of container facilities. Knapton (2006) initially proposed the concept
of allowing controlled deformation in design. Knapton presented a method for incorporation of
deformation under the corner casting into the design of industrial pavements. The concept
uses asphalt layers(s) in container storage areas to create a situation where containers settle
into the pavement surface by an amount equal to the down-stand of their corner castings. The
surface material is then designed to sustain loads generated by the underframes (principally
the bottom side rails) of containers rather than by corner castings alone. This concept is
undertaken by:

 Designing the pavement to sustain only the loads applied by container handling
equipment.
 The container corner castings will then cause the asphalt to deform.
 The deformed asphalt can be left insitu until container slot relocation is required.
 At that time, a local repair can be made and the operation can continue unhindered.

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In Australia, all facilities operate part or all of the facility under this design model. While the
concept is valid, additional safeguards must be in place to use this design process. The
designer must ensure that when the asphalt deforms under the corner castings the
deformation does not cause any other mode of failure such as shoving, de-compaction and/or
spalling of the asphalt and the asphalt does not go into tertiary flow. Guidance should be
obtained for the asphalt supplier on mixes that can accomplish this. The revised approach
over the initial approach as proposed by Knapton (2006) is as follows:

 Designing the pavement to sustain only the loads applied by container handling
equipment.
 The asphalt is then allowed to deform under the corner castings.
 The asphalt is designed to ensure it will not go into tertiary flow with deformations of
less than 20 mm under a creep loading.
 The asphalt is designed to ensure it will not deform and/or shove under the container
handling equipment.
 The deformed asphalt can be left insitu until container slot relocation is required.
 At that time, a local repair can be made and the operation can continue unhindered.

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5.6 Design Process

The summary of the mechanistic design procedure used in this guide consist of:

Step Process
1 Determine design requirements in terms of: P1
a) Total allowable rut depth and confidence level
b) Fatigue cracking confidence level
2 Determine container movements at the required design location(s)
a) Roadways P3.3
b) Stacking areas P3.4
c) Truck Grids P3.5
d) Intermodal transfers P3.6
e) Truck loading areas P3.7
3 Determine lane width P3
4 Determine characteristic subgrade modulus A6.1
5 Determine basic thickness A6.2
6 Determine axle load weight distribution A6.3
7 Assess the effect of vehicle wander A6.4
8 Determine the environmental condition (WMAPT) A6.5
9 Characterise asphalt layer(s) (if relevant) and determine elastic A6.6
parameters
10 Characterise granular layer(s) and determine elastic parameters A6.7
11 Characterise CBP (if relevant) and determine elastic parameters 4.5
12 Determine asphalt fatigue criteria A6.8
-------------------------------for the fatigue life of CTB go to 5.6.1----------------------------------
13 Characterise cracked CTB (if relevant) and determine elastic A6.9
parameters
For each time-period
For each load/vehicle
14 Undertake structural analysis and calculate stress/strain at P5 & A6.7
critical locations
15 Calculate the sum of asphalt damage (if required) A6.11
16 Determine the incremental increase in permanent A6.12
deformation due to the crushing of CTB (if required)
For each granular layer and subgrade
17 Calculate layer deformation above the elastic limit A6.10
18 Calculate the incremental increase in permanent A6.12
deformation
Next layer
19 Calculate total rutting
Next load/vehicle

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Next Time-period
20 Check asphalt damage <1
21 Check rutting less than terminal rutting
22 If damage > 1 or rutting > terminal rutting revise pavement structure
and repeat steps 9 to 22

5.6.1 Consideration of Secondary Life of CTB Pavements

Follow steps 1 to 12 then.

Step Process
23 Characterise bound CTB and determine elastic parameters A6.9
For each time-period
For each load/vehicle
24 Structural analysis-calculate strain at critical locations P5-6.7
25 Determine CTB fatigue damage A6.8
Next load/vehicle
26 Calculate time to CTB fatigue failure (26)
27 Characterise cracked CTB and determine elastic parameters A6.9
For each time-period
For each load/vehicle
28 Structural analysis-calculate strain at critical locations
29 Determine CTB fatigue damage
Next Load
Next time-period
30 Calculate time to asphalt fatigue failure (2nd life) 5.7-30
31 If the sum (25 and 29) < design life select new pavement and go to
step 7

5.7 Mechanistic Method

Step:

1) Determination of design requirements

Rutting in this guide is defined in terms of the degree of confidence that a percentage of
pavement will not have a rutting level greater than a maximum allowable design level. i.e. the
client wants to be 95% confident that no more than 10% of the pavement will have rutting
above 40 mm. In this guide;

 The percentage of pavement above the tolerable level is used to select the design
subgrade confidence level,
 rut depth is the tolerable level in the design, and
 confidence is used to set the project reliability.

Structural cracking uses the same percentage as for rutting, however different project
reliability intervals may be selected.

Guidance on the selection of the appropriate rut depth and confidence level for the equipment
and mode of operation can be found in P1 Section 1.3.
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2) Determination of container movements

Firstly, the guide uses TEU, the distribution of container sizes and projected growth to
determine the total number of containers through the terminal, (P3 Section 3.2). Secondly,
based on equipment type and operational locations the guide then provides methods for
calculating the percentage of movements at:

a) Laydown areas and Connecting Roads, in P3- Section 3.3.

b) Container stacking areas, in P3 Section 03.4.
c) Truck grids, in P3- Section 3.5.
d) Direct Intermodal transfers (rail sidings), in P3- Section 3.6.
e) Truck loading zones, in P3 Section 3.7.

3) Determination of standard deviation of wander

The effective lane width is used to determine the standard deviation of wander based on the
equipment type and location within the terminal as described in P3.
4) Determination of characteristic subgrade modulus
The guide characterises subgrade materials in terms of CBR, with the characteristic value
determined using the percentage of failure determine in consultation with the client. i.e. of the
client want no more than 10% of the pavement to be above a rutting level (i.e. 40 mm) then
the characteristic value should be taken at the lower 10th percentile value. A6.1 includes the
procedure for the determination of the design subgrade based on the required percentage and
number of subgrade samples taken.

For linear elastic characterisation, the modulus of the subgrade is then taken as 10 times the
CBR up to a maximum of 150 MPa.

5) Determination of basic thickness requirements

The minimum pavement thickness required to ensure the overall pavement structure is
adequate for the maximum loading is determined following the procedure found in A 6.2.
6) Axle loading distribution
The axle loading distribution is determined using the weight distribution of loaded containers
(Table 2-4) and a linear interpretation between the maximum capacity of the equipment and
maximum axle weight.

For design purposes, it is recommended that loading be grouped into bins of 5 tonnes and the
typical loading of each bin taken as the maximum loading of the bin.

The procedure for the calculation of axle weights for a given container load is found in A6.3
Procedure for Calculation of Axle Weights.

7) Determination of lane width and wander factor

The effect of wander is taken into account using the standard deviation of wander (Step 3).
This standard deviation is then used to determine the wander factor based on tyre spacing
and the number of tyres described in A6.4.

8) Determination of effective temperature (WMAPT)

The effective temperature is determined using the WMAPT. Standard WMAPT for Australian
cities are found in Table A6.5-1, for other locations the WMAPT can be calculated following
the procedure found in A 6.5 Procedure for Calculation of WMAPT.

9) Characterisation of asphalt materials

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In this guide, the viscoelastic properties of asphalt materials are taken into account using the
time-temperature superposition principle. The process used in this guide uses standard
master curves developed from extensive testing undertaken by AAPA (AfPA), in conjunction
with results from the AS 2891.13.1 Resilient Modulus test to determine the modulus at any
vehicle speed and temperature. This is undertaken using the Procedure for Elastic
Characterisation of Asphalt Materials, A6.6 Procedure for Characterisation of Asphalt
Modulus.

10) Characterisation of granular materials

The effect of the stress level in determining the stiffness of a granular layer is accounted for
by considering the stiffness of the underlying layer for each sublayer and applying a
progressive modulus ratio, following the method recommended by Barker et al. (1977). This
is method is described in A6.7 the Procedure for Elastic Characterisation of Granular
Materials.

11) Characterisation of CBP

The characterisation of CBP in this procedure is based off a three-phase approach to bed and
interlock the pavers. The procedure for the including the variation in CBP stiffness with time
is described in Section 4.5.
12) Determine asphalt fatigue criteria
The asphalt fatigue relationship used in this guide can be either directly determined from the
results of multipoint fatigue testing using as described in Section 4.6.6 or estimated using the
results of single point fatigue testing using the results of the standard conditions of AGPT-
T274 as described in the procedure found in A6.8. Both relationships are then adjusted using
the following project reliability factors.

Table 5-1 Project Reliability Factors Asphalt

Confidence 50% 75% 95%
Reliability factor (Rf) 2 1.5 1

13) Characterisation of CTB

The characterisation of CTB in this procedure for the determination of the rutting of a CTB
pavement uses the cracked modulus of the CTB, determined for the 28-day UCS. This is
undertaken following the Procedure for Characterisation of Cement Treated Bases, A6.9.
14) Structural analysis
Pavement response to load is calculated using multi-layer analysis, all pavement materials
are considered homogeneous and isotropic and have a Poisson's ratio of 0.35, except CTB
and bedrock layers, where a value of 0.2 should be used with modulus characterised in steps
8-12.

The critical locations of strains within the multi-layer system are as follows:

1. Tensile Strain bottom of the asphalt layer

2. Compressive stress on top of CTB (if required)
3. Tensile strain bottom of the CTB layer (if required)
4. Compressive strain bottom of the base & top subbase
5. Compressive strain bottom subbase & top of the subgrade
6. Compressive strain 1 m into the subgrade

Strains should be calculated under the centre of the tyre and the centre of the tyres for dual
tyres.
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Tyre pressure and axle spacing should be obtained from the client and/or equipment
manufacturer. Guidance is given in Section 2.8 of typical equipment configurations and tyre
pressures.

1
Asphalt
2

3
CTB
4

Granular Base/Subbase
5

Subgrade
1000 mm

1. Tensile strain bottom of the asphalt layer

2. Compressive stress top of CTB
3. Tensile strain bottom of CTB
6
4. Compressive strain bottom of base & top subbase
5. Compressive strain bottom subbase & top of the
subgrade
6. Compressive strain 1m into the subgrade

Figure 5-2 Critical Analysis Locations

Axle modelling in this procedure is based on a ½ axle tyre group. Where the container
equipment consists of separate axles the design procedure has been developed and
calibrated by modelling each axle as separate components, i.e. modelling the front and rear
axle as two separate components or each tyre on a straddle carries as a separate load, this
means all tyre groups are modelled as separate load cases. The calibration of the procedure
assumed there was no interaction between axle loads. Any effect of combined loading pulses
is included in the calibration.

Validation of the design procedure has established that static/dynamic ratios should be applied
to areas of operation in the terminal and not to equipment operations, as it is highly unlikely a
single operation (i.e. braking, cornering) occurs in one particular area for every movement.
Table 5-2, shows the recommended static/dynamic ratios based on equipment and location
within the terminal.

Table 5-2 Recommended Static Dynamic Ratio

Equipment and Operation Static/Dynamic
ratio
Straddles all areas (except roadways) 1.5
Straddle roadways 1.1
FEL stacking and laydown areas 1.3
FEL turning location 1.3
FEL roadways 1.05

15) Calculation of fatigue damage

The linear summation of cycles approach is used to assess the incremental fatigue damage
of each axle and loading to the critical layer. This is undertaken in using the Procedure for
Determination of Incremental Damage of bound layers A6.11

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16) Calculation of layer deformation above the elastic limit

This approach used to model rutting in this procedure uses the layer deformation above the
elastic limit (deL(i)) as a measure of the rutting potential of a granular layer (i). In this approach,
the layer deformation above the elastic limit is calculated as the integral of the strain profile of
the layer beyond the elastic limit. It is recommended that for calculation purposes the shape
of the strain (r) profile and layer thickness (d) be directly integrated by fitting a power curve
to the data. This is undertaken using the Procedure for Determination of Layer Deformation
Above the Elastic Limit A6.10.

17) Calculation of incremental rutting due to the crushing of CTB

The incremental increase in rutting due to crushing of the CTB, for each axle and load bin, is
determined using the differential of the crushing model for initiation and progression using the
combination of Equation 4-9 and 4-10, as shown following.

(5-1)
𝑈𝐶𝑆 0.43 1
∆𝑅𝐷 = 𝑅 × × ∆𝑁
𝜎 8(0.05) 𝑁 + ∆𝑁
2

For design purposes, this is undertaken using the incremental loading bins as described in
the Procedure for Calculating Incremental Increase in Permanent Deformation, A 6.12.

Where Rf is the project reliability factor for rutting given in Table 5-3.

Table 5-3 Project Reliability Factors Asphalt

Confidence 50% 75% 95%
Reliability factor (Rf) 1 1.15 1.2

18) Calculation of incremental layer rutting

The incremental increase in rutting for each axle and load bin for each layer is determined
using the differential of the rutting model found in Equation 4-7, as shown in Equation 5-2
following

(5-2)
𝑅𝐷 d𝑁
d𝑅𝐷 = 𝑎𝑏 + d𝑁
𝑎 2
Where;

a is 𝛼𝑑 ( )𝑅

b is 0.22

For design purposes, this is undertaken using the incremental loading bins using the
Procedure for Calculating Incremental Increase in Permanent Deformation, A 6.12. With the
layer deformation above the elastic limit calculated following the Procedure, A6.10. The project
reliability factor is as per Table 5-3.

19) Calculation of total rutting

Total rutting in the pavement is given by the sum of the rutting in each of the unbound granular
and subgrade layers and any crushing of CTB layers if relevant.

AfPA | Procedure For Structural Design of Terminal Pavements P5-11

A Guide to the Structural Design of Flexible
Pavements for Ports and Container Terminals March 2021

5.7.1 Total Fatigue Capacity of CTB Pavement

23) Characterisation of primary phase CTB
The characterisation of CTB in this guide in the pre-cracked phase is based on the 28-day
UCS. The UCS is then used to determine the insitu field modulus of the mix before cracking.
This is undertaken following the Procedure for Characterisation of Cement Treated Bases,
A6.9.

24) Structural analysis

The structural analysis is the same as for Step 13 differing only in tensile strain being
calculated at the bottom of the CTB layer(s).

25) Fatigue damage CTB

The linear summation of cycles approach is used to assess the incremental fatigue damage
of each axle and loading to the critical layer, with allowable life determined using Equation 4-
9. This is undertaken in using the Procedure for Determination of Cumulative Damage of
bound layers A6.11
26) Fatigue life of CTB
This procedure relies upon utilising fatigue capacity of both the CTB and asphalt layers,
therefore for most cases, the fatigue Damage Factor (DFCTB) for the CTB layers will be greater
than 1. This damage needs to be assessed in conjunction with the fatigue capacity of the
asphalt in step 29 to assess the overall life of the pavement.

27) Characterisation of secondary phase CTB

The characterisation of CTB in this procedure in secondary cracked phase is again based on
the 28-day UCS. The UCS is then used to determine the insitu field modulus of the mix after
cracking. This is undertaken following the Procedure for Characterisation of Cement Treated
Bases, A6.7.

28) Structural analysis

The structural analysis is the same as for Step 13, however, tensile strain is only calculated
at the bottom of the asphalt layer.

29) Calculation of fatigue damage

The linear summation of cycles approach is used to assess the incremental fatigue damage
of each axle and loading to the critical layer. This is undertaken in using the Procedure for
Determination of Cumulative Damage of Bound Layers A6-11.
30) Secondary fatigue life of asphalt

As with the CTB layers, for most cases, the Damage Factor of the asphalt (DFa) will be greater
than 1 and this damage needs to be assessed in conjunction with the fatigue capacity of the
CTB layer to assess the overall life of the pavement.

31) Total Fatigue Life

Determination of the total fatigue life of the pavement is undertaken using Equation 5-3, by
the summing of both the fatigue life of the CTB layer and the fatigue life of the asphalt layer;

1 (5-3)
𝐷𝐹 =
1 1
+
𝐷𝐹 𝐷𝐹
Where;

AfPA | Procedure For Structural Design of Terminal Pavements P5-12

A Guide to the Structural Design of Flexible
Pavements for Ports and Container Terminals March 2021

DFF is overall fatigue damage of the pavement

AfPA | Procedure For Structural Design of Terminal Pavements P5-13

A Guide to the Structural Design of Flexible
Pavements for Ports and Container Terminals March 2021

References

Knapton J, (2006) Concrete Block Paving as a Surfacing Material for Container Storage
Areas, 8th International Conference on Concrete Block Paving, San Francisco, California,
USA.

AfPA | Procedure For Structural Design of Terminal Pavements P5-14

Guide to the Structural Design of Flexible
Pavements for Ports and Container Terminals March 2021

APPENDIX 6.1 Procedure for Determination of Design Subgrade

Modulus

A6.1.1 Scope
This method includes two approaches for the determination of subgrade support, which is
characterised in terms of the strength (CBR). The strength of the subgrade can be;

1) directly determined from the results of laboratory soaked CBR tests, or

2) indirectly determined from the results of insitu DCP testing, related to equivalent
CBR results.

The CBR is then converted to stiffness (resilient modulus (Mr)), then based on the sample
size and the desired allowable area of failure, the lower percentile value for use in design is
determined.

A6.1.2 Background
While methods exist to characterise the subgrade by direct measurement of the modulus, the
most common method used is to characterise the subgrade by strength is in terms of CBR.
As a result, the developed guidance, and the calibration and validation of this procedure have
used CBR to characterise the subgrade. This CBR was then related to modulus for use in
pavement design by the following subprocedure.

A6.1.3 Method
Step)

1) Determine CBR.
a) For most new designs subgrade strength, in terms of CBR, should be determined
from laboratory testing at density and moisture content at the likely service
conditions. Testing should be carried out following AS 1289 6.1.1 or equivalent
standard.

Table 4-1 gives guidance on appropriate laboratory soaking times based on

drainage and rainfall.

b) For smaller projects, or to validate the results of laboratory testing the insitu CBR
determined indirectly from DCP testing can be used to determine the subgrade
modulus, using the following procedure.

i. Undertake DCP testing following AS1289 6.3.2 and determine the average
penetration per blow for the subgrade.
ii. Convert the penetration per blow, P in mm/blow to CBR by Equation 4-1

𝐶𝐵𝑅 = 330𝑃 . (4-1)

2) Determine the kth percentile value from the range of results using the required design
percentile, which is the allowable area to fail within the design life and the number of
samples from Table A61.-2.

AfPA | Appendix 6 Procedures A6-1

Guide to the Structural Design of Flexible
Pavements for Ports and Container Terminals March 2021

Table A6.1-2 kth Percentile Value

Number Design Percentile Value
of (allowable failure area)
samples
(n) 25 15 10 5
4 86% 97%
5 85% 96% 99%
8 83% 94% 97%
10 82% 93% 96% 100%
15 81% 91% 95% 99%
20 80% 90% 95% 98%
50 78% 88% 93% 97%
100 77% 87% 92% 96%
>100 75% 85% 90% 95%

N.B. Where targeted CBR testing is undertaken from targeted locations to cover the
range of CBR results based on DCP or FWD testing, n should be the number of FWD or
DCP test.

3) Determine the design CBR by using the percentile function in Excel®

4) Convert the CBR results to modulus by use of the Shell relationship from Equation 4-
2.

𝑀𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑙𝑢𝑠(𝑀𝑃𝑎) = 10𝐶𝐵𝑅 (4-2)

AfPA | Appendix 6 Procedures A6-2

Guide to the Structural Design of Flexible
Pavements for Ports and Container Terminals March 2021

APPENDIX 6.2 Procedure for Determination of Basic Thickness

A6.2.1 Scope
The purpose of this procedure is to determine the minimum pavement thickness requirements
to prevent shape loss under limited operations of handling equipment. The procedure first
determines the minimum thickness of granular material required to achieve a tolerable
deflection for the maximum axle loading. Layer equivalency factors are then used to select a
trial pavement to ensure the tolerable deflection level is maintained.

This trial pavement is used as a starting point for a more thorough mechanistic analysis.
Regardless of the calculated design thickness, the Basic Thickness (Tb) remains the minimum
thickness requirement.

A6.2.2 Background
Examination of the performance of various terminal pavements found that shape loss and less
than adequate performance occurs when the overall deflection of the pavement exceeds a
tolerable deflection (do) based on the maximum axle loading. This work lead to the
development of a procedure to ensure the overall pavement deflection remains below this
tolerable value, regardless of the number of loading cycles.

A6.2.3 Determination of Basic Thickness

The first step in the process is to determine the minimum Basic Thickness (Tb) of a granular
pavement, using Figure A6.2-1. This thickness includes a 40 mm asphalt wearing course and
a minimum thickness of a base material (fine crushed rock) (CBR>80).

N.B. For FEL the gear weights are the actual weight without any dynamic factors, for straddles
the gear weight should be multiplied by a factor of 1.25. Gear weights are maximum ½ axle
weights.

𝑇𝑏 ≈ (33(𝐺𝑤 ) + 734)𝐶𝐵𝑅 −0.56

Figure A6.2-1 Minimum Thickness Requirements

For load levels, less than 10-tonnes design procedures for highway legal loading should be
used.

AfPA | Appendix 6 Procedures A6-3

Guide to the Structural Design of Flexible
Pavements for Ports and Container Terminals March 2021

A6.2.4 Capping Layer

To minimise settlement terminal pavements may require a capping layer over the subgrade.
This capping layer typically comprises of select fill material (CBR >30). For structural design,
this capping layer can be incorporated as part of the lower subbase layer. Table A6.2-2 shows
the suggested minimum select fill capping thicknesses for different subgrade CBR’s.

Table A6.2-2 Foundation Requirements

Subgrade CBR (%) Capping Layer
Thickness (mm)
<2 600
2 350
3-5 250
5-7 N/A
>10 N/A

A6.2.5 Selection of Trial Pavement

Terminal pavements are typically comprised of structures other than granular pavements with
a thin asphalt-wearing course and can contain several layers of bound materials. These
materials have a higher structural capacity in comparison to granular materials. The
equivalency of these materials in meeting deflection requirements may be represented by a
granular equivalency factor (Ef). The equivalency, in terms of thickness, of typical materials
relative to base materials is given in Table A6.2-3.

Table A6.2-3 Layer Equivalencies

Material Typical Modulus Layer Granular
(MPa) Equivalency Reduction
(Ef) Factor
(GRf)
Asphalt Conventional 3200 1.9 0.9
Asphalt (Plastomeric) 6500 2.5 1.5
Cement Treated Base (CTB) 9001 1.4 0.4
Roller Compacted Concrete (RCC) 15001 1.7 0.7
Concrete Block Pavers (CBP) 750 1.3 0.3
Subbase Unbound Granular 350 1 0
1 Cracked Modulus

Using the equivalency factors, as well as the basic thickness, initial trial pavement layer
thickness and type are determined. Under this approach, trial layer compositions and
thickness for the bound layers are selected and weighted to determine an equivalent thickness
of granular material. The remaining subbase thickness is then determined by subtracting
equivalent thickness from the Basic Thickness (Bt) ensuring the thickness remains higher than
minimum capping layer thickness from Table A6.2-2, as described in the following relationship:

(6.2-1)
𝑇 =𝐵 − 𝐸 𝑇

Where;

Tsb is the subbase thickness

N.B. Tb includes a 40 mm asphalt layer thickness for determining subbase thickness

needs to be reduced by 40 mm in the weighting procedure.

Bt is the Basic Thickness from Figure 6.2-2

AfPA | Appendix 6 Procedures A6-4

Guide to the Structural Design of Flexible
Pavements for Ports and Container Terminals March 2021

Ef is the equivalency factor Table 6.2-3

Ti is the thickness of layer i, and

n is the number of layers

The mechanistic procedure is then used to assess and adjust the trial pavement to achieve
the required life. This thickness, however, remains the minimum thickness requirement.

A6.2.6 Example
This section gives an example of a trial pavement for a proposed container handling facility
operating a FEL carrying laden containers on-site with a subgrade of CBR 4.

Step:

1. Determine the Basic Thickness From Figure 6.2-1

Bt = 1075 mm, comprising

40 mm Asphalt
200 mm Base course gravel
835 mm subbase gravel

2. Assume initial thickness of the asphalt and modified base with variable subbase
thickness:
225 mm Asphalt (Plastomeric) (PAC)
350 mm Cement Treated Base Course
x mm subbase gravel

3. Determine layer Equivalency factors (Ef) for each layer from Table A6.2-3

PAC = 2.5
CTB = 1.4

4. Determine subbase requirement

𝑇 = 1075 − (2.5 × (225 − 40) + 1.4 × 350)

𝑇 = 123𝑚𝑚

5. Ensure subbase is thicker than minimum capping layer thickness, Table A6.2-2

For CBR 5 minimum capping layer is 250 mm, therefore,

use Tsb of 250mm

AfPA | Appendix 6 Procedures A6-5

Guide to the Structural Design of Flexible
Pavements for Ports and Container Terminals March 2021

APPENDIX 6.3 Procedure for Calculation of Axle Loadings

A6.3.1 Scope
This procedure calculates the axle weight for a given container weight using the
manufacturers’ published lift capacity, maximum loaded axle weight and unloaded weights.

A6.3.2 Background
Axle loading may be determined using a theoretical approach based on the geometry, the
mass of the vehicle and container weight to calculate axle loading at a given container weight.
Where this information is available approaches such as these may be used, however, this is
typically not readily available. To overcome this the guide uses the typically available
information from equipment manufacturers of maximum axle weight, unloaded axle weight
and lift capacity to estimate the axle weight for any container weight.

A6.3.3 Method
Step:

1) Obtain the unloaded axle weight, UL, axle weight loaded, AL, and the lift capacity, CL,
from the supplier or Table 2-5.

2) Use a linear ratio between ith container weight (Ci) and the maximum capacity to
determine the axle load at the design container weight, as shown in Equation 6.3-1
following.

𝐶 (6.3-1)
𝐴 = (𝐴 − 𝐴𝑈𝐿) + 𝐴𝑈𝐿
𝐶
Where:

Ai is the axle weight at ith container weight

Ci is the ith container weight

CL is the maximum lift capacity

AL is the axle load at the lift capacity

AUL is the unloaded axle weight

A6.3.4 Example
Determine the front axle weight on a Kalmar DRF 450 with a 30-tonne ore container. From
Table 2-5:

CL 45 tonnes

AL 100.6 tonnes

AUL 34.6
𝐴 = (100.6 − 34.6) + 34.6 = 78.6 tonnes

AfPA | Appendix 6 Procedures A6-6

Guide to the Structural Design of Flexible
Pavements for Ports and Container Terminals March 2021

APPENDIX 6.4 Procedure for Assessing the Effect of Vehicle Wander

A6.4.1 Scope
The purpose of this procedure is to determine the reduction in traffic loading due to the effect
of vehicle wander over an area or roadway. The process uses a traffic reduction factor, with
the reduction based on the standard deviation of the wander and the number of tyres in the
axle gear.

A6.4.2 Background
Vehicle wander is the variation of the paths taken by successive vehicle movements over the
allowable travel path. Increased wander reduces pavement damage by effectively reducing
the number of load repetitions experienced across the path. Advanced design programs such
as HiPave have built-in procedures to account for traffic wander. These procedures assume
that normal distribution with a set standard deviation. HiPave includes the ability to let the
degree of wander vary with each vehicle model in the traffic mix and then applying the linear
summation of cycles approach.

As this procedure has not been written around a standalone program the guide includes an
alternative, approach to convert calculate equivalent coverages. The method recommended
takes into account both the distribution of traffic and the wheel configuration, which are then
used to develop the number of passes of the design vehicle to cover the critical traffic area of
the pavement surface.

A6.4.3 Method
Step:

1) Determine the standard deviation of the wander:

a. For roadways and other locations where wander follows a normal distribution,
the standard deviation can be estimated by assuming a normal distribution
from Equation 3-16.

𝐿 (3-15)
𝑆𝐷 =
6∗

b. For a rectangular distribution such as in laydown areas, quayside or truck

unloading areas, the standard deviation is given by;

𝐿 (3-16)
𝑆𝐷 =
3.5∗
Where;

SD is the standard deviation of the vehicle wander for the container handling
equipment

*assumes 99.6% of vehicles travel in the lane

2) Determine the Reduction Factor (RF) for the design vehicle, using Equation 6.4-1
following:

1 (6.4-1)
𝑅𝐹 =
𝑆𝑑
(9.3 + 1)
𝑁

AfPA | Appendix 6 Procedures A6-7

Guide to the Structural Design of Flexible
Pavements for Ports and Container Terminals March 2021

Where;

Sd, is the standard deviation of the traffic wander in meters

Nt is the number of tyres in the ½ axle

A6.4.4 Example
This section gives an example of the calculation of the reduction factor of a FEL operating on
a roadway with an effective lane width of 3.5 m.

Step:

1) Calculate the standard deviation of wander, as distribution is normal:

3.5
𝑆𝐷 = = 0.583 𝑚
6∗

2) Calculate the reduction factor ratio

1
𝑅𝐹 = = 0.424
0.583
(9.3 + 1)
2

AfPA | Appendix 6 Procedures A6-8

Guide to the Structural Design of Flexible
Pavements for Ports and Container Terminals March 2021

APPENDIX 6.5 Procedure for Calculating WMAPT

A6.5.1 Scope
This procedure is used to calculate the effective pavement temperature in terms of a Weighted
Mean Annual Pavement Temperature (WMAPT) where damage is equivalent to the effect of
individual damage across multiple seasons and times of the day.

Care should be taken when using the WMAPT as it is designed for movements throughout
the year and both day and night. Where movements occur primarily at one time in the day or
in a particular month, i.e. midday loading only, the MAAT temperature and subsequent
WMAPT appropriate to the loading time should be chosen.

A6.5.2 Background
Asphalt is a visco-elastic material who’s material properties change with temperature. For an
in-service pavement throughout the day and throughout the year, the pavement temperature
will vary and the effect of the changes of temperature can be assessed by using an equivalent
pavement temperature where the sum of damage is equal to the individual damage of each
load at each temperature.

A6.5.3 Method
a) For pavements located at capital cities in Australia, the WMAPT is given in Table A6.5-1
following, which shows WMAPT for a mix of both day and night loading.

Table A6.5-1 WMAPT

Location Asphalt Thickness(mm)
170 350
Sydney 27 26
Melbourne 23 22
Adelaide 26 25
Brisbane 31 29
Perth 28 26
Hobart 19 19

b) For locations outside of capital cities, the WMAPT can be calculated from the following
procedure:

Step:

1. Obtain the daily maximum and minimum temperatures from the Bureau of
Meteorology and calculate the Monthly Average Air Temperature (MAAT) by
averaging both. Where loading is not distributed between day and night engineering
judgement should be used to calculate MAAT.
2. Calculate the Weighting Factor (WF) for each month using the following equation
taken from Chart W of the Shell Pavement Design Manual (1978).

𝑊𝐹 = 10( . . . ) (6.5-1)

3. Average the WF for each month

4. Calculate the Weighted Mean Annual Air Temperature (WMAAT) using Equation 6.5.2
taken from Chart W of the Shell Pavement Design Manual (1978).

𝑊𝑀𝐴𝐴𝑇 = 19.66 + 16.91𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑊𝐹 + 0.3117(𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑊𝐹) (6.5-2)

AfPA | Appendix 6 Procedures A6-9

Guide to the Structural Design of Flexible
Pavements for Ports and Container Terminals March 2021

5. Estimate the Weighted Mean Pavement Temperature from Chart RT of the Shell
Pavement Design Manual (1978) for the asphalt thickness by:

𝑘 (𝑊𝑀𝐴𝐴𝑇) (6.5-3)
𝑊𝑀𝐴𝑃𝑇 = 𝑘 +
ln(𝑊𝑀𝐴𝐴𝑇)

for 200 mm k1 = -14.2, k2 = 6.28

for 350 mm k1 = -13.5, k2 = 6.03

For pavements with total asphalt thickness (ACth) less than 170 mm, greater damage will occur
in the cooler months and when calculating the fatigue capacity of asphalt the WMAPT should
be reduced to the Weighted Mean Annual Pavement Temperature-fatigue (WMAPTf), by the
following relationship:

𝑊𝑀𝐴𝑃𝑇 = 𝑊𝑀𝐴𝑃𝑇 − 0.04(170 − 𝐴𝐶 ) (6.5-4)

For asphalt pavements when the thickness is less than 100 mm on a granular base the
predominant mode of failure may be that of brittle failure in cold weather conditions and the
design should be checked for capacity in the coldest winter months.

AfPA | Appendix 6 Procedures A6-10

Guide to the Structural Design of Flexible
Pavements for Ports and Container Terminals March 2021

APPENDIX 6.6 Procedure for Characterisation of Asphalt Modulus

A6.6.1 Scope
This procedure is used to determine the modulus of an asphalt mix at any temperature or time
of loading using the results of the resilient modulus test undertaken under the standard test
conditions of AS 2891.13.1. The procedure may use results obtained directly from AS
2891.13.1 or may be used to specify the minimum requirements under AS 2891.13.1.

The method first determines the time of loading from the vehicle speed and then reduced to
loading time to equivalent time at the design temperature. The minimum modulus value is then
determined from the resilient modulus results and sigmoidal fitting parameters are then
selected based on binder type used. The sigmoidal function is then used to determine the
modulus at the design loading speed or temperature.

A6.6.2 Method
Step:

1) Convert the loading speed, v, in km/hr, to a time of loading, thp in seconds, under a
haversine pulse with a wavelength of 1.8m, by.

6.48 (6.6-1)
𝑡 =
(𝑣)

N.B. a standard speed of 10 km/hr should be used unless specific site requirements
are present.
2) Determine the temperature shift factor (aT) required to shift from the standard test
conditions (25oC), to pavement design temperature (T), usually WMAPT (oC), by:

𝑎 = 10 . ( ) . ( ) (6.6-2)

3) Calculate the reduced time of loading, thp(r), at the design temperature by:

𝑡 ( ) = 𝑎 𝑡 (6.6-3)

4) Determine the sigmoidal shape coefficients by either:

a. Undertaking frequency sweep testing AASHTO TP79 to determine the
sigmoidal function parameters  and .
b. Determining the minimum modulus value, , by using Mr and using the
relationship for the binder type from Table 4-3, reproduced following.

Mix    
Conventional Mixes log(𝑀 ) − 1.81 2.36 -0.47 0.66
EME2 TBC TBC TBC TBC
Low-Density SBS log(𝑀 ) − 2.03 2.98 -0.25 0.65
High-Density SBS log(𝑀 ) − 2.52 2.98 -1.01 0.64
EVA log(𝑀 ) − 2.52 2.96 -0.83 0.58

and select fitting parameters,  and .

5) Determine the modulus of the mix |E*| for the loading speed using the sigmoidal
function as shown in Equation 4-15 reproduced following.

AfPA | Appendix 6 Procedures A6-11

Guide to the Structural Design of Flexible
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𝛽 (4-15)
log(|𝐸 ∗ |) = 𝛼 + ( ( (
1+𝑒 ( ) )))

A6.6.3 Example
This section gives an example of the determination of the modulus |E*| of an EVA based mix
with at a loading speed of 10km/hr and a WMAPT of 27oC and specified minimum modulus,
Mr, of 7,000 MPa.

Step:

1) Determine the time of loading, thp.

6.48
𝑡 = = 0.648 𝑠𝑒𝑐
10

2) Determine the temperature shift factor (aT):

. ( ) . ( )
𝑎 = 10 = 1.69

3) Calculate the reduced time of loading, thp(r), at the design temperature by :

𝑡 ( ) = 1.69 × 0.648 = 1.095 sec

4) Determine the minimum modulus value, 𝛼 = log(7000) − 2.52 = 1.325,

 and . = 2.96, -0.83, and 0.58 respectively.

5) Determine the mix modulus |E*| at 10km/hr and at 27oC, by:

2.96
log(|𝐸 ∗ |) = 1.325 + = 2354 𝑀𝑃𝑎
1 + 𝑒( . . ( ( . ))

AfPA | Appendix 6 Procedures A6-12

Guide to the Structural Design of Flexible
Pavements for Ports and Container Terminals March 2021

APPENDIX 6.7 Procedure for Characterisation of Unbound Granular

Materials

A6.7.1 Scope
The primary factor in determining the modulus of granular materials is the loading regime or
the state of stress in which they operate and the stiffness of the underlying layers. This
procedure uses the approach developed by Barker et al. (1977) to estimate the stiffness of
granular layers. Under this procedure, the base and subbase layers are subdivided into layers
of between 100 and 200 mm and their moduli determined. These layers may then be modelled
independently or combined into an effective layer.

A6.7.2 Determination Granular Layer Modulus

For granular materials placed directly on the subgrade, select fill, subbase or granular bases,
sublayering is required and should be carried out by the following procedure:

Step:

1) Determine the upper layer modulus, EU, from the Green and Hall relationship (1975)
Equation 4-5, as follows:
.
𝐸 = 39𝐶𝐵𝑅 (4-5)

2) Determine the number of sublayers (n), by dividing the total layer thickness (th) into
nominal of 125 mm layers. As the number of sublayers must be an integer, round the
resulting number to the nearest whole number.
3) Determine the sublayer thickness (di) by dividing the layer thickness by n
4) Starting with the bottom sublayer determine the moduli of each sublayer (Ei) for base
and subbase course materials, by:

𝐸 =𝐸 (−4.37 + 3.82𝐿𝑜𝑔(𝑑 ) − 1.56𝐿𝑜𝑔(𝐸 )𝐿𝑜𝑔(𝑑 ) (4-3)

+ 2.19𝐿𝑜𝑔(𝐸 ))
Or

𝐸 =𝐸 (−7.42 + 5.99𝐿𝑜𝑔(𝑑 ) − 2.10𝐿𝑜𝑔(𝐸 )𝐿𝑜𝑔(𝑑 ) (4-4)

+ 2.98𝐿𝑜𝑔(𝐸 ))

Where subbase materials have a CBR significantly different from 40, the layer ratio
may be determined by linear Interpolation between the base ratio with a CBR of 80
and a subbase with a CBR of 40.

5) Ensure layer modulus Ei is below the upper modulus (EU) of Eqn 4-5.
6) The modulus for each successive sublayer is then be determined from the modulus
of the underlying sublayer.
7) Calculate the effective layer modulus:

(4-6)
∑ 𝐸 𝑑
𝐸 =
𝑡ℎ

N.B. For subbase layers, the Ei+1 is the subgrade modulus for base materials Ei+1 is the
effective modulus of the subbase.

A6.7.3 Design Example

This section gives an example of the determination of the effective modulus of a 420 mm
subbase material placed on top of a subgrade of CBR 3.

AfPA | Appendix 6 Procedures A6-13

Guide to the Structural Design of Flexible
Pavements for Ports and Container Terminals March 2021

Step:

1) Subgrade of CBR 3 gives E=30MPa

2) 420/125 gives 3.2 or 3 sublayers
3) Sublayer thickness (di) =420/3 or 140mm
4) Determine each individual sublayer moduli for subbase (Equation 4-4)

E1 = 64 MPa

E2 = 111 MPa

E3 = 162 MPa

5) For a CBR 40 subbase, E1,2,3 are all less than the upper modulus of 460 MPa
7) Calculate the Equivalent Modulus (Equation 4-6)

64 × 140 + 111 × 140 + 162 × 140

𝐸 =
420

𝐸 = 107 𝑀𝑃𝑎

AfPA | Appendix 6 Procedures A6-14

Guide to the Structural Design of Flexible
Pavements for Ports and Container Terminals March 2021

APPENDIX 6.8 Procedure for Determination of Fatigue Relationship

Based on Standard Test Results

A6.8.1 Scope
This method is used to determine the asphalt fatigue relationship at any temperature and
vehicle speed using the results of fatigue testing undertaken under the standard test
conditions of AGPT-T274 (2016). The procedure may use results obtained directly from
AGPT-T274 (2016) or may be used to specify the minimum fatigue requirement of AGPT-
T274.

The method first uses the fatigue resistance determined from AGPT-T274, Nf200, to determine
the fatigue model constants; the method then uses the modulus at the standard test conditions
and under loading (temperature and time) to determine the shift in the fatigue curve to the
temperature and time of loading of interest.

A6.8.2 Method
Step:

1) Measure or specify the number of cycles to failure Nf200 at the AGPT-T274 Standard
Test Conditions (20oC, 10Hz and 200 ).
2) Measure the modulus at standard test conditions 𝐸 ,
or, if the modulus is being specified from AS 2891.13.1, (Mr), estimate the modulus
in the fatigue test 𝐸 from specified modulus, using the following steps:
a. Calculate the reduced loading time (thp) in the fatigue test, using a time of
0.05 seconds and a temperature of 20oC. For standard mixes, this equates
to a reduced loading time (thp) of 0.0124 seconds.
b. Calculate the sigmoidal function minimum modulus value, , by using the
specified modulus Mr and using the shape coefficients for the binder type as
shown in the following table, from Table 4-2.

Mix    
Conventional Mixes log(𝑀 ) − 1.81 2.36 -0.47 0.66
EME2 TBC TBC TBC TBC
SBS (A10-A15E) log(𝑀 ) − 2.03 2.98 -0.25 0.65
SBS (A5E) log(𝑀 ) − 2.52 2.98 -1.01 0.64
EVA log(𝑀 ) − 2.52 2.96 -0.83 0.58

and select fitting parameters,  and .

c. Calculate the 𝐸 by:

𝛽 (4-15)
log 𝐸 =𝛼+ ( ( (
1+𝑒 ( ) )))

3) Determine the mix k1 coefficient, taken from Equation 4-17:

𝑘 = 860 × 𝑙𝑜𝑔 𝑁 − 1900 (6.8-1)

4) Determine the modulus shift factor, 𝛼(𝐸 ∗ ), at the modulus of interest (E* ) (complex
modulus at field/test temperature and loading frequency), where the modulus shift
factor is given by:

𝛼(𝐸 ∗ ) = −2𝑙𝑜𝑔(𝐸 ∗ ) + log(𝐸 ) + 3.8 (6.8-2)

AfPA | Appendix 6 Procedures A6-15

Guide to the Structural Design of Flexible
Pavements for Ports and Container Terminals March 2021

5) Determine the life, Nf at the test or calculated critical strain, by:

𝑘 (4-16)
log 𝑁 = 5 × 𝑙𝑜𝑔 + 𝛼(𝐸 ∗ ) 𝑅
𝜇𝜀

N.B. The Nf200 used in this method should be obtained from an average of a minimum of three
(3) replicate samples.

A6.8.3 Example
The section gives an example of the determination of the fatigue life of an EVA based mix with
a field modulus of 3010 MPa, which in the pavement structure produced a strain of 300 
under loading. For an asphalt with a specified minimum, Nf200 of 500,000 and specified
minimum resilient modulus (AS2891.13), Mr, of 7,000 MPa.

Step:

1) Nf200 = 500,000
2) Estimate 𝐸
a. Use the reduced loading time of thp = 0.0124 seconds for the fatigue test
b. 𝛼 = log(7000) − 2.52 = 1.325
 and . = 2.96, -0.83 and 0.58 respectively.

c. Calculate the 𝐸 by:

2.96
log 𝐸 = 1.325 + . . ( ( . ))
= 3.91
1+𝑒

𝐸 = 8160
3) Determine the mix k1 parameter:
𝑘 = 860 × 𝑙𝑜𝑔(500,000) − 1900 = 3001

4) Determine the modulus shift factor, 𝛼(𝐸 ∗ ):

𝛼(𝐸 ∗ ) = −2𝑙𝑜𝑔(3010) + log(8160) + 3.8 = 0.97

6) Fatigue relationship with a reliability factor (Rf) of 1 is then:

3001
log 𝑁 = 5 × 𝑙𝑜𝑔 + 0.97 (1)
𝜇𝜀

at  of 300 allowable fatigue capacity is 934,810 cycles.

AfPA | Appendix 6 Procedures A6-16

Guide to the Structural Design of Flexible
Pavements for Ports and Container Terminals March 2021

APPENDIX 6.9 Procedure for Characterisation of Cement Treated

Base Materials

A6.9.1 Scope
The scope of this procedure is to determine the long-term field modulus of CTB in both the
damaged and undamaged state for use in the linear elastic analysis.

Under this procedure, the initial laboratory modulus can be determined directly from laboratory
testing or estimated from measured or specified UCS values. These results are then used to
determine the long-term modulus of the CTB.

A6.9.2 Method
Step:

1) For 1st phase cracking life of CTB

a) Determine the long term Laboratory Modulus by;
a. measuring the modulus of CTB from laboratory testing at 28-days using
the Indirect Modulus Test and convert to long term modulus

𝐸 = 1.2𝐸 (6.8-1)

b. or, estimating the modulus from 28-day UCS testing or required

specification level.

Calculate the Long-term UCS by:

𝑈𝐶𝑆 = 1.45𝑈𝐶𝑆 (4-8)

b) Determine the field modulus from;

a. UCS results, or
𝐸 = 1100𝑈𝐶𝑆 (4-12)

b. laboratory modulus
𝐸 = 𝐸 − 5100 (4-13)

2) For rutting life and 2nd phase asphalt fatigue life

a) Determine the damaged modulus from the 28-day UCS by:

𝐸 = 68𝑈𝐶𝑆 . (4-14)

A6.9.3 Example
As the designer, you have specified a min 28 day UCS of 4.5 MPa. Determine the long-term
laboratory and field modulus in both the bound and fully cracked state.

Step:

1) Calculate the Long-term UCS by:

𝑈𝐶𝑆 = 1.45(4.5) = 6.5 𝑀𝑃𝑎

2) Determine the field modulus by:

𝐸 = 1100(6.5) = 7150 𝑀𝑃𝑎

AfPA | Appendix 6 Procedures A6-17

Guide to the Structural Design of Flexible
Pavements for Ports and Container Terminals March 2021

For rutting and 2nd phase asphalt fatigue, the damage modulus is given by Eqn 4-14:
.
𝐸 = 68(4.5) = 650𝑀𝑃𝑎

Which is greater than the modulus an unbound CBR 80 material.

AfPA | Appendix 6 Procedures A6-18

Guide to the Structural Design of Flexible
Pavements for Ports and Container Terminals March 2021

APPENDIX 6.10 Procedure for Calculation of Layer Deflection above the

Elastic Limit

A6.10.1 Scope
This method calculates the deflection within the plastic zone of a granular or subgrade layer
by calculating the integral of the elastic strain with depth beyond the elastic limit, i.e. the
deflection within the plastic zone. This method fits a power model to the strain profile within a
granular layer(s) and subgrade using strain values calculated at the top and bottom of the
layer or a depth of 1 m into the subgrade. For subgrades and for layers where the strain profile
within the layer goes below the elastic limit, 1000 , the method calculates the depth to the
elastic limit. This profile is then integrated to determine the deflection within the plastic zone.

This method is limited to layer 100 mm or below the surface of the pavement.

A6.10.2 Calculation of Strain

Setup the pavement model and calculate strain at;

 top and bottom of each granular material layer, and

 top of the subgrade and at 1 m depth in the subgrade.

A6.10.3 Calculation of Area

For each unbound granular layer and the subgrade layer the deflection within the plastic zone
𝑑( ) , can be calculated as follows:

Where strain at top of the granular layer is less than the elastic strain limit (e) 1000 , no
plastic deformation within the layer will occur and the deflection within the plastic zone,𝑑( ) =
0, otherwise.

Step:

1) Determine the exponent of the power curve, b, by:

log(𝜀 ) − 𝐿𝑜𝑔(𝜀 ) (6.10-1)

𝑏=
𝐿𝑜𝑔(𝑑𝑡) − log(𝑑𝑏)

Where:
t and b are the strains at the top of the layer and bottom of the layer or a
depth of 1m for the subgrade
dt is the depth (mm) to the top of the layer and db is the depth to the bottom
of the layer or at 1m depth in the subgrade

2) Calculate the constant of the power cure, a, by:

𝑎 = 10( ( ) ( )) (6.10-2)

3) Where strain at the bottom of the granular layer is less than the elastic strain limit
(e) 1000 or for the semi-infinite subgrade, calculate the depth to the elastic limit
(de) which becomes the depth to bottom, as follows:

1000 (6.10-3)
𝑑 =
𝑎

4) Calculate the deflection within the plastic zone (the area between the depth in
pavement and the strain profile) by directly integrating the power function, less the
elastic deflection, as follows:

AfPA | Appendix 6 Procedures A6-19

Guide to the Structural Design of Flexible
Pavements for Ports and Container Terminals March 2021

𝑎𝑑 𝑎𝑑 (6.10-4)
𝑑( ) = − − (𝑑 − 𝑑 )1000
𝑏+1 𝑏+1

Where
d2 is the min of the bottom of the layer of depth to elastic limit (mm)

A6.10.4 Example
Consider the following example of the distribution of strain within a subgrade, the deflection
within the plastic zone is given by the green triangle and can be calculated as follows:

Given strains of t 1726 and b = 827 at depths of 1180 mm and 2180 mm, respectively.

Figure 6.10-1 Subgrade strain profile

1) Calculate the exponent of the strain profile

𝐿𝑜𝑔(1726) − 𝐿𝑜𝑔(827)
𝑏=
𝐿𝑜𝑔(1180) − 𝐿𝑜𝑔(2180)

𝑏 = −1.198

2) Calculate the power curve constant

𝑎 = 10( ( ) . ( ))

𝑎 = 8294497

3) Calculate the depth to the elastic limit

1000 .
𝑑 =
8294497

AfPA | Appendix 6 Procedures A6-20

Guide to the Structural Design of Flexible
Pavements for Ports and Container Terminals March 2021

𝑑 = 1861 𝑚𝑚

Given layer is a subgrade layer db is taken as de 1861 mm

4) Calculate the deformation within the plastic zone:

. .
8294497(1180) 8294497(1861)
𝑑( ) = − − (1861 − 1180)1000
0.198 0.198

𝑑( ) = [103255052 − 9434417] − (681)1000

𝑑( ) = 890634 − 681000
𝑑( ) = 209634

A6.10.5 Visual Basic Function

The following set out a Visual Basic for Applications function, which can be used to calculate
the deflection within the plastic zone.

Function DefPlZ(St As Single, Sb As Single, Se As Single, dt As Single, db As Single, SG As Integer) As Single

'**********************************************************************************************
' VBA Function to calculate deflection within the plastic zone using AfPA P6-SP3
'
'**********************************************************************************************
' St,Sb and Se are strains at the top and bottom of the layer and elastic limit respectively
' dt dt and de are depth at top, the bottom of the layer and elastic limit respectively

Dim b As Single, a As Single, de As Single

On Error GoTo MyErr

If St < Se Then 'no strains above elastic limit

DefPlZ = 0
Else ‘ Calculate power curve fitting constants
b = (Log10(St) - Log10(Sb)) / (Log10(dt) - Log10(db))
a = 10 ^ (Log10(St) - b * Log10(dt))
de = (Se / a) ^ (1 / b)

If de < db Or SG = 1 Then 'check if use full layer or partial layer in integration

db = de
End If
‘Integration and subtraction of elastic deflection
DefPlZ = abs ((a * db ^ (b + 1)) / (b + 1) - (a * dt ^ (b + 1)) / (b + 1))
DefPlZ = DefPlZ - (db - dt) * Se
End If
Exit Function
MyErr:
DefPlZ = -1
End Function

AfPA | Appendix 6 Procedures A6-21

Guide to the Structural Design of Flexible
Pavements for Ports and Container Terminals March 2021

APPENDIX 6.11 Procedure for Determination of Cumulative Damage of

Bound Layers

A6.11.1 Scope
This method is used to determine the incremental fatigue damage caused to bound layers
(asphalt and cemented), for each axle and load. The incremental damage is then summed to
ensure total damage does not exceed 100% or 1. The method used in this approach used the
linear summation of cycles approach, often referred to as “Miner’s Law”, due to it being
popularised by M. A. Miner in 1945.

A6.11.2 Method
Step:

1) For the ith load axle and load bin, calculate the allowable loading cycles, Na, using the
asphalt fatigue criteria, A6.8 or cemented fatigue criteria, A6.9.
2) Determine the relative life consumed (Ci) for the design number of cycles at the axle
and load (ni), by:
𝑛 (6.11-1)
𝐶 =
𝑁

3) Calculate the sum of damage for the k load bins for the layer:

(6.11-2)
𝐶 = 𝐶

A6.11.3 Example
The strain determined with the current axle and load bin results in a capacity of 500,000 and
there is expected to be 10,000 cycles of this load over the life of the pavement. The previous
loading bins have resulted in a 30% consumption of the asphalt life, the consumed life of the
asphalt layer after this cycle is then given by:

Step:

1) Determine life consumed by the loading bin is:

10,000
𝐶 = = 2%
500,000

2) The sum of damage after this cycle is then:

𝐶 = 30 + 2 = 32%

AfPA | Appendix 6 Procedures A6-22

Guide to the Structural Design of Flexible
Pavements for Ports and Container Terminals March 2021

APPENDIX 6.12 Procedure for Calculating Incremental Increase in

Permanent Deformation

A6.12.1 Scope
The scope of this procedure covers the calculation of the increase in rutting for a given axle
and loading bin. If initial rutting is zero the procedure will calculate the initial rutting after N
cycles, otherwise, the incremental change in rutting after N loading cycles is calculated.

The incremental increase in the rutting for the layer is then added to the previous layer rutting
to obtain the rutting after the loading cycle.

A6.12.2 Determination Layer Rutting per Loading Bin

Step:

1) The project reliability factor Rf is determined from the desired project reliability as per
Table 5-3.

Desired Project Reliability Reliability Factor (Rf)

95 % 1.20
75 % 1.15
50 % 1

2) Calculate the rutting after the ith axle and loading bin, starting with the heaviest axle,
with a traffic level of N, by:
a. For Unbound Materials
i. Determine the, a, constant of the power curve of Equation 4.7 from
the layer deflection above the elastic limit, deL, project reliability factor,
Rf, and mode constant .
a = 1.38x10 𝑑 𝑅 (6.12-1)

ii. If layer rutting is zero, calculate the initial rutting by Equation 4-7 :

.
𝑅𝐷 = 𝑎(𝑁) (4-7)

iii. If rutting > 0 determine the increase in rutting, RD, starting at a rut
depth (RDi-1) for the number of loading cycles N, using the
differential relationship of Equation 4-7, shown in Equation 5-2:

𝑅𝐷 .
∆𝑁
. (5-2)
∆𝑅𝐷 = 𝑎𝑏 + ∆𝑁
𝑎 2

b. For Cement Bound Materials

a. Calculate the number of cycles to crushing initiation

2.3 + (𝑆𝐷 − 1)2.25𝜎 (5-1)

log(𝑁) = 8 1 −
𝑈𝐶𝑆

b. Calculate the damage factor

If the damage is less than zero rutting = 0

AfPA | Appendix 6 Procedures A6-23

Guide to the Structural Design of Flexible
Pavements for Ports and Container Terminals March 2021

If the damage is greater than zero and layer rutting is zero, calculate
the initial rutting by:

𝑈𝐶𝑆 𝑈𝐶𝑆 2.3 (𝑆𝐷 − 1)2.25 (6.12-2)

𝑅𝐷 = 𝐿𝑜𝑔(𝑁) − + +
8𝜎0.05 0.05𝜎 0.05 0.05

If rutting > 0 determine the increase in rutting, RD, starting at a rut depth
(RDi-1) for the number of loading cycles N, using the differential relationship
of Equation 4-10 and 4-11, which may be approximated by:

(6.12-3)
𝑈𝐶𝑆 0.43 1
∆𝑅𝐷 = × × ∆𝑁
𝜎 8(0.05) 𝑁 + ∆𝑁
2

Where Ni is the equivalent number of initial cycles given by:

2.3 − 0.05(𝑅𝐷) + (𝑆𝐷 − 1)2.25)𝜎 (6.12-4)

log(𝑁 ) = 8 1 −
𝑈𝐶𝑆

3) Calculate Total layer Rutting

𝑅𝐷 = ∆𝑅𝐷 + 𝑅𝐷

A6.12.3 Example
For container weights of 27.5, 22.5 and 17.5 tonnes, the subgrade deflection above the elastic
limit was determined to be 634, 512 and 400 m respectively. For traffic loadings of 171, 228
and 160 calculate the rutting after loading with the 17.5-tonne container at a 50% reliability.

1. Start with 27.5 tonne container

1) Calculate a
a = 1.38x10 634(1) = 8.7
2) As RD = 0
.
𝑅𝐷 = 8.7(171) = 28 𝑚𝑚

2. 22.5 tonne container

1) Calculate a
a = 1.38x10 512(1) = 7.1
2) As RD > 0
.
28 . 228
∆𝑅𝐷 = 7.1(0.22) + 228 = 2.7 mm
7.1 2

𝑅𝐷 = 2.7 + 28 = 30.5 mm

AfPA | Appendix 6 Procedures A6-24

Guide to the Structural Design of Flexible
Pavements for Ports and Container Terminals March 2021

3. 17.5 tonne container

1) Calculate a
a = 1.38x10 400(1) = 5.5
2) As RD <> 0
.
30.5 . 160
∆𝑅𝐷 = 5.5(0.22) + 160 = 0.5 mm
5.5 2

𝑅𝐷 = 0.5 + 30.5 = 31 mm

AfPA | Appendix 6 Procedures A6-25

Guide to the Structural Design of Flexible
Pavements for Ports and Container Terminals March 2021

APPENDIX 6.13 Procedure for Development of Dynamic Modulus

Master Curves

A6.13.1 Scope
The scope of this procedure covers the development of Master Curves from the result of
dynamic modulus testing which can be used to calculate the modulus of the mix following
Appendix 6.6 of this procedure.

The method first undertakes temperature shifting to determine the temperature shift factor.
The procedure then fits a sigmoidal function to the test data to determine the sigmoidal model
fitting parameters.

Step:

1. Undertake the frequency sweep testing following either AASHTO TP62 or AASHTO
TP79.
2. As the definition of time in the dynamic modulus tests is different from the time under
field loading undertake frequency conversion as follows:

1 (6.13-1)
𝑡 =
2𝜋𝑓
where;

fdm is the equivalent dynamic modulus frequency

3. Determine the temperature shift equation using a polynomial temperature shift factor
(aT) at a 25oC reference temperature where the shift factor is given by:

𝑎 = 10 ( ) ( ) (6.13-2)
Where:

T = pavement design or testing temperature (oC)

a and b = Fitting coefficients of the polynomial equation

4. Calculate the reduced pulse time at the design temperature using the temperature
shift factor (aT) as shown following:

𝑡 ( ) = 𝑎 𝑡 (6.13-3)
Where;

aT = temperature shift factor

thp(r) = the reduced load pulse time at the design temperature (seconds)

5. Determine the sigmoidal model fitting parameters  and 

𝛽 (6.13-4)
log(|𝑆 |) = 𝛼 + ( ( (
1+𝑒 ( ) )))

While the above procedure can be solved graphically, it is usually undertaken by using the
solver function in excel, with an objective function of minimising the difference between
measured and predicted modulus in the log space.

AfPA | Appendix 6 Procedures A6-26

Guide to the Structural Design of Flexible
Pavements for Ports and Container Terminals March 2021

Appendix 7.1 Example of Road-to-Road Pavement Design

A7.1.1 Background
A road logistics company wishes to construct a container-handling terminal for road-to-road
operations that operates with a reach stacker for the handling of containers. After discussions
with the operator the required level of service over the life of the pavement was determined to
be that no more than 10% of the operational areas would have a surface rutting of greater
than 40 mm.

A7.1.2 Layout and Operations

The proposed layout of a road-to-road container-handling terminal is shown in Figure 7-1. This
terminal will be configured with four blocks and three roadways. In the terminal unloading and
loading of containers, from-and-to road will predominantly be undertaken in one central
loading/unloading zone over a 25 m length. All containers are then grounded with no direct
transfer being undertaken at the site.

The terminal will initially operate with an annual volume of 87,500 TEU, which is expected to
grow at 3% p.a.

Connecting Road Truck Unloading Zone

15 m
Block C

Roadway

Roadway

Block A
Block B

Figure 7-1 Road-to-Road Terminal Layout

The proposed layout of the site results in each block having the following number of available
20” container slots:

 Block A 30
 Block B 44
 Block C 27
AfPA | Appendix 7 Design Examples A7-1
Guide to the Structural Design of Flexible
Pavements for Ports and Container Terminals March 2021

 Block C 12

The facility will be operated with a Hyster RS46 Reach Stacker and the movement plan allows
entry form both sides of the block for both Block B and C, while single side entry is only allowed
to Block A and D.

The processes for designing this pavement is shown following.

A7.1.3 Design Container Movements

Step:

1) Calculate the annual container throughput

From Table 2-3 the 20, 40 and 18’’ split is 45, 55 and 0 (using rail–to-road figure) and from
Table 2-2 the TUEf is 1 and 2, 2.4 respectively.

Using Equation 3-1 the annual container throughput is.

45 55 1 0 1
𝐴 = 87,500 + 87,500 + 87500 = 6.3𝐸04
100 100 2 100 2.4

2) Calculate the Cumulative Factor from Equation 3-2.

(1 + 0.01(3)) − 1
𝐶𝐺𝐹 = = 26.87
0.01(20)
3) Calculate the Design Container throughput (Equation 3-3).

𝐷𝐶 = 26.87 × 6.3𝐸4 = 1.7𝐸6

A7.1.4 Critical Movements

Analysing the layout shows three potential critical loading locations, which may exist;

1. internal FEL roadway moving from the unloading zone to Blocks B, C and D,
2. within the Truck loading/unloading zone, and
3. entry to the stacks.

Step:

1) Internal Roadways

Note: As the layout of the facility is not in the typical cross roadway configuration, the
connecting roadway gives access to the roadways to enter the bays also acts as a Roadway
in the layout and the critical location is moving from unloading zone to blocks B, C and D.
Additionally, due to the location of the unloading zone, Block B is the 1st row for both
movements to Blocks B, C and D and movements to Blocks A and B.

The percent of movements going to blocks BC and D is then given equation (3-5) by:

( ) ( . ( ))
𝑃𝑀 = = = 54%

As only one connecting road exist 100% the movements on the crossroad enter the single
road, using of a non-uniform utilisation factor of 1.2, the percent of movements on the internal
roads is then given by equation (3-7):

𝑃𝑀 𝑃𝑀 100 54
𝑃𝑀 = 100 𝑈 × = 100(1.2) × = 65%
100 100 100 100

AfPA | Appendix 7 Design Examples A7-2

Guide to the Structural Design of Flexible
Pavements for Ports and Container Terminals March 2021

With an effective lane width, assumed to be normally distributed of (15 -12) m or 3 m.

2) Loading Unloading Zone

In the facility layout, containers are only loaded and unloaded from one side of the track
loading and an equal number of container come into as exit the facility (i.e. 50/50 split in
imports and exports). Assuming 1.2 false operations per container the number of movements
over a typical container width of 9.5 m can then be calculated from Equation 3-14 as follows:

50(1.2)9.5 50(2)(1.2)9.5
𝑃𝑀 = + = 68.4%
25 25

Applying a utilization factor of 1.3 gives 89% movements uniformly distributed over the 9.5 m
width.

N.B. movement in this area can be greater than 100%, as an unloading move requires two
moves, reverse and forward movement of the loaded container.

3) Stacks

Although Block B has the highest number of container slots, due to Blocks A and D only having
an entry from one side of the block, Block A has a higher percentage of movements at the
entry to the bay.

The percentage of movement at the entry to a bay in Block A is then given by Equation (3-9)
as follows:

100𝐶 100(30)
𝑃𝑀 = 𝑈 𝐴 + 2𝑁 𝐴 = 1.5 (1 + 2(4.0)(1)) = 35.8%
𝐶 𝑁 𝑁 (113)(10)(1)

A7.1.5 Design Loading

The result of the loading assessment showed that the highest percentage of loading occurs in
truck unloading zone, however, it does occur over a larger area than the roadway loading and
when wander is taken into account, loading within the roadway may be larger. However, the
effect of dynamic loading in the loading area is significantly higher (1.3 vs. 1.1) and most likely,
the static/dynamic effect will well and truly offset the slightly higher loading, giving movements
of 1.5E+05, although, for design, it would be prudent to check both cases.

A7.1.6 Subgrade Classification

Step:

1) Determine CBR.

From the results of fifty (50) DCP tests targeted CBR testing was undertaken at five (5)
locations and gave the following strengths 11, 15, 18, 22 and 18%.

2) Determine the kth percentile value

The client wishes to design with a maximum 10% failure area, the kth percentile from Table
A6.1-2 is 93%

3) Determine the design CBR by using the percentile function in Excel®

PERCENTILE(Results,(1-0.93)) = 12

4) Convert the CBR results to modulus by use of the Shell relationship from Equation 4-
2.

AfPA | Appendix 7 Design Examples A7-3

Guide to the Structural Design of Flexible
Pavements for Ports and Container Terminals March 2021

𝑀𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑙𝑢𝑠(𝑀𝑃𝑎) = 10(12) = 120𝑀𝑃𝑎 (4-2)

A7.1.7 Determine Basic Thickness

Step:

1. Determine the Basic Thickness From Figure 6.2-1

Bt = 510 mm, comprising
40 mm Asphalt
140 mm Base course gravel
330 mm Subbase gravel

2. Assume initial thickness of asphalt and modified base with variable subbase
thickness:
140 mm Asphalt (A5E SBS)
250 mm Base Course Gravel
x mm subbase gravel

3. Determine layer Equivalency Factors (Ef) for each layer from Table A6.2-3
PAC = 2.5
CTB =1.4
4. Determine subbase requirement

𝑇 = 510 − (2.5 × (140 − 40) + 1.0 × 200)

𝑇 = 60 𝑚𝑚

5. Ensure Subbase is thicker than minimum capping layer thickness, Table A6.2-2

For CBR 12 no capping required,

Due to high traffic loading and the requirement for a working platform, start with Tsb of 250 mm

A7.1.8 Calculation of Axle Loadings

Step:

For the Hyster RS46 with a lift capacity of 46-tonnes, an axle weight Loaded, AL of 103 tonnes
and an unloaded axle weight, UL, of 36.4 tonnes

1) Use a linear ratio between ith container weight (Ci) and the maximum capacity to
determine the axle load for each container weigh, from Equation 6.3-1

Table A7-1 Axle Weights and Loadings

Loading Bin Container Axle weight
weight (tonnes)
(tonnes)
25-30 30 80
20-25 25 73
15-20 20 66
10-15 15 58
5-10 10 51
0-5 5 44
0 0 37

AfPA | Appendix 7 Design Examples A7-4

Guide to the Structural Design of Flexible
Pavements for Ports and Container Terminals March 2021

A7.1.9 Effect of Vehicle Wander

Step:

1) Determine the standard deviation of the wander:

For the rectangular distribution under a standard container of the truck unloading areas, the
standard deviation is given by Equation 3-16;

9.5
𝑆𝐷 = = 2.7𝑚
3.5∗

2) Determine the Reduction Factor (RF) of the front axle (2 tyres) using Equation 6.4-1:

1
𝑅𝐹 = = 0.14
2.71
(9.3 + 1)
2

3) Calculate the design loading for each loading bin, using the Sydney typical container
weight distribution shown in Table 2-4, the design movements of 1.5E+05 and the
reduction factor.

Table A7-1 Axle Loadings

Loading Bin % N
Containers
25-30 27 5.60E+03
20-25 22 4.56E+03
15-20 10 2.07E+03
10-15 10 2.07E+03
5-10 18 3.73E+03
0-5 13 2.70E+03
0 100 2.07E+04

A7.1.10 Characterisation of Asphalt Modulus

Step:

1) Determine the time of loading, thp.

6.48
𝑡 = = 0.648 𝑠𝑒𝑐
10

2) Determine the temperature shift factor (aT):

. ( ) . ( )
𝑎 = 10 = 1.69

3) Calculate the reduced time of loading, thp(r), at the design temperature by :

𝑡 ( ) = 1.69 × 0.648 = 1.095 sec

4) Determine the minimum modulus value for a A5E SBS using Table 4-3 and a
specification value of 5500MPa, 𝛼 = log(5500) − 2.52 = 1.22,
 and . = 2.98, -1.01, and 0.64 respectively.

5) Determine the mix modulus |E*| at 10km/hr and at 27oC, by:

2.98
log(|𝐸 ∗ |) = 1.22 + = 2454 𝑀𝑃𝑎
1 + 𝑒( . . ( ( . ))

AfPA | Appendix 7 Design Examples A7-5

Guide to the Structural Design of Flexible
Pavements for Ports and Container Terminals March 2021

A7.1.11 Characterisation of Unbound Granular Materials

Step:

1) 250/125 gives 2 sublayers

2) Sublayer thickness (di) =250/2 or 125 mm
3) Determine individual sublayer moduli for subbase (Equation 4-4)
a. E1 = 167 MPa
b. E2 = 207 MPa
4) For a CBR 40 subbase, E1,2,3 are all less than the upper modulus of 460 MPa
7) Calculate the Equivalent Modulus (Equation 6-7)

167 × 125 + 207 × 125

𝐸 = = 186
250

8) The same process gives 439 MPa for the CBR 100 base

A7.1.12 Calculation of Strain

For the above pavement model calculate strain at;

 top and bottom of each granular material layer, and

 top of the subgrade and at 1 m depth in the subgrade.

The strain for these critical locations for each UBG layer from the Linear Elastic Analysis for
each axle load is shown in Table 7-2 following.

Table 7-2 Critical Strain Levels

Loading Layer Base Subbase Subgrade
Bin Depth 140 390 390 640 640 1640
25-30 1393 1128 1726 1302 1664 502
20-25 1363 1053 1608 1191 1523 458
15-20 1328 973 1485 1080 1380 413
10-15 1287 890 1355 966 1235 368
5-10 1237 802 1219 851 1088 323
0-5 1178 709 1076 735 939 278
0 1104 610 925 617 788 232

A7.1.13 Calculation of Layer Deflection above the Elastic Limit

Using the VBA function presented in Section A6.10.5, for each loading bin and layer the
Layer Deflection above the Elastic Limit calculated from the strains is given in Table 7-3
following.

Table 7-3 Layer Deflection above the Elastic Limit

Loading
Bin Base Subbase Subgrade
25-30 58 122 89
20-25 44 93 57
15-20 28 64 31
10-15 17 34 13
5-10 10 12 2
0-5 4 1 0
0 1 0 0

AfPA | Appendix 7 Design Examples A7-6

Guide to the Structural Design of Flexible
Pavements for Ports and Container Terminals March 2021

A7.1.14 Determination Layer Rutting per Loading Bin

Step:

1) The project reliability factor Rf for the desired project reliability as per Table.6.12-1 is
1.20

2) Calculate the rutting for each loading bin, starting with the heaviest axle, with a traffic
level of N, by:
a. Determine the, a, constant from the layer deflection above the elastic limit,
deL, project reliability factor, Rf, and mode constant .
a = 1.38x10 𝑑 𝑅
b. For the base course and 30-tonne container, if layer rutting is zero, calculate
the initial rutting by Equation 4-7:
.
𝑅𝐷 = 1.38x10 (58)1.2(5.6𝐸3) =6 (4-7)

c. For all other loading bins rutting is > 0 and the rutting, RDi, starting at a rut
depth (RDi-1) for the number of loading cycles N, is given by the addition of
the starting rut depth to the Equation 5-2:

4.54 −0.78
𝑅𝐷𝑖−1 ∆𝑁
𝑅𝐷𝑖 = 𝑎𝑏 + ∆𝑁 + 𝑅𝐷𝑖−1 (5-2)
𝑎 2

Starting at a rut depth after the 25-30 tonne bin (total 29.7 mm), the rutting for
each layer and the total rutting is shown in Table 7-4.

Table 7-4 Sum of rut depths

Loading Base Subbase Subgrade Total
Bin
25-30 6.5 13.4 9.8 29.7
20-25 6.8 14.1 10.0 30.9
15-20 6.8 14.1 10.1 31.0
10-15 6.8 14.2 10.1 31.0
5-10 6.8 14.2 10.1 31.0
0-5 6.8 14.2 10.1 31.0
0 6.8 14.2 10.1 31.0

As the rutting is less than the specified value of 40 mm the design is acceptable.

AfPA | Appendix 7 Design Examples A7-7

Guide to the Structural Design of Flexible
Pavements for Ports and Container Terminals March 2021

Appendix 7.2 Port Terminal Traffic Analysis

A7.2.1 Background
An established ship-to-road general cargo port in Sydney operates with Auto-straddles in a
layout which has no connecting roads, meaning that all straddles passing over the stacks to
enter the roadways, stacks or move to the truck grid. The layout and operation are as per
Figure 7-2 and as follows:

 The front wharf is 300 m long

 There are 4 ship-to-shore cranes
 There are 89 bays
 There are two rows of blocks with 7 stacks (slots) per bays
 Straddles can enter a bay from either end
 There are 30 trucks bays
 All containers are grounded

The port handles 750,000 TEU p.a. both import and export with a 50/50 distribution of imports
and exports. The terminal is expecting container growth of 5% p.a.

Rear Truck Road

Truck Grid

Roadway C

Roadway B

Roadway A

Front Wharf

Figure 7-2 Port Terminal Layout

For this terminal three critical traffic areas or zones may exist:

 Roadway movements on the roadway adjoining the wharf

 In the stacks, which includes connecting road moves
 At the truck grids

AfPA | Appendix 7 Design Examples A7-8

Guide to the Structural Design of Flexible
Pavements for Ports and Container Terminals March 2021

What is the critical percentage movements for each of these zones?

A7.2.2 Design Container Movements

Step:

1) Calculate the Annual Container throughput

From Table 2-3 the 20, 40, 48’ split is 45, 55, 0 and from Table 2-2 the TUEf is 1, 2 and
2.4 respectively.

Using Equation 3-1 the annual container throughput is:

45 55 1 0 1
𝐴 = 750,000 + 750,000 + 750,000 = 5.4 + 𝐸5
100 100 2 100 2.4

2) Calculate the Cumulative Factor from Equation 3-2:

(1 + 0.01(5)) − 1
𝐶𝐺𝐹 = = 33.07
0.01(20)
3) Calculate the Design Container throughput over the 20 year period (Equation 3-3):

𝐷𝐶 = 33.07 × 5.4 + 𝐸5 = 1.8 + 𝐸7

A7.2.3 Front Wharf Movements and Roadways

Step:

1) Roadway Movements
As there are no connecting roads in terminal the percentage movement, PMi, is
determined at the central position of the wharf using Equation 3-4 as shown:

𝐿 150
𝑃𝑀 = 100𝑈 = 100(1.5) = 18.7%
𝑁 𝐿 4(300)

As no lanes exist these movements should be assumed to be normally distributed

over the effective width of the straddle roadway width on the wharf.

A7.2.4 Stacks Movements

As the terminal operation uses the stacks as connection roads, the movements within the
stacks consist of both the stacking movements and movements through the stacks as
roadways to the outer stacks and roadways.

Step:

1) For the stacking movements, the terminal operation allows double sided entry of
straddles (NES =2) to the 639 available slots in the first block out of the total 1278 total
slots in the terminal. As the terminal is partially utilised there is an expected 2.1 re-
shuffling movements per container (Table 2-1). The percentage of movements at the
entry to each is determined using by Equation 3-9 as shown.

100(𝐶 ) 𝑃
𝑃𝑀 = 𝑈 𝐴 + 2𝑁 𝐴
𝐶 𝑁 𝑁 100

100 (639) 100

𝑃𝑀 = 1.2 (2 + 2(2.1)(2)) = 3.4%
(1278)(89)(2) 100

AfPA | Appendix 7 Design Examples A7-9

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Guide to the Structural Design of Flexible

Pavements for Ports and Container Terminals March 2021

2) For cross roadway movements to other stacks and roadways, all operations are from
the wharf or the truck grids, i.e. one way movement, and the movement factor NES =
0.5. The percentage of movements entering the crossroads (bays) is then given by
Equation 3-5.

𝐶 − (𝑁 𝐶 ) 𝑃
𝑃𝑀 =
𝐶 100

(1278) − ((0.5)(639)) 100

𝑃𝑀 = = 75%
1278 100

N.B. while 100% of movements enter the stacks 25% are stacking movements, which
is included in Step 1

3) Calculate the percentage of movement on the central connecting roads (for this
terminal through the bays) using Equation 3-6.
100
𝑃𝑀 = = 1.1%
89 − 1

4) The percentage movement on the internal roads (bays) is then calculated from
Equation 3.-7.
𝑃𝑀 𝑃𝑀
𝑃𝑀 = 100𝑈 ×
100 100

75 1.1
𝑃𝑀 = 100(1.5) × = 1.3%
100 100

5) The total percentage of movement in the bays is the addition of the stacking
movements and the connecting road movements, (3.4% + 1.3%) or 4.7%

A7.2.5 Truck Grids

Step:

1) As the terminal operates with 30 truck grids, using Equation 3-11 the percentage of
movements to use the critical bay is given by.
𝑃 100
𝑃𝑀 =𝑈 = (1.2) = 4%
𝑁 30

AfPA | Appendix 7 Design Examples A7-10