New NAPA publication advises on proper structural design for porous asphalt pavements

Updated Sep 25, 2018

Structural Design Guidelines for Porous Asphalt PavementsThe National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA) has published a new publication, Structural Design Guidelines for Porous Asphalt Pavements, to ensure new porous asphalt roadways provide reliable performance under traffic.

The publication, which discusses the structural design procedure for porous asphalt and the required inputs using the AASHTO 93 design method, was written by Charles W. Schwartz, Ph.D., and Kevin D. Hall, Ph.D., P.E., with support from the NAPA–SAPA Pavement Economics Committee’s Pavement Design Task Group.

“Often the design of porous asphalt pavements is focused on how well the pavement will handle water, not traffic,” said NAPA Vice President for Engineering, Research, & Technology Audrey Copeland, Ph.D., P.E. “For most parking lots and light-duty surfaces this may be a reasonable approach, but as public agencies look to use full-depth porous asphalt pavements on roadways, a traditional structural design methodology is needed. This new publication helps pavement designers and agencies apply the widely used and accepted AASHTO methodology to porous asphalt pavements.”

The book includes guidance on determining structural design input values, calculating minimum layer thicknesses, and limits on effective structural thickness. It also includes design examples for full-depth porous asphalt pavement systems with and without an asphalt-treated permeable base, as well as a catalogue of required layer thicknesses for different traffic levels.

The publication is available through the NAPA Online Store.