Road Infrastructures Design

L3.10 – Specialty Asphalt Mixtures

ECOLE NATIONALE SUPERIEURE

DES TRAVAUX PUBLICS

Davide Dalmazzo, PhD

UNIVERSITY OF PADUA
DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT, LAND AND DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL, ARCHITECTURAL AND
TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURES ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
 Outline

❑ Porous asphalt

❑ Stone Mastic Asphalt (Splittmastixasphalt )

❑ Warm Mix Asphalt

❑ Cold mix asphalt (foamed or emulsified bitumen)

❑ Asphalt Rubber mix

❑ Asphalt mixes with manufactured (artificial) aggregates

❑ Clear/coloured mixture

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 Porous asphalt

L3.10 - Specialty asphalt mixtures 3

 Porous asphalt
Porous asphalts (sometimes referred to as open-graded friction courses) are layers made of
asphalt mix with a high amount of interconnected air voids that drain out water quickly during
a rainstorm, reducing glare, splash, and spray and the potential of hydroplaning, improving
friction; and hence reducing the potential of accidents significantly. PAs also contribute to the
reduction of tire noise on pavements.

100

Passing [%]
Popous asphalt
90
band
80
70 Wearing course
band
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0,0 0,1 1,0 10,0
Sieve size [mm]

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 Porous asphalt
PAs consist of very coarse “open/gap” gradation, in which materials passing certain sieve
sizes are missing. Typically the gradation consists of 5%–15% passing the 2.36 mm sieve.
High-performance asphalt binder is required to provide adequate resistance against raveling
and premature aging, usually modified with polymer (3% to 5% of polymer by weight of the
binder, high mixing and compaction temperatures). The asphalt content can range from 5% to
6.5%.
High quality aggregate from only strong parent rock types such as granite, basalt, or
quartzite and with fractured faces are required to guarantee a high strength from the coarse
aggregate skeleton.

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 Porous asphalt
Design as well as in-place voids in PAs can range from 15% to 25%. Generally a few
passes of a static steel-wheeled roller is sufficient for properly seating the PA (there is no need
for strong compaction). An impermeable layer realized with 1.0÷2.0 kg/m2 of residual
bitumen is necessary between porous asphalt and underneath pavement.

Specific areas such as intersections or turning areas, ramps, and curbed areas may not be
suitable for PAs since they can ravel and shove or prevent draining. Since they are critical in
draining water quickly, the voids in the PAs should be prevented from getting filled up with
materials such as sand from snow treatments. Pores clogged with debris can be cleaned with
high-pressure cleaners.

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 Porous asphalt
An example of Italian specifications:

Asphalt concrete Voids [%] @ (n. gyrations) ITS [MPa] (*)

Porous asphalt ≥ 25 (10) ≥ 20 (50)* ≥ 18 (130) ≥ 0.4

Specimens prepared through the Superpave gyratory compactor:

▪ Inclination angle: 1.250.2
▪ Speed of revolution: 30 rpm
▪ Vertical pressure: 600 kPa
▪ Mould diameter: 100 or 150 mm

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 Porous asphalt
Porous asphalts reduce:
• the potential of hydroplaning/improve friction (lower accident risk)
• the splash and spray (lower accident risk and higher comfort)
• the noise produced by tires on pavements (higher comfort)

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 Porous asphalt
Drawbacks of porous asphalts concern:
▪ Poor mechanical properties
▪ Low resistance to stripping and raveling phenomena
▪ Winter maintenance
▪ Clogging of the pores

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 Porous asphalt
Specific controls for porous asphalts concern:
▪ Drainability
▪ Sound absorption capabilities

Drainability Sound absorption coefficient α

Asphalt concrete
[l/min] @ (test frequency Hz)
≥ 0.03 ≥ 0.20 ≥ 0.35 ≥ 0.20 ≥ 0.20
Porous asphalt ≥ 0.4
(630) (800) (1000) (1600) (2000)

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 Porous asphalt
CE mark and designation – EN 13108-7

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 Stone mastic asphalt
Stone matrix asphalt (SMA) is a binder-rich, aggregate-interlocked, rut-resistant, and durable
asphalt mix that can be used to guarantee improved permanent deformation resistance. The
key feature of SMA is its unique gradation, which consists of reduced material passing the 2
mm and 4 mm sieves, and hence it is of relatively coarse nature. The mixture is designed
according to the concept of “stone-to-stone contact”. In principle, it refers to a situation in
which the fine aggregates have been reduced to a point where the coarse aggregate particles are
in contact with each other, resulting in a strong load-bearing coarse aggregate skeleton.
The mix consists of a relatively high amount of mineral filler. The high percentage of mineral
filler acts as a stabilizer for the asphalt binder, which is also needed at a relatively high
content (≥6%). Fibers are also added to the binder to reduce the tendency of drain-down of
asphalt binder from the mix.

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 Stone mastic asphalt
Because SMA derives its strength primarily from the coarse aggregate skeleton, aggregates
from only strong parent rock types such as granite, basalt, or quartzite and with fractured faces
are generally used. Also, the design gradation should be strictly followed (or adjusted
appropriately) during production. Design air voids are around 3%, while those in compacted
mats should not exceed 5%. Fibers (mineral or cellulose type) are generally added at 0.3%–
1.5% by mass of the total mix as stabilizers to prevent drain-down of the mix. In the field,
compaction should start immediately after placement, using a > 10-ton static steel-wheeled
roller. A vibratory roller can be used only sparingly, and a rubber-tired roller should be used
only for finishing.
The surface texture of SMA provides good friction, and also helps in noise reduction, which
can be as much as 2.5 dB. SMA costs 20% – 30% more than dense graded mixes because of
factors such as higher quality of materials required, larger mixing time, and more intensive
quality control.

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 Stone mastic asphalt
Dense-graded AC SMA

BITUMEN = 6.5-7.5 %
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 Stone mastic asphalt
An example of Italian specifications:

Asphalt concrete Voids [%] @ (n. gyrations) ITS [MPa] (*)

Stone mastic asphalt 8÷12 (10) 2÷4 (100)* ≥ 2 (180) 0.7÷1.4

Specimens prepared through the Superpave gyratory compactor:

▪ Inclination angle: 1.250.2
▪ Speed of revolution: 30 rpm
▪ Vertical pressure: 600 kPa
▪ Mould diameter: 100 or 150 mm

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 Stone mastic asphalt
CE mark and designation – EN 13108-5

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 Warm-mix asphalt
Warm Mix Asphalt (WMA) is a modified asphalt concrete which can be produced, applied
and compacted at lower temperatures (100–140 °C) than Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA).

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 Warm-mix asphalt
Warm Mix Asphalt (WMA) is obtained by using foaming, organic (wax) or chemical additives.
Foaming additives (e.g. zeolite) consists of materials/technologies that release low amounts of
water (< 0.1%) during mixing operations creating a foaming effect thus improving the coating
of the aggregates and the workability of the mix.
Waxes, thanks to their melting/crystallizing properties, are solid at ambient temperature and
melt at higher temperatures producing a low viscosity liquid. Thus, they reduce the viscosity of
the bitumen above their melting point, allowing lower mixing and compaction temperatures
than traditional HMA, without affecting bitumen consistency at pavement service temperatures.
WMA chemical additives are usually formed by a package of products (emulsification agents,
surfactants, polymers, additives, adhesion promoters) able to achieve lower mixing and
compaction temperatures without affecting viscosity and performance grade of the binder. In
fact, surfactants reduce friction at the interface between bitumen and aggregates lowering the
surface tension of the asphalt binder, thus acting as an emulsifier increasing lubricity.

Dosage: 0.2÷0.3% by mix weight Dosage: 2÷4% by bitumen weight Dosage: 0.2÷0.8% by bitumen weight

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 Warm-mix asphalt
The use of WMA leads to environmental benefits and economic/operational advantages:

▪ reduced energy consumption

▪ reduced gas and fume emissions
▪ lower production costs
▪ longer hauling distances
▪ extended construction periods

Drawbacks due to the reduction of mixing and compaction temperatures are related to:

▪ greater moisture susceptibility

▪ higher rutting potential
▪ reduced interface shear strength
▪ coating and bonding problems
▪ uncertainties regarding long-term performance

The basic WMA challenge is the production of a mixture characterized by at least the
same performance of HMA, thus able to assure acceptable in-service mechanical performance
and durability. In this sense, it is worth noting that the performance of WMA mixes can vary in
a large range mainly depending on the amount of additive and the type of WMA technology
used.
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