Study into the effect of designing parameters of asphalt mixture on its resistance to ageing phenomenon

ABSTRACT

Ageing phenomenon plays a key role on asphalt mixtures performance and durability, being susceptible to diverse designing factors that can be adjusted during both design and industrial manufacturing process. Thus, this paper focused on assessing the effect of main designing factors on the ageing rate of asphalt mixtures. It was evaluated the influence of type and quantity of bitumen, the dosage of filler and the impact of mineral skeleton on the ageing process of a gap-graded mixture, when ranging such parameters within acceptable values due to possible slight changes during manufacturing process. Results denoted that all factors presented a relevant impact on the range of change in material stiffness, deformation susceptibility and resistance to fatigue cracking due to ageing process. According to the results, the type of bitumen and filler content were seen as the most influential factors while the quantity of sand presenting lower levels of variation due to ageing, obtaining a more durable and resistant material when using a denser mineral skeleton.

KEYWORDS:

• Asphalt mixture
• ageing
• designing
• cracking
• ductility

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).