Flexible Pavement

Abstract

A highway pavement is a structure consisting of superimposed layers of processed materials above the natural soil sub-grade, whose primary function is to distribute the applied vehicle loads to the sub-grade. The Flexible Pavement structure should be able to provide a surface of acceptable riding quality, adequate skid resistance, favorable light reflecting characteristics, and low noise pollution.

The ultimate aim is to ensure that the transmitted stresses due to wheel load are sufficiently reduced, so that they will not exceed bearing capacity of the subgrade. Two types of pavements are generally recognized as serving this purpose, namely flexible pavements and rigid pavements. This chapter gives an overview of pavement types, layers, and their functions, and pavement failures. Improper design of pavements leads to early failure of pavements affecting the riding quality.

Conclusion

Pavements form the basic supporting structure in highway transportation. Each layer of pavement has a multitude of functions to perform which has to be duly considered during the design process. Different types of pavements can be adopted depending upon the traffic requirements. Improper design of pavements leads to early failure of pavements affecting the riding quality also.