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Procedia Engineering 145 (2016) 1044 1050

International Conference on Sustainable Design, Engineering and Construction

Determining the Effect of Aging on the Air Void of Asphalt Concrete for
Sustainable Pavement

Md Rashadul Islam1, Shaikh Ahmad2 and Rafiqul A. Tarefder3*

1
Assistant Professor, Civil Engineering Technology, Colorado State University-Pueblo, 2200 Bonforte Blvd, Pueblo, CO 81001, USA; PH:
+1(719) 549-2612; email: md.islam@csupueblo.edu (Corresponding Author)
2
Undergradute Research Assistant, Department of Civil Engineering, University of New Mexico, MSC01 1070, 1 University of New Mexico,
Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA.
3
Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, University of New Mexico, MSC01 1070, 1 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131,
USA.

Abstract

For sustainable pavement design, accurate determination of the deterioration/change of properties of Asphalt
Concrete (AC) with service life is essential. This is because, properties of AC change with the service life due to the
continuous aging. Effects of aging on stiffness, fatigue life, etc. are well known; whereas, effect of aging on the air
void of AC is still an unknown issue. This study investigates the effects of aging on air void of AC sample. Asphalt
beam samples were prepared in the laboratory and subjected to field aging, and artificial laboratory oven aging. The
air voids of the AC samples at different conditioning periods were determined following the AASHTO test protocol.
Results show that aging does not cause a change in the air void of AC.
2016
2015TheThe
Authors. Published
Authors. by Elsevier
Published Ltd. This Ltd.
by Elsevier is an open access article
Peer-review underunder the CC BY-NC-ND
responsibility license committee of the
of organizing
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
International Conference on Sustainable Design, Engineering and Construction 2015.
Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of ICSDEC 2016

Keywords: Asphalt concrete, aging, air void

1. Introduction

At present, sustainability of pavement is a very serious issue to pavement researchers and engineers. This is why, the
changes of Asphalt Concretes (ACs) properties with the age of pavement is an interesting research topic. One of

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +1(719) 549-2612.

E-mail address: md.islam@csupueblo.edu

1877-7058 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of ICSDEC 2016
doi:10.1016/j.proeng.2016.04.135
 Md Rashadul Islam et al. / Procedia Engineering 145 (2016) 1044 1050 1045

the properties of AC, air void, may change due to the washing out of the asphalt binder from the AC due to moisture
damage. The determination of the air void with the age of the pavement is important to determine the damage or
degradation of asphalt. Once this can be done, the remedy of the issue can be solved to ensure sustainable pavement.
To understand the importance of air void, an example is explained here. The allowable number of load repetition for
traffic loading is determined by the following relation (Level 3) in the current pavement design software [1]:

1 1 (1)
N fv 0.007566(10M )CH ( )3.9492 ( )1.281
Ht E

M 4.84(
Vb
 0.69)
(2)
Va  Vb

where Nfv is the allowable number of load repetitions for traffic loading; Ht = tensile strain at critical location; E =
stiffness of the AC material; CH = thickness correction factor; Vb = percent effective binder content and Va = percent
air void. As air void is a parameter in the design life calculation, any change in air void due to aging can incur wrong
prediction of probable service life. Hence, sustainable pavement design may be inhibited. Therefore, determination
of change in air void with aging is important for sustainable pavement. Another example of the importance of the air
void is the dependency of coefficient of thermal contraction and expansion (CTC/CTE) on air void. In a past of the
authors, it was found that the CTC/CTE of AC is dependent on air void [2]. Note that the CTC/CTE is used to
determine the thermal stress under rapid cooling of AC in winter, which is subsequently used in thermal cracking
perdiction model. Therefore, changes in air void of AC with aging may incur wrong prediction of thermal cracking
in pavement.

The emission of volatile components of AC and chemical reaction of asphalt binder with oxygen may cause a
change in the air void content of AC too. The current study investigates this issue of changing the air void of AC
with aging. AC is a composite material consisting of asphalt binder and aggregates. Asphalt binder contains
hydrocarbon molecules. Hydrocarbon molecules are prone to react with oxygen, water and vapour available in the
environment. Asphalt binder reacts with oxygen at high temperature while mixing with aggregates in the mixing
plant and during construction period. This phenomenon is known as the short-term aging. After pavement
construction, asphalt binder continuously reacts with oxygen which is known as the long-term aging. Aging makes
binder hard and brittle that result in an increase in the stiffness of AC. This oxidation has a negative impact on
pavement durability and stiffness. Effects of long-term aging on the rheological properties of asphalt binder are well
explored in the literature [3-6]. All of these studies considered the change in the mechanical properties, shear
modulus, and viscosity of aged binder due to laboratory oven aging. There is not a single study which deals with the
air void of AC due to aging. However, change in air void causes in the mechanical properties and performances of
AC. Therefore, study of air void with aging is an interesting research topic; this is why, the authors of this study
have been motivated to study the change of the air void with aging.

2. Materials and Sample Preparation

A plant-produced asphalt mixture was collected from a construction site on near the city of Albuquerque in the state
of New Mexico in cooperation with the New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT). The mix is a dense
graded Superpave (SP) mix, type SP-III with the nominal maximum aggregate size of 19 mm. The mixture contains
a Performance Grade (PG) binder, type PG 76-22. About 4.4% asphalt was used by the weight of the mixture.
Beam slabs of 450 mm x 150 mm x 75 mm were prepared using a kneading compactor as shown in Fig. 1(a). It
shows the compacted mixture in the mold. After cooling down to room temperature, the slab was cut into two beams
of 380 mm x 63 mm x 50 mm using a laboratory saw as shown in Fig. 1(b). It is important to mention that this size
of beam sample is used in the fatigue testing of asphalt samples following the AASHTO T 321-07 test protocol [7].
The air voids of the sample ranged from 5.1% to 5.9% with an average value of 5.4%.
1046 Md Rashadul Islam et al. / Procedia Engineering 145 (2016) 1044 1050

(a) Compacted mixture (b) Sample prepared to be cut

Fig. 1 Sample preparation

3. Conditioning of Samples

3.1 Field Aging

The asphalt beam samples were conditioned in the sun (both day-night) for about one year (355 days) starting
summer 2013. The samples were placed in the sun as shown in Fig. 2. The samples experienced the maximum
temperature of about 54 C in summer, the minimum temperature of about -11 C in winter, about 91 freeze-thaw
cycles, day-night temperature differences up to 26 C, and typical New Mexico rainfall and humidity. These
environmental data was measured using installed sensors which are not described here as being the out of scope of
this study.

Fig. 2 Field conditioning of asphalt samples

3.2 Laboratory Long-Term Aging

Oven aging of beam samples was conducted following the AASHTO R 30-02 [8] test specification. Beam samples
were placed on a shelf in an oven at 85 C for 120 hours (5 days). After that time period, the oven was switch off
and the door was left open to let the specimens cool to room temperature for about 16 hours. To simulate different
conditioning periods, the process was repeated up to 5 times, which made aging of 25 days. Fig. 3 shows one batch
 Md Rashadul Islam et al. / Procedia Engineering 145 (2016) 1044 1050 1047

of the unaged asphalt samples and another batch of 120 hours of oven aged samples. The color difference between
these two batches of samples depicts the aging action of the binder. The color of binder becomes darker upon the
aging.

Fig. 3 Conditioning in oven

4. Determining Air Void

The theoretical maximum density of loose Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) mixtures were determined following the
AASHTO AASHTO T 209-05 [9] test standard. The theoretical maximum specific gravity (Gmm) of a HMA
mixture is the specific gravity excluding air void of the sample. Thus, analytically, if all the air voids were
eliminated from an HMA sample, the combined specific gravity of the rest of the aggregate and asphalt binder
would be the Gmm of the sample. The Gmm of the loose mixture was determined by taking a sample of loose HMA
(i.e., not compacted), weighing it and then determining its volume by calculating the volume of water it displaces.
The Gmm was then calculated as the sample weight divided by its volume. The bulk densities (Gmb) of prepared
samples were determined following the AASHTO T 166-07 [10] test standards. The Gmm test is used to determine
the specific gravity of a compacted HMA sample by determining the ratio of its weight to the weight of an equal
volume of water. This method calculates the specimen volume by subtracting the mass of the specimen in water
from the mass of a Saturated Surface Dry (SSD) specimen. SSD is defined as the specimen condition when the
internal air voids are filled with water and the surface (including air voids connected to the surface) is dry. This SSD
condition allows for internal air voids to be counted as part of the specimen volume and is achieved by soaking the
specimen in a water bath for 4 minutes then removing it and quickly blotting it dry with a damp towel. The
measurement of beam sample in air and water is shown in Fig. 4. Four replicate samples were tested for each
condition.
1048 Md Rashadul Islam et al. / Procedia Engineering 145 (2016) 1044 1050

a) Measuring weight in air b) Measuring weight in water

Fig. 4 Determining air of asphalt beam sample

5. Results and Discussion

5.1 Field Aging

Fig. 5 shows the change of air void with field conditioning. It shows that the air void does not change with
conditioning time. The air voids of the samples before the aging were between 5.1% and 5.7%. It remains almost the
same after 120 days of conditioning. Actually, with the oxidation of the asphalt binder with the oxygen, the
constituent of AC does not change. In addition, the volatile component of the asphalt binder is not so large which
may cause a decrease in the air void of the samples.
 Md Rashadul Islam et al. / Procedia Engineering 145 (2016) 1044 1050 1049

Fig. 5 Variation of air void with field conditioning period

Figure 5 shows the change of air void with field conditioning. It shows that the air void does not change with
conditioning time. The air voids of the samples before the aging were between 5.1% and 5.7%. It remains the equal
after 120 days of conditioning. Actually, with the oxidation of the asphalt binder with the oxygen, the constituent of
AC does not change. In addition, the volatile component of the asphalt binder may not of that amount which may
cause a decrease in the air void of the samples.

Laboratory Aging

5.2 Laboratory Aging

Fig. 6 shows the change of air void with field conditioning. It shows that the air void does not change with
conditioning time. The air voids of the samples before the aging were between 5.3% and 5.5%. It remains the equal
after 25 days of oven conditioning. The results are consistent with the finding from the field aged samples.

Fig. 6 Variations of air void with conditioning period.

1050 Md Rashadul Islam et al. / Procedia Engineering 145 (2016) 1044 1050

6. Conclusion

Based on the study preformed on aging of asphalt samples it can be concluded that both field and laboratory aging
do not have a remarkable impact on the air void of AC. Thus, it can be stated that, aging of asphalt samples does not
cause change the air void of AC. As, no similar study has not been conducted in the literature the finding of this
study could not be compared. The authors of the study are expecting to continue this research for larger sample size
with different types of mixtures and for longer period to better understanding of the phenomenon.

7. Acknowledgments

This study is funded by the New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT). The authors would like to
express their sincere gratitude and appreciation to the project technical panel and the project manager of NMDOT
for their unmatched support.

8. References

[1] AASHTO. (2008). Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide. A Manual of Practice, July 2008,
Interim Edition, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, Washington D. C.,
2008.
[2] Islam and Tarefder Islam, M. R., and Tarefder, R. A. (2015). Coefficients of Thermal Contraction and
Expansion of Asphalt Concrete in the Laboratory. ASCE Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering, Vol.
27, No. 11. 04015020.
[3] Singh, D., M. Zaman, and S. Commuri. Effect of Long Term Aging on Dynamic Modulus of Hot Mix
Asphalt. Geotechnical Special Publication, Vol. 211, 2011, pp. 47734781.
[4] Colbert, B., and Z. You. The Properties of Asphalt Binder Blended with Variable Quantities of Recycled
Asphalt Using Short Term and Long Term Aging Simulations. Construction and Building Materials, Vol.
26, 2012, pp. 552557.
[5] Islam, M. R., Hossain, M. I. and Tarefder, R. A. (2015). A Study of Asphalt Aging Using Indirect Tensile
Strength Test. Construction and Building Materials, Vol. 95, pp. 218-223.
[6] Islam, M. R., and Tarefder, R. A. (2015). A Study of Asphalt Aging Through Beam Fatigue Test.
Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, Vol. 2505, pp. 115-120.
[7] AASHTO T 32107. Determining the Fatigue Life of Compacted Hot-Mix Asphalt Subjected to Repeated
Flexural Bending. Standard Specifications for Transportation Materials and Methods of Sampling and
Testing, 27th Edition, 2007, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials,
Washington, D.C.
[8] AASHTO R 3002, Mixture Conditioning of Hot-Mix Asphalt (HMA). Standard Specifications for
Transportation Materials and Methods of Sampling and Testing, 25th Edition, 2005, American Association
of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), Washington, D.C.
[9] AASHTO T 209-05. Theoretical maximum specific gravity and density of hot mix paving mixtures.
Standard Specifications for Transportation Materials and Methods of Sampling and Testing, 27th Edition,
2007, AASHTO, Washington, D.C.
[10] AASHTO T 166-07. Bulk specific gravity of compacted hot mix asphalt using saturated surface-dry
specimens. Standard Specifications for Transportation Materials and Methods of Sampling and Testing,
27th Edition, 2007, AASHTO, Washington, D.C.