Assessment of moisture damage susceptibility of asphalt mixtures using thermodynamic properties

Abstract

This paper presents a comparative assessment of the susceptibility to moisture damage for different combinations of Colombian asphalt binders and aggregates. The methodology applied focuses on the calculation of the Moisture Damage Index (MDI) for different asphalt binder-aggregate systems. This index has been estimated using thermodynamic properties (i.e., surface free energy) of the involved materials. The results suggest that: (i) the type of aggregate has a larger infl uence on the fi nal mixture resistance to moisture damage, compared to the role of the type of asphalt binder and (ii) the modifi cation processes used in the production of different types of modifi ed asphalt binders generate asphalt binder-aggregate systems with a wide range of resistance to moisture damage. Finally, the results of this study prove that the thermodynamic characterization of paving materials can effi ciently be used for material selection during the initial stage of mixture design.

Keywords

• asphalt binder
• surface free energy
• work of adhesion
• moisture damage index
• pavements
• moisture damage