Functions and Testing of Various pavement

components/layers (Overview)

Functions of various components of Pavement:

There are four pavement layers:

1. Sub-grade
2. Sub-base
3. Base
4. Surface course
Functions of each layer are described as below:
 Sub-Grade :
 Functions: The load is transferred by the sub-grade
effectively to the earth mass. However the locally
available earth is used to construct the sub-grade but
 it becomes necessary that the sub-grade should be of
required strength.
 Testing: This makes it necessary to check the
strength characteristics of the sub-grade by using the
various methods. Here is the list of the tests that are
employed to check the strength of the sub-grade:
a. California bearing ratio test.
b. California resistance value test.
c. Tri-axial shear test.
d. Plate load test.

California bearing ratio test is a kind of penetration test,

in which we get the value of the California bearing ratio of
the given soil sample. The test can also be performed in the
field to take the in-situ measurements.
The value is used to design the thickness of the flexible
pavements by using some empirical charts.This test is also
used to calculate CBR value for the other layers too.
California resistance value is got by using the Hveem
stabilometer. This test is used in empirical methods of the
flexible design methods, based on the soil strength.
Tri-axial shear test: This test gives the value of the shear
strength of the soil, but it is not done, because the values
obtained from this test are used only in a very few theoritical
methods of flexible pavement design.
Plate Load Test: In this test we make use of the plates
of some larger diameter. In this test we get the values of the
elastic modulus of sub-grade. These values are used in the
methods of flexible pavement designs like that in Mcleaod
method and in method of layer system approach for
analysis by Burmister.
The modulus of sub-grade reaction is also calculated for the
rigid pavement analysis by the Westergaard's approach.
 Sub-base and base course:
Base course and sub-base course is used in the flexible
pavement to disperse the upcoming loads to large area
through a finite thickness, so as to increase the load bearing
capacity of the pavement. The material used is the broken
stones, or gravels, or bound or unbound aggregates.
Sometimes the bricks can also be used as the sub-base
and base materials. Generally the sub-base layers have the
inferior quality of aggregates, than that used in the base
course.
Generally smaller aggregates are used because the larger
gravels or aggregates have the tendency to sink to the lose
sub-grade soil under the heavy loading.

The function of the sub-base or the base layer in case of

the rigid pavement is to -
1. Check the pumping action.
2. Protecting the sub-surface against the frost action.
The basic purpose of the sub-base and base layer is to
transfer the load through a dispersed/larger area to the sub-
grade. So it must of sufficient strength to do its job. These
layers are evaluated using a suitable strength or stability
tests like the plate load test, California bearing ratio test,
and the Hveem stabilometer test, where each test has its
own significance and importance.

Wearing course: Top most layer serves as the smooth

riding surface for the traffic, and it wears all the abrading
forces. The top most layer is constructed with the superior
quality of aggregates because it has to wear the maximum
intensity of loads.
 It has to be water proof to stop the water penetration
to the lower layers, so in case of flexible pavements the
bituminous concrete is used and it is well compacted,
and in rigid pavements the cement concrete is used
and is well compacted so that no water penetration
takes place.
 There is no direct test to check the stability of the
surface course but the bituminous concrete used in the
flexible pavement is checked for its suitability. Marshall
stability test is used to determine the optimum content
of the bitumen to be used in the aggregate mix, based
on the stability density, VMA and VFB of the given
grading of the aggregate mixture.