Field Investigation and Structural Integrity of Asphalt Pavement in Cold Regions

Severe weather and weak environment have a significant influence on the long term performance of asphalt pavement structures in the Tibet Plateau and surrounding areas such as west Sichuan,north Yunnan and Qinghai Province.Current design specification based on the calibration of field investigation of pavement in inland areas is not sufficient to produce a sound pavement design.Based on computer simulation and comprehensive field investigation of asphalt pavements in the Tibet Plateau and surrounding provinces,several new types of asphalt pavement structures were proposed and a test road section was constructed and instrumented to monitor pavement performance.The research results show that flexible base layer should replace semi-rigid base layer to produce sound asphalt pavements with a long term performance,especially in cold regions.