Construction and Building Materials 196 (2019) 703–713

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Construction and Building Materials

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/conbuildmat

Material optimization and optimum asphalt content design of asphalt

mixture in salty and humid environment
Ke Zhang a, Yaofei Luo b,⇑, Yunze Wang c, Wenlong Li a, Gan Yu a
a
College of Information Engineering, Fuyang Normal University, Fuyang, Anhui 236041, China
b
School of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Zhengzhou University of Aeronautics, Zhengzhou, Henan 450046, China
c
School of Civil Engineering, Shijiazhuang Tiedao University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050043, China

h i g h l i g h t s

The improved boiling water test was developed to acquire the degree of stripping quantitatively.

Anti-stripping agent AMR with dosage of 0.5–0.6% was recommended to improve the water stability.

The design method of optimum asphalt content based on ITS for asphalt mixture was proposed.

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: To improve the water stability of asphalt mixture in coastal areas, the optimization of asphalt anti-
Received 5 July 2018 stripping agent and the design of optimum asphalt content were studied according to the characteristic
Received in revised form 20 November 2018 of salty and humid environment. Firstly, the improved boiling water test was put forward to determine
Accepted 20 November 2018
the type and dosage of anti-stripping agent suitable for salty and humid environment preliminarily.
Available online 28 November 2018
Secondly, the improvement effect of anti-stripping agent on water stability of asphalt mixture was eval-
uated. The type and optimum dosage range of asphalt anti-stripping agent were eventually determined.
Keywords:
Finally, the design method of optimum asphalt content based on indirect tensile strength (ITS) for asphalt
Salty and humid environment
Asphalt mixture
mixture in salty and humid environment was proposed. The results show that the anti-stripping agent of
Water stability PA-1 (P), HT-09 (H), AMR (A) and TJ-066 (T) all improve the adhesion between asphalt and aggregate in
Anti-stripping agent salty and humid environment, but the performance of anti-stripping agent H declines significantly after
Optimum asphalt content aging. The anti-stripping agent A is recommended to improve the water stability of asphalt mixture in
salty and humid environment. The optimum dosage range of anti-stripping agent A is 0.5–0.6% by weight
of asphalt. The temperature of 40 °C and loading rate of 5 mm/min are proposed as appropriate condition
for indirect tensile test. Replacing the stability by ITS and combining with volume indexes to determine
the optimum asphalt content could ensure good water stability of asphalt mixture in salty and humid
environment.
Ó 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
The sea fog with high concentration occurs frequently in coastal
areas of China, which often becomes the carrier of NaCl [1]. The
water with Cl will infiltrate into asphalt pavement when the sea
fog condenses [2]. At this time, the air humidity and chloride salt
maintains at a high level, which forms salty and humid environ-
ment. The asphalt pavement performance is simultaneously
affected by water and chloride salt [3]. After the action of hydrody-
namic pressure caused by vehicle load, the corrosion of water with
⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: hpulyf@163.com (Y. Luo), wangyunze@stdu.edu.cn (Y. Wang).
Cl will accelerate the aging of asphalt, weaken the adhesion
between asphalt and aggregate and lower the overall strength of
asphalt mixture [4]. Shi et al. [5,6] also demonstrated the damage
effect of chloride salt in deicer solution on the performance of
asphalt mixture. As a result, a series of water damage such as loose
and pits of asphalt pavement occurs [7]. This phenomenon is
related to the construction quality of asphalt pavement to some
extent, but the main reason is the lack of selection and design prin-
ciples of asphalt mixture corresponding to salty and humid envi-
ronment in coastal areas [8,9]. The optimization of materials
such as additives and the design of optimum asphalt content were
lack of effectiveness, which was not suitable for asphalt mixture
under the condition of salty and humid environment in coastal

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2018.11.158
0950-0618/Ó 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
704 K. Zhang et al. / Construction and Building Materials 196 (2019) 703–713

areas. Therefore, the material optimization and optimum asphalt
content of asphalt mixture in salty and humid environment need
to be studied systematically.
The adhesion characterizes the ability of asphalt film on the sur-
face of aggregate in resisting damage or stripping [10,11]. Improv-
ing the adhesion between asphalt and aggregate, namely the water
stability of asphalt mixture by anti-stripping agent is an effective
measure to reduce the water damage of asphalt pavement [12–
16]. However, most of current studies on anti-stripping agents
were conducted in conventional environment (pure water). The
performance of anti-stripping agent under the coupling effect of
water and chloride in salty and humid environment was rarely
studied [17–21]. At the same time, the index of boiling water test
is not quantitative and greatly affected by human factors [22,23].
With the rapid development of digital image processing (DIP) tech-
nology, the DIP technology is widely used in image quantitative
analysis [24,25]. So it is important to determine appropriate type
and dosage range of anti-stripping agents by boiling water test
quantitatively according to the characteristic of salty and humid
environment.
In addition, the Marshall Design method is widely used for the
design of asphalt mixture in China. The index of Marshall Stability
only reflects the interlock effect between aggregates, which is not
sensitive to the cohesion of asphalt mixture. The cohesion reflects
the adhesive strength of asphalt and aggregate in the mixture. The
higher stability does not guarantee larger cohesion of asphalt mix-
ture. So the water stability of asphalt pavement in coastal areas
cannot be ensured by the asphalt content determined by Marshall
Method. The Gyratory Testing Machine (GTM) design method,
Superpave design method and some design methods proposed by
some scholars mostly start from high and low temperature perfor-
mance of asphalt mixture, and rarely pay attention to water stabil-
ity [26–30]. The current design method of optimum asphalt
content for the mixture is not suitable for salty and humid environ-
ment. Anderson et al. [31] found that the linear correlation
between indirect tensile strength (ITS) of asphalt mixture under
appropriate condition and cohesion is good, indicating that the
cohesion of asphalt mixture with large ITS is big. The asphalt mix-
ture with larger cohesion will resist the corrosion of water and
chloride in salty and humid environment better, which is not sub-
jected to water damage such as pit and loose. Therefore, it is
important to determine the optimum asphalt content of the mix-
ture based on ITS under the condition of salty and humid environ-
ment in coastal areas, thereby ensuring the cohesion of asphalt
mixture is sufficient.
According to the characteristic of salty and humid environment,
the optimization of anti-stripping agent and the design of optimum
asphalt content for asphalt mixture were studied in this paper.
Firstly, an image acquisition system for aggregate was developed,
and the improved boiling water test was put forward to prelimi-
narily determine the type and dosage range of anti-stripping agent
suitable for salty and humid environment. Secondly, the effect of
anti-stripping agent in improving the water stability of asphalt
mixture was analyzed by laboratory tests. Combining with the
influence of anti-stripping agent on other aspects of road perfor-
mance, the type and optimum dosage range of anti-stripping agent
were eventually determined. Finally, the correlation between ITS
under different test conditions and water stability of asphalt mix-
ture were analyzed to determine the appropriate condition for
indirect tensile test. The design method of optimum asphalt con-
tent based on ITS for asphalt mixture in salty and humid environ-
ment was proposed. The research results could provide some
references for improving the performance of asphalt pavement
under the condition of salty and humid environment in coastal
areas.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Materials
The SBS modified asphalt and SK90# base asphalt were selected
in the paper, and the technical indexes of the two were listed in
Table 1. The aggregates were limestone, basalt and granite from
Xi’an, and the mineral filler was limestone powder. The aggregates
used can meet the technical requirements of Chinese specification
(JTG F40-2004).
The aggregates used in improved boiling water test were basalt
and granite. The coarse aggregate of asphalt mixture was basalt,
and the fine aggregate was limestone. The gradation of asphalt
mixture was AC13, which was commonly used in the project.
The binder in the mixture was SK90# asphalt and SBS modified
asphalt. The passing rate of aggregate in AC13 asphalt mixture
was shown in Table 2. The optimum asphalt aggregate ratio of

Table 1
Technical indexes of SBS modified asphalt and SK90# asphalt.

Items Measured value

SBS SK90#
Penetration (25 °C, 100 g, 5 s, 0.1 mm) 69 91
Penetration index 0.032 0.967
Ductility (5 °C, 5 mm/min, cm) 42 >100
Softening point (°C) 75 48.9
Density (15 °C, g/cm3) 1.031 0.979
RTFO treated at 163 °C for 85 min Mass loss (%) 0.34 0.34
Residual penetration ratio (25 °C, %) 65 72.9
Residual ductility (10 °C, cm) 23 >100

Table 2
Gradation composition of AC13 asphalt mixture.

Sieve size/mm 16 13.2 9.5 4.75 2.36 1.18 0.6 0.3 0.15 0.075
Passing ratio/% 100 96.5 80.0 53.7 37.0 25.2 17.3 11.8 9.0 5.4
 K. Zhang et al. / Construction and Building Materials 196 (2019) 703–713 705

Table 3
Performance indexes of anti-stripping agent.

Anti-stripping agent Appearance Density/g cm3 Compatibility (With asphalt) Recommended dosage/%
P Dark-brown viscous liquid 0.96 Good 0.3–0.5
H Brown-yellow viscous liquid 0.94 Good 0.08–0.12
A Brown-yellow solid particle 1.01 Good 0.3–0.5
T Brown viscous liquid 0.97 Good 0.4

asphalt mixture (SK90# asphalt) was 4.3%, which was determined
by Marshall Design method.
The anti-stripping agents of PA-1 (P), HT-09 (H), AMR (A), TJ-
066 (T) were selected in the paper. These anti-stripping agents
were developed by Xi’an Highway Research Institute, Zibo Huitong
Oil Fine Chemical Co., Ltd., Chongqing Haimu Traffic Technology
Co., Ltd. and Tongji University respectively. The anti-stripping
agents of P and H belong to amine anti-stripping agent, which main
chemical composition is amine substance such as polyamide poly-
mer and aliphatic amine. The anti-stripping agents of A and T
belong to non-amine anti-stripping agent, which main chemical
composition is non-amine substance such as phosphorus hydroxyl
compound. The performance indexes of four kinds of anti-stripping
agents were shown in Table 3.
2.2. Test method
2.2.1. Boiling water test
The aggregate which diameter is larger than 13.2 mm was fas-
tened one by one with a thin wire and placed in an oven at
105 ± 5 °C for one hour. Then the heated aggregate was removed
and immersed in pre-heated asphalt for 45 s. Next, the aggregate
coated with asphalt was suspended at room temperature (25 °C)
for 15 min so that the excess asphalt could flow away. Finally,
the aggregate was immersed in the center of a large beaker con-
taining boiling water and the water remains in a slightly boiling
state. After boiling for 3 min, the stripping of asphalt film on the
surface of the aggregate was observed, and the adhesion grade
between asphalt and aggregate was evaluated.
2.2.2. Road performance tests
The anti-stripping agents of P, A and T were added to SK90#
base asphalt at their respective preliminary dosages. The Marshall
Specimens made of AC13 asphalt mixture were molded, and the
control group was also set up (without anti-stripping agent).
Before the test, the specimens were treated by dry-wet cycle in
10% NaCl solution for 12 times to simulate the corrosion of salty
and humid environment. Here, one dry-wet cycle is defined as fol-
lows: The specimens are immersed in NaCl solution at 30 °C for
12 h and then placed at room temperature in laboratory for 12 h
[1]. The freeze-thaw splitting test and dynamic water scouring
and splitting test were carried out to evaluate the effect of anti-
stripping agent type on water stability of asphalt mixture under
salty and humid condition. The number of samples for road perfor-
mance test was no less than three. Here, the temperature of scour-
42 time/min. The load of low temperature bending test was
applied at a rate of 50 mm/min in an environment box at
10 °C ± 0.5 °C. The temperature of immersion Hamburg wheel
tracking test is 50 °C. The weight of loading wheel is 705 N, and
the loading rate is 52 time/min.
2.2.3. Mechanical property test
The SBS modified asphalt and AC13 gradation were selected,
and the Marshall Specimens with the asphalt aggregate ratio of
4.0%, 4.5%, 5.0%, 5.5%, and 6.0% were molded. The indirect tensile
test was carried out by using Universal Testing Machine at the
temperatures of 20 °C, 30 °C, 40 °C, 50 °C and the loading rate of
5 mm/min, 20 mm/min and 50 mm/min respectively. The evalua-
tion index of mechanical property for asphalt mixture was ITS, as
shown in Eq. (1).
PT
RT ¼ 0:006287 ð1Þ
h
Here, RT is ITS, MPa; PT is the maximum value of test load, N; h is the
height of specimen, mm.
3. Optimization of anti-stripping agent in salty and humid
environment
Following the principle of improving the water stability of
asphalt mixture and combining with other aspects of road perfor-
mance, the type and optimum dosage range of anti-stripping agent
suitable for salty and humid environment were recommended.
3.1. Preliminary selection of anti-stripping agents
3.1.1. Improved boiling water test
To evaluate the adhesion between asphalt and aggregate in
salty and humid environment reasonably, an improved boiling
water test was put forward. Firstly, 5% NaCl solution was selected
to replace pure water to simulate the effect of salty and humid
environment. Secondly, the image acquisition system for aggregate
(IASA) was developed. The digital image processing technology
was utilized to calculate the stripping rate of asphalt on the surface
Table 4
Grading standard of adhesion between asphalt and aggregate.
Stripping Adhesion Stripping description of asphalt film on the surface
rate/% grade of aggregate

ing process is 60 °C, the pressure of dynamic water is 100 kPa, and 5 10 Asphalt film is in good condition.
the number of scouring cycle is 400 times. The solution concentra- 5–10 9 Asphalt film is in good condition with little
stripping on the corners of aggregate.
tion is consistent with the wet-dry cycle. The temperature of split-
10–15 8 Asphalt film is basically in good condition with a
ting test is 25 °C. little stripping on aggregate surface.
The Marshall Specimens and rutting plate specimens were 15–20 7 Stripping of partial asphalt film and the exposed
formed by changing the dosage of anti-stripping agent A. Then 20–30 6 area of aggregate surface is 15–30%.
the influence of anti-stripping agent dosage on rutting resistance, 30–40 5 A large amount of asphalt film is stripping, and the
40–50 4 exposed area of aggregate surface is 30–60%.
low temperature performance and water stability of asphalt mix- 50–60 3
ture in salty and humid environment was investigated by rutting 60–70 2 A large amount of asphalt film is stripping, and the
test, low temperature bending test and immersion Hamburg wheel exposed area of aggregate surface exceeds 60%.
tracking test. Here, the temperature of rutting test is 60 °C, the ＞70 1 A large amount of asphalt film is stripping, and the
exposed area of aggregate surface exceeds 70%.
pressure of rubber wheel is 0.7 MPa and the rolling speed is
706 K. Zhang et al. / Construction and Building Materials 196 (2019) 703–713
Fig. 1. Image acquisition system for aggregate.
(a) Plane image (b) Lateral image
Fig. 2. Image of asphalt and aggregate.
of aggregate. Finally, the 10-level grading standard was proposed
to reduce the difference of stripping rate belongs to the same adhe-
sion grade. The grading standard of 10 levels was shown in Table 4.
3.1.1.1. Image acquisition. The IASA was developed to achieve high
quality image, and the image acquisition system was shown in
Fig. 1. The system consists of frame, lighting system, sample table
and CCD camera.
The stripping phenomenon of asphalt on the surface of aggre-
gate can be captured from different angles by IASA. The error
caused by the overlapping of asphalt stripping on plane and lateral
images should be avoided by adjusting the shooting angle of cam-
era. The light during image acquisition was keep uniform, and the
plane and lateral image information of aggregate was acquired. The
image of asphalt and aggregate acquired by IASA was shown in
Fig. 2.
3.1.1.2. Image processing and calculation. The Image-Pro Plus (IPP)
software was used for the measurement of asphalt and aggregate
image. The main task was selecting the boundary of target image
and calculating the area of target image to quantitatively evaluate
the adhesion between asphalt and aggregate. The specific steps for
obtaining the stripping rate of asphalt on aggregate were as
follows:
Fig.3. Images of asphalt and aggregate after pretreatment.
Fig. 4. The determination of target boundary on the image.
(1) Image pretreatment
Adjust the brightness, contrast, gamma and other parame-
ters of image to appropriate values, perform the denoise pro-
cessing on image and eliminate some interference on
measurement, so as to reflect the characteristic of object
clearly. Then the error caused by image itself can be reduced.
The image of asphalt and aggregate after pretreatment was
shown in Fig. 3.
(2) Selection of target area
Take the exposed aggregate surface after the stripping of
asphalt film on the image as target area. According to the
difference in pixel characteristic among target area, black
asphalt film and blue image background, the threshold is
adjusted to accurately determine the boundary of exposed
aggregate surface, as shown in Fig. 4.
(3) Correction and measurement of target area
After the selection of target area in previous step, the
selected target area must be corrected to improve the accu-
racy of target selection. The pixel statistic function of IPP
software is used to count the pixel number of target area
and complete aggregate surface.
(4) Calculation of asphalt stripping rate on the surface of aggre-
gate
According to Eq. (2), calculate the asphalt stripping rate on
plane and lateral images of aggregate respectively. Take
the average of the two as final asphalt stripping rate of
aggregate sample to evaluate the adhesion grade of asphalt
and aggregate.
Pixelnumberof target area
Asphaltstrippingrate ¼
Pixelnumberof completeaggregatesurface
 100%
ð2Þ
3.1.2. Preliminary determination of anti-stripping agent dosage
According to the recommended dosages of anti-stripping agents
of P, H, A and T in conventional environment, the selected dosage
 K. Zhang et al. / Construction and Building Materials 196 (2019) 703–713 707

Table 5
Test results of different anti-stripping agents.

Aggregate type Basalt Granite

Dosage of anti-stripping 0 0.3 0.4 0.5 0 0.3 0.4 0.5
agent/%
P Stripping rate/% 34.2 14.7 4.0 4.7 45.9 18.3 4.0 3.7
Adhesion grade 5 8 10 10 4 7 10 10
A Stripping rate/% 34.2 13.5 7.5 3.7 45.9 16.5 9.5 4.3
Adhesion grade 5 8 9 10 4 7 9 10
T Stripping rate/% 34.2 12.4 8.5 3.3 45.9 13.5 9.1 3.8
Adhesion grade 5 8 9 10 4 8 9 10
Aggregate type Basalt Granite
Dosage of anti-stripping 0 0.08 0.1 0.12 0 0.08 0.1 0.12
agent/%
H Stripping rate/% 34.2 8.1 3.9 3.7 45.9 7.3 3.3 3.0
Adhesion grade 5 9 10 10 4 9 10 10

of anti-stripping agents of P, A and T is 0.3–0.5% by weight of
asphalt, and the dosage of anti-stripping agent H is 0.08–0.12%
for salty and humid environment. The control group without
anti-stripping agent was set. The improved boiling water test of
asphalt and aggregate was performed in 5% NaCl solution. The
results were shown in Table 5.
As shown in Table 5, four kinds of anti-stripping agents can
improve the adhesion between asphalt and aggregate in salty
and humid environment, but the improvement effect of various
anti-stripping agents is different. The amine anti-stripping agents
of P and H show significant effect when the dosage is smaller than
that of non-amine anti-stripping agents of A and T. According to
the test results of adhesion between asphalt and aggregate mixed
with different dosages of anti-stripping agent, the dosages of anti-
stripping agents of P, H, A and T were preliminarily recommended
as 0.4%, 0.1%, 0.5% and 0.5% by weight of asphalt respectively in
salty and humid environment.
3.1.3. Preliminary determination of anti-stripping agent type
Various anti-stripping agents were added to SK90# base asphalt
at respective preliminary dosages, and then the rolling thin film
oven test (RTFOT) was carried out. The control group without
anti-stripping agent was also set. The improved boiling water test
of asphalt and aggregate was conducted in 5% NaCl solution, and
the results were shown in Table 6.
From Table 6, it can be seen that after short-term aging, the per-
formance of anti-stripping agents of P and H declines to a certain
extent. Particularly, the decreasing range of anti-stripping agent
H is larger, which adhesion grade with granite only reaches 7th
level. However, the adhesion between asphalt and aggregate mixed
with anti-stripping agent is still better than that of control group.
After aging, the adhesion grade of anti-stripping agent P with
basalt and granite is higher than that of anti-stripping agent H
by one level. The property of anti-stripping agents of A and T is
almost the same after aging, and the adhesion grade with basalt
and granite can still reaches 10th level.
The anti-stripping agents of P, A and T all show good anti-aging
performance. These anti-stripping agents well improve the adhe-
sion between asphalt and aggregate at their preliminary dosages
in salty and humid environment. The anti-stripping agent H will
also improve the adhesion between asphalt and aggregate under
salty and humid condition before aging, but its performance decli-
nes seriously after short-term aging. The anti-stripping agent H is
not suitable for salty and humid areas.
3.2. Optimal selection of anti-stripping agents
The freeze-thaw splitting test and dynamic water scouring and
splitting test of asphalt mixture added with anti-stripping agents
of P, A and T at their preliminary dosages were carried out. The
effect of anti-stripping agent on water stability of asphalt mixture
in salty and humid environment was evaluated.
3.2.1. Freeze-thaw splitting test
Under the condition of salty and humid environment, the
freeze-thaw splitting test of asphalt mixture mixed with different
anti-stripping agents before and after aging was carried out. The
results were shown in Fig. 5.
Fig. 5 illustrates that the tensile strength ratio (TSR) of unaged
asphalt mixture without anti-stripping agent is 69.4%, which can-
not meet the requirement of related specification (JTG F40-2004).
The water stability of asphalt mixture added with anti-stripping
agents of P, A and T improves significantly. The improvement effect
of anti-stripping agents of P and A is slightly better than that of
anti-stripping agent T. After short-term and long-term aging, the
TSR of asphalt mixture mixed with different anti-stripping agents
is ranked as anti-stripping agent A > anti-stripping agent T > anti-
stripping agent P > control group. When compared with unaged
asphalt mixture, the TSR of various asphalt mixture decreases to
different extents. The decrease range of anti-stripping agent P is
largest. The reduction of anti-stripping agent A and anti-stripping
agent T is almost the same, which is smaller than that of
anti-stripping agent P. The durability of non-amine anti-stripping
agents of A and T is better than that of amine anti-stripping
agent P.
Obviously, the anti-stripping agents of P, A and T can improve
the water stability of asphalt mixture to various degrees in salty
and humid environment. The effect of non-amine anti-stripping

Table 6
Improved boiling water test results of anti-stripping agents after aging.

Basalt Granite
Control group P H A T Control group P H A T
Stripping rate/% 46.5 9.4 12.3 4.3 4.1 57.8 8.9 18.7 4.4 4.5
Adhesion grade 4 9 8 10 10 3 8 7 10 10
708 K. Zhang et al. / Construction and Building Materials 196 (2019) 703–713
Fig. 5. TSR of asphalt mixture mixed with anti-stripping agent.
Fig. 6. Scouring and splitting strength ratio of asphalt mixture.
agent is generally better than that of amine anti-stripping agent.
After the treatment of short-term and long-term aging, the TSR of
asphalt mixture added with anti-stripping agent A is largest.
3.2.2. Dynamic water scouring and splitting test
The scouring and splitting strength ratio of asphalt mixture
with and without anti-stripping agents was shown in Fig. 6, which
Fig. 7. External change of Marshall Specimen.
was also compared with TSR. Fig. 6 shows the external change of
Marshall Specimen before and after dynamic water scouring.
As shown in Fig. 6, various kinds of anti-stripping agents all
improve the resistance to water scouring of asphalt mixture, but
there is a significant difference in scouring and splitting strength
ratio of asphalt mixture added with various anti-stripping agents.
The resistance to water scouring of asphalt mixture mixed with
different anti-stripping agents is ranked as anti-stripping agent
A > anti-stripping agent T > anti-stripping agent P > control group.
The anti-stripping agent A has the best effect on improving the
water stability of asphalt mixture in salty and humid environment.
The increase range of scouring and splitting strength ratio of
asphalt mixture improved by anti-stripping agent P is smallest,
which is related to the poor stability and durability itself.
It can be seen from Fig. 7 that there is sufficient asphalt and fine
aggregate on the surface of Marshall Specimen before dynamic
water scouring, and the color is bright. After the scouring of
dynamic water, the asphalt film wrapped on the surface of aggre-
gate in specimen is damaged, and some of asphalt film has been
stripped off. The mass loss and void ratio of specimen gradually
increase with the extension of scouring time. The specimen surface
resembles to the pockmarking phenomenon of asphalt pavement
caused by the loss of fine aggregate under the scouring of dynamic
water. Compared with freeze-thaw splitting test, the dynamic
water scouring and splitting test can better distinguish the differ-
ence in performance of various anti-stripping agents.
In summary, after short-term and long-term aging treatment,
the TSR of asphalt mixture mixed with anti-stripping agent A is
greater than that of asphalt mixture added with anti-stripping
agent P and T. The scouring and splitting strength ratio of asphalt
mixture mixed with anti-stripping agent A is largest, which scour-
ing resistance to dynamic water is superior to other asphalt mix-
ture. Therefore, anti-stripping agent A is recommended to
improve the water stability of asphalt pavement under the condi-
tion of salty and humid environment in coastal areas.
3.3. Determination of optimum dosage of anti-stripping agent
The dosages of 0.5%, 0.6%, 0.7%, 0.8% and 0.9% by weight of
asphalt were selected to study the influence of dosage of anti-
stripping A on water stability, high and low temperature perfor-
mance of asphalt mixture in salty and humid environment.
3.3.1. Influence of dosage on water stability of asphalt mixture
The immersion Hamburg wheel tracking test of asphalt mixture
added with different dosages of anti-stripping agent A was
 K. Zhang et al. / Construction and Building Materials 196 (2019) 703–713 709

conducted at 50 °C. The indexes of stripping number and change

rate of rutting depth were used to evaluate the water stability of
asphalt mixture. The test results were shown in Figs. 8 and 9.
It can be seen from Fig. 8 that when the dosage of anti-stripping
agent increases from 0.5% to 0.6%, the rutting depth trend of
asphalt mixture tends to be gentle with the increase of rolling
number. This demonstrates that the water stability of asphalt mix-
ture improves as the dosage of anti-stripping agent increases
within a certain range. However, when the dosage of anti-
stripping agent continues to increase, the rutting depth of asphalt
mixture increases steeply, indicating that the dosage of anti-
stripping agent exceeds the optimum range. The final rolling num-
ber of asphalt mixture increases first and subsequently decreases
with the increase of anti-stripping agent dosage, and reaches peak
value when the dosage is 0.6%. After the dosage of anti-stripping
agent exceeds 0.6%, the final rolling number of asphalt mixture
decreases drastically. Fig. 10. Relationship of dynamic stability and rutting depth with anti-stripping
As shown in Fig. 9, the change rate of rutting depth decreases agent dosage.

first and then increases with the increase of anti-stripping agent

dosage. The stripping number of asphalt mixture increases first
3.3.2. Influence of dosage on rutting resistance of asphalt mixture
and then decreases as the dosage of anti-stripping agent increases.
The rutting test of asphalt mixture mixed with different dosages
When the dosage of anti-stripping agent exceeds 0.6%, the change
of anti-stripping agent A was carried out. The change of dynamic
rate of rutting depth increases rapidly and the stripping number
stability and rutting depth of asphalt mixture with the variation
decreases quickly. Therefore, the optimum dosage range of anti-
of anti-stripping agent dosage was shown in Fig. 10.
stripping agent A is recommended as 0.5–0.6% by weight of asphalt
Fig. 10 illustrates that the dynamic stability of asphalt mixture
based on the water stability of asphalt mixture.
increases first and then decreases with the increase of antis-
tripping agent dosage, and reaches peak value corresponding to
the dosage of 0.7%. The rutting depth of asphalt mixture decreases
first and then increases with the increase of anti-stripping agent
dosage. The rutting depth is smallest when the dosage is about
0.7%. Obviously, the addition of stripping agent A within a certain
dosage range will improve the high temperature performance of
asphalt mixture. But after the dosage exceeds a certain amount,
the rutting resistance of asphalt mixture will be adversely affected.
Therefore, based on the high temperature performance of asphalt
mixture, the dosage of anti-stripping agent A in salty and humid
environment should be less than 0.7% by weight of asphalt.

3.3.3. Influence of dosage on low temperature performance of asphalt

Fig. 8. Rutting depth of mixture added with different anti-stripping agent dosages.
mixture
The low temperature bending test of asphalt mixture mixed
with different dosages of anti-stripping agent A was carried out.
The relationship between the index of low temperature bending
test and the dosage of anti-stripping agent was shown in Fig. 11.
As can be seen from Fig. 11, with the increase of the anti-
stripping agent dosage, the change law of maximum bending strain

Fig. 9. Relationship between water stability and anti-stripping agent dosage. Fig. 11. Relationship of low temperature index and anti-stripping agent dosage.
710 K. Zhang et al. / Construction and Building Materials 196 (2019) 703–713

of asphalt mixture is not obvious. In the dosage range of 0.5–0.9%,
the maximum bending strain of asphalt mixture increases and
decreases alternately, but the variation range is small. In addition,
the maximum bending strain of asphalt mixture can meet the
requirement of related specification at each dosage, and the varia-
tion of anti-stripping agent dosage has little influence on maxi-
mum bending strain of asphalt mixture. The flexural tensile
strength increases first and then decreases with the increase of
anti-stripping agent dosage, which gets peak value corresponding
to the dosage of 0.7%. Therefore, 0.5–0.7% by weight of asphalt is
suggested as the optimum dosage range of anti-stripping agent A
on the basis of the low-temperature cracking resistance of asphalt
mixture.
Following the principle of improving water stability of asphalt
mixture while taking into account the high and low temperature
performance, the optimum dosage range of anti-stripping agent
A in salty and humid environment is recommended as 0.5–0.6%
by weight of asphalt according to the influence of anti-stripping
agent dosage on water stability, rutting resistance and low temper-
ature performance of asphalt mixture.
4. Design of optimum asphalt content in salty and humid
environment
4.1. Results of indirect tensile test
The indirect tensile test was carried out by using universal test-
ing machine at the temperatures of 20 °C, 30 °C, 40 °C, 50 °C and
the loading rates of 5 mm/min, 20 mm/min, 50 mm/min respec-
tively. The test results were shown in Table 7.
It can be seen from Table 7 that the test temperature has a sig-
nificant influence on ITS of asphalt mixture. When the temperature
is lower, the ITS of asphalt mixture is larger, and the ITS of asphalt
mixture gradually decreases with the increase of temperature. The
ITS of asphalt mixture shows the same trend with the variation of
temperature at different loading rates. With the rise of test temper-
ature, the difference in ITS values of the mixture with various
asphalt aggregate ratios is not significant. Under this condition,
the influence of asphalt aggregate ratio on ITS of asphalt mixture
gradually weakens. Specifically, the difference in ITS value of
asphalt mixture with various aggregate ratios is obvious and the
discrimination is high when the test temperature is below 40 °C.
However, when the test temperature rises above 40 °C, the ITS val-
ues of different asphalt mixture are getting close to each other, so it
is difficult to distinguish the influence of asphalt aggregate ratio on
ITS value of the mixture. To ensure the ITS of asphalt mixture have
sufficient sensitivity and accuracy with the variation of asphalt
aggregate ratio, the test temperature of indirect tensile test should
not be too high.
At different test temperatures, the ITS of asphalt mixture
increases with the increase of loading rate. But the increasing trend
of ITS value is not consistent at different ranges of loading rate. At
the temperature of 20–40 °C, the ITS of asphalt mixture increases
sharply when the loading rate increases from 5 mm/min to
20 mm/min. Then the ITS of asphalt mixture increases slowly with
the increase of loading rate. When the temperature exceeds 50 °C,
the ITS of asphalt mixture increases sharply with the increase of
loading rate. The ITS increases linearly within the whole range of
loading rate from slow to fast. Obviously, the appropriate test tem-
perature and loading rate are important for analyzing the ITS of
asphalt mixture.
Further, the ITS of asphalt mixture under different test condi-
tions all increases first and then decreases with the increase of
asphalt aggregate ratio. The ITS corresponding to various test con-
ditions can reach peak value in the range of asphalt aggregate ratio.
The ITS has good sensitivity to the variation of asphalt aggregate
ratio. The maximum ITS of asphalt mixture can be guaranteed
when the asphalt aggregate ratio is appropriate. This is because
that the structural asphalt film cannot form completely on the sur-
face of aggregate when the asphalt content is low. With the
increase of asphalt content, the area of structural asphalt film on
the surface of aggregate in the mixture gradually increases. At this
time, the ITS of the mixture increases significantly with the
increase of asphalt content. The maximum value of ITS occurs
when the asphalt content ensures the formation of structural
asphalt film on complete surface of aggregate. As the asphalt con-
tent continues to increase, the free asphalt gradually generates
around structural asphalt film on the surface of aggregate. Then
the ITS of asphalt mixture gradually decreases with the increase
of free asphalt content. However, the asphalt content needed for
maximum value of ITS is not the same when the test conditions
are different, which indicates that the reasonable condition of indi-
rect tensile test is important to the design of asphalt content.

Table 7 4.2. Determination of test condition based on water stability for

The ITS of mixtures under different test conditions kPa. indirect tensile test
Temperature/°C Asphalt aggregate ratio/% Loading rate/(mmmin1)
Starting from the water stability of asphalt mixture, the correla-
5 20 50
tion analysis of ITS under different test conditions and the TSR of
20 4.0 817.11 1000.05 1057.27
freeze-thaw splitting test was conducted to determine the appro-
4.5 867.33 1108.63 1137.69
5.0 759.01 1196.11 1283.69
priate condition of indirect tensile test suitable for the design
5.5 620.17 1064.53 1167.70 parameter of asphalt mixture in salty and humid environment.
6.0 530.29 962.55 1044.89 According to the requirement of China’s current specification
30 4.0 326.49 518.53 577.57 (JTG E20-2011), the freeze-thaw splitting test of asphalt mixture
4.5 370.87 568.35 601.97 with asphalt aggregate ratio of 4.0%, 4.5%, 5.0%, 5.5% and 6.0%
5.0 387.23 624.14 623.50 was carried out. The relationship between ITS of asphalt mixture
5.5 364.14 507.33 605.53
under different test conditions with TSR was shown in Fig. 12.
6.0 311.64 493.19 573.21
Fig. 12 illustrates that the correlations between ITS of asphalt
40 4.0 200.06 329.68 371.80
mixture under different test conditions with TSR are different,
4.5 211.50 383.67 405.59
5.0 284.62 374.51 375.52 and the difference between each other is obvious. Among different
5.5 262.88 335.81 371.98 test conditions, the linear correlation of ITS and TSR is highest when
6.0 245.58 301.92 335.94 the test temperature is 40 °C and loading rate is 5 mm/min, which
50 4.0 145.84 205.34 190.73 reaches above 0.98. Under this test condition, the TSR of asphalt
4.5 153.97 218.96 278.62 mixture gradually increases with the increase of ITS. Namely, the
5.0 157.37 216.56 252.88
larger the ITS of asphalt mixture under appropriate condition, the
5.5 155.28 199.24 239.05
6.0 148.16 197.43 238.83
stronger the resistance to water damage in salty and humid envi-
ronment. The ITS under suitable test condition can reflect the mois-
 K. Zhang et al. / Construction and Building Materials 196 (2019) 703–713
ture susceptibility of asphalt mixture. Shi et al. [32,33] also studied
the influence of chloride salt solution on the ITS of asphalt mixture.
It was found that the ITS in the weakest deicer solutions is greater
than the specimens conditioned with water. The index of ITS was
used to determine the dosage of additives such as nanoclad and
carbon microfiber for asphalt mixture. The addition of nanoclay
and carbon microfiber would improve the mixture’s moisture sus-
ceptibility performance. Such benefits are especially significant
when the asphalt mixture is conditioned in water or chloride-
based deicer solutions. In the paper, the optimal asphalt content
based on the index of ITS under suitable test condition can guaran-
tee the water stability of asphalt mixture in salty and humid
environment.
In short, the test condition of 40 °C and 5 mm/min can ensure
that the index of ITS is sensitive to the variation of asphalt content,
and the correlation between ITS and TSR of asphalt mixture is good.
The temperature of 40 °C and loading rate of 5 mm/min are recom-
mended as appropriate test condition for indirect tensile test. The
ITS under this condition is proposed as mechanical parameter for
the design of optimum asphalt content, which ensures the asphalt
mixture based on ITS resist the corrosion of salty and humid envi-
ronment better.
4.3. Design of optimum asphalt content based on ITS
With reference to the requirement of Chinese specification (JTG
F40-2004), the ITS under the test condition of 40 °C and 5 mm/min
is selected to replace the stability of asphalt mixture. Then the
Fig. 12. Relationship between ITS and TSR of asphalt mixture.
711
optimum asphalt content of the mixture is designed based on ITS
in combination with the volume indexes of Marshall Design
Method. The specific steps are as follows:
(1) Draw the figure of relationship between asphalt aggregate
ratio and the indexes of asphalt mixture (bulk density, ITS,
Marshall stability, void ratio, voids filled with asphalt
(VFA) and voids in mineral aggregate (VMA)), as shown in
Fig. 13.
(2) Take the asphalt aggregate ratio corresponding to maximum
bulk density as a1, the asphalt aggregate ratio corresponding
to target void ratio as a2, the asphalt aggregate ratio corre-
sponding to median value of VFA as a3, the asphalt aggregate
ratio corresponding to maximum ITS as a4. Calculate the ini-
tial value of optimum asphalt aggregate ratio of the mixture
according to the following Equation:
OAC1 ¼ ða1 þ a2 þ a3 þ a4 Þ=4 ¼ 4:90%
(3) Read out the variation range of asphalt aggregate ratio for
each index of asphalt mixture (without VMA) that meets
the requirement of specification. Calculate the average value
of OACmin and OACmax as OAC2 in accordance with the fol-
lowing Equation:
OAC2 ¼ ðOACmin þ OACmax Þ=2 ¼ 4:65%
712 K. Zhang et al. / Construction and Building Materials 196 (2019) 703–713

Fig. 13. Relationship between indexes of mixture and asphalt aggregate ratio.

(4) Take the median value of OAC1 and OAC2 as optimum
asphalt aggregate ratio of the mixture based on the index
of ITS, then OAC = 4.78%
In Fig. 12(c), the peak value of Marshall Stability does not occur
within the variation range of asphalt aggregate ratio. If the opti-
mum asphalt aggregate ratio is determined by traditional Marshall
Design method, OAC01 = a2 = 4.70%. Then the optimum asphalt
aggregate ratio designed by Marshall Method is OAC = (OAC01
+ OAC2)/2 = 4.68%.
Compared with the optimum asphalt content determined by
different methods, the optimum asphalt content based on ITS is
slightly larger than that designed by conventional Marshall
Method. The conception of design method for optimum asphalt
content based on ITS is clear. The design index of ITS starts directly
from the water stability of asphalt mixture, which ensures the
asphalt mixture have large cohesive force. Therefore, the asphalt
mixture can resist the corrosion effect of salty and humid environ-
ment better.
5. Conclusions
An improved boiling water test was put forward to analyze the
adhesion between asphalt and aggregate quantitatively. The
details are as follows: (1) 5% NaCl solution is selected to replace
pure water to simulate the effect of salty and humid environment.
(2) The image acquisition system for aggregate (IASA) is developed
to achieve high-quality image. (3) The 10-level grading standard is
proposed to distinguish the difference of adhesion grade between
asphalt and aggregate.
The anti-stripping agents of P, H, A and T can improve the adhe-
sion between asphalt and aggregate in salty and humid environ-
ment before aging, but the performance of anti-stripping agent H
 K. Zhang et al. / Construction and Building Materials 196 (2019) 703–713
declines significantly after short-term aging. For asphalt mixture
mixed with different anti-stripping agents, the order of TSR and
scouring and splitting strength ratio in salty and humid environ-
ment is anti-stripping agent A, anti-stripping agent T, anti-
stripping agent P, control group. The anti-stripping agent A is rec-
ommended to improve the water stability of asphalt mixture in
salty and humid environment.
The optimum dosage range of anti-stripping agent A in salty
and humid environment is recommended as 0.5–0.6% by weight
of asphalt according to the principle of improving water stability
of asphalt mixture while taking into account the high and low tem-
perature performance.
The temperature of 40 °C and loading rate of 5 mm/min are rec-
ommended as appropriate test condition for indirect tensile test.
The mechanical parameter of ITS under this condition can be used
to determine the optimum asphalt content of the mixture. Based
on Marshall Method, the optimum asphalt content of the mixture
in coastal areas is designed by replacing the Marshall stability by
ITS and combining with other volume parameters.
Conflict of interest
None.
Acknowledgments
The study was supported by National Natural Science Founda-
tion of China (NSFC) (No. 51008031), Key project of Natural Science
Research of Anhui Provincial Department of Education
(KJ2018A0668, KJ2018A0670), Natural Science Project of College
of Information Engineering (Fuyang Normal University) (No.
2017FXXZK01, 2018FXJS01). The authors gratefully acknowledge
their financial support.
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