Performance Evaluation of Full-Scale Sections of Asphalt Pavements in the State of Qatar
Publication: Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities
Volume 29, Issue 5
Abstract
The population and economy in the State of Qatar have been increasing in the past 5 years. Accordingly, traffic loading has also increased rapidly, which affected the performance of existing roads and highways. This high traffic loading merits consideration of the design and construction of long-lasting pavements that require minimal maintenance. The Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) in collaboration with the Public Works Authority (PWA) of Qatar constructed a field experiment that consisted of six different pavement sections in order to investigate the influence of using different materials and asphalt mixture designs on performance. This paper presents a comprehensive study for the field evaluation of the performance of these trial sections. The evaluation involved the use of the falling weight deflectometer (FWD) and a vehicle equipped with instruments for measuring permanent deformation and cracking. These field measurements were complemented with laboratory measurements on field cores: the dynamic modulus, flow number, and semicircular bending tests. The results revealed that the increase in temperature between winter and summer in Qatar reduced the stiffness of asphalt mixtures by about 80%. The sections in which polymer-modified bitumen was used had the lowest temperature susceptibility. Moreover, the results showed that the bitumen and aggregate type significantly affected the stiffness and the trial sections’ resistance to rutting and fracture.
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support provided by Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF) through the National Priority Research Program (NPRP) Project 08-310-2-110. This project was awarded jointly to Texas A&M at Qatar University and Qatar University. The researchers at Texas A&M at Qatar also acknowledge the support through NPRP 4-789-2-293 Project that was used to develop the pavement analysis tool presented in this paper. In addition, the authors would like to extend their gratitude to the Fugro Peninsular Company for its support. Last but by no means least, the authors are indebted to Eng. Mohammed Sadeq for his efforts to develop the pavement analysis tool. The technical input of Dr. Dallas Little during this study is highly appreciated.
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Published In
Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities
Volume 29 • Issue 5 • October 2015
Copyright
© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jun 9, 2013
Accepted: May 7, 2014
Published online: Sep 8, 2014
Discussion open until: Feb 8, 2015
Published in print: Oct 1, 2015
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