Research on the affecting factors and characteristic of asphalt mixture temperature field during compaction

Abstract

The characteristic of temperature field plays a significant role in the compaction quality of asphalt pavement, and various factors could affect the thermal parameters of the pavement and thus affect the distribution of the temperature field during compaction. In this research, the temperature transfer theoretical model and finite element model of asphalt pavement were established and calibrated through field measured data, and the sensitivity analysis was conducted to evaluate the factors affecting the temperature field, also a quantitative model of effective compaction time was established. The results found that the initial rolling temperature and layer thickness affected the overall temperature field during compaction, and the wind speed and air temperature mainly affected the temperature field of the upper layer of hot mix asphalt (HMA). The change of the underlying layer temperature mainly affected the temperature field of the bottom of the layer. The established quantitative model provided a mathematic tool for the guidance of the field compaction process.