Optimizing Gradation Design for Ultra-Thin Wearing Course Asphalt

Abstract

In recent years, ultra-thin wearing course asphalt mixture has been widely used in the reconstruction of old road surfaces and the functional layer of new road surfaces due to its good road performance. To improve the rutting resistance of ultra-thin wearing course asphalt mixture, this research presents an Ultra-thin Wearing Course-10 (UTWC-10) asphalt mixture with good high-temperature stability and skid resistance based on the Taylor system standard mesh specifications. The Course Aggregate Void Filling (CAVF) method is used to design the UTWC-10 asphalt mixture, which is compared with two other traditional ultra-thin wearing course asphalt mixtures on the basis of different laboratory performance tests. The high-temperature rutting test data shows that the rutting dynamic stability (DS) index of the UTWC-10 asphalt mixture is much higher than that of traditional wearing course asphalt mixtures, as it has better high-temperature stability. Moreover, anti-sliding performance attenuation tests are conducted by a coarse aggregate polishing machine. The wear test results show that the skid resistance of the UTWC-10 asphalt mixture is promising. The anti-sliding performance attenuation test can effectively reflect the skid resistance attenuation trend of asphalt pavement at the long-term vehicle load. It is verified that the designed UTWC-10 asphalt mixture shows excellent high-temperature rutting resistance and skid resistance, as well as better low temperature crack resistance and water stability than the traditional wearing course asphalt mixtures.

Performance Evaluation of Ultra-Thin Wearing Course with Different Polymer Modified Asphalt Binders

“…Most pavements exhibit the diseases of cracking, loosening, and deformation after 3-5 years of serving, which leads to pavement service life reduction [1][2][3][4]. Researchers have contributed to developing preventive pavement maintenance treatments to extend pavement service life [5][6][7][8].…”

“…Moreover, some researchers focused on the influence of gradation on UTWC performance. Skeleton pattern gradation helped improve the high-temperature rutting resistance and anti-skid performance [3,21]. Researchers also added basalt fiber to improve the crack resistance and raveling resistance of UTWC [22].…”

Laboratory and Field Performance Evaluation of High-Workability Ultra-Thin Asphalt Overlays

“…The results showed that the UTWC asphalt mixture possessed better high-temperature stability and skid resistance and that its low-temperature crack resistance and moisture damage resistance were satisfactory. Moreover, the researchers also studied the porous ultra-thin asphalt overlay [ 19 ]. Liu et al prepared a high-viscosity-modified asphalt for porous ultra-thin asphalt overlays using different gradations and modifiers, and studied the performance of binders and mixtures.…”

Study on the Performance and Adhesion Behavior of Ultrathin Wearing Course Using Calcined Bauxite as Aggregate

“…e ultrathin wear course is suitable for the maintenance and transformation of various asphalt pavement, cement pavement, bridge deck, and tunnel. e unique structure of the ultrathin wear course could be directly overlaid onto the pavement without milling, while hardly having a significant impact on the auxiliary structure and drainage of the asphalt pavement [1][2][3]. At the same time, the weight of the wear course mixture was reduced due to the ultrathin course structure, and the weight increase of the wear course mixture for bridge load was negligible when used for bridging deck overlays.…”