Importance of Curing Time and Temperature of Asphalt Mixture in Measured Mechanical Properties

摘要

Among the most widely used characteristics of asphalt mixture are Marshall stability and indirect tensile strength (ITS). This study examines importance of conditioning temperature and period before measuring these properties. Marshall specimens are conditioned by submerging in 60°C water for 30 min before loading. It was observed that if the specimen is cured in a lower (or higher) than normal lab temperature (25°C) before submerging, the measured values were not consistent. If the specimen is cured in lower temperature than normal, it should be submerged longer than 30 min at 60°C for Marshall test. In ITS test on the specimens which were cured at different temperatures, it was found that keeping the temperature at 25°C is very important in final result. Although there is no regulation specifying how long the specimen should be conditioned before testing, the specimen should be conditioned long enough time to secure it to be at 25°C. It was also found that if lab air temperature is lower or higher than normal, mixture was not properly cured, and test results were not reliable.