Performance Assessment of Asphalt Mixtures Using Frequency Sweep Test at Constant Height and Hamburg Wheel-Tracking Device

摘要

The study presents the comparative evaluation of mixture performance of the Superpave and dense-graded mixtures using the results of repeated shear test at constant height (RSCH), frequency sweep test at constant height (FSCH), and Hamburg wheel-tracking device (HWTD) test. The results of HWTD testing displayed the Superpave mixtures I and II were less susceptible to permanent deformation than the dense-graded mixture. The results of RSCH testing showed the cumulative shear strain and the predicted rut depths of the accumulated shear strain of the dense-graded mixture was about six times as large as those of the Superpave mixtures I and II. Compared with the test results of HWTD testing, the Superpave mixture II was less susceptible to permanent deformation and the dense-grade mixture was the most prone to rutting among these three mixtures. The normalizing frequency parameter of the dense-graded mixture was about one and half to five times as large as those of the Superpave mixtures I and II. The larger value the specification parameter―normalizing frequency parameter, the less that the mixtures could exhibit performance ranking. The use of specification parameter obtained from FSCH test, normalizing frequency parameter, for assessing mixture performance was consistent with the findings from HWTD and RSCH tests. Therefore, the Superpave mixture II ranked first and the dense-graded mixture ranked third based on the overall mixture performance.