Evaluation of open graded friction course (OGFC) mixtures : [tech summary].

PDFTech ReportSIO No. 30000061LTRC Project No. 04-5BFriction courseService lifeMix designPavement performanceField testsLaboratory testsSkid resistanceCondition surveysPermeabilityRuttingTensile strengthLouisianaLouisiana Transportation Research CenterKing, WilliamLouisiana Transportation Research CenterUS Transportation CollectionLouisiana Department of Transportation and Development (LADOTD) began the development of Open-Graded FrictionCourse (OGFC) mixtures in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In the early 1980s, a moratorium was imposed on the useof OGFC mixtures due to some early failure issues and a number of OGFC pavements experiencing end of life failuresearly. However, signifi cant improvements have been noticed in OGFC mixture performance and service life since anew-generation of OGFC mixtures was promoted in the U.S. in late 1990s. Inspired by the success of some other stateagencies, LADOTD modifi ed the earlier mix design and constructed four new OGFC sections during the last decade toevaluate pavement performance and safety benefi ts. This paper includes a comprehensive evaluation of Louisiana OGFCmixtures on the basis of their laboratory and fi eld performance. Laboratory work entailed material and mixture designin addition to performing numerous laboratory tests namely permeability, draindown, tensile strength ratio, and loadedwheel test. Field evaluation involved visual inspection, pavement condition survey, skid resistance, and traffi c safety.With very few exceptions in the laboratory, the selected OGFC mixtures showed the potential to meet current LADOTDspecifi cations as well as various performance standards established by previous studies