Effects of Aging and Moisture Damage on Asphaltic Mixture

Abstract

Moisture damage in asphalt mixtures refers to the loss of strength and durability due to the presence of water. Road network is showing severe deterioration such as raveling and stripping because the bond between aggregates and asphalt film is broken due to water intrusion. To minimize moisture damage asphalt mixes are investigated to evaluate the effect of air voids degree of saturation media of attack and the conditioning period. Moisture damage is one of the major issues in asphalt distress. It is due to the adhesive and cohesive failure of the asphalt mixture and it will shorten pavement life. Moisture-sensitive mixtures need to be identified during the course of the mixture design process which fulfil the specified minimum standard. The laboratory testing procedures currently available for compacted Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) to test the moisture sensitivity were primarily developed to determine the degree of resistance to moisture damage by a particular combination of asphalt and aggregate. These moisture sensitivity tests evaluate the effect of moisture damage in the laboratory by measuring the relative change of a single parameter before and after conditioning (i.e. Tensile Strength Ratio Resilient Modulus Ratio).