Analysis of Pore Water Pressure Effect in Asphalt Patch Failure: An Integrated Modelling and Experiment Study

Abstract

Moisture has been widely accepted as the main cause of asphalt patch failure, while the investigation of pore water pressure (PWP) in asphalt patch is limited. This research investigated the PWP generated in asphalt patch and quantified its impact on mechanical performance considering the inadequate compaction of asphalt patch. A hydro-mechanical model was first developed to analyze the PWP under field conditions, considering the effects of patch geometry, vehicle wandering, traffic loading, and temperature. The moisture-induced stress tester (MIST) was then used to condition patching materials under different PWP levels in a laboratory. After that, indirect tensile (IDT) and interface shear strengths of patching materials were evaluated to quantify the impact of PWP on material degradation. The numerical modeling results show that the maximum PWP can be within or at the interface of the asphalt patch, depending on the wheel path. The magnitude of PWP is related to the patch geometry, traffic load, and temperature. The maximum PWP, whether inside or at the interface of the asphalt patch, can be from 100 kPa to over 300 kPa under common field conditions. The laboratory experimental results suggest that the first 500 cycles of MIST conditioning led to over 30% decrease in both IDT and interface shear strengths of asphalt patch, and the strength ratio was much lower than the recommended level. These findings indicate that asphalt patches with poor compaction quality are very susceptible to moisture-induced damage, and the mechanical performance of patching material should be evaluated after conditioning with PWP effect.