Guidelines on Construction and Maintenance of Porous Friction Courses in Texas

Porous or permeable friction courses (PFC) are hot mix asphalt mixtures placed at the surface of a pavement structure in a thin layer to produce several benefits for the traveling public in terms of safety, economy, and the environment. It is a sacrificial wearing course consisting of an aggregate with relatively uniform grading and little or no fines and mineral filler and it is designed to have a high air void content compared to dense-graded mixtures. This document presents construction and maintenance guidelines for PFC which is based on a compilation of information from (1) published literature; (2) interviews with engineers and inspectors of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) districts with experience in the construction of PFCs; and (3) onsite field observations during the construction of 10 PFC projects around the state. Construction guidelines are presented on mixture production, storage and transportation, surface preparation, mixture placement, compaction and joint construction, and mixture acceptance. Since most of the PFCs constructed in Texas have performed very well to date, there is little experience regarding maintenance of PFCs. Based on information from the literature, guidelines are presented on corrective maintenance, surface maintenance, winter maintenance, and rehabilitation.

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