Evaluation of Rutting Resistance and Moisture Sensitivity of Warm-Mix Asphalt Mixtures Using the Model Mobile Loading Simulator(MMLS3)

Warm-mix asphalt(WMA) technology has been developed to allow asphalt mixtures to be produced and compacted at a significantly lower temperature. The WMA technology was identified as one of means to lower emissions for and has been spread so quickly in the world. Recently, two innovative WMA additives has been developed to reduce mixing and paving temperatures applied in asphalt paving process in Korea. Since the first public demonstration project in 2008, many WMA projects have successfully been constructed in national highways. In 2010, the WMA field trial was conducted on new national highway construction under Dae-Jeon Regional Construction Management Administration. The two different WMA loose mixtures(WMA and WMA-P) and a HMA mixture were collected at the asphalt plant to evaluate their mechanical performance in the laboratory. The Third-scale Model Mobile Loading Simulator(MMLS3) was adopted to evaluate rutting resistance and moisture damage under different traffic and environmental conditions. In this study, plant-produced WMA mixtures using two WMA additives along with the conventional hot mix asphalt(HMA) mixtures were evaluated with respect to their rutting resistance and moisture susceptibility using MMLS3. Based on the limited laboratory test results, plant-produced WMA mixtures are superior to HMA mixtures in rutting resistance and the moisture susceptibility. The WMA additive was effective for producing and compacting the mixture at lower than the temperature for the HMA mixture.