MINISTRY OF HIGHER EDUCATIONS

KANDAHAR UNIVERSITY
ENGINEERING FACULTY
CIVIL DEPARTMENT

PAVEMENT ANALYSIS AND DESIGN

CHAPTER 2
Stresses and Strains in Flexible Pavements

1
‫‪Stresses and Strains in Flexible Pavements:‬‬

‫د یو سړک جوړښت د ترافیکي بار په وړاندې غربګون په میخانیکي ډول د هغې په طبقو‬
‫کې د سټريسو او سټرينو د محاسبې له الرې ماډل کیږي‪.‬‬
‫که فشارونه هر څومره ډېر وي‪ ،‬نو ممکن د سړک درزونه او‪/‬یا د سطحې ژوروالی‬
‫(رټينګ) رامنځته کړي‪.‬‬

‫‪2‬‬
Stresses and Strains in Flexible Pavements:

‫) دا په سطحه باندې وارد شوی بار دی چې په میګا پاسکال رسه‬σ( ‫فشاريا سټريس‬
:1MPa = 1 N/mm²) ‫اندازه کېږي‬

Where: σ or p is stress in MPa,

Q is the load (vertical tire load) in kN,
A is the load-surface contact area in mm2, and a is the tire-pavement surface
contact radius in mm.

3
Stresses and Strains in Flexible Pavements:

‫) د موادو نسبي بدلون دی (کشيش یا فشاري) چې د فشاريا سټريس په‬ε( ‫سټرين‬

‫ الندې معادله د سټرين ده؛‬.‫مقابل کې رامنځته کېږي او عموما ً په مایکرونونو وي‬

Where: ε is strain in microns (εX is the strain in the X-direction),

σ is stress in MPa
(σX,Y,Z are the three-dimensional stress components in the X-Y-Z
directions),
ν is the Poisson's ratio,
E is the material stiffness measured in MPa.
Equation 2 holds for strain in the other directions (i.e Y and Z),
by interchanging the subscripts (X,Y,Z).

4
‫‪Stresses and Strains in Flexible Pavements:‬‬
‫د پويزن تناسب ( ‪ )ν‬هغه نسبت دی چې د تطبیق شوي بار په متوازي لوري کې د‬
‫سټرين په تناسب رسه‪ ،‬د بار د لوري په عمودي کرښو باندې وېشل کېږي‪ .‬دا د خطي‪-‬‬
‫االستيک‪ ،‬همجنيس او متجانس موادو یو ځانګړتیا ده چې په هغه کې جانبي کرښه د‬
‫بار د تطبیق په لوري کې له اوږدوايل کرښې رسه اړیکه لري‪.‬‬

‫‪Where: ν is the Poisson's ratio,‬‬

‫‪ε⊥ is the strain perpendicular to the direction of load‬‬
‫‪application,‬‬
‫‪ε|| is the strain parallel to the direction of load application.‬‬

‫‪5‬‬
Stresses and Strains in Flexible Pavements:

6
Stresses and Strains in Flexible Pavements:
Homogeneous Mass:
The simplest way to characterize the behavior of a flexible
pavement under wheel loads is to consider it as a homogeneous
half-space.

All layers are considered one mass with same properties. (consider
the subgrade, the sub-base, base, and the surfacing layers to form
a homogeneous half-space).

A half-space has an infinitely large area and an infinite depth with a

top plane on which the loads are applied.

The original Boussinesq (1885) theory was based on a

concentrated load applied on an elastic half –space.

7
Stresses and Strains in Flexible Pavements:
Homogeneous Mass:
Figure 3 shows a homogeneous half-space subjected to
concentrated load and a circular load with a radius a and a uniform
pressure q.
The half space has an elastic modulus E and a Poisson ratio, v. A
small cylindrical element with center at a distance z below the
surface and r from the axis of symmetry is shown.

Due to x symmetry, there are only three normal stresses, σz, σr, and
σt, and one shear stress, τrz, which is equal to τzr. These stresses
are functions of q, r/ a, and z/ a.

8
Stresses and Strains in Flexible Pavements:
Solution by charts:
Foster and Ahlvin (1954) presented charts for determining vertical
stress 𝜎𝑧 , radial stress 𝜎𝑟 , tangential stress 𝜎𝑡 , shear stress 𝜏𝑟𝑧 , and
vertical deflection 𝜔, as shown in Figures 2.2 through 2.6 .

The load is applied over a circular area with a radius 𝑎 and an

intensity q. assuming the half-space is incompressible with a
Poisson ratio of 0.5.

9
Stresses and Strains in Flexible Pavements:
Solution by charts:

10
Stresses and Strains in Flexible Pavements:
Solution by charts:

11
Stresses and Strains in Flexible Pavements:
Solution by charts:

12
Stresses and Strains in Flexible Pavements:
Solution by charts:

13
Stresses and Strains in Flexible Pavements:
Solution by charts:

14
Stresses and Strains in Flexible Pavements:
Solution by charts:
After the stresses are obtained from the charts, the strains can be
computed from

If the contact area consists of two circles, the stresses and strains
can be computed by superposition.

15
Stresses and Strains in Flexible Pavements:
Solution by charts:
Example 2.1
Figure 2.7 shows a homogeneous half-space subjected to two
circular loads, each 10in. (254 mm) in diameter and spaced at 20 in
. (508 mm) on centers. The pressure on the circular area is 50 psi
(345 kPa) . The half-space has elastic modulus 10,000 psi (69 MPa)
and Poisson ratio 0.5 .
Determine the vertical stress, strain, and deflection at point A,
which is located 10 in (254 mm) below the center of one circle.

16
Stresses and Strains in Flexible Pavements:
Solution by charts:
Solution

17
Stresses and Strains in Flexible Pavements:
Solution by charts:
Solution

18
Stresses and Strains in Flexible Pavements:
Cont’d…

19
Stresses and Strains in Flexible Pavements:
Cont’d…

20
Stresses and Strains in Flexible Pavements:
Cont’d…

21
Stresses and Strains in Flexible Pavements:
Solution at axis of symmetry:
When the load is applied over a single circular loaded area, the
most critical stress , strain, and deflection occur under the center of
the circular area on the axis of symmetry, where

Flexible Plate :
The load applied from tire to pavement is similar to a flexible plate
with a radius 𝑎 and a uniform pressure q.

22
Stresses and Strains in Flexible Pavements:
Solution at axis of symmetry:
Flexible Plate :
The stresses beneath the center of the plate can be determined
from:

From Eq. 2.1 ,

23
Stresses and Strains in Flexible Pavements:
Solution at axis of symmetry:
Flexible Plate :

24
Stresses and Strains in Flexible Pavements:
Solution at axis of symmetry:
Flexible Plate :
Example 2.2
Same as Example 2 .1, except that only the left loaded area exists
and the Poisson ratio is 0.3, as shown in Figure 2.8 . Determine the
stresses, strains, and deflection at point A .

25
Stresses and Strains in Flexible Pavements:
Solution at axis of symmetry:
Flexible Plate :
Solution

26
Stresses and Strains in Flexible Pavements:
Solution at axis of symmetry:
Rigid Plate :
All the above analyses are based on the assumption that the load is applied
on a flexible plate, such as a rubber tire.
If the load is applied on a rigid plate, such as that used in a plate loading test,
the deflection is the same at all points on the plate , but the pressure
distribution under the plate is not uniform.

The difference between a flexible and a rigid plate are shown in Fig. 2.9

The pressure distribution under a rigid plate can be expressed as

27
Stresses and Strains in Flexible Pavements:
Solution at axis of symmetry:
Rigid Plate :

in which r is the distance from center to the point where pressure is to be

determined
and q is the average pressure, which is equal to the total load divided by the
area

The smallest pressure is at the center and equal to one-half of the average
pressure . The pressure at the edge of the plate is infinity.
By integrating the point load over the area, it can be shown that the deflection
of the plate is:

28
Stresses and Strains in Flexible Pavements:
Solution at axis of symmetry:
Rigid Plate :
Example 2.3
A plate loading test using a plate of 12-in. (305-mm) diameter was performed
on the surface of the sub-grade, as shown in Figure 2.10. A total load of 8000
lb was applied to the plate, and a deflection of 0.1 in. (2.54 mm) was
measured. Assuming that the sub-grade has Poisson ratio 0.4, determine the
elastic modulus of the sub-grade.

Solution
The average pressure on the plate is q = 8000/(36 π) = 70.74 psi (488
kPa) .

29
Stresses and Strains in Flexible Pavements:
Nonlinear Mass:
Boussinesq's solutions are based on the assumption that the material
that constitutes the half-space is linear elastic.
It is well known that sub-grade soils are not elastic and undergo
permanent deformation under stationary loads.
However, under the repeated application of moving traffic loads, most
of the deformations are recoverable and can be considered elastic. It is
therefore possible to select a reasonable elastic modulus
commensurate with the speed of moving loads.
Linearity implies the applicability of the superposition principle, so the
elastic constant must not vary with the state of stresses. In other words,
the axial deformation of a linear elastic material under an axial stress
should be independent of the confining pressure. This is evidently not
true for soils, because their axial deformation depends strongly on the
magnitude of confining pressures. Consequently, the effect of
nonlinearity on Boussinesq's solution is of practical interest.
30
Stresses and Strains in Flexible Pavements:
Nonlinear Mass:
To show the effect of nonlinearity of granular materials on vertical
stresses and deflections, Huang (1968a) divided the half-space into
seven layers, as shown in Figure 2.11, and applied Burmister's layered
theory to determine the stresses at the mid-height of each layer. Note
that the lowest layer is a rigid base with a very large elastic modulus.

31
Stresses and Strains in Flexible Pavements:
Nonlinear Mass: Iterative Method
After the stresses are obtained, the elastic modulus of each layer is
determined from

in which
θ is the stress invariant, or the sum of three normal stresses ;
E is the elastic modulus under the given stress invariant;
E0 is the initial elastic modulus, or the modulus when the stress
invariant is zero; and β is a soil constant indicating the increase in
elastic modulus per unit increase in stress invariant.

32
Stresses and Strains in Flexible Pavements:
Nonlinear Mass: Iterative Method
The problem can be solved by a method of successive approximations.
First, an elastic modulus is assumed for each layer and the stresses
are obtained from the layered theory.

Given the stresses thus obtained, a new set of moduli is determined

from Eq.2.11 and a new set of stresses is then computed.

The process is repeated until the moduli between two consecutive

iterations converge to a specified tolerance.

33
Stresses and Strains in Flexible Pavements:
Nonlinear Mass: Approximate Method
One approximate method to analyze a nonlinear half-space is to divide
it into a number of layers and determine the stresses at the mid-height
of each layer by Boussinesq's equations based on linear theory.
1. From the stresses thus obtained, the elastic modulus E for each
layer is determined from Eq.2.11.

2. The deformation of each layer, which is the difference in deflection

between the top and bottom of each layer based on the given E, can
then be obtained

3. Starting from the rigid base, or a depth far from the surface where
the vertical displacement can be assumed zero, the deformations are
added to obtain the deflections at various depths.

34
Stresses and Strains in Flexible Pavements:
Nonlinear Mass: Approximate Method
Example 2.4
A circular load having radius 6 in. (152 mm) and contact pressure 80
psi (552 kPa) is applied on the surface of a sub-grade. The sub-grade
soil is a sand with the relationship between the elastic modulus and the
stress invariant shown in Figure 2.12a . The soil has Poisson ratio 0.3,
the mass unit weight is 110 pcf (17.3 kN/m3), and the coefficient of
earth pressure at rest is 0.5. The soil is divided into six layers, as
shown in Figure 2.12b . Determine the vertical surface displacement at
the axis of symmetry.

35
Stresses and Strains in Flexible Pavements:
Nonlinear Mass: Approximate Method
Example 2.4
Solution
Given:

36
Stresses and Strains in Flexible Pavements:
Nonlinear Mass: Approximate Method
Example 2.4

To compute the deformation of each layer:

1. The product of w and E at each layer interface is first determined from
Eq.2.6.
2. The difference in wE between the two interfaces divided by E gives the
deformation of the layer.
3. The surface deflection is the sum of all layer deformations and equals to
0.0325 in. (0.826 mm). 37