Evaluation of Asphalt Mixtures’ Moisture Sensitivity by Dynamic Creep Test

Abstract

A closer look at a number of researches carried out on the stripping potential of asphalt mixtures shows that there is no global agreement on a comprehensive procedure for evaluation of the moisture sensitivity of these mixtures. Therefore, an attempt was made to assess moisture sensitivity and its interaction with permanent deformation through performing a dynamic creep test on coarse graded and dense graded asphalt mixtures in different environmental and loading conditions, using a UTM25 loading machine. In the next step, test results were interpreted by using a newly developed three-stage creep model. According to the results, the coarse graded mixtures have lower moisture sensitivity and could better resist permanent deformations than the dense graded mixtures. Based on the creep models, low stress levels cannot appropriately show the behavior of asphalt specimens. It was also concluded that, at higher temperatures, asphalt mixtures might become more sensitive to temperature than moisture.