Polishing of Asphalt
Abstract
Polishing of asphalt pavements is an obstacle faced regularly on the roads of Lebanon. This behavior of the pavement causes its skid resistance to be reduced, knowing that the lower the skid resistance value, the higher the percentage of the traffic accidents especially during the winter season.
The following report presents a project carried out in the Highway materials and Construction course taken at AUB for a better understanding of the effect polishing and wet conditions have on skid resistance.
A concise literature review on skid-resistance, polishing causes and polishing experimentation is conducted followed by a detection of the main experimental concerns.
Following the literature review, laboratory experiments of which results are clearly presented are carried out in the Civil Engineering department soils and materials labs at AUB.
Finally, an analysis of the results and possible improvement methods and precautions to avoid polishing of asphalt pavements are proposed.
Introduction
During the entire life cycle of a pavement, highway agencies are expected to monitor and maintain an adequate surface roughness to facilitate friction between car tires and pavement surface.
Polishing is a smooth slippery surface caused by repeated wear on the pavement due to traffic and even heavy pedestrian load on parking lot pavements. This behavior of the pavement will cause its skid resistance to be reduced. For high-speed pavements this can be a serious surface distress, while on most parking facilities, the distress is negligible.
Our transportation problems in Lebanon are not only caused by the huge demand for transportation services but also by the distresses or damages the pavements experience without any appropriate maintenance.
A better understanding of asphalt pavements polishing behavior helps in a better perceptive on how to avoid this problem or solve it.
Literature Review
Polishing
Polishing of asphalt pavements is an obstacle faced regularly on the roads of Lebanon. This behavior of the pavement causes its skid resistance to be reduced, knowing that the lower the skid resistance value, the higher the percentage of the traffic accidents especially during the winter season.
The following report presents a project carried out in the Highway materials and Construction course taken at AUB for a better understanding of the effect polishing and wet conditions have on skid resistance.
A concise literature review on skid-resistance, polishing causes and polishing experimentation is conducted followed by a detection of the main experimental concerns.
Following the literature review, laboratory experiments of which results are clearly presented are carried out in the Civil Engineering department soils and materials labs at AUB.
Finally, an analysis of the results and possible improvement methods and precautions to avoid polishing of asphalt pavements are proposed.
Introduction
During the entire life cycle of a pavement, highway agencies are expected to monitor and maintain an adequate surface roughness to facilitate friction between car tires and pavement surface.
Polishing is a smooth slippery surface caused by repeated wear on the pavement due to traffic and even heavy pedestrian load on parking lot pavements. This behavior of the pavement will cause its skid resistance to be reduced. For high-speed pavements this can be a serious surface distress, while on most parking facilities, the distress is negligible.
Our transportation problems in Lebanon are not only caused by the huge demand for transportation services but also by the distresses or damages the pavements experience without any appropriate maintenance.
A better understanding of asphalt pavements polishing behavior helps in a better perceptive on how to avoid this problem or solve it.
Literature Review
Polishing
References: Ibrahim, Asi, Shalabi Faysal, and Naji Jamil. "Use of Basalt in Asphalt Concrete Mixes." Science Direct. Web. 22 Nov. 2010. Do, Minh-Tan, Zhenzhong Tang, Malal Kane, Francois De Larrad. (2007) “Pavement Polishing: Development of a dedicated laboratory test and its correlation with road results”. 36-42. SciVerse Science Direct. Web. 22 Nov. 2010. “Pendulum”. Wessex Test Equipement Home. Web 22 Nov. 2010. http://www.wessextestequipment.co.uk/Products/Pendulum.aspx. “Construction and Building Materials”. Journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/conbuildmat (2010) 686–694 |The development and verification of a new accelerated polishing machine | |by Khasawneh, Mohammad Ali, Ph.D., THE UNIVERSITY OF AKRON, 2008, 251 pages |