Investigations into the relationship between binder consistency/underlying viscosity and asphalt rutting

A major failure mode for roads in Australia is rutting of the pavement under heavy traffic loads. Remediation of rutted pavements increases costs for asset owners and impacts the environment as new materials and energy are required for road maintenance. Consistency and underlying viscosity at 60 degrees Celsius are binder properties determined using the ARRB elastometer. Several studies have looked for a relationship between these properties and asphalt wheel tracking which is the laboratory measure for rutting. Each study has used a different asphalt mix design to determine wheel tracking performance. Correlations between elastometer properties and wheel tracking performance have been observed in some studies but not others, suggesting that the relationships observed are mix design dependent. This paper explores the relationship between elastometer properties and wheel tracking results for a range of binders in two dense graded mix designs. These results and those reported in the literature have been analysed to establish whether a mix design independent correlation exists between elastometer properties and wheel tracking performance. (a) For the covering entry of this conference, please see ITRD abstract no. E220164.