Abstract
Rutting is recognized to be the major distress mechanism in flexible pavements as a result of increase in tire pressures and axle loads. Rutting is caused by the accumulation of permanent deformation in all or some of the layers in the pavement structure. The accumulation of permanent deformation in the asphalt surfacing layer is now recognized to be the major component of rutting in flexible pavements. This is a consequence of increased tire pressures and axle loads, which subjects the asphalt surfacing layer nearest to the tire-pavement contact area to increased stresses.
This research evaluates information on the permanent deformation characteristics of asphalt-aggregate mixtures, with an emphasis on laboratory test techniques for measuring mixture resistance to permanent deformation.
A comprehensive laboratory study was carried out using aggregate gradation for asphaltic surfacing course according with specification limit of SORB/R9, four percentage of asphalt cement were trialed in order to determine the optimum asphalt content for asphalt mixes, four levels of temperatures to accommodate the influence of temperature conditions and three levels of stresses. Uniaxial creep loading strain chosen as performance test to measure the permanent deformation of asphalt mixes. The results show that the temperature has a significant effect on permanent strain and, therefore, temperatures employed for design are relatively high to reproduce the most unfavorable pavement conditions.
