Permanent Deformation Analysis of Hot-Mix Asphalt Mixtures with Simple Performance Tests and 2002 Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Software

Abstract

A complex laboratory study in characterization of permanent deformation resistance of hot-mix asphalt (HMA) mixtures is presented. Six plant-produced HMA mixtures were selected for this study. The main objective was to characterize the permanent deformation characteristics of HMA mixtures based on four laboratory tests, namely, the dynamic modulus |E*|, flow number, frequency sweep at constant height (FSCH), and Hamburg-type loaded wheel-tracking tests. The secondary objective was to evaluate the sensitivity of the dynamic modulus |E*|-test results in pavement rutting performance prediction with the 2002 mechanistic-empirical (M-E) pavement design software. Test results indicate that the |E*|-test was sensitive to the nominal maximum aggregate size in an HMA mixture. Larger aggregates combined with aged materials tend to have high |E*|-values at high temperatures. However, both the |E*|- and FSCH tests could not correctly rank the permanent deformation characteristics for the six HMA mixtures considered i...