Estimate subgrade modulus using boussinesq equation


Highway & Railway Engineering Individual Project

Project Brief:

You are an engineer working for an engineering consultancy who has been commissioned by a transport authority to provide technical assistance related to the following highway and railway problems:

Part 1: Site Investigations

A detailed deflection survey was carried out using a Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD) on an existing north-south 2-lane highway pavement. Deflections were recorded at 500 ft intervals in the outer wheel path of both outside lanes.

Analyses of these deflections show relatively high deflections at the point of loading (d1) and large variations over short sections of road. Deflections were initially analyzed for each traffic lane. However, the analyses for the northbound and southbound traffic lanes correlated well so both sets of results were combined by averaging the northbound and southbound deflections. The results are shown in Table Q1.1. Assume sensor 6 is located at a distance of 24in from the load, Poisson's ration of the subgrade is 0.35, and the applied FWD load was 9,000 lb.

1a) Using the method of cumulative-sums technique, identify potential uniform sections for the combined pavement layers and also for the subgrade alone. Clearly show all your workings and present your results (chainage vs. uniform sections) in either a tabular fashion or on a graphical plot.

1b) Estimate the subgrade modulus using Boussinesq's equation and propose treatment option(s) for the subgrade based on the FWD deflection criteria discussed in class.

Table Q1.1 Summary of FWD deflection (mils) data for existing 2-lane highway

Chainage

Deflection Sensor

D1

D2

D3

D4

D5

D6

0

360

235

148

109

79

52

500

370

242

192

142

92

39

1000

355

200

163

125

88

34

1500

335

155

103

83

66

47

2000

275

156

141

126

74

34

2500

280

158

120

81

43

38

3000

300

178

109

79

58

37

3500

283

170

120

70

35

25

4000

265

172

127

82

37

30

4500

263

167

101

74

56

37

5000

261

172

166

85

50

25

5500

267

170

115

60

45

15

6000

263

178

105

71

50

10

6500

250

150

113

75

38

12

7000

235

160

100

40

39

25

7500

223

146

77

49

43

19

8000

261

160

105

50

38

28

8500

300

185

115

60

48

23

9000

400

150

108

53

40

34

9500

450

250

148

93

80

35

10000

446

315

182

113

68

36

Part 2: Highway Pavement Analysis and Design

A pavement section has 5 in. (125 mm) of hot mix asphalt, 15 in. (375 mm) of crushed granular base, over a subgrade. Assume the modulus values for the materials are 425, 000 psi (2930 MPa) for the asphalt concrete, 24,000 psi (165 MPa) for the granular base, and 4,500 psi (31 MPa) for the subgrade.

a. Using a suitable elastic layer software (be sure in your write-up to tell me which one), find the critical responses for radial strain in the asphalt concrete, vertical stress in the crushed granular base, and vertical stress in the subgrade, and vertical deflection on the surface. Use a 6 in. tyre radius with a 10,000 lb (44.5 KN) wheel load.

b. Using suitable transfer functions, estimate the pavement life in terms number of equivalent standard axles to limit fatigue and rutting distresses in the pavement section.

Part 3: Track structure analysis & design

a. Describe, with illustrations, four types of trackbed structures in common use indicating some of their advantages and disadvantages

b. For the track structure shown in Figure Q3.1, it desired to replace the concrete ties with wooden ties. Determine the reduction in service life as a result of the change from wooden ties to concrete ties. Clearly state all assumptions made. You may use a suitable any layer elastic analysis software of your choice to support your answer.

1146_Track structure analysis & design.jpg

Figure 1: Structure for a ballasted trackbed.

Part 4: Environmental impacts

a. Briefly discuss the mechanism of ballast system failure. Use well-labelled sketches to illustrate your answer

b. Discuss the implications of ballast failure.

c. Discuss the main differences between the aggregates for railway ballast and aggregates for highway granular base construction.

d. Discuss three factors that are critical to aggregates used for construction track ballast high speed rail applications.

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