Drainability of Permeable Friction Course Mixtures
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 22, Issue 6
Abstract
Drainability is one of the main characteristics of permeable friction course (PFC) mixtures and is the primary reason for using these mixtures as the surface course in asphalt pavements in the United States. Current approaches suggested for PFC mix design to evaluate drainability (using gyratory-compacted specimens) include: (1) achieving a target total air void (AV) content as an indirect indication of permeability and (2) direct measurement of permeability in the laboratory. The assessment conducted in this study suggested that these approaches are not effective in ensuring adequate drainability in field-compacted mixtures. Thus, different alternatives were evaluated to improve this assessment. Corresponding analysis suggested that: (1) the water-accessible AV content can be used as a surrogate of the total AV content to indirectly assess permeability and (2) the water flow value (outflow time) can be applied to evaluate the field drainability of PFC mixtures. The expected value of permeability, determined using a modified version of the Kozeny-Carman equation, was recommended to analytically predict permeability for mix design and evaluation purposes.
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Acknowledgments
This study was originally conducted for the TxDOT, and the writers thank TxDOT and the Federal Highway Administration for their support in funding this study. Special thanks are expressed to the National Science Foundation for providing funds for the acquisition of the X-ray Computed Tomography equipment at Texas A&M University. Special thanks are also due to the Southwest Region University Transportation Center (SWUTC) for providing additional funding to complete this study. The writers would also like to acknowledge the valuable inputs provided by Dr. Robert L. Lytton. Thanks are also expressed to all Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) personnel who helped in fabricating laboratory specimens and conducting laboratory tests. The various TxDOT district offices that provided materials and technical support are also thanked. The first writer, as Assistant Professor of the University of Magdalena (Colombia), also expresses special thanks to the University of Magdalena and COLCIENCIAS (Colombia) for sponsorship of his graduate studies at Texas A&M University.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 22 • Issue 6 • June 2010
Pages: 556 - 564
Copyright
© 2010 ASCE.
History
Received: Dec 2, 2008
Accepted: Oct 22, 2009
Published online: Oct 24, 2009
Published in print: Jun 2010
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