Field inspection and laboratory testing of highway pavement rutting

Abstract

The main objective of this research was to investigate the contribution of pavement characteristics, traffic, and physical and mechanical properties of asphaltic mixtures to highway pavement rutting. A total of 51 pavement sections from the rural highway network in Jordan were selected for a case study. The average rut depths for these sections were measured and three cores were drilled for comprehensive laboratory testing. The investigation was performed using four approaches. The first approach considered pavement characteristics represented by surface thickness, last overlay thickness, pavement age, and subgrade California bearing ratio. The average annual equivalent single axle load was also included in this approach. The second approach included Marshall test parameters such as stability, flow, stiffness, and Marshall modulus. The third approach dealt with the effect of mixture air voids on rutting. The variables examined in this approach include air void content within the ruts, voids between ruts, voids near the pavement centerline, and the difference between centerline and rut voids. The fourth approach considered the dynamic permanent deformation characteristics of the pavement surface layer represented by the dynamic modulus. Regression analysis techniques were employed to develop statistical relationships between average rut depths and the parameters examined in each individual approach. The combined effect of these significant parameters on pavement rutting was also examined for prediction purposes. Rutting formation was found to be most dependent on the traffic loading, dynamic modulus of the bituminous mixture and its susceptibility to further compaction, and foundation soil strength.Key words: pavement rutting and characteristics, Marshall test, traffic loading, air voids, static creep, dynamic permanent deformation.