Experimental study of pavement performance of basalt fiber-modified asphalt mixture

To discuss the pavement performance of basalt fiber-modified asphalt mixtures,the optimum dosages of asphalt and fibers are studied by the Marshall test and the rutting test.The results demonstrate that the optimum dosages of asphalt and fibers are 4.63% and 0.3%,respectively.Then the pavement performances of basalt（polyester,xylogen）fiber-modified asphalt mixtures are investigated through high temperature stability tests,water stability tests and low temperature crack resistance tests.It indicates that the pavement performances of the fiber-modified asphalt mixtures such as rutting dynamic stability,freezing splitting tensile strength,low temperature crack resistance and so on are improved compared with control asphalt mixture.The results show that the pavement performances of asphalt mixtures can be improved by fiber-modifiers.Besides,the improvement effects of basalt fiber are superior to polyester fiber and xylogen fiber.

Characterizing uncertainty in pavement performance prediction

Taking variability and uncertainty involved in performance prediction into account, in order to make the prediction reliable and meaningful, a distribution-based method is developed to predict future PSI. This method, which is based on the AASHTO pavement performance model, treats predictor variables as random variables with certain probability distributions and obtains the distribution of future PSI through the method of Monte-Carlo simulation. A computer program PERFORM using Monte Carlo simulation is developed to implement the numerical computation. Simulation results based on pavement and traffic parameters show that traffic, surface layer material property, and initial pavement performance are the most significant factors affecting pavement performance. Once the distribution of future PSI is determined, statistics such as the mean and the variance of future PSI are readily available.

Performance prediction of expressway pavement in high maintenance level areas based on cosine deterioration equation: A case study of Zhejiang Province in China

Accurate prediction of performance decay law is an important basis for long-term planning of maintenance strategy.The statistical regression prediction model is the most widely employed method to calculate pavement performance due to its advantages such as the small amount of calculation and good accuracy,but the traditional prediction model seems not applicable to the high maintenance level areas with excellent pavement conditions.In this paper,the service life and the cumulative number of the axle load were determined as the independent variables of prediction models of pavement performance.The pavement condition index(PCI)and rutting depth index(RDI)were selected as maintenance decision control indexes to establish the unified prediction model of PCI and RDI respectively by applying the cosine deterioration equation.Results reveal that the deterioration law of PCI presents an anti-S type or concave type and the deterioration law of RDI shows an obvious concave type.The prediction model proposed in this study added the pavement maintenance standard factor d,which brings the model parameterα(reflecting the road life)and the deterioration equations are more applicable than the traditional standard equations.It is found that the fitting effects of PCI and RDI prediction models with different traffic grades are relatively similar to the actual service state of the pavements.

Design of dense gap-graded friction course mixture

The design procedure of a dense gap-graded friction course（DGGFC） with coarse aggregate void filling method is presented. Testing results show that a DGGFC mixture possesses a dense stone-matrix structure, good stability and almost the same texture depth as stone matrix asphalt （SMA）. It also has a coarse and even surface after paving and has no separation during construction. It is durable and impermeable. It balances and improves the inherent inconsistency of asphalt mixture between the large texture depth for skid resistance and the impermeability for durability. The actual application in the Nanning-Liuzhou Expressway also shows that the performance of the DGGFC is as excellent as that of SMA, while the DGGFC mixture is cheaper than SMA. The DGGFC mixture is good for wearing course of pavement. Further research on DGGFC can be helpful for improving the surface skid resistance, prolonging the life-span period and reducing the construction costs of asphalt pavement.

Asbestos Tailings as Aggregates for Asphalt Mixture

To use many asbestos tailings collected in Ya-Lu highway,and to explore the feasibility of using asbestos tailings as aggregates in common asphalt mixtures,and properties of some asphalt mixtures were evaluated as well.X-ray diffraction （XRD）,X-ray fluorescent （XRF）,and atomic absorption spectrophotometry （AAS） were employed to determine the solid waste content of copper,zinc,lead,and cadmium.Volume properties and pavement performances of AC-25 asphalt mixture with asbestos tailings were also evaluated compared with those with basalt as aggregates.XRD and XRF measurement results infer that asbestos tailing is an excellent road material.Volume properties of AC-25 asphalt mixture with asbestos tailings satisfied the related specifications.No heavy metals and toxic pollution were detected in AAS test and the value of pH test is 8.23,which is help to the adhesion with asphalt in the asphalt concrete.When compared with basalt,high temperature property and the resistance to low temperature cracking of AC-25 asphalt mixture was improved by using asbestos tailings as aggregates.In-service AC-25 asphalt pavement with asbestos tailings also presented excellent performance and British Pendulum Number （BPN） coefficient of surface.

Experimental Study on Determining the Optimum Cigarette Butt Content of Modified Bituminous Mixture of Cigarette Butts

China ranks first in the world as the number of smokers. The environmental pollution and recycling problems of waste cigarette butts are becoming more and more serious. How to make better reuse of waste cigarette butts has been taken action by some countries and regions in the world. In order to study the utilization value of the cigarette butt in road performance, this test takes No. 70 matrix bitumen and waste tobacco as raw material. The optimum amount of the content of the cigarette butt in the experiment is further determined based on the test performance of the modified asphalt mixture and the modified bitumen mixture is prepared by the addition method. The performance indexes of modified bituminous mixture with different dosages were tested and studied. Combined with production and economic realities, the optimum cigarette butt content of modified asphalt mixture is determined to make the road performance optimal. This paper focuses on the determination of the best bituminous content of the bituminous mixture. Through the toxicity test of the leachate published abroad to reflect the pollution of the cigarette butt to the environment and analyze the harm to the environment, combined with the development of global reusing technology and the economic benefits brought by cigarette butts, the prospect of the utilization of waste cigarette butts is forecasted.

Characteristics of life-cycle carbon dioxide emissions of arterial highway maintenance and the influencing factors

With the focus of highway development transitioning from construction to maintenance,a comprehensive understanding of the characteristics and influencing factors of carbon dioxide(CO_(2))emissions from highway maintenance activities is crucial for formulating effective strategies to promote the low-carbon development of road infrastructure.However,the quantitative relationships between CO_(2) emissions from highway maintenance schemes and factors such as pavement deterioration,traffic volume,and road grade remain unclear owing to a lack of compre-hensive,multi-category,and real data.Using real maintenance data from 340 arterial highway segments in China,this study conducts the life cycle assessment(LCA)to estimate CO_(2) emissions from maintenance activities and examines the primary emission sources among various structural layers and materials.Furthermore,multiple linear regression(MLR)analysis is conducted to investigate the impact of traffic volume,road grade,and pavement deterioration on CO_(2) emissions from maintenance projects,and factors influencing the early-stage degradation of pavement performance.The results demonstrate that average CO_(2) emissions from heavy rehabilitation projects are 6.97 times higher than those from medium rehabilitation projects.Emissions from heavy rehabilitation projects exhibit a significantly negative linear relationship with the riding quality index(RQI)before maintenance(p<0.05),and emissions from medium rehabilitation projects show a significant negative linear relationship with the pavement condition index(PCI)before maintenance(p<0.05).Emissions from heavy and medium rehabilitation projects are significantly positively correlated with heavy vehicle traffic volume before maintenance(p<0.05).Moreover,the early-stage degradation of PCI after heavy rehabilitation and RQI after medium rehabilitation exhibit significantly negative linear relationships with their respective in-dicators before maintenance(p<0.05).The early-stage degradation of RQI after heavy rehabilitation is significantly positively correlated with CO_(2) emissions from the base course and cushion layers(p<0.05).The findings emphasize that timely maintenance and reduction of CO_(2) emissions from asphalt mixing equipment are essential for mitigating emissions from road maintenance.This study offers valuable insights for advancing the low-carbon development of highways in temperate regions.

Pavement sustainability index for highway infrastructures： A case study of Maryland

Pavement deterioration creates conditions that undermine their performances, which gives rise to the need for maintenance and rehabilitation. This paper develops a mathematical multi-linear regression analysis （MLRA） model to determine a pavement sustainability index （PSTI） as dependent variable for flexible pavements in Maryland. Four categories of pavement performance evaluation indicators are subdivided into seven pavement condition indices and analyzed as independent variables for each section of pavement. Data are collected from five different roadways using field evaluations and existing database. Results indicate that coefficient of determination （R^2） is correlated and significant, R^2 = 0.959. Of the seven independent variables, present serviceability index （PSI） is the most significant with a coefficient value of 0.032, present serviceability rating （PSR） coefficient value=0.028, and international roughness index （IRI） coefficient value = -0.001. Increasing each unit value of coefficients for PSI and PSR would increase the value of PSTI; thereby providing a more sustainable pavement infrastructure; which explains the significance of the model and why IR/ will most likely impact environmental, economic and social values.

Prediction of pavement roughness using a hybrid gene expression programming-neural network technique

Effective prediction of pavement performance is essential for transportation agencies to appropriately strategize maintenance, rehabilitation, and reconstruction of roads. One of the primary performance indicators is the international roughness index （IRI） which rep- resents the pavement roughness. Correlating the pavement roughness to other perfor- mance measures has been under continuous development in the past decade. However, the drawback of existing correlations is that most of them are not practical yet reliable for prediction of roughness. In this study a novel approach was developed to predict the IRI, utilizing two data sets extracted from long term pavement performance （LTPP） database. The proposed methodology included the application of a hybrid technique which combines the gene expression programming （GEP） and artificial neural network （ANN）. The developed algorithm showed reasonable performance for prediction of IRI using traffic parameters and structural properties of pavement. Furthermore, estimation of present IRI from his- torical data was evaluated through another set of LTPP data. The second prediction model also depicted a reasonable performance power. Further extension of the proposed models including different pavement types, traffic and environmental conditions would be desir- ab]e in future studies.

Autonomous vehicles wheel wander: Structural impact on flexible pavements

Autonomous vehicles(AVs), including trucks, are already available and their adoption is coming at a rapid pace. Despite the fact that this new transportation technology will travel on existing pavement infrastructure assets, the study and investigation of the AVs structural impact on pavements has not reached the same level of attention and maturity as other related research areas. Considering the extensive investment on pavement construction and maintenance, the necessity to fully understand these impacts in the long term, is becoming evident. The present paper presents and discusses currently published relevant research and findings on the quantification of the wheel wander potential impact,both negative and positive, offering potential insightful future areas of enquiry to help mold and shape future research for this emerging field. The paper focuses on the impact of the AVs zero lateral wheel wander on both new flexible pavement design and the damage accumulation within existing flexible pavement structures. Other wheel wander distributions(normal, uniform, etc.) are investigated as well. The outcome and findings are that the AVs zero lateral wheel wander has a definable negative structural impact on flexible pavement structures in comparison to current human-driven(non-autonomous) vehicles that tend to follow a normal lateral wheel wander distribution. However, under certain defined conditions(optimal wheel wander distribution), the pavement service life can be potentially extended.

Laboratory investigation on the properties of asphalt mixtures modified with double-adding admixtures and sensitivity analysis

In order to improve the high temperature stability and low temperature cracking resistance of asphalt mixtures, two varieties of admixtures （anti-rutting agent and lignin fiber） were selected and then combined. This is called double-mixture technology. A series of tests about pavement performance of base asphalt mixtures and asphalt mixtures with admixture of anti-rutting agent or lignin fiber were conducted. Meanwhile sensitivity an- alyses were used to study the influence of three factors （i.e., asphalt grade, aggregate type and gradation） on the high and low temperature performance and water stability of said asphalt mixtures. Test results indicated that the dynamic stability, residual stability, TSR and low temperature failure strain of asphalt mixtures have increased significantly with the additions of 0.40% anti-rutting agent and 0.36% lignin fiber. These results show that the high and low temperature and water stabilities of asphalt mixtures improve obviously. This supports the beneficial comprehensive effect of the double admixture. The problem of improving the asphalt mixtures performance with a single admixture is solved, in addition to also improving other pavement performance. Based on the sensitivity analysis, the most influential factors of dynamic stability, low temperature failure strain and TSR are the gradation, followed by asphalt grade and aggregate type.

Potential of South African road technology for application in China

One of the main problems with roads and highways in China is the reflection cracking caused by the cement stabilized subbase layers passing through the overlying asphaltic layers. The cracks permit the ingress of moisture which softens the layers below the subbase resulting in loss of support and accelerated breakdown of the subbase layer and reduction in the tiding quality. The aim of this paper is to present the use of South African pavement design approach of deep structure and thin surfacing to overcome the existing problems. The deep pavement structure provides good long-term support and avoids the influence of moisture ingress, which means that only surfacing damage needs to be repaired. An unbound crushed stone base layer which is an integral component of the pavement structure limits reflection cracking. The paper first deals with the South African pavement design procedure and contrast this with the Chinese pavement design method. The inherent weaknesses of these methods are discussed and flowing from this discussion proposals for adapting the South African approach to China is presented. The resultant proposals have a high likelihood of success and will counteract the influences of extreme climate and rampant overloading that occurs on the Chinese roads.