Assessment of Temperature Fluctuations in Asphalt Pavements Due to Thermal Environmental Conditions Using a Two-Dimensional, Transient Finite-Difference Approach
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 17, Issue 4
Abstract
A transient, two-dimensional finite-difference model is developed to assess temperature fluctuations in asphalt pavements due to thermal environmental conditions. Fluctuations in temperatures significantly affect pavement stability and the selection of asphalt grading used in pavements. The ability to accurately predict asphalt pavement temperature at different depths and horizontal locations based on thermal environmental conditions will greatly help pavement engineers in performing back-calculations of pavement modulus values and in selecting the asphalt grade to be used in various pavement lifts through detailed examination of predicted pavement temperature distributions on various pavement mixes. A more sophisticated selection of asphalt through specification of less expensive asphalt binders in lower lifts is thus possible for the provision of more economical solutions to rising pavement construction costs. As part of the model validation, sensitivity analyses are performed to study the impact of a number of thermal environmental and pavement geometric parameters on predicted temperature responses.
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Acknowledgments
The writers gratefully acknowledge the support of the Mountain Plains Consortium (MPC) of the Department of Transportation (DOT) under research project “Predicting the fluctuations in temperatures of asphalt pavements.” The writers would also like to thank Mr. George Huntington, pavement engineer at the Wyoming Department of Transportation, for a thorough review of the project report and valuable inputs that have ultimately found their way into this paper.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 17 • Issue 4 • August 2005
Pages: 465 - 475
Copyright
© 2005 ASCE.
History
Received: Nov 18, 2002
Accepted: Oct 4, 2004
Published online: Aug 1, 2005
Published in print: Aug 2005
Notes
Note. Associate Editor: Shin-Che Huang
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