CHARACTERISTICS OF BASE AND SUBGRADE DRAINAGE OF PAVEMENTS.

Base courses beneath highway and airport pavements that become saturated are reduced in modulus and bearing capacity, and pumping may develop at pavement joints. Base-course drainage is often required to preclude this major cause of pavement deterioration. A number of theoretical models for developing design guidelines for drainage requirements of pavements are discussed. The influence of subgrade drainage on drainage time and the influence of the use of the more theoretically correct parabolic phreatic surface, especially in deep base courses or on flat slopes, are found to be substantial. Results are in good agreement with field data observed on full-scale pavements. Example calculations are presented to illustrate the effect of subgrade drainage on the drainage time for base courses.

CHARACTERISTICS OF BASE AND SUBGRADE DRAINAGE OF PAVEMENTS. Academic Article