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Objectives
Vertical Alignment 2
Profile grade is referred by positive grade and Curve a crest type/Summit curve
negative grade
Curve b sag type
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KNS 3493 Highway Engineering
Vertical curves provide a means to smoothly shift from In highway design, the grades of the disjointed segments
one tangent grade to another. They are usually parabolic of roadway are normally known before any vertical
in shape. They are classified into crest vertical curves curve calculations are initiated.
and sag vertical curves. In addition, the design speed of the roadway, the
In highway design, most vertical curves are equal- stopping sight distance, and the decision sight distance
tangent curves, which means that the horizontal distance are also well established.
from the center of the curve to the end of the curve is
identical in both directions.
General Guidelines
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KNS 3493 Highway Engineering
Vertical curve should be: Level - highway sight distances are long without
Safe, major expense, small amounts of earthwork
Comfortable, Rolling - the natural slopes rise above or fall
Pleasingin appearance, below the road elevation with occasional steep
slopes that restrict highway alignment, moderate
Adequate for drainage.
amounts of earthwork
Mountainous - highway alignment is strongly
influenced by the ground slopes, large amount of
earthwork
Grade of a road is the vertical rise (or fall) per unit of Maximum grades
horizontal distance. 5% for 110 km/h,
It may be expressed as a percentage or as the ratio of 7-12% for 50 km/h depending on topography
one unit vertical to x units horizontal (5% or 1 in 20). intermediate grades for 60-100 km/h
Changes of grade from plus to minus should be placed
7-8 % for important highways
in cuts and changes from minus to a plus grade should
steeper by 1-2% for grades shorter than 150 m.
be placed in fills.
Minimum grades
Minimum grades are governed by drainage conditions.
0.5% (0.3 % in justified cases) for efficient drainage
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KNS 3493 Highway Engineering
Source: Mannering, F.L., Kilareski, W.P. and Washburn, S.S, Principles of Highway
Engineering and Traffic Analysis, 3rd. Ed., Wiley,United States of America, 2005
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KNS 3493 Highway Engineering
Source: Mannering, F.L., Kilareski, W.P. and Washburn, S.S, Principles of Highway
Engineering and Traffic Analysis, 3rd. Ed., Wiley,United States of America, 2005
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KNS 3493 Highway Engineering
K Parameter Example
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The following values are useful in vertical curve A plus 3.0% grade intersects a minus 2.0% grade at
design: station 4 + 350 and at an elevation of 190.500 m. Given
that a 250 m length of curve is utilized, determined the
A = G2 G1, grade change in %
station and elevation of the PC and PT. Calculate
L = length of the vertical curve in m elevations at every 20 m station and locate the station
Distance required for 1% grade change, K =
and elevation of the high point of the curve.
L/A in m/%
Solution Solution
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G1 = + 0.03 m per m; G2 = 0.02 m per m Location of high point can be calculated as follow:
L = 250 m; L/2 = 125 m G1L 3.0(250)
Station locations for the PC and PT are: xm 150 m
G2 G1 5.0
PC station = PI station L/2 = (4 + 350) 125
= 4 + 225 High point station = PC station + 150 m = (4 + 225) + 150
PT station = PC station + L = (4 + 225) + 250 = 4 + 375
= 4 + 475 Elevation of high point can be calculated as follow:
Elevations for the PC and PT are:
(G2 G1 ) xm
2
EPC = EPI G1 (L/2) = 190.500 0.03(125) E x E PC G1 xm
= 186.750 m 2L
EPT = EPI G2 (L/2) = 190.500 0.02(125)
( 0.05)150 2
= 188.000 m E x 186.750 0.03(150) 189.000 m
2(250)
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KNS 3493 Highway Engineering
Because the stopping sight distance should always be Crest vertical curves are curves that connect inclined
adequate, thus the length of the curve is normally sections of roadway, forming a crest, and they are
dependent upon the stopping sight distance. relatively easy to design. We only need to find an
appropriate length for the curve that will accommodate
The curve length calculations are slightly different for
the correct sight distance.
sag and crest vertical curves, and are covered separately. The stopping sight distance (depending on the
perception reaction time + braking time) is usually the
controlling sight distance.
The passing sight distance is rarely ever used as the
design sight distance, because it demands long, gentle
curvatures that are expensive and difficult to construct.
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KNS 3493 Highway Engineering
The heights in the calculations above should be those Determine the required SSD
that correspond to the sight distance of interest. For the
stopping sight distance, h1 = 1.1 m and h2 = 0.15 m.
While the sight distance has been portrayed as the only
parameter that affects the design of vertical curves, this
isn't entirely true. Vertical curves should also be
comfortable for the driver, aesthetically pleasing, safe, where
and capable of facilitating proper drainage. SSD = stopping sight distance (m)
V = initial speed (km/h)
t = perception/reaction time (seconds)
f = AASHTO stopping friction coefficient
G = roadway grade
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KNS 3493 Highway Engineering
h1
L h2
h1
h2
L
For S L L 2S
200 h1 h2
2
A
where :
L minimum length of curve in m,
S sight distance in m,
A grade change in %,
h1 height of eye above roadway surface in m,
h2 object height in m.
For the stopping sight distance, h1 = 1.1 m and h2 = 0.15 m.
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KNS 3493 Highway Engineering
Determine SSD
Assume that f = 0.29 and PRT = 2.5 sec Obtain minimum length of the vertical curve
S < L,
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KNS 3493 Highway Engineering
An existing vertical curve on a highway joins a +4 % grade First determine the stopping sight distance (SSD) using the length of the curve
with a -4 % grade.
If the length of the curve is 100 m, what is the maximum safe Now determine the maximum safe speed for this SSD
speed on the curve. SSD =
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KNS 3493 Highway Engineering
rider comfort
control of drainage
general appearance
For S < L,
For S > L,
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KNS 3493 Highway Engineering
K Values (REAM)
49 50
Questions ????
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