DESIGN OF FLEXIBLE PAVEMENTS USING THE TRIAXIAL COMPRESSION TEST

THE TRIAXIAL COMPRESSION METHOD OF TESTING SOILS AND RELATED MATERIALS AND THE APPLICATION OF THE TEST DATA TO THE ACCURATE DESIGN OF FLEXIBLE PAVEMENTS IN KANSAS IS PRESENTED. TRIAXIAL TESTS MAY BE CONDUCTED UPON EACH COMPONENT OF BOTH ROAD SURFACE AND FOUNDATION INDIVIDUALLY AND CALCULATIONS MADE TO DETERMINE THE THICKNESS OF EACH MATERIAL WHICH IS REQUIRED OVER THE SUBGRADE. THE PROBLEM OF FLEXIBLE PAVEMENT DESIGN IS DISCUSSED AND IT IS SHOWN HOW THE TRIAXIAL TEST IS USED FOR THE PURPOSE OF DESIGN. SAMPLE CALCULATIONS, DERIVATIONS, AND TABLES AND CHARTS ARE INCLUDED. THE IMPORTANT STEPS REQUIRED TO USE THIS METHOD FOR HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION ARE: (1) THE SOILS LABORATORY MUST BE EQUIPPED WITH THE TRIAXIAL APPARATUS, (2) UNDISTURBED SAMPLES SHOULD BE USED FOR DETERMINING ACCURATE ROAD CONDITIONS WHENEVER POSSIBLE, (3) SAMPLING SHOULD BE PERFORMED AS FREQUENTLY AS NECESSARY TO REPRESENT THE PROJECT CONDITIONS, PREFERABLY AT A MINIMUM OF 2 SAMPLES PER MILE, (4) CARE MUST BE TAKEN OF THE SAMPLES SO THAT THEY WILL ARRIVE IN THE TESTING MACHINE WITH PRECISELY THE SAME STRUCTURE AND DENSITY CHARACTERISTICS THAT THEY HAD IN THE ROAD BED, (5) SATURATION OF THE SAMPLES IS OPTIONAL, (6) STRESS-STRAIN CURVES ARE DRAWN FOR ALL SUBGRADE SAMPLES, (7) THE MODULI OF DEFORMATION FOR SUBGRADE SAMPLES ARE CALCULATED AND THE TOTAL THICKNESS OF FLEXIBLE PAVEMENT REQUIRED IS DETERMINED, AND (8) THE THICKNESS OF WEARING COURSE DESIRED IS ESTABLISHED AND BY USE OF THE CONVERSION FORMULA WITH THE MODULUS OF THE BASE COURSE OR SUB-BASE TO BE USED, THE THICKNESSES OF THE VARIOUS COURSES ARE DETERMINED. THIS SYSTEM FOR THE DESIGN OF ALL FLEXIBLE SURFACES AND BASES IN KANSAS HAS BEEN SATISFACTORY.

• Record URL:
  • http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/hrbbulletin/8/8.pdf
• Supplemental Notes:
  • No 8, 63 Pp, 33 FIG, 26 TAB, 41 REF, 2 APP Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved
• Authors:
  • Keeling, R C
• Publication Date: 1947-9

Media Info

• Serial:
  • Highway Research Board Bulletin
  • Issue Number: 8
  • Publisher: Highway Research Board

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Base course (Pavements); Compression; Deformation curve; Flexible pavements; Modulus of elasticity; Pavement design; Pavements; Sampling; Soils; Subgrade materials; Surface course (Pavements); Thickness; Triaxial shear tests; Undisturbed samples
• Uncontrolled Terms: Triaxial compression
• Old TRIS Terms: Pavement course thickness; Soil sampling; Thickness design
• Subject Areas: Geotechnology; Highways; Pavements;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00205696
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Aug 28 1994 12:00AM