# Structural Number of Flexible Pavement

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"Flexible Pavement Design (SN)" =
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EmilyB.Structural Number of Flexible Pavement
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## Notes

A flexible, or asphalt, or Tarmac pavement typically consists of three or four layers. For a four layer flexible pavement, there is a surface course, base course, and subbase course constructed over a compacted, natural soil subgrade. When building a three layer flexible pavement, the subbase layer is not used and the base course is placed directly on the natural subgrade.

A flexible pavement's surface layer is constructed of hot-mix asphalt (HMA).Unstabilized aggregates are typically used for the base course; however, the base course could also be stabilized with asphalt, Foamed Bitumen,<Roadstone Recycling> Portland cement, or another stabilizing agent. The subbase is generally constructed from local aggregate material, while the top of the subgrade is often stabilized with cement or lime.

With flexible pavement, the highest stress occurs at the surface and the stress decreases as the depth of the pavement increases. Therefore, the highest quality material needs to be used for the surface, while lower quality materials can be used as the depth of the pavement increases. The term "flexible" is used because of the asphalts ability to bend and deform slightly, then return to its original position as each traffic load is applied and removed. It is possible for these small deformations to become permanent, which can lead to rutting in the wheel path over an extended time.[11]

The service life of a flexible pavement is typically designed in the range of 15 to 20 years. Required thicknesses of each layer of a flexible pavement vary widely depending on the materials used, magnitude, number of repetitions of traffic loads, environmental conditions, and the desired service life of the pavement. Factors such as these are taken into consideration during the design process so that the pavement will last for the designed life without excessive distresses.

The strucutural number for flexible pavement is calculated using the following formula:

SN = "a"_1D_1+"a"_2D_2"m"_2+"a"_3D_3"m"_3, where:

• "a"_1 = surface layer coefficient
• "D"_1 = actual thickness of surface layer
• "a"_2 = base layer coefficient
• "D"_2 = actual thickness of base layer
• "m"_2 = base layer drainage coefficient
• "a"_3 = subbase layer coefficient
• "D"_2 = actual thickness of subbase layer
• "m"_2 = base layer drainage coefficient

## References

The formula for the Structural Number of Flexible Pavement taken from Delft University of Technology (http://www.citg.tudelft.nl/fileadmin/Faculteit/CiTG/Over_de_faculteit/Afdelingen/Afdeling_Bouw/-_Secties/Sectie_Weg_en_Railbouwkunde/-_Leerstoelen/Leerstoel_Wegbouwkunde/-_Onderwijs/-_College_Dictaten/doc/Chapter_3.pdf).

The definition of Flexible Pavement taken from Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highway_engineering#Flexible_Pavement_Design).