Asphalt pavement rutting is one of the most commonly observed pavement distresses and is a major safety concern to transportation agencies. Millions of dollars are reportedly spent annually to repair rutted asphalt pavements. Research into improvements of hot-mix asphalt materials, mix designs and methods of pavement evaluation and design, including laboratory and field testing, can provide extended pavement life and significant cost savings in pavement maintenance and rehabilitation. This research describes a method of predicting the behaviour of various asphalt mixes and linking these behaviours to an accelerated performance testing tool and pavement in-situ performance. The elastic, plastic, viscoelastic and viscoplastic components of asphalt mix deformation are also examined for their relevance to asphalt rutting prediction. The finite element method (FEM) allows for analysis of nonlinear viscoplastic behaviour of asphalt mixes. This research determines the critical characteristics of asphalt mixes which control rutting potential and investigates the methods of laboratory testing which can be used to determine these characteristics. The Hamburg Wheel Rut Tester (HWRT) is used in this research for asphalt laboratory accelerated rutting resistance testing and for calibration of material parameters developed in triaxial repeated load creep and creep recovery testing. The rutting resistance criteria used in the HWRT are developed for various traffic loading levels. The results and mix ranking associated with the laboratory testing are compared with the results and mix ranking associated with FEM modeling and new mechanistic-empirical method of pavement design analyses. A good relationship is observed between laboratory measured and analytically predicted performance of asphalt mixes. The result of this research is a practical framework for developing material parameters in laboratory testing which can be used in FEM modeling of accelerated performance testing and pavement in-situ performance.

Asphalt pavement rutting is one of the most commonly observed pavement distresses and is a major safety concern to transportation agencies. Millions of dollars are reportedly spent annually to repair rutted asphalt pavements. Research into improvements of hot-mix asphalt materials, mix designs and methods of pavement evaluation and design, including laboratory and field testing, can provide extended pavement life and significant cost savings in pavement maintenance and rehabilitation. This research describes a method of predicting the behaviour of various asphalt mixes and linking these behaviours to an accelerated performance testing tool and pavement in-situ performance. The elastic, plastic, viscoelastic and viscoplastic components of asphalt mix deformation are also examined for their relevance to asphalt rutting prediction. The finite element method (FEM) allows for analysis of nonlinear viscoplastic behaviour of asphalt mixes. This research determines the critical characteristics of asphalt mixes which control rutting potential and investigates the methods of laboratory testing which can be used to determine these characteristics. The Hamburg Wheel Rut Tester (HWRT) is used in this research for asphalt laboratory accelerated rutting resistance testing and for calibration of material parameters developed in triaxial repeated load creep and creep recovery testing. The rutting resistance criteria used in the HWRT are developed for various traffic loading levels. The results and mix ranking associated with the laboratory testing are compared with the results and mix ranking associated with FEM modeling and new mechanistic-empirical method of pavement design analyses. A good relationship is observed between laboratory measured and analytically predicted performance of asphalt mixes. The result of this research is a practical framework for developing material parameters in laboratory testing which can be used in FEM modeling of accelerated performance testing and pavement in-situ performance.

No description available.

A deformação permanente é uma das principais patologias do revestimento asfáltico. Caracterizada pelo afundamento longitudinal do pavimento asfáltico, quando submetido ao carregamento de tensões elevadas. Conhecer o comportamento mecânico quanto à deformação permanente das misturas asfálticas é de grande relevância na busca da escolha correta da mistura a ser empregada no dimensionamento de um pavimento. O ensaio laboratorial que vem ganhando força no Brasil para avaliação do potencial de deformação plástica de misturas asfálticas é o ensaio uniaxial de carga repetida parametrizado pelo Flow Number (FN). Neste sentido, a presente pesquisa buscou analisar o comportamento à deformação permanente, através do ensaio uniaxial de carga repetida, de dez misturas asfálticas. Os materiais utilizados na pesquisa foram: agregados pétreos de origem basáltica e quatro diferentes ligantes asfálticos, a saber: concreto asfáltico denso - AMP 6085-E; concreto asfáltico denso – CAP TLA 30/45; concreto asfáltico gap-graded – AB-8 (com a incorporação de cal calcítica e cal dolomítica) e concreto asfáltico denso – CAP 30/45. As demais cincos misturas estudadas foram as mesmas, porém com a incorporação de um agente surfactante para redução das temperaturas de usinagem e compactação (misturas mornas). Os resultados mostraram que a mistura morna moldada com AMP 60/85 – E teve desempenho superior as demais misturas. O restante das misturas mornas apresentaram desempenho inferior ao das suas respectivas misturas quentes. Entre as misturas moldadas com AB-8 percebeu-se que a mistura (quente e morna) dosada com cal calcítica teve comportamento superior ao da mistura (quente e morna) com cal dolomítica, fator explicado pela quantidade superior de dióxido de cálcio disponível na cal. Quanto ao parâmetro FN, foi possível verificar que este parâmetro é mais sensível a taxa de deformação na zona secundária do que a magnitude de deformação sofrida pela mistura. Para um valor de FN igual a 300 (pistas de tráfego médio) reprovaria 6 das 10 misturas estudadas, sendo que as misturas com asfalto polímero e a mistura tipo gap-graded com AB-8 e cal calcítica foram as misturas de desempenho superior. / Rutting is one of the major distress types in asphalt pavements. It is characterized by the longitudinal permanent deformation and flow around the wheel path that occurs at the surface of an asphalt concrete pavement when subjected to high stresses. Understanding the mechanical behavior of permanent deformation development on asphalt mixtures is important to an appropriate choice of the mixture to be used in the pavement structure design. The uniaxial repeated load test, via the Flow Number (FN) parameter, has gained strength in Brazil to evaluate the plastic deformation development potential of asphalt mixtures. Hence, the present research attempted to analyze the permanent deformation behavior of ten asphalt mixes by means of the uniaxial repeated load test. The materials used in the research were basaltic stone aggregates and four different asphalt binders to fabricate the following mixes: Dense asphalt concrete with PMB 60/85-E; dense asphalt concrete with AC 30/45pen+TLA; gap-graded asphalt concrete with AR8 (calcitic lime and dolomitic lime added), and dense asphalt concrete with AC 30/45pen. The other five mixtures were the same, but with the incorporation of a surfactant additive to reduce mixing and compaction temperatures (warm mixtures). The results showed that the warm mix with PMB 60/85-E had a superior performance to the other mixtures. The other warm mixes studied displayed lower performance than their respective HMA. Among the mixtures with AR8, it was observed that both mixes (hot and warm) with added calcitic lime had superior behavior to both hot and warm mixes with dolomitic lime; arguably, an aspect explained by the higher quantity of available calcium dioxide available in the former lime. As for the parameter FN it was possible to verify that this parameter is more sensitive the rate of deformation in the secondary zone than the magnitude of the deformation suffered by the mixture. For a FN reference of minimum 300 cycles (medium traffic), 6 of the 10 mixtures studied would fail, being the mixtures with polymer modified binder and the gap-graded mixture with AR-8 and added calcitic lime the superior performance mixtures.

Field compaction of asphalt mixtures is an important process that influences performance of asphalt pavements; however there is very little effort devoted to evaluate the influence of compaction on the uniformity and properties of asphalt mixtures. The first part of this study evaluated relationships between different field compaction patterns and the uniformity of air void distribution in asphalt pavements. A number of projects with different asphalt mixture types were compacted, and cores were taken at different locations from these projects. The X-ray Computed Tomography (X-ray CT) system was used to capture the air void distributions in these cores. The analysis results have revealed that the uniformity of air void distribution is highly related to the compaction pattern and the sequence of different compaction equipment. More importantly, the efficiency of compaction (reducing air voids) at a point was found to be a function of the location of this point with respect to the compaction roller width. The results in this study supported the development of the "Compaction Index (CI)," which quantifies the degree of field compaction. The CI is a function of the number of passes at a point and the position of the point with respect to the compaction roller width. This index was found to correlate reasonably well with percent air voids in the pavement. The CI calculated from field compaction was also related to the slope of the compaction curve obtained from the Superpave gyratory compactor. This relationship offers the opportunity to predict field compactability based on laboratory measurements. The compaction of longitudinal joints was investigated, and recommendations were put forward to improve joint compaction. The air void distributions in gyratory specimens were related to the mixture mechanical properties measured using the Overlay and Hamburg tests. The second part of this study focused on studying the relationship between air void distribution and moisture diffusion. A laboratory test protocol was developed to measure the diffusion coefficient of asphalt mixtures. This important property has not measured before. The results revealed that the air void phase within the asphalt mixtures controls the rate of moisture diffusion. The measured diffusion coefficients correlated well with the percent and size of connected air voids. The measured diffusion coefficient is a necessary parameter in modeling moisture transport and predicting moisture damage in asphalt mixtures. The last part of this study investigated the resistance of asphalt mixtures with different percent air voids to moisture damage by using experimental methods and a fracture mechanics approach that accounts for fundamental material properties.

A deformação permanente é uma das principais patologias do revestimento asfáltico. Caracterizada pelo afundamento longitudinal do pavimento asfáltico, quando submetido ao carregamento de tensões elevadas. Conhecer o comportamento mecânico quanto à deformação permanente das misturas asfálticas é de grande relevância na busca da escolha correta da mistura a ser empregada no dimensionamento de um pavimento. O ensaio laboratorial que vem ganhando força no Brasil para avaliação do potencial de deformação plástica de misturas asfálticas é o ensaio uniaxial de carga repetida parametrizado pelo Flow Number (FN). Neste sentido, a presente pesquisa buscou analisar o comportamento à deformação permanente, através do ensaio uniaxial de carga repetida, de dez misturas asfálticas. Os materiais utilizados na pesquisa foram: agregados pétreos de origem basáltica e quatro diferentes ligantes asfálticos, a saber: concreto asfáltico denso - AMP 6085-E; concreto asfáltico denso – CAP TLA 30/45; concreto asfáltico gap-graded – AB-8 (com a incorporação de cal calcítica e cal dolomítica) e concreto asfáltico denso – CAP 30/45. As demais cincos misturas estudadas foram as mesmas, porém com a incorporação de um agente surfactante para redução das temperaturas de usinagem e compactação (misturas mornas). Os resultados mostraram que a mistura morna moldada com AMP 60/85 – E teve desempenho superior as demais misturas. O restante das misturas mornas apresentaram desempenho inferior ao das suas respectivas misturas quentes. Entre as misturas moldadas com AB-8 percebeu-se que a mistura (quente e morna) dosada com cal calcítica teve comportamento superior ao da mistura (quente e morna) com cal dolomítica, fator explicado pela quantidade superior de dióxido de cálcio disponível na cal. Quanto ao parâmetro FN, foi possível verificar que este parâmetro é mais sensível a taxa de deformação na zona secundária do que a magnitude de deformação sofrida pela mistura. Para um valor de FN igual a 300 (pistas de tráfego médio) reprovaria 6 das 10 misturas estudadas, sendo que as misturas com asfalto polímero e a mistura tipo gap-graded com AB-8 e cal calcítica foram as misturas de desempenho superior. / Rutting is one of the major distress types in asphalt pavements. It is characterized by the longitudinal permanent deformation and flow around the wheel path that occurs at the surface of an asphalt concrete pavement when subjected to high stresses. Understanding the mechanical behavior of permanent deformation development on asphalt mixtures is important to an appropriate choice of the mixture to be used in the pavement structure design. The uniaxial repeated load test, via the Flow Number (FN) parameter, has gained strength in Brazil to evaluate the plastic deformation development potential of asphalt mixtures. Hence, the present research attempted to analyze the permanent deformation behavior of ten asphalt mixes by means of the uniaxial repeated load test. The materials used in the research were basaltic stone aggregates and four different asphalt binders to fabricate the following mixes: Dense asphalt concrete with PMB 60/85-E; dense asphalt concrete with AC 30/45pen+TLA; gap-graded asphalt concrete with AR8 (calcitic lime and dolomitic lime added), and dense asphalt concrete with AC 30/45pen. The other five mixtures were the same, but with the incorporation of a surfactant additive to reduce mixing and compaction temperatures (warm mixtures). The results showed that the warm mix with PMB 60/85-E had a superior performance to the other mixtures. The other warm mixes studied displayed lower performance than their respective HMA. Among the mixtures with AR8, it was observed that both mixes (hot and warm) with added calcitic lime had superior behavior to both hot and warm mixes with dolomitic lime; arguably, an aspect explained by the higher quantity of available calcium dioxide available in the former lime. As for the parameter FN it was possible to verify that this parameter is more sensitive the rate of deformation in the secondary zone than the magnitude of the deformation suffered by the mixture. For a FN reference of minimum 300 cycles (medium traffic), 6 of the 10 mixtures studied would fail, being the mixtures with polymer modified binder and the gap-graded mixture with AR-8 and added calcitic lime the superior performance mixtures.

A deformação permanente é uma das principais patologias do revestimento asfáltico. Caracterizada pelo afundamento longitudinal do pavimento asfáltico, quando submetido ao carregamento de tensões elevadas. Conhecer o comportamento mecânico quanto à deformação permanente das misturas asfálticas é de grande relevância na busca da escolha correta da mistura a ser empregada no dimensionamento de um pavimento. O ensaio laboratorial que vem ganhando força no Brasil para avaliação do potencial de deformação plástica de misturas asfálticas é o ensaio uniaxial de carga repetida parametrizado pelo Flow Number (FN). Neste sentido, a presente pesquisa buscou analisar o comportamento à deformação permanente, através do ensaio uniaxial de carga repetida, de dez misturas asfálticas. Os materiais utilizados na pesquisa foram: agregados pétreos de origem basáltica e quatro diferentes ligantes asfálticos, a saber: concreto asfáltico denso - AMP 6085-E; concreto asfáltico denso – CAP TLA 30/45; concreto asfáltico gap-graded – AB-8 (com a incorporação de cal calcítica e cal dolomítica) e concreto asfáltico denso – CAP 30/45. As demais cincos misturas estudadas foram as mesmas, porém com a incorporação de um agente surfactante para redução das temperaturas de usinagem e compactação (misturas mornas). Os resultados mostraram que a mistura morna moldada com AMP 60/85 – E teve desempenho superior as demais misturas. O restante das misturas mornas apresentaram desempenho inferior ao das suas respectivas misturas quentes. Entre as misturas moldadas com AB-8 percebeu-se que a mistura (quente e morna) dosada com cal calcítica teve comportamento superior ao da mistura (quente e morna) com cal dolomítica, fator explicado pela quantidade superior de dióxido de cálcio disponível na cal. Quanto ao parâmetro FN, foi possível verificar que este parâmetro é mais sensível a taxa de deformação na zona secundária do que a magnitude de deformação sofrida pela mistura. Para um valor de FN igual a 300 (pistas de tráfego médio) reprovaria 6 das 10 misturas estudadas, sendo que as misturas com asfalto polímero e a mistura tipo gap-graded com AB-8 e cal calcítica foram as misturas de desempenho superior. / Rutting is one of the major distress types in asphalt pavements. It is characterized by the longitudinal permanent deformation and flow around the wheel path that occurs at the surface of an asphalt concrete pavement when subjected to high stresses. Understanding the mechanical behavior of permanent deformation development on asphalt mixtures is important to an appropriate choice of the mixture to be used in the pavement structure design. The uniaxial repeated load test, via the Flow Number (FN) parameter, has gained strength in Brazil to evaluate the plastic deformation development potential of asphalt mixtures. Hence, the present research attempted to analyze the permanent deformation behavior of ten asphalt mixes by means of the uniaxial repeated load test. The materials used in the research were basaltic stone aggregates and four different asphalt binders to fabricate the following mixes: Dense asphalt concrete with PMB 60/85-E; dense asphalt concrete with AC 30/45pen+TLA; gap-graded asphalt concrete with AR8 (calcitic lime and dolomitic lime added), and dense asphalt concrete with AC 30/45pen. The other five mixtures were the same, but with the incorporation of a surfactant additive to reduce mixing and compaction temperatures (warm mixtures). The results showed that the warm mix with PMB 60/85-E had a superior performance to the other mixtures. The other warm mixes studied displayed lower performance than their respective HMA. Among the mixtures with AR8, it was observed that both mixes (hot and warm) with added calcitic lime had superior behavior to both hot and warm mixes with dolomitic lime; arguably, an aspect explained by the higher quantity of available calcium dioxide available in the former lime. As for the parameter FN it was possible to verify that this parameter is more sensitive the rate of deformation in the secondary zone than the magnitude of the deformation suffered by the mixture. For a FN reference of minimum 300 cycles (medium traffic), 6 of the 10 mixtures studied would fail, being the mixtures with polymer modified binder and the gap-graded mixture with AR-8 and added calcitic lime the superior performance mixtures.

No description available.

Traditional asphalt mix design procedures are empirical and need random and lengthy trials in a laboratory, which can cost much labor, material resources, and finance. The initiative (Material Genome initiative) was launched by President Obama to revitalize American manufacturing. To achieve the objective of the MGI, three major tools which are computational techniques, laboratory experiments, and data analytics methods are supposed to have interacted. Designing asphalt mixture with laboratory and computation simulation methods has developed in recent decades. With the development of data science, establishing a new design platform for asphalt mixture based on data-driven methods is urgent. A balanced mix design, defined as an asphalt mix design simultaneously considering the ability of asphalt mixture to resist pavement distress, such as rutting, cracking, IRI (international roughness index), etc., is still the trend of future asphalt mix design. The service life of asphalt pavement mainly depends on the properties of the asphalt mixture. Whether asphalt mixture has good properties also depends on advanced asphalt mix design methods. Scientific mix design methods can improve engineering properties of asphalt mixture, further extending pavement life and preventing early distress of flexible pavement. Additionally, in traditional asphalt mix design procedures, the capability to resist pavement distress (rutting, IRI, and fatigue cracking) of a mixture is always evaluated based on laboratory performance tests (Hamburg wheel tracking device, Asphalt Pavement Analyzer, repeated flexural bending, etc.). However, there is an inevitable difference between laboratory tests and the real circumstance where asphalt mixture experiences because the pavement condition (traffic, climate, pavement structure) is varying and complex. The successful application examples of machine learning (ML) in all kinds of fields make it possible to establish the predictive models of pavement distress, with the inputs which contain asphalt concrete materials properties involved in the mix design process. Therefore, this study utilized historical data acquired from laboratory records, the LTPP dataset, and the NCHRP 1-37A report, data analytics and processing methods, as well as ML models to establish pavement distress predictive models, and then developed an automated and balanced mix design procedure, further lying a foundation to achieve an MGI mix design in the future. Specifically, the main research content can be divided into three parts:1. Established ML models to capture the relationship between properties of the binder, aggregates properties, gradation, asphalt content (effective and absorbed asphalt content), gyration numbers, and mixture volumetric properties for developing cost-saving Superpave and Marshall mix design methods; 2. Developed pavement distress (rutting, IRI, and fatigue cracking) predictive models, based on the inputs of asphalt concrete properties, other pavement materials information, pavement structure, climate, and traffic; 3. Proposed and verified an intelligent and balanced asphalt mix design procedure by combining the mixture properties prediction module, pavement distress predictive models and criteria, and non-dominated Sorting genetic algorithm-Ⅱ (NSGA-Ⅱ). It was discovered determining total asphalt content through predicting effective and absorbed asphalt content indirectly with ML models was more accurate than predicting total asphalt content directly with ML models; Pavement distress predictive models can achieve better predictive results than the calibrated prediction models of Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG); The design results for an actual project of surface asphalt course suggested that compared to the traditional ones, the asphalt contents of the 12.5 mm and 19 mm Nominal Maximum Aggregate Size (NMAS) mixtures designed by the automated mix design procedure drop by 7.6% and 13.2%, respectively; the percent passing 2.36 mm sieve of the two types of mixtures designed by the proposed mix design procedure fall by 17.8% and 10.3%, respectively. / Doctor of Philosophy / About 96% of roads are paved with asphalt mixture. Asphalt mixture consists of asphalt, aggregates, and additives. Asphalt mix design refers to the process to determine the proper proportion of aggregates, asphalt, and additives. Traditional asphalt mix design procedures in laboratories are empirical and cost much labor, material resources, and finance. Pavement distresses, for example, cracks are important indicators to assess pavement condition. With the development of data science, machine learning (ML) has been applied to various fields by predicting desired targets. The multi-objective optimization refers to determining the optimal solution of a multiple objectives problem. The study applied ML methods to predict asphalt mixture components' proportions and pavement distress with historical experimental data and pavement condition records from literature and an open-source database. Specifically, the main research content can be divided into three parts:1. Established ML models to predict the proportion of asphalt when aggregates are given; 2. Built ML models to predict pavement distress from pavement materials information, pavement structure, climate, and traffic; 3. Develop a digital asphalt mix design procedure by combining the pavement distress prediction models and a multi-objective optimization algorithm.

Asphalt mix design includes the determination of a gradation, asphalt content, other volumetric properties, the evaluation of mechanical properties and moisture damage potentials. In this study, a computational method is developed to aid mix design. Discrete element method (DEM) was used to simulate the formation of skeleton and voids structures of asphalt concrete of different gradations of aggregates. The optimum gradation could be determined by manipulating the particle locations and orientations and placing smaller particles in the voids among larger particles. This method aims at an optimum gradation, which has been achieved through experimental methods. However, this method takes the mechanical properties or performance of the mixture into consideration, such as inter-aggregate contacts and local stability. A simple visco-elastic model was applied to model the contacts between asphalt binder and aggregates. The surface texture of an aggregate particle can be taken into consideration in the inter-particle contact model. The void content before compactions was used to judge the relative merits of a gradation. Once a gradation is selected, the Voids in Mineral Aggregate (VMA) can be determined. For a certain air void content, the mastics volume or the binder volume or the asphalt content can be determined via a digital compression test. The surface area of all the aggregates and the film thickness can be then calculated. The asphalt content can also be determined using an alternative approach that is based on modeling the inter-particle contact with an asphalt binder layer. In this study, considering the necessity of preservation of the compaction temperature, the effect of various temperatures on Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) samples properties has been evaluated. As well, to evaluate the effect of this parameter on different grading, two different grading have been used and samples were compacted at various temperatures. Air voids also influence pore water pressure and shrinkage of asphalt binder and mixture significantly. The shrinkage is measured on a digital model that represents beams in a steel mold and is defined as the linear autogenous deformation at horizontal direction. / Ph. D.