Overnight repairs and resurfacing of runway or taxiway pavements are common in busy airports. The time window available for such repair and resurfacing works is often limited. A common problem encountered is to ensure that the newly compacted asphalt mixture has cooled down sufficiently before receiving aircraft loadings, so as to avoid premature deformation and failure of the asphalt mixture. In this regard, a simulation model that provides a prediction of the temperature–time variation trend of each compacted pavement lift in a multi-lift asphalt course laying would be a valuable planning tool for temperature control. Information on the temperature cooling trend of an asphalt layer helps to estimate the time duration available for effective compaction during laying, as well as the time lapse needed before the pavement is sufficiently stable to receive traffic. A finite element simulation model is presented in this study to predict the temperature–time variation trends of successive asphalt lifts in a multi-lift asphalt mixture laying operation. The numerical model was developed based on the theory of thermodynamics taking into account the heat transfer effects of solar radiation, convection, and conduction. The model was calibrated and validated using data from a field trial involving a two-lift and a three-lift laying of asphalt mixtures. Illustrative examples are presented to demonstrate the applications of the simulation model as a temperature control planning tool for repair and resurfacing operations of airport pavements.
Monitoring of the temperature changes of asphalt mixtures during the mix production and pavement construction phases is important to avoid over-heating, and to ensure that optimum mixing and compaction is achieved. Over-heating or prolonged heating of asphalt mixtures would cause ageing, while inadequate mixing or compaction would result in mixtures with a strength and durability less than design optimal. Careful temperature monitoring would help to avoid such undesirable problems. This study develops a finite-element asphalt mixture cooling temperature prediction software as an asphalt pavement mix design planning tool. For any given asphalt paving design mix, it is able to predict the temperature cooling characteristics of the design mix during the laying and compaction phase. The software can provide the temperature cooling characteristics during a multi-lift paving of asphalt pavement layer. The factors affecting the temperature cooling trend are determined and analysed. They include ambient temperature, laying temperature, solar influx intensity, wind velocity, number of lifts, and lift thickness. A sensitivity analysis is conducted to identify the most influencing factors under different paving conditions.
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