Current Research
Implementation of Improved Overlay Tester for Fatigue Cracking Resistance of Asphalt Mixtures
The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is currently responsible for maintaining approximately 197,000 lane-miles of highway. On average, 40% of the TxDOT biennial budget ($8.6 billion) was dedicated to infrastructure systems preservation. TxDOT spends around $1.225 billion on AC mixes for flexible pavements. This amount of AC mix production requires a considerable testing component to ensure the desired performance of flexible pavement infrastructure. With the current sustainable practices in flexible pavements such as inclusion of recycled materials and additives, the cracking service life of the AC layers may be negatively impacted incurring more rehabilitation and maintenance costs.
If the specifications and testing protocol developed in this project are implemented into the day-to-day operations of TxDOT, the positive impact of the project will significantly help the agency. The proposed technology will improve the AC mix-design process while allowing designers and producers to optimize the use of virgin and recycled materials without significantly affecting the quality of the final product. Theadaption of a reliable performance test suitable for determining the cracking susceptibility of AC mixes is an indispensable step to improve the performance of flexible pavements.