Investigate the Moisture Damage Mechanism in Asphalt Mixtures Using Thermodynamic Parameters and Mixing Design

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

1 Amirkabir University of Technology

2 Civil،Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch, Tehran,Iran

Abstract

 Moisture damage in asphalt mixtures is defined by loss of strength and durability due to water availability. The lack of correlation between the damage mechanism in the laboratory and the field conditions, the lack of measurement of the effective properties of the materials and their role, the lack of a corrective strategy and other shortcomings of existing laboratory methods to determine the moisture sensitivity has led researchers in recent years to consider providing methods based on effective parameters in damage events. Accordingly, this study is an attempt to provide a prediction model of moisture sensitivity using thermodynamic parameters and mixing design that can predict and analyze the asphalt mixture’s performance against moisture. 24 different combinations of asphalt mixtures have been investigated using three types of aggregate with different performance against moisture, two types of asphalt binder and three types of additives in this study. The surface free energy components of asphalt binder and aggregate were measured using a sticky drops and a general absorption device, respectively. To provide a prediction model for the performance of the moisture sensitivity of asphalt mixtures, the simulation of the conditions according to AASHTO T283 standard has been used and the indirect tensile resilient modulus test in dry and wet conditions has been performed. The results of this research indicate that the use of anti-stripping additives can generally improve the performance of asphalt mixtures against moisture, but the type and percentage of these additives should be determined according to the type of aggregate, the type of asphalt binder and the properties of the mixing plan for asphalt mixture. According to the proposed model, it can be said that the parameters of cohesive free energy, adhesive free energy of asphalt binder-aggregate in dry conditions, the coating of aggregates by asphalt binder, the specific surface area of the aggregates and the apparent thickness of the asphalt binder membrane on the aggregate surface directly and the energy released by the system during the occurrence of stripping, the percentage of saturation and the permeability of the asphalt mixture, inversely affect the asphalt mix’s strength against moisture damage

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