INSTALLATION AND EARLY PERFORMANCE OF A FIELD TEST SECTION OF ASPHALT RUBBER CONCRETE. INTERIM REPORT

Asphalt rubber, which is produced by reacting asphalt cement and crumb rubber, is claimed to increase fatigue life and reduce rutting of asphalt concrete; however, the service life must be increased significantly to offset the additional cost of adding the rubber. In order to assess the performance of asphalt rubber mixtures and how effectively they can be used in construction, test sections of asphalt concrete surface courses using either asphalt rubber binder or the conventional binder were installed on a heavily traveled highway in Northern Virginia. Special equipment was required to blend the asphalt cement and crumb rubber; however, the production of the mixture and construction of the test sections were accomplished with minimal problems. Various laboratory tests including Marshall, gyratory shear, creep, resilient modulus, indirect tensile strength, and stripping were used to evaluate the mixtures in the laboratory. The results indicated that the asphalt rubber mixtures were more susceptible to permanent deformation than the same mixtures without rubber; however, the conventional temperature at which the mixtures were compacted and tested with the gyratory shear machine may not have presented a true estimate of performance because pavement deformation occurs at lower temperatures. Friction numbers of one section of asphalt rubber mixture were significantly lower at a 95% confidence level than friction numbers of the other asphalt rubber section, possibly the result of the pavement surface being filled by soil from a nearby construction project. However, there was no difference at a 95% confidence level between the average friction values of the control and asphalt rubber sections. Surveys of pavement performance, measurements of rut depth, and friction tests will be conducted periodically, and a final report will be published June 30, 1994.

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• Record URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/19296
• Corporate Authors:

  Virginia Transportation Research Council

  530 Edgemont Road
  Charlottesville, VA  United States  22903

  Virginia Department of Transportation

  1401 East Broad Street
  Richmond, VA  United States  23219

  University of Virginia, Charlottesville

  Center for Transportation Studies, P.O. Box 400742
  Charlottesville, VA  United States  22904-4742
• Authors:
  • Maupin Jr, G W
• Publication Date: 1991-10

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 26 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Asphalt concrete; Asphalt rubber; Creep tests; Deformation; Friction tests; Gyratory testing machines; Marshall test; Modulus of resilience; Pavement performance; Rutting; Stripping (Pavements); Tension tests; Test sections
• Uncontrolled Terms: Indirect tensile test; Rut depth
• Old TRIS Terms: Gyratory tests
• Subject Areas: Design; Highways; Materials; Pavements; I22: Design of Pavements, Railways and Guideways; I23: Properties of Road Surfaces; I31: Bituminous Binders and Materials;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00618048
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: VTRC 92-IR1, Project No. 9257
• Files: NTL, TRIS, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Dec 31 1991 12:00AM