Assessment of Tests to Determine Long-Term Durability of Wisconsin Aggregates

Abstract

Aggregates selected for Wisconsin transportation infrastructure must withstand harsh service conditions. In this paper, results of comprehensive statistical analyses on three sets of aggregate test data (two from Wisconsin and one nationally) are discussed. This included a database containing 2,52 sets of quality control aggregate tests from various construction projects in Wisconsin, an earlier Wisconsin aggregate research study (69 data sets), and a set of test results of aggregates from different parts of the United States and Canada (111 data sets). In addition, tests on 12 types of marginal or poor Wisconsin aggregates (as characterized by the state) were performed. The study objectives were to evaluate relevant statistical parameters for various aggregate test results and identify correlations among them. The possibility of predicting the outcomes of two tests [micro-Deval (MD) and unconfined freeze-thaw (UFT)] from other more common test results was studied. Multiparameter logistic regression analyses indicated that the micro-Deval test’s pass/fail outcomes could be predicted when results of other commonly performed tests were known. However, the outcome of the UFT test could not be forecast using results of other tests.