A STUDY OF PHYSICAL FACTORS AFFECTING THE DURABILITY OF ASPHALTIC PAVEMENTS

THREE PAVEMENTS USING THE SAME SIX ASPHALT CEMENTS BUT DIFFERENT AGGREGATE TYPES ARE EXHIBITING DIFFERENCES IN LEVELS OF PERFORMANCE BETWEEN TEST PAVEMENTS. THESE DIFFERENCES ARE SHOWN TO BE CAUSED BY DIFFERENCES IN AIR VOIDS. RESULTS OF THIS INVESTIGATION ALSO SHOW DIFFERENCES IN LEVELS OF PERFORMANCE BETWEEN ASPHALT CEMENT TYPES ON ANY ONE OF THESE PAVEMENTS (LR 219, 101, AND 338). THESE DIFFERENCES ARE ATTRIBUTED PRIMARILY TO DIFFERENCES IN AIR VOIDS, BUT SOME RECOGNITION IS GIVEN TO ASPHALT TYPE. LR 652, USING THE SAME AGGREGATE TYPE AND GRADATION THROUGHOUT, BUT TWO DIFFERENT ASPHALT CEMENTS, ALSO INDICATES AIR VOID CONTENT AS BEING A MAJOR FACTOR IN ASPHALT HARDENING. THE TRAFFIC DENSITY IS THE SAME OVER THE TEST SECTIONS. FIVE PAVEMENTS WITH VARYING TRAFFIC DENSITIES, SAME ASPHALT CEMENT, AND FIVE DIFFERENT AGGREGATE COMBINATIONS TEND TO SHOW AIR VOIDS AGAIN CONTROL HARDENING. HOWEVER, NUMEROUS UNCONTROLLED VARIABLES TEND TO OVERSHADOW THE AGGREGATE TYPE VARIABLE. FURTHER, THE ROSTLER COEFFICIENT, WHEN ONE CONSIDERS AGGREGATE TYPE, TRAFFIC DENSITY, AND AIR VOIDS, TENDS TO BE OF MINIMAL IMPORTANCE AS A PREDICTOR OF ASPHALT PAVEMENT PERFORMANCE. OF THE FOUR INITIAL PAVEMENTS UNDER STUDY, LR 113 IS PROBABLY THE MOST VALUABLE PAVEMENT TO THIS STUDY. PENETRATION, VISCOSITY, DUCTILITY, ASPHALTENES, AND AIR VOIDS VERIFY WHAT HAS BEEN OBSERVED IN THE FIELD. THIS IS THE MOST DETERIORATED PROJECT UNDER STUDY AND IT APPEARS RESURFACING WILL BE NECESSARY IN THE VERY NEAR FUTURE. IT WILL BE THEN THAT A COMPLETE EVALUATION CAN BE MADE TO RELATE PHYSICAL PROPERTIES TO PAVEMENT PERFORMANCE AND TO ASCERTAIN THE CAUSE OF PAVEMENT FAILURE. /AUTHOR/

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Hpr-1(5), 040; 63-1, RESEARCH Rept IR-10
• Corporate Authors:

  Pennsylvania State University, University Park

  Pennsylvania Transportation Institute, Transportation Research Building
  University Park, PA  United States  16802

  Pennsylvania Department of Highways

  400 North Street
  Harrisburg, PA  United States  17120-0095

  Bureau of Public Roads /US

  400 7th Street, SW
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Gotolski, W H
  • Smith, R W
  • ROBERTS, J M
• Publication Date: 1969-9

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Aggregates; Air voids; Asphalt cement; Asphalt hardening; Asphalt pavements; Durability; Pavement performance; Pavements; Physical properties; Traffic density
• Old TRIS Terms: Air voids content
• Subject Areas: Geotechnology; Highways; Materials; Pavements;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00206390
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Bureau of Public Roads /US
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jan 5 1970 12:00AM