ABSTRACT
There is a push for improving the on-site pavement construction process. In addition, agencies change their specifications towards functional requirements and increase their guarantee periods. However, there is a gap between the tests in the laboratory design phase (CE-marking) and the properties achieved in the field. Also, the on-site construction process is traditionally not routinely monitored. This makes it hard to relate field properties to properties used in the design and properties declared on the CE-marking. This research addresses this gap as well as the need for a better understanding of the on-site construction processes.
In the Dutch airfield construction project Rotterdam The Hague Airport, mechanical properties (indirect tensile cracking resistance and triaxial permanent deformation resistance) were determined on (a) laboratory-mixed, laboratory-compacted specimens, (b) plant-mixed, laboratory-compacted specimens, and (c) plant-mixed, field-compacted specimens. Using this methodology, functional verification became possible and it allowed directly comparing field properties with properties promised in the pavement design and declared on the CE-mark. Additionally, supporting technologies were successfully introduced, such as GPS, laserlinescanners and infrared cameras, to monitor the asphalt temperature variability and the number of roller passes. The results made the on-site process explicit and show a consistent and homogeneous process.
The paper demonstrates that the fracture energy of the CE-marking specimens are a pretty good estimator for the final fracture energy achieved in the field. Further, the paper demonstrates how technologies can be used to monitor the on-site construction process. Together, this contributes to a deeper understanding of the construction process, consistent asphalt quality and functionally verified field properties.
