CONSTRUCTION AND BENEFITS OF RUBBER-MODIFIED ASPHALT PAVEMENTS

A paving system was developed in Sweden in the 1960s in which relatively large rubber particles were incorporated into asphalt-concrete pavements. The original purpose was to increase skid resistance and durability. This system, distributed under the trade names Skega Asphalt or Rubit in Scandinavia and PlusRide in the United States, was also found to provide a new form of winter ice control because of the increased flexibility and the action of protruding rubber particles. The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities installed five experimental pavement sections by using the PlusRide system between 1979 and 1981. Major modifications to normal asphalt pavement aggregate gradations, asphalt contents, and mix design procedures are considered essential to achieve durable nonravelling rubber-asphalt pavements. Laboratory tests of PlusRide paving mixes also indicate a potential for greatly increased pavement fatigue life as a result of the elasticity of this material. The attainment of low voids in the pavement is the primary design and construction objective, and mix design and construction activities are discussed. Observations of the skid-reduction benefits under icy road conditions have been made with a British pendulum tester and a vehicle equipped with a Tapley brake meter. Tests indicate that significant reductions in icy-road stopping distances nearly always resulted from the use of the PlusRide paving system. For 19 testing dates over two winters, stopping distances were reduced by an average of 25 percent; reductions on specific ranged from 3 to 50 percent. (Author)

Media Info

  • Media Type: Print
  • Features: Figures; Photos; References; Tables;
  • Pagination: pp 5-13
  • Monograph Title: Snow control, traffic effects on new concrete, and corrosion
  • Serial:

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 00369282
  • Record Type: Publication
  • ISBN: 0309033632
  • Files: TRIS, TRB
  • Created Date: Jan 31 1983 12:00AM