Design parameter and method for airport asphalt mixture based on high-temperature performance

Abstract

The objective of this study is to establish a design system oriented towards the rutting resistance of paving asphalt mixture. To achieve this goal, a series of experiments and analyses were conducted, including the selection of design parameter, the establishment of design method and the verification of design system. Test results indicated that in comparison with uniaxial penetration strength (UPS) and Marshall stability (MS), uniaxial compression strength (UCS) had a higher sensitivity to asphalt content and was thus suitable as a design parameter. Correlation analysis showed that linear correlation between UCS and dynamic stability was more significant with Pearson correlation coefficient (PCC) exceeding 0.8 for various types of asphalt mix, exhibiting an accurate characterization to the anti-rutting ability of asphalt mix. Moreover, 2.94 MPa was proposed as the design critical value based on fitting equation. Compared to conventional design method, the asphalt mixture from proposed method possessed a better high-temperature performance, especially under severe in-service condition where flow number increased by 27.5% to 37.1% in repeated load permanent deformation (RLPD) test and impression depth decreased by 18.3% to 19.7% in Hamburg wheel tracking (HWT) test. This research provided a new idea for anti-rutting technology innovation of asphalt pavement in civil airport field from the aspect of paving materials design.