an2018
an2018
Abstract: The novel cement grout asphalt composite (CGAC) in this study is a new semiflexible composite consisting of open-graded hot
mix asphalt (HMA) filled by injecting cement grout materials. The mechanical performance and engineering properties of the composite were
evaluated through laboratory tests, including the Marshall stability test, rutting test, three-point bending test, split tensile test, and permeability
test. Moreover, field test sections were constructed, and the laboratory test results and in situ results were compared. The results showed
that, after grouting, the performance of composite materials was further enhanced, especially their high-temperature stability and moisture
sensitivity. In fact, no permanent deformation (rutting) occurred, and the tensile strength ratio (TSR) was increased by 18.7%. In situ test
applications revealed that compared with manual grouting, mechanized grouting technology had positive influences on field constructability
and performance of CGAC regarding Marshall stability and splitting tensile strength. Findings of this study are beneficial to design, con-
struction technology, and pavement maintenance. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)MT.1943-5533.0002376. © 2018 American Society of Civil
Engineers.
Author keywords: Cement grout asphalt composite; Modified asphalt mixture; High-temperature stability; Mechanical performance;
Moisture susceptibility.
Introduction stops was mainly damaged by rutting and shoving, which can pro-
foundly affect the safety and comfort of BRT (Fig. 1). The leading
With the rapid development of urbanization, urban roads encounter causes of the pavement distress may be considered as follows:
significant traffic flow and a high proportion of heavy loads. The Firstly, the maximum weight of a BRT vehicle is more than
frequent acceleration and braking of heavy vehicles may lead to 28,000 kg, which classifies it as a heavy-duty vehicle, and the traf-
severe pavement deteriorations at bus rapid transit (BRT) stops fic density is high since the average departure interval is 2.5 min.
or pavement intersections, especially in summer when pavement Secondly, the tangential shear force in the bridge deck pavement is
structure is prone to distress at high temperatures. Distresses such significant under frequent braking and acceleration. Moreover, the
as rutting, shoving/corrugation, and slippage cracking can severely low speed of the bus leads to a more extended loading time, which
damage the performance of pavement structure (Wang et al. 2016). makes the shearing force even more critical. Finally, owing to the
As a new type of efficient transportation system, BRT can ef- impact of high temperature and other environmental factors in
fectively alleviate the urban traffic pressure with its vast capacity as summer, the shear strength of asphalt mixture is not high enough
well as comfortable operation experience. In this study, the research as its viscosity decreases. Above all, the lack of stability of pave-
team surveyed and analyzed the pavement conditions of 28 BRT ment layer material under high temperatures is the main reason for
stops of the elevated second ring road in the city of Chengdu, pavement deformation occurring at BRT stops.
China. The results showed that the pavement surface of the bus Materials in pavement have a significant influence on its perfor-
mance and play a crucial role in dealing with pavement damage. To
1 improve the performance of pavement structure, a considerable
Research Assistant, Highway Engineering Key Laboratory of Sichuan
Province, School of Civil Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong Univ., Chengdu body of research has been carried out worldwide. Dense-graded
610031, China. Email: [email protected] asphalt concrete (AC), stone mastic asphalt (SMA), guss asphalt
2
Professor, Highway Engineering Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, (GA), and epoxy asphalt concrete (EAC) are currently the most
School of Civil Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong Univ., Chengdu 610031, commonly used asphalt mixture types. AC with its continuous
China (corresponding author). Email: [email protected]
3
Asistant Professor, Highway Engineering Key Laboratory of Sichuan
and dense gradation has the characteristics of high adhesive
Province, School of Civil Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong Univ., Chengdu strength and low internal frictional resistance. However, the
610031, China. Email: [email protected] temperature stability of AC is poor, since its performance is dra-
4 matically affected by the properties of the asphalt materials used
Research Assistant, Highway Engineering Key Laboratory of Sichuan
Province, School of Civil Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong Univ., Chengdu in it.
610031, China. Email: [email protected] SMA is a gap-graded hot mix asphalt (HMA), which has
5
Professor, Highway Engineering Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, excellent stability at high temperatures, high low-temperature crack
School of Civil Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong Univ., Chengdu 610031, resistance, low susceptibility to moisture, and considerable fatigue
China. Email: [email protected]
resistance. However, some shortcomings in terms of construction
Note. This manuscript was submitted on December 11, 2017; approved
on February 9, 2018; published online on May 31, 2018. Discussion period difficulties like segregation have limited the application of this
open until October 31, 2018; separate discussions must be submitted for mixture in pavement construction (Brown et al. 1997; Nejad et al.
individual papers. This paper is part of the Journal of Materials in Civil 2010; Nunn 1994; Qiu and Lum 2006). GA has the characteristics
Engineering, © ASCE, ISSN 0899-1561. of large asphalt content, a high proportion of fine aggregate, and a
Fig. 1. Deterioration of bus rapid transit station: (a) rutting; and (b) shoving.
significant percentage of mineral powder. Although GA has excel- mechanical performance met the design standards. The research
lent water resistance, low-temperature crack resistance, and fatigue also suggested a feasible method for the construction of CCAM.
resistance, its stability at high temperatures is relatively poor (Chen In a complementary study, Zhang et al. (2017) conducted a com-
et al. 2012; Jia et al. 2016; Wang et al. 2011; Xin et al. 2017). EAC parative research on the mechanical performance of asphalt–
is a kind of condensed asphalt concrete composed of epoxy cement mortar (ACM) and emulsified asphalt–cement mortar
resin, asphalt binder, and aggregate. It has the advantages of high (EACM) by using different asphalt addition techniques. They
strength, high rigidity, stability at high temperatures, and good put forward three macrostructure states of ACM and also analyzed
durability. However, the drawbacks of its elaborate preparation pro- the microstructure states of ACM by using scanning electron
cess, harsh construction conditions, high technical requirements, microscope (SEM) technology. The test results showed that the
high cost of materials, and instability under low-temperature con- mechanical performance of ACM and EACM are close and, con-
ditions should not be ignored (Bocci et al. 2015; Chen et al. 2013; sequently, ACM is a capable alternative material to employ in prac-
Cong et al. 2015; Yin et al. 2015). tical engineering.
Given the shortcomings of the conventional mixtures mentioned The microlevel investigation into the mechanical properties and
above, it is imperative to investigate for a new material that can hold durability characteristics of grouted macadam composite materials
excellent stability at high temperatures. In the last two decades, (GMCM) as a surfacing layer in pavement demonstrated that
semiflexible composite was introduced as a promising material that GMCM holds better high-temperature stability, fatigue performance,
can efficiently enhance the bearing capacity and improve the ser- and moisture stability than that of conventional asphalt mixtures.
vice performances of existing pavements (Hassan et al. 2002; Given the relative brittleness of hardened cement paste, however,
Setyawan 2013; Sinha et al. 2002). GMCM showed an acceptable decrease in low-temperature crack
The earliest work performed by Al-Qadi et al. (1994) was resistance (Hou et al. 2016). Pei et al. (2016) carried out an exper-
to introduce an asphalt–portland cement concrete composite imental study on composition design and performance validation of
(APCCC), which is a HMA with a high air void content filled with high-performance cement paste (HPCP) as a grouting material for
resin-modified cement grout. The finding of this experimental semiflexible pavement. They mixed three different types and dosages
study revealed that APCCC strength and durability properties out- of additives with HPCP. The findings of this study revealed that each
performed those of HMA and showed the potential to be used as a additive had a distinct influence on the fluidity, strength, and drying
bridge deck overlay. To study the influence of the air void content shrinkage of HPCP, and HPCP showed good workability with the
of semiflexible composite materials on its durability, the cyclic compound addition of the three additives. Finally, to investigate
wheel load test was performed on a runway trial section by using the effects of composition and formulation on grouting material,
semiflexible pavement specimens with different air void contents. Zhang et al. (2016b) considered two common grouting materials,
The results showed that void content was a crucial factor that af- including cement paste and cement mortar. The results of this study
fected the durability to cyclic wheel load, and an air void content of revealed that the mechanical properties of cement paste and cement
26% was determined as the optimum value for achieving superior mortar vary with their composition, and both materials could fulfill
mechanical performance (Yang and Weng 2015). the technical requirements in the proper formulations. Nonetheless,
Cihackova et al. (2015) conducted an experimental campaign to it was determined that cement paste could be a more suitable grout-
compare the properties of an open-graded asphalt concrete filled ing material owing to its better performance.
with a special cement grout mixture with the commonly used as- According to the existing literature, limited studies have been
phalt pavements. The results demonstrated that the semiflexible made on the field performance of the composite cement–asphalt
composite had better performance than conventional asphalt mix- mixture, specifically regarding pavement maintenance activities.
tures regarding the stiffness and resistance to the permanent defor- For this reason, this study aims to deal with the matter efficiently.
mation characteristics. However, its low-temperature behavior was To fulfill this aim, a new cement grout asphalt composite (CGAC)
somewhat problematic. Zhang et al. (2016a) studied the mechanical was developed. Then, the laboratory tests were conducted to
performance and application of the composite cement–asphalt evaluate the mechanical performance and engineering properties
mixture (CCAM) compared to the performance of AC-16 matrix of CGAC. Finally, field test sections were constructed, and the
mixture asphalt (MMA). They concluded that the rigidity of laboratory test results and in situ test results were compared
MMA improved after combination with cement mortar, and the accordingly.
Specification
Property Value limit Standard
Table 7. Marshall design results
Compressive strength (MPa)
Property Value Standard
1-day strength 103 ≥90 EN 12390-3
7-day strength 132 ≥125 Volume of air voids (V v ) (%) 20.7 T0705
Flexural strength (28-day) (MPa) 23 ≥18 EN 196-1 Voids in mineral aggregate (VMA) (%) 28.04 —
Tensile splitting strength 12 ≥8 EN 12390-6 Void filled with asphalt (VFA) (%) 20.7 —
(28-day) (MPa) Mix bulk specific gravity (g=cm3 ) 2.09 —
Modulus of elasticity 58 ≥50 EN 13412 Mix maximum theoretical specific gravity (g=cm3 ) 2.642 T0711
(28-day) (GPa) Marshall stability (kN) 12.64 T0709
Flow (mm) 4.7 —
Note: The mass ratio of water to grouting material used in this study is 1∶5.
Fig. 3. Performance-related tests on asphalt mixture: (a) Cantabro test; (b) rutting test; (c) Schellenberg test; (d) split tensile test; (e) permeability test;
and (f) three-point bending test.
Table 8. Properties of asphalt mixture All in all, the performance of modified asphalt mixture is prom-
Specification ising and meets all the requirements of urban road engineering
Property Value limit Standard design. However, when it comes to the BRT station and main road
intersection, where the traffic density is high and the loading time is
Marshall stability (kN) 12.64 ≥3.5 T0709
Tensile strength ratio (TSR) (%) 80.8 ≥80 T0729
longer, the pavement is damaged severely under frequent braking
Dynamic stability in rutting test 8,091 ≥3,000 T0719 and accelerating of heavy-duty vehicles. The conditions even
(times=mm) deteriorate at high temperatures in summer when the bonding
Low-temperature flexural failure 3,759 ≥2,500 T0715 performance of asphalt mixture is decreased. Thus, it is necessary
strain at −10°C (με) to introduce grouting measures for the asphalt mixture to improve
Permeability coefficient (mL=min) 6,209.6 — T0730 its stability at high temperatures and ensure driving safety and
Loss in Schellenberg binder drainage 0.08 <0.3 T0732 comfort.
test (%)
Weight loss in Cantabro test at 10.3 <20 T0733
−20°C (%) Cement Grout Asphalt Composite
In this study, the grouting material was prepared with a 35% water-
to-cement ratio. The reason lies in the fact that the 20% water-to-
on high elastic modified asphalt mixture (Fig. 3). The test results cement ratio was used to test the performance of the grouting
are shown in Table 8. material. However, in order to facilitate the fluidity of cement grout
From the test results, it can be concluded that the modified during construction, the 35% water-to-cement ratio was adopted in
asphalt mixture can provide enough space for grouting with its grouting construction after careful consideration. Then, 400 kg=m3
good void structure since its porosity is as high as 20.7% and of the prepared grouting material was poured on the surface of
the water permeability coefficient is 6,209.6 mL=min. Meanwhile, the modified asphalt mixture. Owing to the gravitational force,
the Marshall stability and dynamic stability are well beyond the the slurry naturally flows into the mixture to fill the voids. After
specification limits, indicating that the modified asphalt mixture grouting, the excess slurry on the surface of the modified asphalt
has good rutting resistance under high temperatures. The modified mixture was removed to maintain its original roughness and texture
asphalt mixture met all the technical requirements in the freeze- depth. Finally, the grouting mixture was cured at 20°C for 3 days so
thaw split tensile test, Cantabro test, and Schellenberg binder drain- that the process of increasing its strength could be completed. The
age test. This signifies that the mixture has excellent resistance to grouting procedure of the modified asphalt mixture is illustrated in
water damage, superior durability, and high adhesion between Fig. 4. The quality of the grouting both in the lab and in the field has
asphalt binder and aggregates. With excellent low-temperature a significant impact on the performance of the composite. For this
crack resistance, the bending failure strain of the modified asphalt reason, each step of grouting construction, including the grouting
mixture is far smaller than the specification limit. material preparation, the grouting amount, and the curing, was
Fig. 5. First trial section construction: (a) finished surface; (b) grouting
Fig. 4. Grouting procedure of modified asphalt mixture: (a) as-
application; (c) surface clearance; and (d) curing of pavement.
phalt mixture; (b) grouting material; (c) grouting application; and
(d) curing.
ical damages, like rutting or shoving, took place during this time.
During the initial on-site application of new CGAC construction,
practices were not conducted perfectly. For this reason, the perfor-
mance of core samples was inferior to that of laboratory-fabricated
specimens. Therefore, advancing the construction technology is
required to improve the in situ performance of the semiflexible
composite.
Fig. 7. Performance of laboratory-made and core samples before and after grouting (first trial section): (a) air void; (b) Marshall stability; and (c) split
tensile strength.
Fig. 8. Second trial section construction: (a) finished pavement surface; (b) spreading of grouting material; (c) mechanized injection; (d) surface
clearance; and (e) curing.
Fig. 9. Performance of laboratory-made and core samples before and after grouting (second trial section): (a) air void; (b) Marshall stability; and
(c) split tensile strength.
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