Publications Repository - Gdańsk University of Technology

During winter season of 2012 numerous transverse cracks developed in high-modulus asphalt concrete (HMAC) base of newly constructed motorway. Pavement cracked both in transverse joint locations and in the area between them. Research which was conducted during investigation of the causes and mechanisms of cracking consisted of: field examination, laboratory testing of specimens cored out of the existing pavement, computational analyses and effect of pavement homogeneity on transverse crack frequency. This paper focuses mainly on impact of homogeneity of asphalt layer on number of transverse cracks. The field investigation of analyzed motorway section includes visual assessment of homogeneity and number of cracks. Laboratory test conducted on specimen cored out of the pavement allowed to assess volumetric properties: binder content, voids content and compaction degree, and mechanical properties: indirect tensile stiffness modulus and strength. Analyses of HMAC layer properties revealed their impact on the number of transverse low-temperature cracks observed in field. It was found that a less effective compaction contributes to increase in the number of cracks. Quality and homogeneity of pavement courses have a considerable effect on mechanical properties of HMAC. As analysis showed, intensity of cracks is well correlated with mechanical properties and homogeneity of asphalt layer.

Authors

• prof. dr hab. inż. Józef Judycki link open in new tab ,
• dr hab. inż. Piotr Jaskuła link open in new tab ,
• dr inż. Bohdan Dołżycki link open in new tab ,
• dr hab. inż. Marek Pszczoła link open in new tab ,
• dr inż. Mariusz Jaczewski link open in new tab ,
• dr hab. inż. Dawid Ryś link open in new tab ,
• dr inż. Marcin Stienss link open in new tab