A SmartRock-Based Method for Determining the Gyratory Compaction Locking Point of Asphalt Mixture
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 36, Issue 10
Abstract
Compaction is a critical step in the construction of an asphalt mixture. To effectively compact an asphalt mixture, the locking point, which identifies the effective compaction, was introduced based on the change in volumes of the asphalt mixture during gyratory compaction. However, the existing definition of the locking point is solely dependent on the volumetric properties of compacted mixtures and may not be necessarily associated with the skeleton of the mixture. In this paper, the locking point for a compacted asphalt mixture was defined and determined using dynamic responses measured by a particle sensor. Gyratory compaction and field compaction tests were carried out with particle sensors embedded to analyze the evolution of the aggregates’ dynamic responses. Then, a novel dynamic response rate of the change index was proposed to represent the evolution process of the asphalt mixture compaction. The Superpave gyratory compactor (SGC) results show that the acceleration and rotation angle of the particle sensors varied during compaction and did not converge in the end. The SGC compaction process can be divided into three stages: the initial compaction stage, transition stage, and plateau stage based on the rate of stress (). Meanwhile, the inflection point between the transition stage and plateau stage in the compaction curve was defined as the locking point. It was found that the locking point determined by the sensors in the middle of the compacted specimens was later than that determined by the gyratory compaction. The contact interlocking initiated at the bottom of a compacted specimen and moved upward. The field compaction test results of the particle sensors showed that the contact stress also had a significant trend of convergence after being compacted by a pneumatic-tired roller, which indicates that the test stress index based on the particle sensors could be used for the evaluation of compaction quality.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to acknowledge the project support by Shanghai Housing and Urban-Rural Construction Management Commission (2023-002-051). Technical support from the University of Tennessee and Tennessee Department of Transportation are greatly appreciated. All laboratory experiments were completed by the staffs in engineering and technology center of the Shanghai Road and Bridge Group Co. LTD. Last, the content of this paper only reflects the views of the authors, who are responsible for the facts and accuracy of the data presented herein.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 36 • Issue 10 • October 2024
Copyright
© 2024 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Sep 12, 2023
Accepted: Jan 30, 2024
Published online: Jul 23, 2024
Published in print: Oct 1, 2024
Discussion open until: Dec 23, 2024
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Compaction (material)
- Construction engineering
- Construction methods
- Continuum mechanics
- Dynamic response
- Dynamics (solid mechanics)
- Engineering fundamentals
- Engineering materials (by type)
- Engineering mechanics
- Equipment and machinery
- Field tests
- Materials characterization
- Materials engineering
- Mixtures
- Particles
- Probe instruments
- Solid mechanics
- Tests (by type)
Authors
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