Limitations on the Use of Aggregate Sulfate Soundness for the Prediction of Field Performance of HMAC and Seal Coat Pavement Surfaces

Details

• Creators:
  Jayawickrama, Priyantha W.
• Corporate Creators:
  Texas Tech University. Dept. of Civil Engineering
• Corporate Contributors:
  Texas Department of Transportation
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  Absorption Aggregates Failure Field Studies Freeze Thaw Tests Hot Mix Asphalt Literature Reviews Mathematical Prediction Seal Coating Sulfates Surfaces

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• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  Texas ; United States
• Corporate Publisher:
  Texas Tech University. Department of Engineering Technology, and Civil Engineering
• Abstract:
  Investigation of the reasons for poor performance of HMAC and seal coat surfaces in the Abilene District revealed that the pavement failure was due to high absorptivity of the aggregates used. The current requirement on the sulfate soundness (max. permissible 30%) has failed to identify and eliminate such absorptive, porous aggregates. The soundness tests performed in the district laboratories as well as tests performed in this study showed that the soundness loss for all the aggregates tested were well below the specifications. Review of available technical literature confirmed that although the sulfate soundness generally increases with increasing aggregate absorptivity, deviations from this general trend are not uncommon. Additionally, the study reviewed technical literature available on the use of sulfate soundness as a predictor of field performance of aggregates. This review indicated that although more recent data suggest that for many aggregates there is a reasonably good correlation between sulfate soundness and aggregate performance in the field significant deviations from this general pattern are commonly found. The Abilene District aggregates which have performed very poorly in spite of low soundness are examples of such deviations. Based on the observations made above, it was concluded that the use of a specific fixed limit in aggregate soundness to distinguish between acceptable and unacceptable aggregates is not justified. The previous performance record of the aggregate are the best criteria to use in aggregate selection. The sulfate soundness test results should be properly interpreted in the light of other tests and field service records when the test is used for aggregate selection purposes. The present study also evaluated other test procedures such as L.A. Abrasion and freeze-thaw. None of these tests provided more definitive data that will be helpful in identifying the problem aggregates.
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  11/SD/91-1929
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:fb1200c57ec09fd96c68e29a9f273aec840f7618ef0d6b79245951a9f4dd08766b65b65cfb93d718e6e3660d50208159c7d18b5d10094f745d6f3a5c02eb6348
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/86218/dot_86218_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 7.24 MB ]