| Popis: |
Low temperature cracking is a major distress for flexible pavements in cold regions. Most tests that are used currently to predict asphalt mixture performance at low temperatures require long time and effort to perform the test and analyze the data. A new laboratory test called the Ohio CTE device (OCD) has been developed as a more practical alternative to predict the asphalt mixture performance at low temperatures. This study presents an evaluation of the Ohio CTE device (OCD) in terms of effort for sample preparation, testing time, repeatability of test results, and complexity of the analysis of test data. To assess the ability of the Ohio CTE device (OCD) to predict the low temperature performance of asphalt mixtures, results obtained from this test were correlated to three other common low temperature tests, including the creep compliance and indirect tension test (IDT), the thermal stress restrained specimen test (TSRST), the asphalt concrete cracking device test (ACCD). Nine asphalt mixtures prepared using the same aggregate blend and different asphalt binders were included in this study. High correlation was observed between the Ohio CTE device (OCD) test results and results obtained from the other laboratory tests. In addition, the Ohio CTE device (OCD) was found to be advantageous over the other low temperature tests in that it requires significantly less time to prepare the test samples, which suggests that the Ohio CTE device (OCD) can be used as a routine test for low temperature characterization of asphalt mixtures. |
