A long-term field study of the ability to predict thermal cracking of asphalt mixtures tested by the Bending Beam Rheometer

Abstract

If an asphalt mixture's low-temperature performance is evaluated before its application on a pavement, the costs and carbon footprint of materials in pavement maintenance and rehabilitation during cold seasons can be reduced significantly. This goal is met in this long-term study by conducting two experiments that spanned eight years. The Bending Beam Rheometer (BBR) was used in this study by following the AASHTO TP125–16 procedure. The first stage consists of documentation of in-field pavement performance and development of a ‘limit criterion’ of the low-temperature performance of asphalt mixtures on a modified Black Space diagram. The second stage shows the application of this criterion on different asphalt mixtures obtained from seven construction projects in Utah, United States, during the 2018–19 construction season. This evaluation technique helps select proper materials during the decision-making process and serves as a quality acceptance tool during construction.

KEYWORDS:

• Hot-mix asphalt
• thermal cracking
• Bending Beam Rheometer
• BBR
• low-temperature performance
• Black Space

Acknowledgment

The authors express their sincere gratitude to the UDOT and United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) through the Mountain-Plains Consortium (MPC) for providing funds for this study (UDOT Contract: 17–1921). UDOT also supplied the materials used in this research. Mr. Shuangli Bao also helped during the sample preparation phases of the study.

Data statement

The data for the BBR field study described here is accessible at the following link: Romero. (2019). Evaluation of Materials for Low-Temperature Asphalt Pavement Performance, BBR Field study [Data set]. Zenodo. http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.2827033

Disclosure statement

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

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Utah Department of Transportation [Grant Number UDOT Contract: 17-1921].