Development of Mix Design Guidelines for Improved Performance of Asphalt Mixtures

The importance of aggregate structure on asphalt mixture performance has been well established on the basis of experience and is well documented in the literature. Furthermore, coarse aggregate structure is most important for resistance to rutting, and recent work has shown that it can also play a significant role in resistance to damage and fracture. This study focused on the development of a conceptual and theoretical approach to evaluate coarse aggregate structure based on gradation. A theoretical analysis procedure was developed to calculate the center-to-center spacing between specific size particles within a compacted assemblage of particles of known gradation. Calculations performed with this procedure indicated that the relative proportion of two contiguous size particles, as defined by the standard arrangement of Superpave sieves, can be no greater than 70/30 in order to form an interactive network. Thus, the 70/30 proportion can be used to determine whether particles on contiguous Superpave sieves can form an interactive network of particles in continuous contact with each other. The range of particle sizes determined to be interactive was referred to as the dominant aggregate size range (DASR) and its porosity must be no more than 50% for the particles to be in contact with each other. The DASR concept and porosity criterion were evaluated using an extensive range of mixtures from existing databases including the Superpave Monitoring Projects, Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) heavy vehicle simulator (HVS) test sections, as well as WestTrack and NCAT test sections. Results clearly indicated that mixtures identified by the system developed as having poor or marginal gradations (DASR porosity greater than 50% or gradations that were marginally interactive), resulted in poor rutting performance.

• Record URL:
  • https://fdotwww.blob.core.windows.net/sitefinity/docs/default-source/research/reports/fdot-bd545-16-rpt.pdf
• 
• Summary URL:
  • https://fdotwww.blob.core.windows.net/sitefinity/docs/default-source/research/reports/fdot-bd545-16.pdf
• Corporate Authors:

  University of Florida, Gainesville

  Department of Civil and Coastal Engineering
  Gainesville, FL  United States  32611-6580

  Florida Department of Transportation

  Structures Research Center, 605 Suwannee Street
  Tallahassee, FL  United States  32399

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Roque, R
  • Birgisson, B
  • Kim, Sanling
  • Guarin, A
• Publication Date: 2006-1

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Edition: Final Report
• Features: Appendices; Figures; Photos; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 115p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Aggregate gradation; Aggregates; Asphalt mixtures; Bituminous mixtures; Calculation; Grain size (Geology); Guidelines; Hot mix asphalt; Mix design; Particles; Pavement performance; Porosity; Rutting; Shear strength; Sieve analysis; Spacing; Superpave; Theory
• Subject Areas: Design; Geotechnology; Highways; Materials; Pavements; I22: Design of Pavements, Railways and Guideways; I23: Properties of Road Surfaces; I31: Bituminous Binders and Materials;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01022929
• Record Type: Publication
• Contract Numbers: BD545, RPWO#16
• Files: TRIS, ATRI, USDOT, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Apr 24 2006 4:26PM