Evaluation of Apparent Permeability and Field Assessment of Aged Asphalt Capping Systems
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 139, Issue 2
Abstract
An asphalt cap system physically isolates contaminated soil from surface runoff to reduce contaminant migration from soil to groundwater. It is one of the most frequently selected remedies for managing sites contaminated by hazardous materials. However, despite its wide usage, the apparent permeability of aging caps has rarely been studied. Based on hydraulic calculations for simplified crack models, this study found that the apparent permeability of an aging cap is primarily influenced by the intrinsic permeability of cap materials and the geometry of cracks. The distribution of crack width, a key indicator of cap integrity, was examined for the first time with four asphaltic caps, aged 3, 4, 12, and 15 years, respectively. The apparent permeability of a 15-year-old cap was estimated to range from to in various areas. The overall average permeability was calculated to be , representing an increase of nearly one order of magnitude from the permeability of a newly constructed asphalt cap. A spatial analysis indicated that the aged asphalt cap was the most permeable in staging areas or areas with increased traffic load.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 139 • Issue 2 • February 2013
Pages: 167 - 175
Copyright
© 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jan 30, 2012
Accepted: Jul 11, 2012
Published online: Aug 4, 2012
Published in print: Feb 1, 2013
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