Semester

Summer

Date of Graduation

2003

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

MS

College

Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources

Department

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Committee Chair

John P. Zaniewski.

Abstract

Asphalt mixes that have a good history of resisting rutting in posted speed applications may not perform well in intersections, climbing lanes, truck weigh stations, and other slow speed areas. The West Virginia Division of Highways, WVDOH, has implemented the Performance Grade binder specifications for all paving projects and Superpave for high volume road projects. The standard binder specified in the state is a PG 64-22; for high volume roads a PG 70-22 is specified. These binders appear to be working well for most projects in the state. The Superpave guidelines have provision for increasing the binder grade by one level to accommodate slow moving traffic. Prior to 2002, the WVDOH had not implemented this option. In 2002, the WVDOH elected to use a Superpave mix with a PG 76-22 binder to resolve maintenance issues at an intersection near Fort Gay, WV.;The objective of this research was to evaluate the rutting potential of the asphalt concrete mixes prepared with three binder grades. The research included mix designs for the base course and the wearing course of the pavement. The base course was a 37.5 mm mix with limestone aggregates and the wearing course was a 12.5 mm mix with predominantly blast furnace slag aggregates.;The three different binders were compared by making specimens with each of the two mix designs. The Asphalt Pavement Analyzer, APA, was used to evaluate rutting performance of the gyratory compacted samples. The statistical analysis of the rut depths provides evidence that the PG 76-22 polymer-modified binder performs better than PG 70-22 and PG 64-22 binder.

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