Asphalt emulsions are one of the alternatives for stabilizing base layers. The use of asphalt
emulsion treated mixtures can be cost effective especially in cold regions where supplying hot
mix is not economical. However, in cold climates emulsion aggregate mixtures show low
strength at early ages and require a longer curing time to develop breaking of asphalt emulsions
throughout the aggregates. The breaking period depends on the rate of water loss from the
mixture which is impacted by ambient temperatures. Type of asphalt emulsion, curing
temperature, curing time and moisture content are four significant factors in early age
development of engineering properties of the emulsion base aggregate mixture. In this study, a
proposed dense-graded gravel base material was treated with an anionic slow setting emulsion
with low viscosity (SS-1). In order to evaluate early curing, one set of samples was cured for 7
days at another set was cured at 24 C. Dynamic resilient modulus and permanent
deformation tests were performed to assess the effect of curing and temperature on stiffness and
resistance to the repeated traffic load. The study showed that high resilient modulus and low
deformation values were attained for 7 days curing at 24° C. The low temperature slows the
breaking process of the emulsion and causes the emulsion aggregate mixtures to have a lower
resistance to repeated loading.
Menu
