ANALYTICAL MODELING OF RUTTING POTENTIAL OF ASPHALT MIXES USING HAMBURG WHEEL TRACKING DEVICE

Asphalt Concrete (AC) is susceptible to permanent deformation under traffic loading which is affected by AC temperature, mixture type, gradation, aggregate type, binder type and so on. There is no complete research in the literature which examined all these factors at the same time. This study evaluated the above mentioned factors in the deformation behavior of AC. Thin AC cylindrical samples were prepared using 20 different AC mixtures collected from different construction sites in New Mexico (NM). As a first step, effects of test temperatures, type of aggregate, binder grade, type of mixture and gradation on the permanent deformation of AC were investigated using the Hamburg Wheel Tracking Device (HWTD). Secondly, the deformation behavior of the AC (obtained from the HWTD) was modeled using the Weibull function. Results show, the deformations of AC are sensitive to test temperatures, type of mixture, gradation, type of aggregate and binder type (Analysis shows that test results significantly vary with studied parameters). In addition, the effect of air void contents was studied showing insignificant sensitivity for the studied parameters. Finally, the rutting behavior of AC mixtures under the different conditions mentioned above promisingly correlated with the Weibull function.New Mexico Department of Transportation Southern Plains Transportation CenterMaster of Science Civil EngineeringMastersUniversity of New Mexico. Dept. of Civil EngineeringTarefder, Rafiqul A.Stormont, John C.Zhang, Guohu