Correlation of Laboratory-Compacted and Field-Compacted Hot-Mix Asphalt Permeability

This report presents a summary of results, analysis, and development of a protocol for testing permeability of asphalt specimens prepared in the laboratory or produced from field cores. The objective of the research project was to evaluate the correlation between the laboratory-measured permeability of laboratory prepared specimens and the laboratory-measure permeability of corresponding field cores. Field cores and loose, hot-mix asphalt samples were obtained from six constructed pavements. Four were 9.5-mm Superpave mixes and two were 12.5-mm mixes. Falling head permeability tests were conduced on both field cores and Superpave gyratory compacted (SGC) specimens covering a range of air voids and porosities. These tests indicated that in general permeability increases as the air void or porosity increases. For the 12.5-mm mixes, a porosity level of approximately 7 to 8 percent for both field cores and lab-compacted specimens seems to be a threshold value beyond which permeability begins to increase drastically. For the 9.5-mm mixes, the cores and lab-compacted specimens could be considered practically impervious for porosities lower than 8 percent. In general, laboratory-prepared specimens demonstrated lower permeability compared with field cores at comparable levels of porosity and thickness, even though no unique correlation could be developed based on the results of this investigation. The upper limits of 1.25x10(-3) cm/sec and 1.5x10(-3) cm/sec are recommended for SGC specimens and field cores, respectively, assuming specimens have air void and thickness levels established in the test protocol proposed under this research.

Language

  • English

Media Info

  • Media Type: Web
  • Edition: Final Report
  • Features: Appendices; Figures; References; Tables;
  • Pagination: 39p

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 01324977
  • Record Type: Publication
  • Report/Paper Numbers: FHWA-PA-2010-015-060704, LTI 2011-05
  • Contract Numbers: 355101
  • Files: TRIS, USDOT, STATEDOT
  • Created Date: Jan 14 2011 10:20AM