Abstract
Crack sealing and seal coats are used to prevent the ingress of water into the pavement, thus delaying its deterioration. Yet, earlier studies indicated that sealing pavements in areas with high ground water table (GWT) prevented moisture from escaping upwards through the cracks of asphalt pavements, therefore, accelerating stripping. The objectives of this study were to determine whether these treatments contribute to stripping in Asphalt Concrete (AC) and/or moisture accumulation in the base and to evaluate the effect of GWT, rain, and traffic on subsurface failures under these treatments. In this study, nine test sections included in the Long-Term Pavement Performance (LTPP) program and several field chip seal projects in Louisiana were analyzed. Results indicated that these treatments do not contribute to stripping. However, the cause of common stripping under these treatments in the Southern United States is moisture entrapment under the AC layer under shallow GWT conditions, which is also the key contributor to stripping under unsealed sections.
Highlights
Preventive maintenance techniques, including crack sealing and seal coats, are commonly used to improve the functional conditions of asphalt pavements
It could be established that shallow Ground Water Table (GWT) accelerates moisture damage in Asphalt Concrete (AC) whether the pavement surface is sealed or not due to moisture entrapment under the AC layer itself
District 7, which is generally characterized by its shallow GWT had the highest percentage of stripped cores for chip-sealed and unsealed sections. This observation suggests that shallow GWT could contribute to moisture damage in AC pavements in general due to moisture entrapment under the AC layer
Summary
Preventive maintenance techniques, including crack sealing and seal coats, are commonly used to improve the functional conditions of asphalt pavements. The primary objectives of this study were to (a) determine whether crack sealing and seal coats contribute to stripping in the AC layer and/or moisture accumulation in the base layer; and (b) evaluate the effect of GWT, rain, and traffic on the subsurface failures under these treatments. These objectives were achieved by analyzing AC test sections included in the Long-Term Pavement Performance (LTPP) program as well as analyzing chip seal sections in Louisiana. This study evaluated stripping under crack sealing and seal coats and their relationship to the most relevant contributing factors
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