The paper analyses the influence of seasonal temperature variations on fatigue strength of flexible and semi-rigid pavement structures chosen for KR4 traffic flow category. The durability of pavement determined assuming a yearly equivalent temperature of 10˚C and assuming season-dependent equivalent temperatures was compared. Durability of pavement was determined with the use of Asphalt Institute Method and French Method. Finite Element Method was applied in order to obtain the strain and stress states by the means of ANSYS Mechanical software. Obtained results indicate a considerable drop in pavement durability if seasonal temperature variations are considered (up to 64% for flexible pavements and up to 80% for semi-rigid pavements). Durability obtained by the French Method presents lower dependence on the analysed aspect.
Traffic related noise is currently considered as an environmental pollution. Paper presents results of multidirectional study attempting to serve urban traffic without the need to erect noise barriers interfering urban space. Initial concept of the road expansion included construction of 1000 m of noise barriers dividing city space. Improvement in the acoustic conditions after construction completion is possible due to the applied noise protection measures: vehicle speed limit, smooth of traffic flow, use of road pavement of reduced noise emission and the technical improvement of the tramway.
The article presents the results of the research on thermal actions on the materials occurring in the cross section along the depth of the bridge deck and bituminous pavement during its construction. The impulse to curried out the research was the need to explain the causes of the blistering of bituminous waterproofing membranes and asphalt pavements often observed on the bridge decks. The paper presents the examples of such failures and the analyses of possible mechanisms of the phenomenon. Research indicates a significant influence of all technological processes on the temperature of materials in the cross section as well as daily temperature changes. The probability of initiation of reactions between concrete components with gaseous products has been confirmed in such conditions. The susceptibility of bituminous materials to gas emission and blistering is the subject of a separate study. The research was part of a research project carried out under the contract INNOTECHK3/IN3/50/229332/NCBR /14 [13].
The problem of recycled materials application in road construction is one of the key issues in contemporary road engineering. This article describes attempts to produce a hot mix asphalt (HMA) mixture entirely from processed reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) material. Due to the binder ageing process, rejuvenating agent was a necessary additive to the mixture. The mixture was tested to determine its parameters, including the content of voids, fatigue life, rutting resistance, stiffness and water sensitivity. The test results demonstrated that the rejuvenated RAP mixture is not inferior to fresh produced mixtures in terms of physical and strength parameters. Such results are, however, conditional on appropriate handling of the RAP material.
Over the course of operation, asphalt road pavements are subjected to damage from car traffic loads and environmental factors. One of the possible methods of strengthening damaged asphalt pavements may be the application of an additional rigid layer in the form of a cement concrete slab with continuous reinforcement.
This paper presents a material-technological and structural solution for composite pavement where a cement concrete slab with continuous HFRP bar reinforcement is used for strengthening. Based on laboratory tests, the serviceability of composite bar reinforcement of rigid pavement slabs was shown. A design for strengthening asphalt pavement with a concrete slab with steel bar and corresponding HFRP bar reinforcement was developed. The composition of a pavement cement concrete mix was designed, and experimental sections were formed. Based on laboratory tests of samples collected from the surfaces of experimental sections and the diagnostic tests carried out in “in situ” conditions, the authors will try, in the nearest future (Part II: In situ observations and tests), to confirm the effectiveness of strengthening asphalt pavements with cement concrete slabs with HFRP components.
Communication noise is classified as one of the pollutions for the current environment. Experimental techniques to measure tire-pavement noise generation from asphalt pavements in the laboratory have been limited. A series of experiments were conducted on six different asphalt mixtures to determine if Purdue University’s Tire-Pavement Test Apparatus (TPTA) could be used to overcome these limitations. The procedure produced samples with low tire-pavement noise; however, the air void contents of the samples were higher than designed. Despite these difficulties, the sample preparation technique and the TPTA testing protocol were shown to offer an effective approach for quick laboratory assessment of tire-pavement noise characteristics of hot mix asphalt pavements at a substantially reduced cost compared to field testing.
The paper presents the dependence of ITS results at the elevated temperature (40°C) on rutting parameters, i.e. proportional rut depth (PRDAIR) and wheel tracking speed (WTSAIR), obtained at the temperature of 60°C. The asphalt mixture samples were prepared in the gyratory compactor, but ITS tests were conducted with typical Marshall press, at a loading rate of 50 mm/min. Correlation analyses show a strong relationships between ITS results and rutting parameters, whereby the correlation coefficients obtained are higher for the PRDAIR parameter (r = -0.88) than WTSAIR (r = -0.81). Using the obtained regression functions, the prediction limits as well as confidence limits were calculated, which allowed to develop criteria for assessing resistance to rutting on the basis of ITS test, and taking into account the technical requirements in Poland.