Title: Effectiveness of Drainable Base Layer Based on Field Monitoring Data and Performance Predictions
Abstract: Providing adequate drainage to a pavement system has been considered as an important design consideration to prevent premature failures due to water related problems such as pumping action, loss of support, and rutting, among others. The in situ moduli of unbound pavement materials vary on a seasonal basis as a function of environmental conditions. Knowledge of these variations is required for accurate evaluation of pavement performance prediction of pavement life for pavement design and other pavement management activities. The primary objective of this paper is to evaluate the effectiveness of using permeable base layer on the subgrade moisture regime and the overall pavement performance. Two bound permeable base materials (Asphalt Treated Base and Cement Treated Base) and four unbound base course materials (typical ODOT 304, 307-IA, 307-NJ, and 307-CE) were built on two monitoring sites on I-90 in Ashtabula County, Ohio. The evaluation will be based on an extensive use of the mechanical properties of materials obtained in the laboratory, seasonal measured environmental data, and backcalculated pavement layer data. Results obtained help to assess the impacts of the presence of the permeable base layer on the variation of moisture in the subgrade and on the overall structural capacity of the pavement structure. Results showed that the treated base materials (cement and asphalt) exhibit better drainage performance than the other unbound materials. However, the performance analysis showed that the sections with bound base layer were always stronger than the sections with unbound base. The predicted pavement life, for the pavement sections built with bound base layers, was about 2 times greater than the sections built with unbound base.
Publication Year: 2008
Publication Date: 2008-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
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