Review of Pavement Design and Analysis by Yang H. Huang : Pearson Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, N.J., 2004; ISBN 0-13-142473-4, 775 pp., Price: $118.00.

It is a challenging task to cover all major functional areas of pavement systems engineering in a single text. The author acknowledges these constraints and focuses on his intended subject matter: design and analysis of pavements, while coverage is kept limited on the other functional areas of performance, evaluation, maintenance and rehabilitation, and management.

In Chapter 1, the author provides an introduction to the text by presenting an interesting historical evolution of pavement systems and discusses various pavement types, road tests, and design factors. Chapters 2 and 4 contain analytical techniques for analyzing stresses and strains∕deflections in flexible and rigid pavements, respectively, while Chapters 3 and 5 discuss the KENLAYER and KENSLABS computer programs that could be used for such analysis. As a prelude to the chapters on pavement design, chapters 6–10 discuss the vital topics of traffic estimation, materials characterization, drainage design, pavement performance, and reliability. Within these sections, the author shows how to estimate expected traffic volume and loading on pavements. Also, various ways of characterizing subgrades and pavement materials for design purposes are discussed. A good job is made of presenting and interpreting laboratory test results, but the text could give more coverage to field tests such as the dynamic cone penetrometer test for investigating subgrade quality. The author also provides a clear treatment of the issues involved in drainage design, but gives a rather limited discussion of pavement condition assessment. Statistical reliability concepts and probabilistic methods, which are very appropriate given the highly stochastic nature of input pavement design parameters and their outputs, are also well covered.

In Chapters 11–13, the author discusses various established methods of designing flexible, rigid, and overlay pavements, in a clear and comprehensible manner. Since many states are currently considering new composite pavements, the author discusses or at least refers to such designs. Future editions of the book may provide more details about the design, analysis, and performance of such pavements.

To help the reader implement analytical methods discussed in the text, the author provides two software programs that have been significantly improved since the last edition. In another improvement on the previous edition of the book, the author includes revisions to the overlay design methods. Also, various sections of the text have been updated to incorporate, or at least to make reference to, recent research findings. Besides such enhancements, however, the book retains the same theoretical organization and content used in the last edition.

By including more advanced concepts at strategic parts of the text, the author makes it possible for the book to be used across various educational levels. The usefulness of the book as a course text is enhanced by the appropriate use of clear figures, examples, and other presentation techniques that facilitate comprehension of pavement design and analysis concepts. Also, the author provides a fitting closure to each chapter in the form of summaries, important points discussed in the chapter, and practice problems.

Pavement Design and Analysis covers various fundamental pavement design concepts in a comprehensive and systematic manner. It strives to cover the basics of both theory and practice of pavement design and analysis, and is indeed an appropriate text for civil engineering students at various educational levels. It is expected that the book will continue to be a valuable tool for undergraduate and graduate teaching. Instructors who use this book as a course text may need to provide supplementary material for areas related to AASHTO’s 2002 Pavement Design Guide, design of composite pavements, pavement management, and network-level programming of pavement investments.