Influence of Spatial Variation in Subgrade Properties on the Design of Highway Flexible Pavements

Nwakaire Chidozie Madu; Chukwu Chinagorom Joshua; Udemba Jonathan Nwachukwu

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ajasr.20160206.16

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Influence of Spatial Variation in Subgrade Properties on the Design of Highway Flexible Pavements

Nwakaire Chidozie Madu, Chukwu Chinagorom Joshua, Udemba Jonathan Nwachukwu

Published in American Journal of Applied Scientific Research (Volume 2, Issue 6)

Received: 1 October 2016 Accepted: 18 November 2016 Published: 21 December 2016

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Abstract

Influence of spatial variation in subgrade properties on the integrity of highway pavement design is the burden of this research. Interruption, delay and discomfort in transportation flow that characterize roads across the globe due to poor pavement conditions are pathetic experiences. This work is an attempt to investigate the influence of subgrade variation on the design thicknesses of highway flexible pavements, using subgrade properties and traffic characteristics encountered along the Enugu-Onitsha expressway. Soil samples collected from selected sections of the expressway were subjected to geotechnical laboratory tests like particles size distribution, Atterberg’s limits, compaction and California bearing ratio in order to analyse their properties. The results generated from these three samples from different stations across the road showed that the soil materials along the Enugu-Onitsha expressway vary significantly. Sample from Nkpor, Awkuzu and Kwata stations contain 15%, 45% and 80% fines (silt and clay) respectively, likewise their MDD and OMC are 1852KN/m³, 1980KN/m³ and 1788KN/m³; 11.7%, 11%, and 14.6% respectively. The 48 hour soaked CBR values of soil samples from Nkpor and Awkuzu stations are 8% and 9% respectively while Kwata station is 2.3%. The plasticity index and liquid limit results were also 11%; 31% and 9%; 27.4% for Awkuzu and Kwata samples while Nkpor sample in a non-plastic soil. Based on ASSHTO classification, the soils fall within A-2-4, A-6 and A-4 categories which depicted a significant variation in properties, fair to bad. Based on the design outputs for pavement thicknesses, it was concluded that designing a length of highway with a single CBR value will be uneconomical for areas with significantly higher surface modulus as well as providing insufficient thicknesses for areas with lower actual CBR than the observed. Sectional pavement design at not more than 1km intervals was recommended.

Published in	American Journal of Applied Scientific Research (Volume 2, Issue 6)
DOI	10.11648/j.ajasr.20160206.16
Page(s)	65-74
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2016. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Pavement, Design, Subgrade, Variation, CBR, Asphalt

References

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[2]	Florida Department of Transport. “Flexible Pavement Design Manual” 2008. [Online] Assesed from http://www.dot.fl.us/pavementmanagement.com/ Assessed on 3^rd March 2016.
[3]	C. A. O’Flaherty. “Highways: The Location, Design, Construction, and Maintenance of Pavements”. Butterworths and Heinemann, Oxford United Kingdom (2012).
[4]	M. Rogers. “Highway Engineering”. Second Edition, Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, UK (2012).
[5]	J. W. Adrox and W. R. Woods. “A General Characterization of Pavement System Failures with Emphasis on a Method for Selecting Repair Process”. Journal of Construction Education, 7 (1), (2002) pp 58-62.
[6]	E. J. Yoder and M. W. Witzack. “Principle of Pavement” (2^nd ed.), John Wiley & Sons, New York (1975).
[7]	L. R. Kadiyali. “Highway Engineering” 3^rd edition. CBS Publishers and Distributors Pvt Ltd. New Delhi, India (1989).
[8]	S. W. Abynayaka. “Prediction of Road Construction Failure in Developing Countries”. Proceedings. Institute of Civil Engineering Vol. 62 (3) Part I, ICE Virtual Library (1997), Pp 419-446.
[9]	Transport Road Research Laboratory (TRRL). “Maintenance Techniques for District Engineers”, Vol. 2, (1991) TRRL. Crow Thorne England.
[10]	T. Igomu. “Year Major Highways Collapsed into Death Traps”. Daily sun newspaper Thursday 29^th December 2011, page 34.
[11]	H. N. Paul, and J. P. Radnor. “Highway Engineering”, John Willey and Sons, New York (1976).
[12]	B. L. Gupta, and A. Gupta. “Highway and Bridge Engineering”, Standard Publishers Distributors, Delhi, India (2008).
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[14]	O. M. Ogundipe. “Road pavement failure caused by poor soil properties along Aramoko-Ileha Highway Nigeria”. Medwell journal of Engineering and Applied Science. Vol. 3 (3), (2006) pp 239–241.
[15]	G. Jegede. “Highway Pavement Failure Induced by Poor Geotechnical Properties along a Section of F209 Okitipupa-Igbokoda Highway”. Nigeria Ife Journal Science, 6 (1), (2004). pp 41-44.
[16]	B. M. Das. “Principles of Geotechnical Engineering”, 6th edition, Thomson, Brooks/Cole 97, (2006).
[17]	D. C. Onuoha, and S. U. Onwuka. “The Place of Soil Geotechnical Characteristics in Road Failure, a Study of the Onitsha-Enugu Expressway, Southeastern Nigeria”. Civil and Environmental Research. Vol. 6 (1), (2014) pp 55-66.
[18]	G. O. Adeyemi, M. O. Oloruntola, and A. O. Adeleye. “Geotechnical Properties of Subgrade Soil along Sections of the Ibadan-Ife Expressway, South-Western Nigeria”; Journal for Natural Science Research. Vol. 4 (23) (2014) pp 55–67.
[19]	Federal Ministry of Works and Housing (FMWH). “General Specification for Roads and Bridges” Revised Edition Vol. 2. : Federal Ministry of Works, Abuja (1997).
[20]	C. M. Nwakaire, C. M. O. Nwaiwu, and C. H. Aginam. “Equivalent Blows Approach to the Calibration of a Minicompactor for Laboratory Use”. IISTE Journal of Civil and Environmental Research. Vol 7, Issue 8. (2015) pp 63-74.
[21]	Traffic Assessment, HD/06, “Design Manual for Roads and Bridges”, Vol. 7, Section 2. London: The Department of Transport, February 1996.

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Nwakaire Chidozie Madu, Chukwu Chinagorom Joshua, Udemba Jonathan Nwachukwu. (2016). Influence of Spatial Variation in Subgrade Properties on the Design of Highway Flexible Pavements. American Journal of Applied Scientific Research, 2(6), 65-74. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajasr.20160206.16

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ACS Style

Nwakaire Chidozie Madu; Chukwu Chinagorom Joshua; Udemba Jonathan Nwachukwu. Influence of Spatial Variation in Subgrade Properties on the Design of Highway Flexible Pavements. Am. J. Appl. Sci. Res. 2016, 2(6), 65-74. doi: 10.11648/j.ajasr.20160206.16

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AMA Style

Nwakaire Chidozie Madu, Chukwu Chinagorom Joshua, Udemba Jonathan Nwachukwu. Influence of Spatial Variation in Subgrade Properties on the Design of Highway Flexible Pavements. Am J Appl Sci Res. 2016;2(6):65-74. doi: 10.11648/j.ajasr.20160206.16

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@article{10.11648/j.ajasr.20160206.16,
  author = {Nwakaire Chidozie Madu and Chukwu Chinagorom Joshua and Udemba Jonathan Nwachukwu},
  title = {Influence of Spatial Variation in Subgrade Properties on the Design of Highway Flexible Pavements},
  journal = {American Journal of Applied Scientific Research},
  volume = {2},
  number = {6},
  pages = {65-74},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ajasr.20160206.16},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajasr.20160206.16},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajasr.20160206.16},
  abstract = {Influence of spatial variation in subgrade properties on the integrity of highway pavement design is the burden of this research. Interruption, delay and discomfort in transportation flow that characterize roads across the globe due to poor pavement conditions are pathetic experiences. This work is an attempt to investigate the influence of subgrade variation on the design thicknesses of highway flexible pavements, using subgrade properties and traffic characteristics encountered along the Enugu-Onitsha expressway. Soil samples collected from selected sections of the expressway were subjected to geotechnical laboratory tests like particles size distribution, Atterberg’s limits, compaction and California bearing ratio in order to analyse their properties. The results generated from these three samples from different stations across the road showed that the soil materials along the Enugu-Onitsha expressway vary significantly. Sample from Nkpor, Awkuzu and Kwata stations contain 15%, 45% and 80% fines (silt and clay) respectively, likewise their MDD and OMC are 1852KN/m3, 1980KN/m3 and 1788KN/m3; 11.7%, 11%, and 14.6% respectively. The 48 hour soaked CBR values of soil samples from Nkpor and Awkuzu stations are 8% and 9% respectively while Kwata station is 2.3%. The plasticity index and liquid limit results were also 11%; 31% and 9%; 27.4% for Awkuzu and Kwata samples while Nkpor sample in a non-plastic soil. Based on ASSHTO classification, the soils fall within A-2-4, A-6 and A-4 categories which depicted a significant variation in properties, fair to bad. Based on the design outputs for pavement thicknesses, it was concluded that designing a length of highway with a single CBR value will be uneconomical for areas with significantly higher surface modulus as well as providing insufficient thicknesses for areas with lower actual CBR than the observed. Sectional pavement design at not more than 1km intervals was recommended.},
 year = {2016}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Influence of Spatial Variation in Subgrade Properties on the Design of Highway Flexible Pavements
AU  - Nwakaire Chidozie Madu
AU  - Chukwu Chinagorom Joshua
AU  - Udemba Jonathan Nwachukwu
Y1  - 2016/12/21
PY  - 2016
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajasr.20160206.16
DO  - 10.11648/j.ajasr.20160206.16
T2  - American Journal of Applied Scientific Research
JF  - American Journal of Applied Scientific Research
JO  - American Journal of Applied Scientific Research
SP  - 65
EP  - 74
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2471-9730
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajasr.20160206.16
AB  - Influence of spatial variation in subgrade properties on the integrity of highway pavement design is the burden of this research. Interruption, delay and discomfort in transportation flow that characterize roads across the globe due to poor pavement conditions are pathetic experiences. This work is an attempt to investigate the influence of subgrade variation on the design thicknesses of highway flexible pavements, using subgrade properties and traffic characteristics encountered along the Enugu-Onitsha expressway. Soil samples collected from selected sections of the expressway were subjected to geotechnical laboratory tests like particles size distribution, Atterberg’s limits, compaction and California bearing ratio in order to analyse their properties. The results generated from these three samples from different stations across the road showed that the soil materials along the Enugu-Onitsha expressway vary significantly. Sample from Nkpor, Awkuzu and Kwata stations contain 15%, 45% and 80% fines (silt and clay) respectively, likewise their MDD and OMC are 1852KN/m3, 1980KN/m3 and 1788KN/m3; 11.7%, 11%, and 14.6% respectively. The 48 hour soaked CBR values of soil samples from Nkpor and Awkuzu stations are 8% and 9% respectively while Kwata station is 2.3%. The plasticity index and liquid limit results were also 11%; 31% and 9%; 27.4% for Awkuzu and Kwata samples while Nkpor sample in a non-plastic soil. Based on ASSHTO classification, the soils fall within A-2-4, A-6 and A-4 categories which depicted a significant variation in properties, fair to bad. Based on the design outputs for pavement thicknesses, it was concluded that designing a length of highway with a single CBR value will be uneconomical for areas with significantly higher surface modulus as well as providing insufficient thicknesses for areas with lower actual CBR than the observed. Sectional pavement design at not more than 1km intervals was recommended.
VL  - 2
IS  - 6
ER  -

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Author Information

Nwakaire Chidozie Madu

Department of Civil Engineering, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria
Chukwu Chinagorom Joshua

Department of Civil Engineering, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria
Udemba Jonathan Nwachukwu

National Inland Waterways Authority, Warri, Nigeria

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APA Style

Nwakaire Chidozie Madu, Chukwu Chinagorom Joshua, Udemba Jonathan Nwachukwu. (2016). Influence of Spatial Variation in Subgrade Properties on the Design of Highway Flexible Pavements. American Journal of Applied Scientific Research, 2(6), 65-74. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajasr.20160206.16

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ACS Style

Nwakaire Chidozie Madu; Chukwu Chinagorom Joshua; Udemba Jonathan Nwachukwu. Influence of Spatial Variation in Subgrade Properties on the Design of Highway Flexible Pavements. Am. J. Appl. Sci. Res. 2016, 2(6), 65-74. doi: 10.11648/j.ajasr.20160206.16

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AMA Style

Nwakaire Chidozie Madu, Chukwu Chinagorom Joshua, Udemba Jonathan Nwachukwu. Influence of Spatial Variation in Subgrade Properties on the Design of Highway Flexible Pavements. Am J Appl Sci Res. 2016;2(6):65-74. doi: 10.11648/j.ajasr.20160206.16

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ajasr.20160206.16,
  author = {Nwakaire Chidozie Madu and Chukwu Chinagorom Joshua and Udemba Jonathan Nwachukwu},
  title = {Influence of Spatial Variation in Subgrade Properties on the Design of Highway Flexible Pavements},
  journal = {American Journal of Applied Scientific Research},
  volume = {2},
  number = {6},
  pages = {65-74},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ajasr.20160206.16},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajasr.20160206.16},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajasr.20160206.16},
  abstract = {Influence of spatial variation in subgrade properties on the integrity of highway pavement design is the burden of this research. Interruption, delay and discomfort in transportation flow that characterize roads across the globe due to poor pavement conditions are pathetic experiences. This work is an attempt to investigate the influence of subgrade variation on the design thicknesses of highway flexible pavements, using subgrade properties and traffic characteristics encountered along the Enugu-Onitsha expressway. Soil samples collected from selected sections of the expressway were subjected to geotechnical laboratory tests like particles size distribution, Atterberg’s limits, compaction and California bearing ratio in order to analyse their properties. The results generated from these three samples from different stations across the road showed that the soil materials along the Enugu-Onitsha expressway vary significantly. Sample from Nkpor, Awkuzu and Kwata stations contain 15%, 45% and 80% fines (silt and clay) respectively, likewise their MDD and OMC are 1852KN/m3, 1980KN/m3 and 1788KN/m3; 11.7%, 11%, and 14.6% respectively. The 48 hour soaked CBR values of soil samples from Nkpor and Awkuzu stations are 8% and 9% respectively while Kwata station is 2.3%. The plasticity index and liquid limit results were also 11%; 31% and 9%; 27.4% for Awkuzu and Kwata samples while Nkpor sample in a non-plastic soil. Based on ASSHTO classification, the soils fall within A-2-4, A-6 and A-4 categories which depicted a significant variation in properties, fair to bad. Based on the design outputs for pavement thicknesses, it was concluded that designing a length of highway with a single CBR value will be uneconomical for areas with significantly higher surface modulus as well as providing insufficient thicknesses for areas with lower actual CBR than the observed. Sectional pavement design at not more than 1km intervals was recommended.},
 year = {2016}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Influence of Spatial Variation in Subgrade Properties on the Design of Highway Flexible Pavements
AU  - Nwakaire Chidozie Madu
AU  - Chukwu Chinagorom Joshua
AU  - Udemba Jonathan Nwachukwu
Y1  - 2016/12/21
PY  - 2016
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajasr.20160206.16
DO  - 10.11648/j.ajasr.20160206.16
T2  - American Journal of Applied Scientific Research
JF  - American Journal of Applied Scientific Research
JO  - American Journal of Applied Scientific Research
SP  - 65
EP  - 74
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2471-9730
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajasr.20160206.16
AB  - Influence of spatial variation in subgrade properties on the integrity of highway pavement design is the burden of this research. Interruption, delay and discomfort in transportation flow that characterize roads across the globe due to poor pavement conditions are pathetic experiences. This work is an attempt to investigate the influence of subgrade variation on the design thicknesses of highway flexible pavements, using subgrade properties and traffic characteristics encountered along the Enugu-Onitsha expressway. Soil samples collected from selected sections of the expressway were subjected to geotechnical laboratory tests like particles size distribution, Atterberg’s limits, compaction and California bearing ratio in order to analyse their properties. The results generated from these three samples from different stations across the road showed that the soil materials along the Enugu-Onitsha expressway vary significantly. Sample from Nkpor, Awkuzu and Kwata stations contain 15%, 45% and 80% fines (silt and clay) respectively, likewise their MDD and OMC are 1852KN/m3, 1980KN/m3 and 1788KN/m3; 11.7%, 11%, and 14.6% respectively. The 48 hour soaked CBR values of soil samples from Nkpor and Awkuzu stations are 8% and 9% respectively while Kwata station is 2.3%. The plasticity index and liquid limit results were also 11%; 31% and 9%; 27.4% for Awkuzu and Kwata samples while Nkpor sample in a non-plastic soil. Based on ASSHTO classification, the soils fall within A-2-4, A-6 and A-4 categories which depicted a significant variation in properties, fair to bad. Based on the design outputs for pavement thicknesses, it was concluded that designing a length of highway with a single CBR value will be uneconomical for areas with significantly higher surface modulus as well as providing insufficient thicknesses for areas with lower actual CBR than the observed. Sectional pavement design at not more than 1km intervals was recommended.
VL  - 2
IS  - 6
ER  -

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