Evaluating the Effect of Aging and Moisture Conditions on the Performance of Bituminous Mixtures
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Date
2021
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Abstract
Environmental factors such as aging and moisture intrusion significantly influence the performance of the bituminous mixture. Hence, the study’s objective was to evaluate the effect of aging and moisture conditions on the performance of bituminous mixtures. In this study, the effect of aging and moisture conditioning on Hot and Warm bituminous mixtures were evaluated using an indirect tensile strength (ITS) test, indirect tensile stiffness modulus (ITSM) test, fatigue test, and creep tests. In addition, adhesive failure (AF) in moisture conditioned (MC) fractured specimens and the loose bituminous mixture was determined using image analysis and photodetection technique.
This study noticed that an increase in moisture conditioning cycles or reduction in test temperature increased the coefficient of variation (CoV) of different cracking parameters. A one-way analysis of variance showed that ITS, fracture work density, and fracture energy parameters were sensitive to different aging and moisture conditioning levels. Furthermore, the cracking resistance parameters indicate that the WMA mixture was relatively moisture-resistant than HMA, attributed to additive characteristics. The AF was higher at 15 °C when compared to 25 °C. However, both HMA and WMA mixtures exhibited comparable adhesive failure. In conjunction with the tensile strength ratio, AF was used to classify moisture susceptibility into three zones. The study also highlights that fracture energy can serve as a measure of cracking resistance in the presence of moisture.
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Supervisor: Kumar, Anjan S
Keywords
Aging, Moisture, Adhesion Failure, Fatigue Cracking, Creep Resistance, Warm Mix Additive, Calcareous Aggregate, Siliceous Aggregate