Abstract

The effect of moisture is fundamental in determining pavement responses. It becomes more important in tropical regions where high precipitation rates and high variability in water table levels are present. The results indicate that when comparing the quantitative performance of pavement sections that are subjected to near saturation conditions, the bearing capacity of the pavement structure can be as low as 5 % of that associated to the same structure but with optimum water content. The damage in the saturated pavement sections is greatly accelerated because of pumping of fines from the subgrade and the subbase. All the pavement layers are affected by loading (decrease or increase in layer moduli) but to a different degree depending on the moisture conditions. Furthermore, the effect of moisture is greater in the cohesive soils and contaminated granular materials. Finally, the relatively stiffer layers (i.e., hot mix asphalt and cement-treated base layers) are the ones that are more susceptible to a higher deterioration rate, particularly under saturated or near saturated conditions.

References

1.
Howson
J.
,
Masad
E. A.
,
Bhasin
A.
,
Branco
V. C.
,
Arambula
E.
,
Lytton
R.
, and
Little
D.
,
System for the Evaluation of Moisture Damage Using Fundamental Material Properties, Report FHWA/TX-07/0-4524-1
(
Austin, TX
:
Texas Department of Transportation
,
2007
).
2.
Scott
J. A. N.
, “
Adhesion and Disbonding Mechanisms of Asphalt Used in Highway Construction and Maintenance
,”
Association of Asphalt Paving Technologists Proceedings
47
(January
1978
):
19
48
.
3.
Tarrer
A. R
and
Wagh
V.
,
The Effect of the Physical and Chemical Characteristics of the Aggregate on Bonding, Report SHRP-A/UIR-91-507
(
Washington, DC
:
Strategic Highway Research Program
,
1991
).
4.
Majidzadeh
K.
and
Brovold
F. N.
,
State of the Art: Effect of Water on Bitumen-Aggregate Mixtures
(
Washington, DC
,
Highway Research Board
,
1968
).
5.
Little
D. N.
and
Epps
J. A.
,
The Benefits of Hydrated Lime in Hot Mix Asphalt
, updated by
Sebaaly
P. E.
(
Arlington, VA
:
National Lime Association
,
2006
).
6.
Sebaaly
P. E.
,
Comparison of Lime and Liquid Additives on the Moisture Damage of Hot Mix Asphalt Mixtures
(
Arlington, VA
:
National Lime Association
,
2007
).
7.
Aguiar-Moya
J. P.
,
Torres-Linares
P. A.
,
Camacho-Garita
E.
,
Leiva-Villacorta
F.
, and
Loría-Salazar
L. G.
, “
Development of IRI Models Based on APT Data
,” in
The Roles of Accelerated Pavement Testing in Pavement Sustainability
(
Cham, Switzerland
:
Springer
,
2016
):
799
813
.
8.
Hussain
J.
,
Wilson
D. J.
,
Henning
T. F. P.
, and
Alabaster
D.
, “
What Happens When It Rains? Performance of Unbound Flexible Pavements in Accelerated Pavement Testing
,”
Road and Transport Research
20
, no. 
4
(December
2011
):
3
15
.
9.
Toros
U.
and
Hiltunen
D. R.
, “
Effects of Moisture and Time on Stiffness of Unbound Aggregate Base Coarse Materials
,”
Transportation Research Record
2059
, no. 
1
(January
2008
):
41
51
. https://doi.org/10.3141%2F2059-05
10.
Ekblad
J.
and
Isacsson
U.
, “
Influence of Water on Resilient Properties of Coarse Granular Materials
,”
Road Materials and Pavement Design
7
, no. 
3
(
2006
):
369
404
. https://doi.org/10.1080/14680629.2006.9690043
11.
Ekblad
J.
and
Isacsson
U.
, “
Influence of Water and Mica Content on Resilient Properties of Coarse Granular Materials
,”
International Journal of Pavement Engineering
9
, no. 
3
(June
2008
):
215
227
. https://doi.org/10.1080/10298430701551193
12.
Zapata
C. E.
,
Perera
Y. Y.
, and
Houston
W. N.
, “
Matric Suction Prediction Model in New AASHTO Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide
,”
Transportation Research Record
2101
, no. 
1
(January
2009
):
53
62
. https://doi.org/10.3141%2F2101-07
13.
Huurman
R.
and
Molenaar
A. A. A.
, “
Permanent Deformation in Flexible Pavements with Unbound Base Courses
,”
Transportation Research Record
1952
, no. 
1
(January
2006
):
31
38
. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0361198106195200104
14.
Chandra
D.
,
Chua
K. M.
, and
Lytton
R. L.
, “
Effects of Temperature and Moisture on the Load Response of Granular Base Course Material in Thin Pavements
,”
Transportation Research Record
1252
(
1989
):
33
41
.
15.
Salour
F.
,
Erlingsson
S.
, and
Zapata
C. E.
, “
Modelling Resilient Modulus Seasonal Variation of Silty Sand Subgrade Soils with Matric Suction Control
,”
Canadian Geotechnical Journal
51
, no. 
12
(December
2014
):
1413
1422
. https://doi.org/10.1139/cgj-2013-0484
16.
Caicedo
B.
,
Coronado
O.
,
Fleureau
J. M.
, and
Gomes Correia
A.
, “
Resilient Behaviour of Non-Standard Unbound Granular Materials
,”
Road Materials and Pavement Design
10
, no. 
2
(
2009
):
287
312
. https://doi.org/10.1080/14680629.2009.9690196
17.
Zapata
C. E.
and
Salim
R. A.
, “
Impact of Environmental Site Location and Groundwater Table Depth on Thickness of Flexible Airfield Pavements
,”
Transportation Research Record
2282
, no. 
1
(January
2012
):
22
33
. https://doi.org/10.3141/2282-03
18.
National Cooperative Highway Research Program
Significant Findings from Full-Scale Accelerated Pavement Testing, NCHRP Synthesis 325
(
Washington, DC
:
Transportation Research Board
,
2004
).
19.
Ullidtz
P.
,
Pavement Analysis (Development in Civil Engineering)
(
Amsterdam, the Netherlands
:
North Holland Publishing
,
1987
).
This content is only available via PDF.
You do not currently have access to this content.