Evaluation of Hot Mix Asphalt Moisture Sensitivity Using the Nottingham Asphalt Test Equipment

Abstract

<p>Pavements are subjected to different stresses during their design lives. A properly designed pavement will perform adequately during its design life, and the distresses will not exceed the allowable limits; however, there are several factures that can lead to premature pavement failure. One such factor is moisture sensitivity.</p> <p>AASHTO T 283 is the standard test used in the moisture susceptibility evaluation of asphalt mixtures, but the results of the test are not very representative of the expected behavior of asphalt mixtures. The dynamic modulus test measures a fundamental property of the mixture. The results of the dynamic modulus test can be used directly in the Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG) and are considered a very good representation of the expected field performance of the mixture. Further research is still needed to study how the dynamic modulus results are affected by moisture. The flow number test was studied in previous research as a candidate test for moisture-susceptibility evaluation, but the results of that research were not favorable.</p> <p>This research has four main objectives. The first objective of this research is to evaluate the usefulness of the dynamic modulus and flow number tests in moisture-susceptibility evaluation. The second objective is to compare the results to those achieved using the AASHTO T 283 test. The third objective is to study the effect of different methods of sample conditioning and testing conditions. The fourth objective of the research is to study the variability in the test results.</p>