Corporación de Desarrollo

Tecnológico
Conferencia Tecnológica:
“Asfalto Espumado; la experiencia
australiana y su aplicación en Chile”

28 de agosto de 2013

“Foamed bitumen mix design and thickness

design: research to improve current processes”

Geoff Jameson
Investigador en ARRB Group

www.cdt.cl

Corporación de Desarrollo Tecnológico 45 páginas

 Foamed bitumen mix design and thickness design :
research to improve current processes

Geoff Jameson
Chief Scientist, Pavements
ARRB Group

Chilean Construction Chamber

Wed 28 August 2013

www.arrb.com.au Advancing safety and efficiency in transport through knowledge

research | consulting | technology

 Presentation Outline

• Objectives of the foamed bitumen research

• Development of mix design method
• Improve thickness design method
• Field performance studies

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 Australia

Population:
23 million

7 states
2 territories

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 National highway: 18,600 km

Total road length: Population:

813,000 km 23 million

Sealed: Unsealed:
323,000 km 490,000 km

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 Climate and Rainfall

Dry interior
Wet along
coastline

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95% Australian sealed road network, thin
bituminous surfaced granular pavements

Bituminous binder & aggregate

Unbound granular base

Unbound granular subbase

Subgrade

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Unbound granular base

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In situ foamed bitumen stabilisation increased
over last 10 years

• typically 3.5% bitumen

and 1.5% quicklime
• limited use of cement,
concerns about
cracking
• now trialling 2.5%
bitumen

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 Four year national research project
(2012-2016)
The purpose of this project is:
• To improve and harmonise national mix design
procedures
• To improve thickness design procedures
– does material fatigue crack?

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 Foamed Bitumen Stabilisation Working Group

A very important element in the success of the project is the

close collaboration between road agencies, contractors and
the researchers
Project guided by a Working Group comprising:
• State road agencies
• Stabilisation industry contractors
• Researchers – ARRB Group

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 Mix design

• mix design test methods vary throughout Australia

• need for harmonisation
• need to relate mix design properties to field performance

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Mix design based on indirect tensile modulus

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 National working group developing test
methods
T301 Determination of Foaming Properties of Bitumen

T305 Mixing of Foamed Bitumen Stabilised Materials

(includes method of establishing mixing moisture content)
T310 Compaction of Test Cylinders of Foamed Bitumen Stabilised Mixtures :
Part 1 Dynamic compaction using Marshall drop hammer
T311 Compaction of Test Cylinders of Foamed Bitumen Stabilised Mixtures :
Part 2 Gyratory compaction
T313 Compaction of Test Slabs of Foamed Bitumen Stabilised Mixtures

T320 Curing of Test Cylinders of Foamed Bitumen Stabilised Mixtures

T321 Curing of Test Slabs of Foamed Bitumen Stabilised Mixtures

T330 Resilient Modulus of Foamed Bitumen Stabilised Mixtures

T340 Deformation Resistance of Foamed Bitumen Stabilised Mixtures by the Wheel Tracking Test

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 Lack of national test methods hindering
progress
Gyratory compaction to
50 blows Marshall field density
hammer

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Compaction method major influence on modulus

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 Research in 2013/14

• Effect of compaction method (Marshall, Standard drop

hammer, gyratory) on modulus and density
• Effect of mixing moisture content on compactibility and
modulus

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Also the link between laboratory and field
properties not well understood

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Coring pavement in early –life measuring
comparing modulus with laboratory mix design
results

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Calder Freeway example

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 Improve modulus specifications
• usefulness of initial modulus in terms of the rutting on
opening to traffic
• selecting a design modulus
• is bitumen stripping an issue and how useful is retained
modulus ratio

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Thickness design

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 Mechanistic approach

• Assumption is that foamed bitumen stabilised material is

susceptible to fatigue cracking

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 Thickness design of FBS layers

• current thickness design

based on modified asphalt
fatigue relationship
• need to verify

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 Field performance monitoring

Monitoring of in service roads

• six existing pavements were identified
• heavily trafficked roads
Construction and monitoring of under-designed roads
• constructed three pavements designed such that they are
predicted to fatigue crack with in 3 years
• another under-designed pavement will be constructed early
2014
• foamed bitumen stabilisation thicknesses 150 - 200 mm

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 Performance under-designed pavements,
colder climates more susceptible to fatigue

Calder Freeway
Kwinana
Freeway Port Wakefield Road

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 1. Calder Freeway

• constructed March 2013

• collaboration between road agency, contractors and
researchers

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 4th March FBS construction
• 100 m length 4.8 m width slow lane and part shoulder
• 2 x 2.4 m widths
• crushed rock base stabilised to depth of 150 mm
• 3.5 % bitumen & 1.5% quicklime

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 Research task
Mix design
• compare modulus of material sampled from road bed
and compacted in lab with laboratory-manufactured
materials
• compare field core moduli with moduli of laboratory-
manufactured specimens
• Compaction test specimens in the field?

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 Research task

Early-life characteristics
• rutting and ravelling
• strength gain – surface deflections
• modulus of field cores
• usefulness of initial modulus

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 Research tasks

Performance over 3 years

• rutting
• roughness
• cracking
• modulus

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Condition after 1 month of trafficking

2 coat
chip seal
surface

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 FWD deflections were measured 8 days & 1
month after FBS construction
Deflections measured in loaded and unloaded areas of
pavement to estimate modulus changes with time and
loading:
• on the edge line
• in the outer wheel path
• between the wheel paths

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 Curvatures low and consistent

There is a need to develop a temperature adjustment procedure

Calder Freeway Woodend Calder Freeway Woodend

foamed bitumen stabilised material 8 days post construction foamed bitumen stabilised materials 1 month post construction
pavement temperature 29°C pavement temperature 12°C
0.10 0.10

0.09 0.09

0.08 0.08

0.07 0.07

0.06 0.06
Curvatures Curvatures
(D0-D200) (D0-D200)
0.05 Outer wheelpath 0.05
at 566 kPa at 566 KPa
(mm) Between wheelpaths (mm)
0.04 0.04

0.03 0.03

0.02 0.02
Outer wheelpath
0.01 0.01 Between wheelpaths

0.00 0.00
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Chainage (m) Chainage (m)

8 days, 29°C 1 month, 12°C

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Coring along edge line at 8 days & 1 month
after FBS construction

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Predicted to fatigue crack with 3 years

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 2. Port Wakefield Road

• constructed early 2011, as part of 1km long project

• heavily trafficked road
• 75 m section stabilised to 150 mm depth
• 950 m section stabilised to depth of 200 mm
• 3% bitumen + 1% hydrated lime

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 Port Wakefield Road fatigue cracking

• fatigue cracking observed

after 18 months of
trafficking
• in reasonable agreement
with thickness design
model

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Monitoring measured deflections

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Field cores

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 3. Kwinana Freeway Perth
• Constructed in 2011
• 100 m trial section with reduced thickness, 150 mm FBS
• asphalt surfaced with underlying geotextile reinforced seal

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 No cracking apparent yet

• surface deflections
regularly being
measured
• may identify fatigue
damage prior to surface
cracking

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Adding another project early in 2014
Newell
Highway

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 Summary four year national research
project (2012-2016)
• 4 year national research project
• involvement of road agencies, contractors and researchers
• objectives
– development of national mix design procedures
– refinement of modulus specifications using field
performance data
– calibration of thickness design procedures

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Gracias!

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