AASHTO ROAD TEST

This is a series of experiments carried out by the American Association of

State Highway and Transportation Officials to determine how traffic
contributed to the deterioration of highway pavements. The road test was to
study the performance of pavement structures of known thickness under
moving loads of known magnitude and frequency.

The test introduced many concepts in pavement engineering e.g. load

equivalency factors. Heavier vehicles reduced serviceability in a much
shorter time than light vehicles to no ones surprise.
The AASHTO design guide has been widely used in tropical countries. We
find that;
The sub-grade strength is defined in terms of soil support value.
The pavement thickness is expressed in terms of structural number
(SN) ranging from 1.0-6.0.
Traffic loading is expressed in terms of cumulative standard axles
during the design life of the pavement or in terms of daily axle
applications.
Given a soil support value and a traffic loading value one obtains a structural
number which is converted to a new weighted structural number by
application of a regional factor and is hence used in the design equation

The designer is required to select the thicknesses of surfacing, base and subbase which satisfy the design equation as well as the economic and other
constraints.
AASHTO design variables
Time constraints The use of longer analysis periods for high volume
facilities with at least one rehabilitation period.
Performance period This is the time that an initial pavement structure
will last before it needs rehabilitation. Performance time between
rehabilitation operations
Analysis period- Period of time any design strategy must cover. It can be
identical to the selected performance period. Longer analysis periods are
recommended to better suit evaluation of alternative long term strategies
based on life cycle costs
Traffic- The design procedures are based on ESAL (Equivalent Single Axle
Load)
Reliability- Reliability concepts for pavement design are a means of
incorporating some degree of certainty into the design process to ensure
various design alternatives will last the analysis period.
Environmental effects- AASHO design equations were based on traffic
tests over a 2 year period leaving out the long term effects of temperature
and moisture on the reduction of serviceability.
Serviceability- the initial serviceability index is a function of pavement type
and construction quality.

Test facilities
1. Six two-lane test loops
2. Loop 1 isnt subjected to traffic used to test environmental effects
3. Loop 2-6 subject to traffic
The following measurements of performance were collected;
Roughness and visual distress
Deflections, strains
Pavement serviceability index (PSI)
The structural design portion of the AASHTO road test for flexible
pavement experiment was designed as a full factorial experiment with the
design factors being;
Surfacing thickness
Base thickness
Sub-base thickness
The test data established the relationships for pavement structural designs
based on expected loadings over the life of a pavement. The AASHO road
test provided the foundation for analytical evaluation of stresses and
deflections from moving vehicles.
The overall concept of the AASHO pavement design procedure id to provide
a pavement structure thats adequate in thickness, composition and quality to
ensure the pavement section doesnt reach a terminal serviceability level
during its design life. (A level considered unacceptable by the highway
user).