ASPHALT MIXTURE CHARACTERISTICS AND RELATED PAVEMENT PERFORMANCE (WITH DISCUSSION)

This investigation of Arkansas asphalt pavements was designed to evaluate the in-situ asphalt pavement mixture characteristics and relate them to the pavement performance. Thirty-eight sites were selected for investigation. All of the mixtures in these test sites used a 50-blow Marshall mix design, except for site 4 which used a 75-blow. All test sites required a minimum 92% maximum theoretical density as the standard control for construction. The asphalt cements used in most of these pavements were a 60-70 penetration grade paving asphalt with some mixtures using AC-20 and AC-30. Laboratory tests performed on the pavement cores include: resilient modulus, Marshall stability and flow, bulk specific gravity, maximum specific gravity, asphalt content and extracted aggregate gradation. Pavement performance was evaluated from condition surveys, rut, crack, skid, and roughness measurements using a Mays ride meter. The relationships obtained between the laboratory characteristics of the asphalt mixture and the performance as a pavement are reported in this paper.