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International Journal of Pavement Research and Technology 9 (2016) 121127
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Guidelines for the design of semi-rigid long-life pavements

David Hernando a,, Miguel A. del Val b
a
Department of Civil and Coastal Engineering, University of Florida, 365 Weil Hall, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
b
Department of Civil Engineering Transport, Technical University of Madrid (UPM), Profesor Aranguren 3, Madrid 28040, Spain

Received 1 September 2015; received in revised form 12 March 2016; accepted 25 March 2016
Available online 29 March 2016

Abstract

Pavement distress leads to frequent rehabilitation that increases the global cost of pavement sections. A clear understanding of dis-
tress mechanisms is the cornerstone for extending pavement service life. The overall objective of this study was to provide guidance for
the design of semi-rigid long-life pavements. The potential distress mechanisms in semi-rigid pavements were revisited in order to syn-
thesize the primary factors aecting performance. One key observation from the literature was that, while thickness primarily controls
fatigue cracking, material requirements are the primary factor governing other distress mechanisms. Semi-rigid sections proposed for the
heaviest trac conditions in Spain were analytically evaluated from the long-life perspective. Results showed that only some sections met
the structural requirements to be considered long-life pavements; however, two of them were clearly overdesigned. In addition, thick
asphalt lifts are used to delay the onset of reective cracking, which is not a cost-eective approach. Findings from linear elastic analysis
of alternative sections and observations on potential distress mechanisms led to establishment of guidelines for a more ecient design of
semi-rigid long-life pavements. The established design concept integrated both layer thickness and material requirements.
2016 Chinese Society of Pavement Engineering. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND
license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Keywords: Long-life; Semi-rigid pavement; Distress mechanism; Design

1. Introduction where the structural elements last indenitely, provided

Pavement distress leads to frequent rehabilitation that
increases the global cost of pavement sections, including
the cost of the delay experienced by drivers in designated
work zones. Frequent pavement rehabilitation is impracti-
cal and non-ecient, so longer service life is of great inter-
est from the life-cycle cost perspective.
Evidence of the existence of long-life pavements have
been reported across the world, including the United States
and many countries in Europe [14]. A long-life pavement is
dened as a well-designed and well-constructed pavement
Corresponding author. Tel./fax: +34 913 366 651.
E-mail addresses: davhernando@gmail.com (D. Hernando), miguel.
delval@upm.es (M.A. del Val).
Peer review under responsibility of Chinese Society of Pavement
Engineering.
that the designed maximum individual load and environ-
mental conditions are not exceeded and that appropriate
and timely surface maintenance is carried out [5].
The European Long-Life Pavements Group (ELLPAG)
of the Forum of European National Highway Research
Laboratories (FEHRL) has arguably conducted the most
comprehensive study on long-life pavements in Europe to
date [5,6]. As far as semi-rigid pavements are concerned,
the design concepts presented by ELLPAG primarily
addressed requirements in terms of section thickness [5].
For the sake of clarity, a semi-rigid pavement is composed
of one or more asphalt layers on a cement-treated base
(Portland cement concrete bases are not included in this
denition).
Traditionally, the pavement community has based most
of its pavement design systems on the hypothesis that a
thicker section results in better performance. Although it

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijprt.2016.03.003
1996-6814/ 2016 Chinese Society of Pavement Engineering. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
122 D. Hernando, M.A. del Val / International Journal of Pavement Research and Technology 9 (2016) 121127
is undeniable that thickness plays a major role in the fati-
gue cracking performance of semi-rigid sections, it does
not necessarily follow that thickness is the primary factor
in all pavement distresses. In fact, pavement distress may
be governed by other factors such as environmental condi-
tions, material properties or even construction deciencies.
A clear understanding of the potential distress mecha-
nisms is the cornerstone for extending pavement service
life. As a result, primary factors aecting performance
(e.g., layer thickness, material properties, etc.) can be inte-
grated into a set of guidelines for a more eective design of
semi-rigid long-life pavements.
2. Objectives
The overall objective of this study was to provide guid-
ance for the design of semi-rigid long-life pavements. More
specic objectives included:
(1) To synthesize potential distress mechanisms in semi-
rigid pavements and corresponding primary factors
for improved performance.
(2) To perform a structural analysis to determine
whether the semi-rigid sections proposed for the
heaviest trac conditions in the Spanish pavement
design guide may potentially be considered long-life
pavements.
(3) To propose a design concept for semi-rigid long-life
pavements based on ndings from (1) and (2).
3. Key observations on potential distress mechanisms in semi-
rigid pavements
COST-Transport [7] ranked the most frequently used
long-term pavement performance indicators based on the
rating provided by fteen countries in the European
Union. The results showed that surface cracking and rut-
ting were perceived as the major distresses in semi-rigid
pavements. Another study [8] also suggested surface crack-
ing and instability rutting as main distress mechanisms,
rather than subgrade rutting or fatigue cracking, which
are typically considered in pavement design. Besides
surface-initiated cracking (top-down cracking and thermal
fatigue cracking) and instability rutting, this paper
reviewed fatigue cracking, shrinkage and reective cracking
of cement-treated materials. This section synthesizes the
primary factors for improved performance associated with
the aforementioned distress mechanisms. Further details
on distress mechanisms in semi-rigid pavements can be
found in prior research [9].
Review of potential distress mechanisms in semi-rigid
pavement showed that, while thickness plays a major role
in fatigue cracking, material requirements are the primary
factor governing other distress mechanisms. With respect
to the surface course, the use of polymer-modied binder,
a gradation more resistant to fracture, and a moderate
air void content appear to improve the asphalt mixture per-
formance in terms of top-down cracking [1016]. In addi-
tion, asphalt binder with low aging susceptibility and
moderate ller-to-binder ratio are required to minimize
the potential for thermal fatigue cracking [17]. With these
requirements, gap-graded mixtures appear to be a good
option because of their moderate air void content and rel-
atively high proportion of polymer-modied bituminous
mortar. Also, gap-graded mixtures bring the advantage
of high macrotexture for improved safety. Regarding the
binder course, rough-textured aggregate, a shear resistant
gradation, a relatively hard or a polymer-modied binder,
and a relatively low air void content are required for ade-
quate rutting resistance and waterproofness of the section
[1825]. A dense-graded mixture seems to potentially meet
the requirements for the binder course. Furthermore, the
cement-treated base should be designed to prevent fatigue
cracking failure (main thickness requirement of the section)
and reduce shrinkage eects. Shrinkage involves not only
mix design factors such as cement type, aggregate type,
water-to-cement ratio, and presence of admixtures, but
also involves placement conditions such as curing and
pre-cracking [26,27]. Finally, because of the presence of
transverse joints in the cement-treated base, a mitigation
treatment is required to control reective cracking. Numer-
ous interlayer systems such as stress/strain absorbing mem-
brane interlayers (SAMI) or reinforcing systems have been
tried to mitigate reective cracking with a varying degree of
success [26,2830]. Experimental results have shown that
steel net and glass-ber geogrid seem to be more adequate
for heavy trac conditions, whereas chip seals, sand-
asphalt and geotextiles may be used for low trac volume
[8]. Another approach to mitigate reective cracking is the
use of inverted pavement structures, which basically con-
sists in incorporating a granular material, such as crushed
stone or gravel-emulsion, between the asphalt surface and
cement-treated base.
4. Structural analysis of semi-rigid sections
Layered theory [31] was used to determine the response
(i.e., stresses and strains) of dierent semi-rigid pavement
sections based on typical material properties used in Spain.
All materials were assumed to be homogeneous, isotropic,
and linearly elastic and were characterized by their elastic
modulus and Poissons ratio.
4.1. Properties of pavement materials used in Spain
4.1.1. Asphalt mixtures
Hot-mix asphalt (HMA) used for surface course in
Spain can be open-graded (PA), gap-graded (BBTM A
and BBTM B) and dense-graded (AC S and AC D). AC
S is usually employed as the binder course. When an addi-
tional asphalt layer is placed under the binder course, AC S
is also considered the best option, although AC G may be
also used. Table 1 presents the properties of the asphalt
 D. Hernando, M.A. del Val / International Journal of Pavement Research and Technology 9 (2016) 121127 123

Table 1
Properties of asphalt mixtures used in Spain at 20 C and 10 Hz.
Asphalt mixture Gradation Air void content E (MPa) m
PA Open-graded P20% 30003500 0.35
BBTM B Gap-graded 1218% 30003500 0.35
BBTM A Gap-graded 412% 35004000 0.35
AC D, AC S Dense-graded 48% 60006500 0.33
AC G Dense-graded 48% 50006000 0.33
AC S MAM* Dense-graded 48% 11,00012,000 0.30
*
High-modulus asphalt concrete with type S gradation.

mixtures used in Spain, where E represents the elastic mod-
ulus and m the Poissons ratio usually considered for pave-
ment analysis.
4.1.2. Cement-treated materials used for base layer
Cement-treated bases (CTB) used in Spain include soil-
cement (SC), gravel-cement (GC), high-resistance gravel
cement (HRGC) and compacted lean concrete (CLC).
The properties of these materials are shown in Table 2, in
which Rc,7d is the minimum compressive strength at 7 days,
Rc,28d is the minimum compressive strength at 28 days,
Rc,LT represents the long-term compressive strength, and
RF,LT is the long-term exural strength.
4.1.3. Subgrade materials
The subgrade may consist of the existing material or
may include the use of selected natural soils or stabilized
soils to increase bearing capacity. Stabilized soils result in
higher structural capacity and lower moisture susceptibility
than natural soils. Since the level of bending in a CTB is
aected by the properties of the layer immediately under-
neath, stabilized soils are commonly introduced to improve
the overall performance of semi-rigid sections. The proper-
ties of the stabilized materials used according to Spanish
specications are presented in Table 3. CBR7d corresponds
to the California bearing ratio at 7 days of age.
4.2. Consideration of fatigue cracking in cement-treated
materials
The resistance of cement-treated materials to fatigue
cracking was analyzed by two distinct criteria identied
in the literature: maximum tensile strain and maximum ten-
sile stress. First, the maximum tensile strain was restricted
to 36 le based on studies conducted by Parmeggiani [32].
Secondly, the maximum tensile stress was dened by the
fatigue model proposed by the Eduardo Torroja Institute
(Eq. (1)), which is considered to be valid for the cement-
treated materials used in Spain [27]:
rt
c  1  a  log N 1
RF ;LT
where rt is the maximum tensile stress supported by the
material, RF,LT is the long-term exural strength, N is the
number of load repetitions, c is a calibration factor, and
a is a tting parameter. Typical values of 0.8 and 0.065
can be assumed for c and a, respectively [27].
N was estimated based on an average daily truck trac
(ADTT) of 2000 heavy vehicles a day for the design lane
and opening year, a truck factor of 0.8, an annual growth
rate of 3%, and a minimum service life of 30 years. This
resulted in about 30 million repetitions of the 128-kN
single-axle design load (900 kPa tire pressure). For the
computed value of N, Eq. (1) provides a ratio of tensile
stress to long-term exural strength of 0.4, which is consis-
tent with the fatigue limit for cement-treated materials
reported in the literature [21,27,33].
4.3. Analysis of current semi-rigid sections
The current Spanish pavement design guide oers a cat-
alog of pavement sections based on the average daily truck
trac (ADTT) for the design lane and opening year, and
the bearing capacity of the subgrade [34].

Table 2
Properties of cement-treated materials used in Spain (adapted from CEDEX and IECA [27]).
CTB Cement content (%) E (MPa) m Rc,7d (MPa) Rc,28d (MPa) Rc,LT (MPa) RF,LT (MPa)
SC 37 50007000 0.25 >2.5 >4 48 0.9
GC 3.55 18,00022,000 0.25 >4.5 >8 814 1.6
HRGC 57 22,00028,000 0.25 >8 >14 1422 2.0
CLC 510 28,00032,000 0.20 >12 >22 2235 3.6

Table 3
Properties of stabilized soils used in Spain (adapted from CEDEX and IECA [27]).
Type of stabilized soil Binder type Binder content CBR7d (%) Rc,7d (MPa) RF,LT (MPa)
S-EST1 Lime or cement P2% P6
S-EST2 Lime or cement P3% P12
S-EST3 Cement P3% P1.5 0.45
124 D. Hernando, M.A. del Val / International Journal of Pavement Research and Technology 9 (2016) 121127

70 approach has been reported in most European countries

60
20
[5]. However, increase of asphalt layer thickness has been
demonstrated to be ineective not only from the standpoint
Thickness (cm)

50 18
40 25
22
30 22
20
20
25
30
25
10 20
0
1 2 3 4
Section
Soil-cement Gravel-cement
Fig. 1. Semi-rigid sections proposed in the Spanish pavement design guide
for the heaviest trac conditions [34].
Table 4
Trac and subgrade conditions specied for the analyzed sections [34].
Section ADTT for design lane &
opening year (trucks/day)
1 >4000
2 >4000
3 20004000
4 20004000
5 8002000
6 200800
The semi-rigid sections proposed for the heaviest trac
conditions were studied to determine which sections meet
the fatigue criteria. Fig. 1 shows the six sections analyzed,
in which the numbers in the bar chart represent the thick-
ness of each layer. Table 4 presents the trac and subgrade
conditions specied in the design guide for these sections.
Based on a multi-layer linear elastic analysis, it was
found that sections 4 and 6 did not meet the fatigue limit
of cement-treated materials. Conversely, sections 1, 2, 3
and 5 could potentially withstand unlimited number of rep-
etitions. However, the cement-treated materials in sections 1
and 3 work far below their fatigue limit (i.e., they are
clearly overdesigned), so a more ecient design is of partic-
ular interest.
It is worth to mention that sections similar to those used
in Spain are commonly employed in other European coun-
tries. FEHRL [5] reported that semi-rigid sections for heav-
ily tracked conditions in Europe are made of a relatively
thick asphalt layer (1730 cm) on 2030 cm of CTB. Only
France has extensively used semi-rigid pavements with a
thin asphalt surface (68 cm) by virtue of pre-cracking
and introduction of a reective cracking mitigation
treatment.
4.4. New design proposal
Analysis of the Spanish semi-rigid designs proposed for
the heaviest trac conditions showed that cement-treated
bases are overdesigned in some sections. In addition, thick
asphalt lifts (at least 15 cm) are used in Spain for the purpose
of delaying the onset of reective cracking. The same
15
15
of reective cracking mitigation, but also from an eco-
22
20
nomic point of view [28,35]. Therefore, a more eective
design of semi-rigid long-life pavements was evaluated in
this study.
22 20
The proposed approach consisted in reducing the thick-
5 6
ness of the asphalt lift to 10 cm, which is assumed to be
enough for providing adequate functional characteristics
Asphalt Concrete
while diminishing the eect of temperature changes on
the CTB. Then, two dierent reective cracking mitigation
treatments were selected based on ndings from Section 3:
a thin interlayer system (IS) and a gravel-emulsion (GE).
Finally, CTB was considered the primary structural ele-
ment of the section and, thereby, responsible for carrying
the load. The thickness of the CTB (SC, GC, HRGC and
Resilient modulus on top CLC) was determined through linear elastic analysis so
of the subgrade (MPa) that fatigue criteria were satised (i.e., maximum tensile
P300 strain 636 le and maximum tensile stress 640% RF,LT).
P300 Four dierent section types were analyzed for each
P300 CTB:
P300
P120
P120  Type I, section composed of 10 cm HMA + IS + CTB.
 Type II, section composed of 10 cm HMA + 8 cm GE
+ CTB.
 Type III, section composed of 10 cm HMA + IS + CTB
+ 20 cm SC.
 Type IV, section composed of 10 cm HMA + 8 cm GE
+ CTB + 20 cm SC.
Additional design considerations were as follows:
 The subgrade consisted of a natural soil with a mini-
mum CBR of 3%, a 30-cm lift of additional soil with a
minimum CBR of 10%, and 30 cm of cement-stabilized
subbase type S-EST3 (Table 3), which is a frequent
design for Spanish highways.
 The structural contribution of GE was taken into
account in terms of E (3000 MPa) and m (0.35), whereas
the eect of IS was not included in the analysis.
 The asphalt lift was comprised of 3 cm of BBTM A on
top of 7 cm of AC S (Table 1).
One of the limitations of layered theory is that the trans-
verse joints of cement-treated materials cannot be consid-
ered. Although the presence of joints creates a
discontinuous system, an opening up to 3 mm is reported
to provide adequate load transfer across the faces of the
crack [36,37].
5. Results and discussion
Fig. 2 shows the sections obtained as a result of the
linear elastic analysis conducted, in which CTB thickness
was computed to meet fatigue criteria. The label for each
section includes the name of the main structural CTB
 D. Hernando, M.A. del Val / International Journal of Pavement Research and Technology 9 (2016) 121127
Fig. 2. Alternative semi-rigid long-life sections evaluated. Note: The thickness of the cement-treated materials in HRGC-IV and CLC-IV was reduced to
18 cm to optimize the section.
(SC, GC, HRGC and CLC) followed by the type of design
considered (I, II, III, IV).
The thickness of the HRGC sections was similar to that
of the sections with CLC, despite the higher elastic modu-
lus of CLC. The reason is that neither the tensile stress nor
the tensile strain at the bottom of the CLC was found to be
critical, so the thickness of the layer was dened by the crit-
ical stress and strain in the underlying cement-stabilized
subbase. In other words, CLC worked far below its fatigue
limit. Since CLC has higher shrinkage tendency than
HRGC and does not represent any signicant reduction
in layer thickness, sections containing HRGC are consid-
ered a better choice.
Like CLC, the responses of the SC layer in sections type
III and IV were not critical and its thickness was based
only on minimum construction requirements. It was found
that the presence of a stabilized subbase rendered the SC
layer useless, and it would simply increase the cost of
sections type III and IV.
Thus, it is feasible to eliminate CLC sections as well as
sections type III and IV since they do not represent any
advantage in design with respect to the other sections. It
should be pointed out that the remaining sections in
Fig. 2 (SC-I, GC-I, HRGC-I, SC-II, GC-II, HRGC-II)
are, on average, 14 cm thinner than the potential semi-
rigid long-life sections identied in the Spanish design
guide (sections 1, 2, 3 and 5 in Fig. 1).
These ndings from multi-layer linear elastic analyses
were combined with material requirements from a review
of potential distress mechanisms (Section 3) to establish
guidelines for a more eective design of semi-rigid
125
long-life pavements. These guidelines are illustrated in
Fig. 3 and described as follows:
 The surface course should be fracture resistant and have
low aging susceptibility. Since this layer is in direct
contact with vehicle tires, adequate functional character-
istics are always desired. With these requirements,
gap-graded friction courses seem to be a good option
because of their moderate air void content, relatively high
proportion of polymer-modied bituminous mortar and
higher macrotexture.
 The binder course should provide adequate rutting resis-
tance and waterproofness of the CTB. Dense-graded
mixtures (relatively low air void content) with improved
shear resistance (a primary network of large interactive
particles) and rough-textured (crushed) aggregate are
recommended.
 A reective cracking mitigation treatment should be
introduced between the asphalt binder course and the
CTB.
 Regarding the CTB, two priorities are to be emphasized.
First, the CTB is considered the primary structural ele-
ment of the section and, thereby, its thickness should
be determined to prevent fatigue failure. Secondly,
reduction of shrinkage susceptibility requires considera-
tion of mix design factors, such as cement type, aggre-
gate type, water-to-cement ratio and use of admixtures,
as well as placement conditions (curing and pre-cracking).
 Finally, a cement-stabilized subbase is recommended to
reduce moisture susceptibility and increase bearing
capacity.
126 D. Hernando, M.A. del Val / International Journal of Pavement Research and Technology 9 (2016) 121127

3 cm Fracture resistance / Low aging susceptibility / Functional characteristics

7 cm Rutting resistance / Waterproofness
1-8 cm Reflective cracking mitigation treatment

Pre-cracked cement-treated base

24-41 cm*
Reduced shrinkage susceptibility

30 cm Cement-stabilized subbase

Fig. 3. Semi-rigid long-life pavement design concept (thickness and material requirements). *Thickness determined to prevent fatigue failure based on
cement-treated base mechanical properties.

6. Summary and conclusions minimum of 24 cm for HRGC to a maximum of

A clear understanding of the potential distress mecha-
nisms and corresponding primary factors is the cornerstone
of eective design of long-life pavements. Surface-initiated
cracking (top-down cracking and thermal fatigue crack-
ing), instability rutting, fatigue cracking of cement-treated
materials, shrinkage cracking and reective cracking were
revisited as potential distress mechanisms aecting the per-
formance of semi-rigid pavements. One key observation
was that, while thickness primarily controls fatigue crack-
ing, material requirements are the primary factor govern-
ing other distress mechanisms.
The analysis of the semi-rigid sections proposed in the
Spanish pavement design guide for the heaviest trac con-
ditions showed that only four sections met the structural
requirements to be considered long-life pavements. How-
ever, two of them were overdesigned. Furthermore, thick
asphalt lifts are used in Spain to delay the onset of reec-
tive cracking. This same approach has been reported in
many other European countries, which is not a cost-
eective alternative.
The previous analysis was used as the basis to propose
alternative designs for semi-rigid long-life pavements.
Alternative designs consisted in reducing the thickness of
the asphalt layer to 10 cm in combination with the
introduction of a reective cracking mitigation treatment.
The following ndings were made:
 The use of compacted lean concrete (CLC) barely
reduced base thickness as compared to high-resistance
gravel cement (HRGC). Conversely, CLC has a higher
tendency to shrink, so the use of HRGC is considered
a better choice.
 The presence of a cement-stabilized subbase rendered
the soil-cement (SC) layer underneath the main
cement-treated base (CTB) useless.
 CTB thickness of selected alternative designs (SC-I, GC-
I, HRGC-I, SC-II, GC-II, HRGC-II) ranged from a
41 cm for SC, based on typical materials used in Spain.
 Selected alternative designs were, on average, 14 cm
thinner than the potential semi-rigid long-life sections
identied in the Spanish pavement design guide.
Key observations on potential distress mechanisms and
ndings from multi-layer linear elastic analyses led to the
establishment of guidelines for a more eective design of
semi-rigid long-life pavements. Conclusions drawn in this
study support the idea that the design of semi-rigid long-
life pavements goes beyond simply dening layer thickness.
Special emphasis should be placed on material require-
ments and the simultaneous consideration of both tensile
strain and tensile stress as fatigue cracking failure criteria
for determination of CTB thickness. It is important to note
that the only thickness dened to prevent fatigue failure of
the section was that for the CTB. CTB thickness was calcu-
lated for typical materials used in Spain. Although material
properties may be dierent in other countries, the approach
described in this study is intended to be applicable to any
other country.
Acknowledgements
This paper describes one of the activities developed dur-
ing the Fenix Project (www.proyectofenix.es), which was
accomplished with the nancial support provided by the
Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology
(CDTI) of the Spanish Government. Authors thank all
public and private companies that have taken part in the
project, as well as the researchers that have collaborated
to its development.
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