Field and Laboratory Investigation of Asphalt Pavement Permeability by Moustafa Awadalla B.Sc. American University of Sharjah A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Applied Science In Civil Engineering Ottawa-Carleton Institute of Civil and Environmental Engineering Carleton University Ottawa, Ontario © 2015, Moustafa Awadalla Abstract The long-term performance of road pavements is highly dependent upon the construction quality of the newly paved sections. The current assessment method used to evaluate the as-built quality of the newly finished roads utilizes relative density alone which may not necessarily reflect the actual properties that are required in the finished pavement. This research aims to perform comprehensive investigations concerning the hot mix asphalt (HMA) pavement permeability as a potential quality indicator of newly constructed roads. According to the conducted research, it is quite evident that considering the permeability along with relative density in the design mix procedure should provide a better indication and representation of the actual as-built physical condition of the newly constructed HMA road pavements. ii Acknowledgements Foremost, I would like to express all my gratitude to Allah for giving me the spiritual support and strength to accomplish this dissertation successfully. I would also love to express my deepest and sincere gratitude to each of my dear thesis supervisors, Professor A. O. Abd El Halim and Professor Yasser Hassan, for providing me with all necessary support and guidance throughout my studying period. Their valuable feedback and constructive criticism to my thoughts were behind the success of this research. I would like to extend my honest thanks and appreciation to the examining committee, Professor John A. Goldak and Professor Shawn Kenny, for their comments and feedback on my thesis study. My deepest appreciation goes to my parents, Samir and Samiah, for supporting me spiritually and financially through this journey. I cannot forget my dear siblings, Ahmed, Hala, Sara, and Mohammed, for all their encouragement and for remembering me in their prayers. Special thanks go to my colleague Anandkumar Chelliah for providing me with all assistance in collecting the field and laboratory data. Last but not least, I would love to thank my dearest friend and brother, Mohammed Atef, for his support and sincere advice. The financial support provided by the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO) is highly appreciated and acknowledged. iii Table of Contents Abstract .............................................................................................................................. ii Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................... iii Table of Contents ............................................................................................................. iv List of Tables .................................................................................................................... vi List of Figures ................................................................................................................. viii List of Appendices ........................................................................................................... xii Chapter 1: Introduction ............................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Background ................................................................................................................ 1 1.2 Problem Definition ..................................................................................................... 3 1.3 Objectives ................................................................................................................... 4 1.4 Scope of Research ...................................................................................................... 4 1.5 Thesis Organization ................................................................................................... 5 Chapter 2: Literature Review .................................................................................................. 6 2.1 Background ................................................................................................................ 6 2.2 Theoretical Background of Asphalt Pavement Permeability ..................................... 9 2.3 Factors Affecting Permeability ................................................................................ 10 2.4 Field Compaction Methods ...................................................................................... 13 2.5 Permeability Testing Techniques ............................................................................. 17 Chapter 3: Experimental Program ........................................................................................ 38 3.1 Data Collection......................................................................................................... 38 3.2 Equipment and Methods .......................................................................................... 45 3.3 Summary .................................................................................................................. 61 Chapter 4: Results of the Experimental Program ................................................................ 62 iv 4.1 Field Investigations .................................................................................................. 62 4.2 Laboratory Investigations ......................................................................................... 79 4.3 Summary .................................................................................................................. 92 Chapter 5: Data Analysis ........................................................................................................ 94 5.1 Physical and Mechanical Properties of Asphalt Pavement ...................................... 94 5.2 Correlations between the Physical and Mechanical Properties .............................. 114 5.3 Relative Density-IDT Relationship ........................................................................ 120 5.4 Relative Density-Permeability Relationship .......................................................... 128 5.5 Permeability- IDT Relationship ............................................................................. 137 5.6 Summary ................................................................................................................ 146 Chapter 6: Conclusions and Recommendations ................................................................. 149 6.1 Summary ................................................................................................................ 149 6.2 Conclusions ............................................................................................................ 151 6.3 Recommendations for Future Studies .................................................................... 154 List of References .......................................................................................................... 156 Appendices ..................................................................................................................... 162 v List of Tables Table 2.1: Pavement Compaction Requirements Based on Relative Density [MTO, 2002] ........... 8 Table 2.2: Comparison Matrix for All the Permeability Devices .................................................. 32 Table 2.3: Field Permeameter Ranking.......................................................................................... 32 Table 3.1: The Research Experimental Plan .................................................................................. 41 Table 3.2: Superpave Volumetric Mix Design and Properties of the Three Available Mixes....... 57 Table 3.3: The Different Compaction Levels of SGC Specimens. ................................................ 59 Table 4.1: Summary of all Examined Projects from 2012 to 2014 ................................................ 63 Table 4.2: The Laboratory Results on SGC Specimens for the Four Considered Mixtures .......... 80 Table 5.1: Summary of the Relative Density Dataset .................................................................... 95 Table 5.2: Summary of the Three-Way ANOVA Test Hypotheses ............................................... 97 Table 5.3: Summary of the Three-Way ANOVA Results for Relative Density ............................ 98 Table 5.4: Summary of the IDT Dataset ........................................................................................ 99 Table 5.5: Summary of the Three-Way ANOVA Results for IDT .............................................. 101 Table 5.6: Summary of One-Way ANOVA Results for Effect of Compaction Method on IDT . 101 Table 5.7: Summary of the Field Permeability Dataset ............................................................... 102 Table 5.8: Summary of the Three-Way ANOVA Results for Field Permeability ....................... 105 Table 5.9: Summary of One-Way ANOVA Results for Effect Compaction Method on Field Permeability ................................................................................................................................. 106 Table 5.10: Summary of the t-test Results for Effect of Age and Traffic on Field Permeability