European Rigid Pavement Design Methodologies

European countries use various methodologies for rigid pavement design, ranging from empirical approaches (e.g., United Kingdom) to mechanistic-empirical design methodologies (e.g., Netherlands and France) [FHWA 1992, Hall et al. 2007]. In addition, an empirical design method known as the “Catalogue Design” is used in countries such as Germany, Austria, and Belgium [Houben 2009, Rens 2016].

Unlike the U.S. rigid pavement design practice, in which the primary purpose of a base or a subbase layer is to prevent pumping, European designs generally emphasize the frost protection of subgrade and subsurface drainage, irrespective of the design methodology. As a result, the European designs typically use base and subbase layers that are substantially thicker than those in the U.S. Furthermore, some countries specify the total thickness of the pavement as the thickness of all layers that are not frost-susceptible.

As an example, Figure 10 shows the rigid pavement structures specified in the German catalogue for Class SV motorways, which have cumulative traffic of more than 32 million equivalent single axle loads (ESALs) during their design life. The total pavement thickness required for this roadway class is 33.5 inches, regardless of the base type. Once the type of base material is determined, the thicknesses of PCC, base, and subbase layers are read from the catalogue [Germany 2012].