Thermal distress in asphalt concrete pavements is a widespread problem around the world. Thermal cracking can be divided into two modes of distress: low temperature cracking and thermal fatigue cracking. Low temperature cracking results from extremely cold temperatures; thermal fatigue cracking results from daily temperature cycles. Low temperature cracking is attributed to tensile stresses induced in the asphalt concrete pavement as the temperature drops to an extremely low temperature. If the pavement is cooled, tensile stresses develop as a result of the pavement's tendency to contract. The friction between the pavement and the base layer resists the contraction. If the tensile stress equals the strength of the mixture at that temperature, a micro-crack develops at the surface of the pavement. Under repeated temperature cycles, the crack penetrates the full depth and across the asphalt concrete layer. The thermal stress restrained specimen test (TSRST) was identified as an accelerated laboratory test to evaluate the thermal cracking resistance of asphalt concrete mixtures. The TSRST system developed at OSU includes a load system, data control/acquisition system and software, temperature control system, and specimen alignment stand. The overall system is controlled by a personal computer. A TSRST is conducted by cooling an asphalt concrete specimen at a specified rate while monitoring the specimen at constant length. A typical thermally-induced stress curve is divided into two parts: relaxation and non-relaxation. The temperature at which the curve is divided into two parts is termed the transition temperature. The temperature at fracture is termed the fracture temperature and the maximum stress is the fracture strength. An extensive number of TSRSTs over a wide range of conditions were performed to investigate the thermal cracking resistance of asphalt concrete mixtures. The TSRST results provided a very strong indication of low temperature cracking resistance for all mixtures considered. A ranking of mixtures for low temperature cracking resistance based on the TSRST fracture temperature was in excellent agreement with a ranking based on the physical properties of the asphalt cements. It is highly recommended that the TSRST be used in mix evaluation to identify low temperature cracking resistance of asphalt concrete mixtures. The TSRST showed very promising results regarding the effect of all variables which are currently considered to affect the low temperature cracking of mixtures. The variables considered to have significant affect on the low temperature cracking resistance of mixtures in this study include asphalt type, aggregate type, degree of aging, cooling rate, and stress relaxation. / Graduation date: 1994

Testing of asphalt binders and asphalt-aggregate mixtures using dynamic mechanical analysis is becoming popular with improvements in high-speed computers, precision equipment, and computer software. Researchers are trying to describe the behavior of asphalt binders and asphalt-aggregate mixtures in terms of their time- and temperature-dependent linear viscoelastic behavior. The objectives of this thesis were to develop a simplified pneumatic test to perform dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), to evaluate the performance of the pneumatic and hydraulic test systems using the computer software developed to perform DMA tests, and, to develop a simplified method to evaluate the experimental data obtained from DMA tests on aged asphalt-aggregate mixtures. A simplified pneumatic test system was developed to perform DMA. Computer software was also developed to perform DMA testing on both the simplified pneumatic and hydraulic test systems. DMA was performed on both test systems to compare their performance, and on aged asphalt-aggregate mixtures to evaluate the application of the simplified method. The results from the pneumatic and hydraulic test systems show that there is about a 20 percent difference in the complex modulus, especially at high loading frequencies. This is due to the compressibility of the air used in the pneumatic test system. The compressibility of air is greater at warmer temperatures than at cooler temperatures. Therefore, the application of the pneumatic test system to perform dynamic testing should be limited to low frequencies ( < 2 Hz), low temperatures ( < 25°C), and low load ( < 454 kg (1000 lbs.)) applications unless a modification can be made to increase the pneumatic cylinder's response time to match the hydraulic cylinder's response time. The simplified analysis method developed in this thesis divides the DMA results into four complex modulus and five phase angle parameters. These parameters describe the shapes of the master stiffness and phase angle curves and distinguished between the different asphalt-aggregate mixtures and the aging methods performed on the aged asphalt-aggregate mixtures. The phase angle parameters were reduced into two variables, peak frequency and peak angle, which vary with the aging of each asphalt-aggregate mixture. The peak frequency and peak angle decrease as the aging severity increases and the change of peak frequency and peak angle vary with the asphalt-aggregate mixture and aging treatment. Therefore, the complex modulus parameters and peak frequency and peak angle may be good indicators to describe how a master curve's shape varies with asphalt, aggregate, and aging type. / Graduation date: 1993

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Texas at El Paso, 2008. / Title from title screen. Vita. CD-ROM. Includes bibliographical references. Also available online.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Carleton University, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 138-146). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis (M.S.) -- Mississippi State University. Department of Civil Engineering. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.

Orientador: João Virgilio Merighi / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Civil, Arquitetura e Urbanismo / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-12T06:59:48Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Silva_LuizAntonioda_M.pdf: 2904886 bytes, checksum: 2b2402e2537cbd9db0a35d64244be674 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008 / Resumo: Este trabalho versa sobre métodos de levantamento de defeitos e avaliação das condições estruturais, funcionais e de segurança dos pavimentos asfálticos nas estradas estaduais sob a jurisdição do Departamento de Estradas de Rodagem do Estado de São Paulo - DER/SP. Aborda também alguns aspectos administrativos da Autarquia Estadual, aonde atuo como engenheiro de carreira na área de planejamento e de projeto. O DER/SP tem como missão administrar o sistema rodoviário estadual, sua integração com as rodovias municipais e federais e a sua interação com os demais modos de transporte, objetivando o atendimento aos usuários no transporte de pessoas e cargas. Para atender o crescimento acelerado da demanda de tráfego do Estado mais desenvolvido da Nação é imprescindível a ininterrupta execução de serviços de manutenção da rede existente e de construção de novas alternativas. Hoje com a relativa facilidade de acesso a uma ampla e variada tecnologia, aliada a uma crescente quantidade de boas empresas consultoras existentes no mercado, o DER/SP vem procurando desenvolver um Sistema de Gerência de Pavimentos (SGP-DER/SP). Enfim, o Estado de São Paulo que já teve no seu órgão rodoviário oficial a mais importante escola de rodoviarismo brasileira, está se adequando a um novo sistema de gestão para fazer jus à sua condição de principal Estado de um País de índole rodoviária. / Abstract: This master's thesis examines methods for survey and assessment of the structural, functional and safe conditions of asphalt pavements at the roads under the control of the Sao Paulo State Road Department (Departamento de Estradas de Rodagem do Estado de São Paulo - DER/SP). It also discusses some administrative aspects of the DER/SP, where I have worked as an engineer in the planning and project areas, which has the mission to manage the State road system, its integration with local and national roads and its interaction with other transport modes, aiming at providing transportation for people and cargo. In order to meet the fast growing traffic demand of the State of Sao Paulo, which is the most developed State of the country, it is vital to continuously keep the maintenance of the existing road net and the construction of new alternatives. Nowadays, with a relatively easy access to a wide range of technologies together with a growing supply of good consultancy companies, the DER/SP has attempted to develop a Pavements Management System (PMS-DER/SP). Therefore, the DER/SP, which once had been the most important brazilian road school, it has adapted itself to a new management system in order to be entitled to the position of the Road Department of the main State of the country, which is known for its road tradition. / Mestrado / Transportes / Mestre em Engenharia Civil

This research presents the results on an experimental investigation to identify the effect of polyphosphoric acid (PPA) on aging characteristics of an asphalt binder. Addition of PPA to asphalt binders is said to improve performance of flexible pavements. Asphalt binder PG 64-22 in modified and unmodified conditions was subjected to aging in the laboratory using a regular oven and also simulated short term aging using rolling thin film oven (RTFO) test. Aging experiments were conducted to analyze the extent of oxidation in terms of changes in molecular structure of the asphalt binder. These changes were appraised using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, dynamic shear rheometer (DSR), and epifluorescence microscopy tests. FTIR was used to determine the changes in major bands with addition of PPA. Stiffness and viscoelastic behaviors of asphalts were determined from the DSR test. The stiffness is measured by calculating the shear modulus, G* and the viscoelastic behavior is measured by calculating the phase angle, sin &#948;. Epifluorescence microscopy is a tool used to study properties of organic or inorganic substances. The morphological characteristics of PPA modified asphalt samples were observed through epifluorescence microscopy. Epifluorescence microscopy reveals the polymer phase distribution in the asphalt binders. Results of this investigation show PPA addition to asphalt binders improve G*/sin &#948; characteristics of asphalt binders. In addition, presence of PPA in polymer containing asphalt did not adversely affect aging of the binders.

Thesis (MEng)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Flexible pavement designers have a choice of two wearing course: either asphalt concrete or surfacing seals. The latter have been widely used by several countries as their preferred wearing course over other methods, especially countries with a limited number of average inhabitants per square kilometre. Moreover, the surfacing seals were identified as an efficient cost effective road preventive maintenance technique. Surfacing seals in New Zealand, South Africa and Australia cover about 65%, 80% and 90% of their surfaced road networks respectively. The preference of surfacing seals is due to their competitive initial cost and ease of construction. In South Africa, the life expectancy of surfacing seals varies between 8 and 12 years with an average of 10 years. This has not been the case in a number of surfacing seals constructed in winter, especially when the night recorded temperature is below 10oC. The dominant failure mechanism is ravelling (chip loss) soon after construction due to traffic loading. This chip loss is linked to the poor adhesion bond development rate in the bitumen-aggregate system during winter adverse conditions. In order to address the issue of premature chip loss the need for the development of a robust adhesion test method was identified. For that purpose, recently, researchers in the bitumen industry developed the Bitumen Bond Strength test method. This method was used in this study. This study intends to contribute to the understanding of binder-aggregate adhesion bond development for winter surfacing seals using the BBS test. Binder type, precoat type and conditioning, aggregate type and curing time are amongst the factors influencing winter seals adhesion bond performance. An experimental matrix involving three types of binder, two types of aggregate, four different precoating fluids, two precoat conditionings and two binder-curing times were then developed and investigated. Winter weather parameters affecting adhesion properties were also taken into consideration during the course of the investigation. Throughout the test, the procedure described in AASHTO TP 91-11 was followed. However, in order to enhance the control of the binder application temperature, a new method for hot applied binder sample preparation was developed as part of this study. The findings show that there is a significant difference between adhesion properties of the hot applied binders (70/100 and S-E1) and the emulsion (SC-E1). In most of the cases, the hot applied binders performed better than the emulsion. The failure mode observed was found to be linked to the condition of the precoating. The influence of the precoat type and conditioning, and effect of binder curing time were significantly highlighted. The use of a dry precoat benefited the adhesion bond strength up to around 50% relatively to the corresponding non-precoated combination. However, a decrement in the bond strength due to precoating of up to 28.7% was also observed. A statistical analysis using ANOVA did not illustrate any statistical significant effect of the aggregate type. The interaction effects analysis using ANOVA revealed the aggregate type interacting with precoat type to be the most influential interaction at level two. The precoat conditioning implication to the adhesion development rate, which influences the time for opening to traffic after construction, was illustrated. Insightful aspects on the compatibility between the binder type and precoat type and conditioning during the aggregate precoating practices and on the time for opening to traffic are highlighted. Finally, the repeatability analysis proved the BBS test to be a repeatable testing method with caution. Recommendations for further studies that could support the conclusions drawn in this study were provided. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Buigbare plaveiselontwerpers het 'n keuse van twee deklae: óf Asfalt of oppervlak seëls. Laasgenoemde word algemeen gebruik deur verskeie lande as hul voorkeur deklaag, veral die lande met beperkte aantal gemiddelde inwoners per vierkante kilometer. Verder, is die seëls geïdentifiseer as 'n doeltreffende koste-effektiewe deklaag tegniek. Oppervlakseëls in Nieu-Seeland, Suid-Afrika en Australië dek ongeveer 65%, 80% en 90% van hul padnetwerke onderskeidelik. Die seëls se voorkeur is te danke aan hul mededingende aanvanklike koste en eenvoudige vorm van die konstruksie. In Suid-Afrika wissel die seël se lewensverwagting tussen 8 en 12 jaar met 'n gemiddeld van 10 jaar. Dit is egter nie die geval van 'n aantal seëls wat in die winter gebou word nie, veral wanneer die aangetekende nagtemperatuur onder 10o C daal nie. Die dominante swigtingsmeganisme is stroping (klipverlies) kort na konstruksie. Hierdie klipverlies is gekoppel aan die power kleef-ontwikkeling van bitumen gedurende die winter. Ten einde die probleem van voortydige klipverlies aan te spreek het die behoefte vir die ontwikkeling van 'n robuuste toetsmetode ontstaan. Om hierdie rede het navorsers onlangs in die bitumenbedryf die “BBS toetsmetode” ontwikkel en is dié toetsmetode in hierdie studie gebruik. Hierdie studie beoog om by te dra tot die begrip van bindmiddel-klip kleefontwikkeling vir die winter seëls dmv die BBS toets. Die faktore, insluitend maar nie beperk tot bindmiddeltipe, voorafdekking (“PRECOAT”) -tipe en kondisionering, aggregaattipe en kuurtyd beïnvloed winter seëls se kleefeienskappe. 'n Eksperimentele matriks met drie tipes bindmiddels, twee tipes aggregate, vier verskillende voorafdekking-vloeistowwe, twee voorafdekking kondisionering en twee bindmiddel kuurtye is toe ontwikkel en ondersoek. Winter weer parameters wat kleefeienskappe beïnvloed is ook in ag geneem tydens die verloop van die ondersoek. Regdeur die studie is die prosedure AASHTO TP 91-11 gevolg, maar ten einde die beheer van die bindmiddel spuittemperatuur te verbeter, is ‘n nuwe metode vir warmspuit-bindmonsters voorbereiding ontwikkel as deel van hierdie studie. Die bevindinge toon dat daar 'n beduidende verskil tussen die kleefeienskappe van die warm aangewende bindmiddels (70/100 en S-E1) en die emulsie (SC-E1) is. In die meeste van die gevalle het die warmspuit-bindmiddels beter as emulsie gevaar. Daar is gevind dat die swigtingsmeganisme verbind word met die toestand van die voorafdekking. Die invloed van voorafdekkingtipe, kondisionering, en die effek van bindmiddelkuurtyd is duidelik uitgelig. Die gebruik van droë voorafdekking het die kleefkrag tot sowat 50% verhoog relatief tot die ooreenstemmende onbedekte klipkombinasie. Daar is egter ook ‘n verlaging van die kleefkrag weens voorafdekking gevind van tot so hoog soos 28,7 persent. Die statistiese ontleding met behulp van ANOVA het geen statisties beduidende effek van die verksillende aggregaattipe te vore gebring nie. Die interaksie-effek analise, met behulp van ANOVA, het wel die interaksie met voorafdekkingtipe met aggregaat die mees invloedryke bevestig. Die voorafdekking kondisioneering het ver rykende kleefkrag implikasies bloot gelê, wat die tyd vir die opening van die verkeer na konstruksie beïnvloed. Insigwekkende aspekte oor die versoenbaarheid tussen die bindmiddeltipe, voorafdekkingtipe, kondisionering, voorafdekkingpraktyk en tyd tot opening vir verkeer word uitgelig. Ten slotte, die herhaalbaarheidsanalise het die BBS toets as 'n herhaalbare toetsmetode met omsigtigheid bewys. Daar is aanbevelings tot verdere studies, wat uit die gevolgtrekking gekom het, gemaak.

Thesis (MScEng)--Stellenbosch University, 2005. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The convection heat transfer coefficient between an infinite, horizontal surface and the natural environment is determined experimentally. It is shown that, during daytime, heat is transferred due to natural and forced convection, while during nighttime heat is transferred due to conduction and forced convection. Equations that correlate the daytime and nighttime convective heat transfer coefficients respectively, are presented. The results are compared with values obtained by other investigators. The equations for the convection heat transfer coefficient are then used to predict the surface temperature and the temperature at depth of asphalt pavement samples using a simulation model. It is found that there is good agreement between the measured and the predicted asphalt pavement sample temperatures. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die konveksie warmteoordrags-koëffisiënt tuseen 'n oneindige, horisontale oppervlak en die natuurlike omgewing is eksperimenteel bepaal. Daar word getoon dat warmte, tydens die dag, oorgedra word deur natuurlike en geforseerde konveksie, terwyl warmte tydens die nag oorgedra word deur geleiding en geforseerde konveksie. Die resultate word vergelyk met die resultate van ander navorsers. Vergelykings wat die konveksie warmteoordrags-koëffisiënt gedurende die dag en nag onderskeidelik korreleer word voorgestel. Die vergelykings vir die konveksie warmteoordrags-koëffisiënt word dan gebruik in 'n simulasiemodel om die oppervlaktemperatuur en die temperatuur onder die oppervlakte van asfalt-padoppervlakmonsters te voorspel.

Rut formation has long been recognized as a distress mechanism in flexible pavements. One of the causes of rut formation in flexible pavements is permanent deformation of uppermost asphalt concrete layers due to repeatedly applied traffic loading. The long term permanent deformation of asphalt concrete under repeated load is commonly called as dynamic creep. The primary objective of this thesis is to examine dynamic creep behavior of asphalt concrete specimens tested in laboratory and also study some suitable mathematical models for representing dynamic creep behavior. In this study, a set of uniaxial repeated load creep tests were performed on standard Marshall specimens prepared at three different bitumen contents. The effects of bitumen content and test condition parameters on dynamic creep behavior are examined. Among several mathematical creep models suggested by researchers, two well known models and a model proposed by the author are selected for representing the laboratory creep behavior. For each of these models, the interactions of the model parameters with varying bitumen content and test conditions are studied to detect probable definite trends, and to evaluate whether some relations for the model parameters as functions of bitumen content and test conditions can be developed or not. The results of analyses showed that all three mathematical models used in this study are successful in representing the laboratory dynamic creep behavior of asphalt concrete. The Power Model which has only two parameters is found to be the most stable and suitable model for parametric study among the three selected models. More consistent and definite interactions are observed between the parameters of this model and test conditions. However, within the scope of this study, no relations could be developed for the parameters of selected models as functions of bitumen content and test conditions because of limited test data.