Short- and Mid-Term Loose Mix Conditioning Protocols for Asphalt Overlay Balanced Mix Design and Quality Control and Quality Acceptance

Many aspects of balanced mix design (BMD) and performance-related quality control and quality acceptance (QC/QA) testing depend heavily on how the asphalt mixes are conditioned. There is, therefore, a critical need for practical loose mix conditioning protocols. The main objective of this study was to establish practical loose mix condition protocols for both the BMD and QC/QA phases. To develop these protocols, this paper reviewed the field performance and pavement lives of more than 200 test sections around the United States and found most of these test sections were 50-mm thick asphalt overlays where cracking is evident in 1 to 4?years. Based on this finding, the paper developed two conditioning protocols for asphalt overlays: short-term and mid-term. The short-term conditioning is intended for volumetric design, BMD rutting performance test, and QC/QA testing at asphalt plants, while the mid-term conditioning is mainly for BMD cracking performance test. A series of IDEAL cracking tests were then conducted with 13 mixes and the test results confirmed the validity of the mid-term conditioning protocol. It was also found that conditioning time affected mix cracking resistance significantly. The longer the conditioning time, the poorer the cracking resistance. When conditioned too long, the normalized cracking resistance difference among various mixes diminished. For asphalt mix composition, binder source (or quality) and asphalt absorption are two significant factors affecting the normalized cracking resistance of asphalt mixes; in contrast, mix type, asphalt binder content, and the use of rejuvenator had insignificant influence.

• Record URL:
  • https://doi.org/10.1177/03611981221083920
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/03611981
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Fujie Zhou https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3648-6837 © National Academy of Sciences: Transportation Research Board 2022.
• Authors:
  • Zhou, Fujie
  • 0000-0002-3648-6837
  • Mogawer, Walaa
  • 0000-0003-3487-2029
  • Steger, Richard
  • 0000-0002-0948-5732
• Publication Date: 2022-5

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Web
• Features: References;
• Pagination: pp 30-43
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board
  • Volume: 2676
  • Issue Number: 5
  • Publisher: Sage Publications, Incorporated
  • ISSN: 0361-1981
  • EISSN: 2169-4052
  • Serial URL: http://journals.sagepub.com/home/trr

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bituminous overlays; Mix design; Pavement performance; Quality assurance; Quality control; Service life; Test sections
• Subject Areas: Highways; Materials; Pavements;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01842739
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: Apr 19 2022 1:06PM