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DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
FACULTY OF ENGINEERING
UNIVERSITI PUTRA MALAYSIA
PAVEMENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM ECV5607
(MASTER OF HIGHWAY AND TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING)
(Ir. Zulakmal Hj Sufian)
Osman Abdi Kulane
1st assignment
Metric. No. GS57840
Q no.1 A:
The pavement distresses that can be linked to hardening of bitumen are commonly more and we
have listed as follows.
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Block Cracking
Description: Interconnected cracks that divide the pavement up into rectangular pieces. Blocks
range in size from approximately 1 ft 2 to 100 ft2. Larger blocks are generally classified as
longitudinal and transverse cracking. Block cracking normally occurs over a large portion of
pavement area but sometimes will occur only in non-traffic areas.
Problem: Allows moisture infiltration, roughness
Possible Causes: HMA shrinkage and daily temperature cycling. Typically caused by an
inability of asphalt binder to expand and contract with temperature cycles because of:
Asphalt binder aging
Poor choice of asphalt binder in the mix design
Repair: Strategies depend upon the severity and extent of the block cracking:
Low severity cracks (< 1/2 inch wide). Crack seal to prevent (1) entry of moisture into
the subgrade through the cracks and (2) further raveling of the crack edges. HMA can
provide years of satisfactory service after developing small cracks if they are kept sealed
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(Roberts et. al., 1996[1]). If looks are important, or cracking is extensive, a slurry seal can
be placed over the sealed cracks.
High severity cracks (> 1/2 inch wide and cracks with raveled edges). Remove and
replace the cracked pavement layer with an overlay.
Longitudinal Cracking
Description: Cracks parallel to the pavement’s centerline or laydown direction. Usually a type
of fatigue cracking.
Problem: Allows moisture infiltration, roughness, indicates possible onset of fatigue cracking
and structural failure.
Possible Causes:
Shrinkage of the asphalt cement surface due to low temperatures or hardening of the
asphalt and/or daily temperature changes
Poor joint construction or location. Joints are generally the least dense areas of a
pavement. Therefore, they should be constructed outside of the wheelpath so that they are
only infrequently loaded. Joints in the wheelpath will general fail prematurely.
A reflective crack from an underlying layer (not including joint reflection cracking)
HMA fatigue (indicates the onset of future fatigue cracking)
Top-down cracking
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Repair: Strategies depend upon the severity and extent of the cracking:
Low severity cracks (< 1/2 inch wide and infrequent cracks). Crack seal to prevent (1)
entry of moisture into the subgrade through the cracks and (2) further raveling of the
crack edges. HMA can provide years of satisfactory service after developing small cracks
if they are kept sealed (Roberts et. al., 1996[1]).
High severity cracks (> 1/2 inch wide and numerous cracks). Remove and replace the
cracked pavement layer with an overlay.
Raveling
Description: The progressive disintegration of an HMA layer from the surface downward as a
result of the dislodgement of aggregate particles.
Problem: Loose debris on the pavement, roughness, water collecting in the raveled locations
resulting in vehicle hydroplaning, loss of skid resistance
Possible Causes:
Loss of bond between aggregate particles and the asphalt binder as a result of:
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o Asphalt binder aging. Aging is generally associated with asphalt binder oxidation
as it gets older. As the asphalt binder gets older, oxygen reacts with its constituent
molecules resulting in a stiffer, more viscous material that is more likely to lose
aggregates on the pavement surface as they are pulled away by traffic.
Repair: A raveled pavement should be investigated to determine the root cause of failure. Repair
strategies generally fall into one of two categories:
Small, localized areas of raveling. Remove the raveled pavement and patch. If the
pavement is still structurally sound, the raveling can be fixed with a fog seal or slurry
seal.
Large raveled areas indicative of general HMA failure. Remove the damaged pavement
and overlay.
Transverse (Thermal) Cracking
Description: Cracks perpendicular to the pavement’s centerline or laydown direction. Usually a
type of thermal cracking.
Problem: Allows moisture infiltration, roughness
Possible Causes:
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Shrinkage of the HMA surface due to low temperatures or asphalt binder hardening.
Reflective crack caused by cracks beneath the surface HMA layer
Top-down cracking
Repair: Strategies depend upon the severity and extent of the cracking:Low severity
cracks (< 1/2 inch wide and infrequent cracks). Crack seal to prevent (1) entry of
moisture into the subgrade through the cracks and (2) further raveling of the crack edges.
HMA can provide years of satisfactory service after developing small cracks if they are
kept sealed (Roberts et. al., 1996[1]).
High severity cracks (> 1/2 inch wide and numerous cracks). Remove and replace the cracked
pavement layer with an overlay
B: How can be curtailed bitumen hardening at the production, construction and in-service
stages?
Effective Factors That Can Cause Hardening Introduction Bitumen is common binder and has
gradually replaced road tar for construction purposes mainly because of the cancer risk. It is a
mixture of organic liquids that are highly viscous, black, sticky and entirely soluble in carbon
disulfide. Hot mix asphalt normally known as asphalt, is a composite material commonly used
for construction of pavement, highways and parking lots. It is a proportionately mixture of
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mineral aggregates (filler, sand, gravel or crushed stone) that are glued together by a bituminous
binder.
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It is produced in asphalt plant, then lay down in layers and compacted. Although the binder is the
component having the lowest percentage in asphalt mixture, its characteristics are those which
predominantly influence the properties and the performance of the mix as a whole. Varieties of
asphalt mixture exist. Asphalt concrete, stone mastic asphalt, hot rolled asphalt; porous asphalt
and gussaspalt are produced according to the layer type and local conditions. All these mixtures
display different rheological properties depending on binder and aggregate characteristics.
Bitumen, like any organic matter, is affected by factors like presence of oxygen, changes in
temperature.
These factors are responsible for hardening of bitumen. Hardening results in decline in
penetration increase in softening point and grow in penetration index (PI). For increased life of
bituminous pavement it is essential that excessive hardness does not take place. Hardening of
bitumen takes under the influence of external factors in the following ways: 1)Oxidative
Hardening : When bitumen is exposed to atmosphere for a prolonged period the oxygen starts
reacting with the bitumen components and higher molecular weight molecules are formed.
Larger molecules results in lesser flexibility and hence increased hardness. The degree of
hardness is dependent on factors like ambient temperature, exposure time & thickness of bitumen
film. It is observed that for 10 0C increase in temperature above 100 0C the oxidation rate
doubles. 2) Hardening Dou To Loss Of Volatile: Over a period of time the volatile components
in bitumen evaporate. The rate of evaporation is dependent on temperature only. The volatiles in
bitumen are relatively very low and hence hardening due to loss of volatiles is relatively small.
3) Physical Hardening:
Q no.2 Procedures that can be undertaken to ensure the quality of subgrade layer
construction. The overall strength and performance of a pavement is dependent not only upon
its design (including both mix design and structural design) but also on the load-bearing capacity
of the subgrade soil. Thus, anything that can be done to increase the load-bearing capacity (or
structural support) of the subgrade soil will most likely improve the pavement load-bearing
capacity and thus, pavement strength and performance. Additionally, greater subgrade structural
capacity can result in thinner (but not excessively thin) and more economical pavement
structures. Finally, the finished subgrade should meet elevations, grades and slopes specified in
the contract plans. This subsection covers:
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Increasing subgrade support by compaction
Increasing subgrade support by alternative means
Subgrade elevation
Primecoats for HMA pavements
Increasing Subgrade Support – Compaction
Figure 1. Checking subgrade density
In order to provide maximum structural support (as measured by MR, CBR or R-value), a
subgrade soil must be compacted to an adequate density (see Figure 1). If it is not, the subgrade
will continue to compress, deform or erode after construction, causing pavement cracks and
deformation. Generally, adequate density is specified as a relative density for the top 150 mm (6
inches) of subgrade of not less than 95 percent of maximum density determined in the laboratory.
In fill areas, subgrade below the top 150 mm (6 inches) is often considered adequate if it is
compacted to 90 percent relative density. In order to achieve these densities the subgrade must be
at or near its optimum moisture content (the moisture content at which maximum density can be
achieved). Usually compaction of in situ or fill subgrade will result in adequate structural
support.
Increasing Subgrade Support – Alternative Means
If the structural support offered by the in situ compacted subgrade is or is estimated to be
inadequate, there are three options (any one or combination of the three can be used):
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1. Stabilization. The binding characteristics of these materials generally increase subgrade
load-bearing capacity. Typically, lime is used with highly plastic soils (plasticity index
greater than 10), cement is used with less plastic soils (plasticity index less than 10) and
emulsified asphalt can be used with sandy soils. For flexible pavements, a primecoat is
not effective on silty clay or clay soils because the material cannot be absorbed into such
a fine soil
2. Over-excavation. The general principle is to replace poor load-bearing in situ subgrade
with better load-bearing fill. Typically, 0.3 – 0.6 m (1 – 2 ft.) of poor soil may be
excavated and replaced with better load-bearing fill such as gravel borrow.
3. Add a base course and perhaps a subbase course over the subgrade. A base course
offers additional load-bearing capacity. New pavement structural designs often use some
sort of granular base course unless subgrade structural support is extremely good and
expected loads are extremely low. Base courses are subjected to the same compaction and
elevation requirements as subgrade soils.
Subgrade Elevation
After final grading (often called fine-grading), the subgrade elevation should generally conform
closely to the construction plan subgrade elevation (Figure 2). Large elevation discrepancies
should not be compensated for by varying pavement or base thickness because (1) HMA, PCC
and aggregate are more expensive than subgrade and (2) in the case of HMA pavements, HMA
compacts differentially – thicker areas compact more than thinner areas, which will result in the
subgrade elevation discrepancies affecting final pavement smoothness.
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Figure 2. Subgrade elevation before paving.
Prime coat – HMA Pavements
For HMA pavements, the graded subgrade or the top granular base layer may be prepared with a
primecoat if necessary. A primecoat is a sprayed application of a cutback or emulsion asphalt
applied to the surface of untreated subgrade or base layers Prime coats have three purposes.
