Failures In

Flexible Pavement
By
Faizan Bacha

Types

Fatigue
Thermal/Transverse
Block
Edge
Longitudinal
Reflection
Slippage

Fatigue Cracking
Causes

Insufficient strength
End of pavement life
Too heavy of loads
Relative movement of
Pavement material

Cures
Remove and replace
Mill and overlay

Thermal Cracking (Transverse)

Causes
Contraction and
Expansion of Pavement
with Changing
Temperatures

Cures
Crack Filling
Full-Depth Reclamation
Thick Overlay

Block Cracking
Causes
High Void Content
Oxidative Hardening
Thermal Cracking

Cures

Crack Filling
Seal Coat
Full-Depth Reclamation
Thick Overlay

Edge Cracking
Causes
Soil Movement Beneath
Pavement

Cures
Crack Filling/Sealing
Full-Depth Reclamation

Longitudinal Cracks
Causes
Low Temperatures
Sliding of side slopes
Settlement of materials

Cures
Crack Sealing
Thick Overlay

Reflective Cracking
Causes
Existing cracks or joints in the
underlying structure
Concrete slab movements

Cures

Crack Filling
Extensive Pre-Overlay Repair
Rubblization
Crack & Seat
Interlayer

Slippage Cracking
Description
U-shaped cracks in areas of braking, turning, accelerating

Causes
Poor bond between asphalt surface and underlying layer

Cures
Crack Filling/Sealing
Full-Depth Reclamation

Surface Defects

Rutting
Shoving
Bleeding
Polished Aggregate
Raveling
Potholes
Patching

Rutting
Causes

Low Air Voids

Smooth, Rounded Aggregate

Asphalt content
too high
Excessive amounts
of natural sand

Excess Dust

Cures

Remove/Replace 100 mm (4 inches)

Micro-surfacing

Shoving
Causes
Unstable Mix
Braking, stopping or
accelerating traffic
Slippage between layers

Cures
Remove and Replace
Mill and Overlay
Thick Overlay

Bleeding
Causes
Too high asphalt content
too rich a plant mix
improperly
constructed seal coat

Cures
Sand blot
Micro-surfacing
Seal coat

Polished Aggregate
Causes
Soft aggregate
Heavy traffic

Cures
Seal coat
Micro-surfacing
Thin Overlay

Raveling
Causes
Asphalt binder unable to hold
aggregate in place

dusty aggregates
segregation
low in-place density
aged asphalt binder
Stripping

Cures
Seal Coat
Micro-surfacing
Thin Overlay

Potholes
Causes

Raveling of cracks
Moisture damage
Freeze-thaw
Insufficient strength

Cures
Patch

Patch Deterioration
Causes

Poor bonding to existing pavement

Improper compaction
Poor materials
Propagation of
original distress

Cures

Remove and replace

Re-patch
Assess original distress

Miscellaneous Distresses
Lane-to-shoulder Drop off
Water Bleeding and
Pumping

Lane to Shoulder Drop off

Cause
Differences in materials
used for lane and shoulder
Differential settlement
Insufficient compaction of
base

Cures
Wedge/leveling overlay
Micro-surfacing

Water Bleeding and Pumping

Causes
Cracks
Inadequate drainage

Cures
Full-depth patch
Crack seal

THANK YOU