Flexible pavements

Flexible Pavements

Flexible pavements are those which are surfaced with bituminous (or asphalt) materials.

Its “flexible” since the total pavement structure “bends” or “deflects” due to traffic loads. Generally this type of pavement requires some sort of maintenance or rehabilitation every 10 to 15 years.

Points to be remembered about Flexible pavements

• Each layer receives the loads from the above layer, spreads them out, and then passes on these loads to the next layer below.
• Material layers are usually arranged in order of descending load bearing capacity with the highest load bearing capacity material (and most expensive) on the top and the lowest load bearing capacity material (and least expensive) on the bottom.
• Thus, the further down in the pavement structure a particular layer is, the less load (in terms of force per area) it must carry.