Department of Civil Engineering

By Prepared by Asst. Prof. AMINA BABY ABUBAKAR,

CVLE/CVIL 433, HIGHWAY MATERIALS

ASPHALT DETORORIATION
 TABLE OF CONTENT

 1.0 INTRODUCTION & ABSTRACT

 2.0 CAUSES & TYPES OF DETORORIATION
 3.0 FACTORS AFFECTING ASPHALT
 4.0 MECHANISM OF ASPHALT ATTACK
 5.0 MODEL ANALYSIS
 6.0 PREVENTION & CONTROL
 7.0 REPAIR & SIDE EFFECTS
 8.0 CONCLUSION AND RECCOMENDATION
 9.0 REFERENCES
 1.0 INTRODUCTION

 Asphalt is one of the oldest material used in

construction. Asphalt binders where used in
3000BC, preceding the use of the wheel by 1,000
years. Asphalt came from various location in the
world. i.e. Trinidad lake asphalt.
 Today practically all asphalt is from refined
petroleum.
 Asphalt is a mixture of dark bituminous pitch
mixed with aggregates used for road
construction, roofing and flooring.
FIG 1.0:IMAGE OF ASPHALT; TRINIDAD LAKE
FIG 1.1: IMAGE OF AN ASPHALT CEMENT
FIG 1.2: IMAGE OF HOT ROLLED
ASPHALT
 ABSTRACT

 Asphalt is known for its durability and resilience.

Its strengths make it a highly used material for
many pavement applications and the preferred
material for most state and federal road
projects. Like all paved surfaces however, it too
is susceptible to deterioration due to the laws of
mother nature. Despite the great longevity of a
properly laid asphalt pavement, it can be cut
short due to poor surface preparation and
construction technique or simply long term
exposure to the elements.
 2.0: CAUSES OF DETORORIATION

 Deterioration of constructed asphalt pavement

is natural. It’s natural because over time the
materials that make up asphalt begin to break
down and become affected by elements such as
rain, sunlight and chemicals that come into
contact with the pavement surface. The liquid
asphalt binder that is the “glue” of the pavement
begins to lose it’s natural resistance to water,
allowing it to penetrate into and underneath the
pavement. Once this happens, the surface can
quickly fall prey to a number of different types of
deterioration.
 CONTNUD

 Deterioration of asphalt pavements can also be due

to factors that go beyond just normal wear and tear
causing premature deterioration. The premature
deterioration of asphalt pavement is usually due to
failures in construction or human error.
 This includes the following:
 1) Over or Under-compaction of asphalt
 2) Insufficient or improperly compacted base below
the asphalt
 3) Improper temperature of asphalt when applied
 4) Poor drainage.
 CONTNUD

 When asphalt pavement is constructed and

maintained properly it wears out slowly and
can last up to 20 years or more. Proper
maintenance is key to protecting it from the
external factors that wear it out.
 The following are the major determining
factors of asphalt deterioration.
 CONTNUD

 Water: over time and especially without proper

maintenance water penetrates the asphalt, washes
out the base underneath it, causing it to crack, break
down and collapse. Sunlight: Oxidation breaks down
and dries out the once flexible liquid asphalt that
holds the aggregate together. This causes raveling
and shrinking cracks which allow water to penetrate
beneath the surface.
 Chemical / petroleum exposure : the introduction of
chemicals to asphalt, including gas and oil, can
soften the asphalt and cause it to soften more
rapidly.
 CONTNUD

 The truth is no asphalt is exempt from deterioration

no matter how well it is constructed. Asphalt
deterioration begins immediately. Even in normal
conditions substantial deterioration can begin to
take place after ٣ to ٥ years. It is normal after this
amount of time for asphalt to begin to turn gray,
become brittle and start cracking. Water begins
entering the cracks, freezes and thaws during the
yearly cycle and causes larger cracks and potholes.
Rain enters the cracks and causes base damage.
These all contribute to a worn out asphalt pavement
and must be stopped before it’s too late.
 3.0: TYPES OF ASPHALT DETOROIATION

 There are like three main categories of these asphalt

defect.
1) Cracking: There are many different types of cracking that
can occur, and believe it or not they all have names. They
include: edge cracks, slippage (caused by improper
compaction), reflection (older cracks occurring in a new
overlay), edge joint, shrinkage and widening.
2) Distortion: Caused by improper pavement construction,
deterioration of the underlying base or existing asphalt and
high load factors, asphalt distortions include: channels or
ruts, corrugations and shoving, grade depressions,
upheaval and utility cut depressions.
3) Disintegration: Types of asphalt disintegration includes
potholes, raveling, gas and oil spillage.
FIG 3.0: IMAGE OF AN ALLIGATOR
CRACK
 CONTNUD

 Fig 3.1 shows an alligator crack, it is a type of

structure associated with loading. The failure
can be due to weakness in the surface base or
sub-grade. A thin surface or base can cause
poor drainage or a combination of defects . It
often begins with a longitudinal crack and
extends, ending up into an alligator crack
with severe distress.
FIG 3.1: IMAGE OF BLOCK CRACKING
 CONTNUD

 Fig 3.1 shows Block cracks, they look like large

interconnected rectangles . Block cracking is not
load-associated, but generally caused by
shrinkage of the asphalt pavement due to an
inability of asphalt binder to expand and contract
with temperature cycles. This can be because the
mix was mixed and placed too dry; Fine
aggregate mix with low penetration asphalt &
absorptive aggregates; poor choice of asphalt
binder in the mix design; or aging dried out
asphalt.
FIG 3.2 : IMAGE OF LONGITUDINAL
CRACKING
 CONTNUD

 From fig 3.2:Longitudinal cracking are cracks

that are parallel to the pavements centerline
or lay down direction. These can be a result of
both pavement fatigue, reflective cracking,
and/or poor joint construction. Joints are
generally the least dense areas of a
pavement.
FIG 3.3: IMAGE OF TRANSVERSE
CRACKING
 CONTNUD

 Transverse cracks are single cracks

perpendicular to the pavement's centerline or
lay down direction. Transverse cracks can be
caused by reflective cracks from an
underlying layer, daily temperature cycles,
and poor construction due to improper
operation of the paver.
FIG 3.4: IMAGE OF SIDE CRACKING
 CONTNUD

 Edge Cracks travel along the inside edge of a

pavement surface within one or two feet. The
most common cause for this type of crack is
poor drainage conditions and lack of support
at the pavement edge. As a result underlying
base materials settle and become weakened.
Heavy vegetation along the pavement edge
and heavy traffic can also be the instigator of
edge cracking
FIG 3.5: IMAGE OF JOINT REFLECTION
CRACKS
 CONTUND

 These are cracks in a flexible pavement

overlay of a rigid pavement i.e., asphalt over
concrete. They occur directly over the
underlying rigid pavement joints. Joint
reflection cracking does not include reflection
cracks that occur away from an underlying
joint or from any other type of base e.g.
cement or lime stabilized.
FIG 3.6: IMAGE OF A SIPPAGE CRACK
 CONTNUD

 Slippage cracks are crescent-shaped cracks or

tears in the surface layer(s) of asphalt where the
new material has slipped over the underlying
course. This problem is caused by a lack of
bonding between layers. This is often because a
tack coat was not used to develop a bond
between the asphalt layers or because a prime
coat was not used to bond the asphalt to the
underlying stone base course. The lack of bond
can be also caused by dirt, oil, or other
contaminants preventing adhesion between the
layers.
FIG 3.7:IMAGE OF A POTHOLE
 CONTNUD

 Small, bowl-shaped depressions in the pavement

surface that penetrate all the way through the
asphalt layer down to the base course. They
generally have sharp edges and vertical sides
near the top of the hole. Potholes are the result
of moisture infiltration and usually the end result
of untreated alligator cracking. As alligator
cracking becomes severe, the interconnected
cracks create small chunks of pavement, which
can be dislodged as vehicles drive over them. The
remaining hole after the pavement chunk is
dislodged is called a pothole.
FIG 3.8:IMAGE OF A BIRD BATH
DEPRESSIONS
 CONTNUD

 Depressions are localized pavement surface

areas with slightly lower elevations than the
surrounding pavement. Depressions are very
noticeable after a rain when they fill with
water.
FIG 3.9:IMAGE OF A RUTTING DEFECT
 CONTNUD

 Ruts in asphalt pavements are channelized

depressions in the wheel-tracks. Rutting
results from consolidation or lateral
movement of any of the pavement layers or
the sub grade under traffic. It is caused by
insufficient pavement thickness; lack of
compaction of the asphalt, stone base or soil;
weak asphalt mixes or moisture infiltration.
FIG 3.10: IMAGE OF SHOVING
 CONTNUD

 Shoving is the formation of ripples across a

pavement. This characteristic shape is why
this type of distress is sometimes called
wash-boarding. Shoving occurs at locations
having severe horizontal stresses, such as
intersections. It is typically caused by: excess
asphalt; too much fine aggregate; rounded
aggregate; too soft an asphalt; or a weak
granular base.
FIG 3.11:IMAGE OF AN UPHEAVAL
 CONTNUD

 Upheaval is a localized upward movement in

a pavement due to swelling of the sub grade.
This can be due to expansive soils that swell
due to moisture or frost heave (ice under the
pavement).
FIG 3.12: IMAGE OF RAVELING
 CONTNUD

 Raveling is the on-going separation of

aggregate particles in a pavement from the
surface downward or from the edges inward.
Usually, the fine aggregate wears away first
and then leaves little "pock marks" on the
pavement surface. As the erosion continues,
larger and larger particles are broken free and
the pavement soon has the rough and jagged
appearance typical of surface erosion.
4.0:MECHANISM OF ASPHALT ATTACK

 MECHANISM FOR CRACK ASSOCIATED

LOADING AND FATIGUE CRACKING
 According to most mechanistic design
methods, failure of an asphalt layer is defined
as the time when crack initiation occurs. At
this point, the permissible tensile strain at the
bottom of the asphalt layer is exceeded
because of repetitive loading. Factors that
affect the strain conditions at the bottom of
the asphalt layer include:
 CONTNUD

a)stiffness of the asphalt

b)thickness of the asphalt layer
c)support from underlying layers
Including the sub-grade. Load-associated
cracks can manifest in a number of ways, but
would normally be located within the wheel
path. In addition, those cracks would not be
straight, and are often referred to as alligator
cracks.
 CONTNUD

 MECHANISM OF THERMAL AND VISCO

ELASTIC DEFECTS
 This type of cracking is normally associated with
the combined effect of asphalt stiffness and
external strain factors, such as significant
temperature changes or movements within the
underlying layers. This failure mechanism is
therefore a result of tensile stresses exceeding
the tensile strength of the asphalt. These cracks
are easily identified, since they are normally
long, straight cracks that are orientated in a
transverse direction across the road.
 CONTNUD

 Reflective cracking is due to stress

concentrations that exist because of
underlying layers that are already cracked.
This mechanism is frequently found in
overlaid layers on top of existing concrete
layers or cracked pavements. Reflective
cracks would normally have the same crack
pattern as the underlying cracks.
 5.0: MODEL ANALYSIS

 DESIGN MODELS

 The mechanistic design methods usually use

a calibrated transfer function that determines
the number of load repetitions possible for a
given asphalt layer. For example,
AUSTROADS (2004) gives the number of
possible load repetitions on an asphalt layer
as:
Where Smix is the stiffness modulus
of mix Mpa. And Vb is Volume of
bitumen in percentage. µƐ is the
permissible micro strain for a
number of repetition measured in N
 CONTNUD
 PERFORMANCE DETERMINISTIC MODELS
 The most widely used models of this type are the HDM-III
and HDM-4 crack-initiation models. According to the HDM
definition, crack initiation occurs when a surface displays
cracks on more than 0.5% of its area (Watanatada et al.
1987). The cracked area is calculated by multiplying the
length of the crack by the width of the affected area (for
line cracks, the affected width is assumed to be 0.5 m).
There are separate crack-initiation model forms in HDM-4
for stabilized and granular bases, and for original surfaces
and resurfaced surfaces. In contrast to global practice, the
majority of New Zealand roads fall into the granular-base
category, as most New Zealand pavements are only lightly
stabilized. The crack initiation for these types of pavements
can be predicted as follows (from NDLI 1995):
Resurfaced surface models
Original Surfaces
 CONTNUD
 Where
 ICA is the time to initiation of all structural cracks (years) CDS is
construction defects indicator for bituminous surfaces .
 YE4 the annual number of equivalent standard axles
(millions/lane).
 SNP average annual adjusted structural number of the
pavement.
 HSNEW thickness of the most recent surface (mm).
 PCRW area of all cracking before latest reseal or overlay (% of
total cracking area).
 Kcia calibration factor for initiation of all structural cracking
 CRT crack retardation time because of maintenance (years)
 ai model coefficients (may vary for pavement types
 6.0: PREVENTION AND CONTROL

 Maintenance
 Temperature control
 Building materials
 Compaction
 Shape , size and Sources (Grade of aggregate)
 Quality control
 Transportation and placement procedure
 Precipitation
 Loading &
 Axle configuration
 CONTNUD

 Prevention of asphalt deterioration is very

advisable and encouraged as it helps to guard
against disintegration of materials, component
and thus eventually the complete structure.
 One of the key factors of asphalt deterioration
preventive measures is maintenance in the in
service stage and quality control and proper
design methods and specification in the
conception and construction stages.
 This encompasses both Control and Preventive
measures
 CONTNUD

 Prevention.
1) Maintenance should be carried out on asphalt
structure even when there is no serious sign of
damage or deterioration, and little cracks and
minor pot holes or any defects should be
corrected timely before it propagates or
degenerates to become a major problem or
major safety hazard. Timely maintenance work
should be carried out on asphalt structures every
5years after the first 10years of its construction
even if there is no visible or major defects.
 CONTNUD

 2) Temperature Control: This can be categorized into

two types i.e. Temperature control during
construction and temperature control in the in-
service stage.
 Temperature control during construction: Asphalt is
a material that usually needs to be heated to a
certain temperature before its use, above boiling
point i.e. 170˚C for a local plant in Cyprus and
approximately standard temperature. It is then
ready to be applied.
 Asphalt should also not be heated above the
specified temperature as it burns the asphalt and
make the bonding improper there by producing an
 CONTNUD

 Asphalt that is poorly bonded.

 Asphalt when not heated above the boiling point
becomes Viscous and wouldn’t bond with the
aggregates and as such leave voids and room for
quick deterioration. In regulating the temperature
properly, Prevention of deterioration can be
achieved and this is in the construction stage.
 External temperature in the In- service stage is
majorly due to sunlight and climatic and
environmental change.
 This is natural phenomenon which can not be
prevented but can be controlled.
 CONTNUD

 In hot climates, where the sun is intense it takes

a toll on the asphalt, the sun rays dry out the
asphalt through the process of oxidation and this
causes the liquid and now Solid asphalt to begin
to shrivel up and separate, causing water from
drains and rainfall to drain underneath resulting
to cracks and potholes. This can be controlled by
fixing immediate defects before it degenerates
and also using the right design and specification
for hot weather climates.
 CONTNUD

 In cold climates, very cold regions like Canada

and Norway etc. Freezing also leads to cracks,
this can be controlled by fixing it immediately,
i.e. cutting it open, putting a bituminous lime
and then compacting back, this should be done
after the cold period or winter. Although care
should also be taken to ensure that the right mix
, materials and construction procedures are used
as suitable for cold weathers. This should be
done immediately so as to control the level of
defect before further de-generation
 CONTNUD

 Building Materials: When the right building

materials are used in asphalt construction, it
goes along way to prevent deterioration, i.e.
clean materials free from impurities, specified
materials with the right strength and stiffness
modulus requirement and sizes etc. This
should be checked before usage as it would
go along way in preventing defects and
deterioration in asphalt.
 CONTNUD

 Compaction: This is a very major determining

factor in the durability and life cycle of an
asphalt structure. If compaction is not done
properly the structure will eventually fail.
insufficient compaction will eventually lead to
turns of defects on the structure especially
one that is low in strength, and Over
compaction will also lead to defects. This
should be done sufficiently well to prevent
future damage on asphalt structure.
 CONTNUD

 Grade of aggregate: As asphalt is used in

construction with aggregates it becomes very
paramount to take into consideration the
grading of the aggregate as negligence in this
aspect have been found to be a major failure
cause in asphalt structures.
 Shape of aggregate: This should be checked
thoroughly as the same shape of aggregate is
not exactly the best for building, angularity is
required, i.e it should be a mixture of rounded
shape and more angular aggregates.
 CONTNUD

 Size of aggregate: This should be taken into

proper account as too large aggregate will of
course resulting in problem during binding and
will eventually come out after a period of time
causing POLISHING which is a type of aggregate
defect that causes loss of skid resistance on
asphalt surface or get crushed if its too little by
eventually loading and moving wheels over the
asphalt surface in the case of road construction,
this exactly applies for he chipping material
which is recommended to be 6mm in size. Taking
account of this would prevent deterioration.
 CONTNUD
 Source of aggregate: This is also another important factor
that needs to be checked properly. Aggregate that are
sourced from mountain , i.e blasted and disintegrated into
small particles sizes are usually sufficiently strong and
require no testing in most cases, although can be
susceptible to impurities like clay depending on the area
and as such extra care should be taken to suck out the dirt
properly, this could be done in plants by connecting an
overhead sucker to make sure all impurities like clay are
sucked out.
 Aggregates that sourced via other means are usually
sometimes not sufficiently strong and need to be tested
and approved before using them for construction. This
would prevent quick asphalt deterioration.
 CONTNUD

 Quality Control: This is done in the

construction stage to prevent the
deterioration of asphalt, i.e making sure that
the right mix is used, the proper procedures,
all materials meeting up to all the required
test and ensuring proper supervision from the
quality control engineer would help prevent
quick deterioration of asphalt.
 CONTNUD

 Transportation and placement procedure: In the

construction stage, aggregate are usually
transported from the plant and placed at the
needed place or construction site. Intricate
details should be taken note off to avoid error, i.e
the right medium should be used in
transportation where the asphalt is not exposed
to external temperature to alter the required
temperature needed, or get contaminated with
impurities and then placement should be done
properly with the right materials as well, this
would go along way in checking asphalt
deteroriation.
 CONTNUD

 Precipitation or rainfall is one aspect that leads

to asphalt deterioration that can not be
prevented, so therefore control measure are
implemented. Asphalt is designed generally to
be impermeable to water, and as it rains water
eventually gets trapped in the asphalt surface
and gradually seeps into the cracks in case of any
of the dried up asphalt and cause further
damage. A maintenance work should be carried
out immediately to repair damage or repave the
entire area.
 CONTNUD

 Loading and axle configuration: This are integrated

because an asphalt pavement is usually designed of
a certain axle configuration to carry an anticipated
amount of loading. This can be used both in
preventing and control by designing the axle
configuration rightly for the specification of
forecasted and anticipated load to carry sufficiently
without deterioration as a prevention measure. And
as a control measure put systems in place to check
defaulters by extra charges to maintain the road
regularly or as a means of total discouragement to
preserve the life span of the road. i.e a truck of
weighing 45tonnes imposed on an axle configuration
of less million tonnes.
 7.0: REPAIR AND SIDE EFFECTS

 Repair is carried out either as a form of

maintenance work carried out for less severity
damage or total overhauling for high severity
damage.
 For low severity damages in cases of little crack,
openings etc… The surface asphalt is sealed and
filled to prevent propagation of cracks,
elongation or further damages through
penetration of water and load imposed activities.
 In case like Alligator crack with high severity the
total crack area is removed and replaced with an
overlay.
 CONTNUD

 For defects like edge cracking, the entire

vegetation is removed, fill and seal cracks,
and then fix the drainage problems as this is
due to poor drainage systems and heavy
loading.
 For defects like potholes, depression,
shoving, upheaval, seepage cracks and even
high severity alligator cracks, full depth patch
is required to repair such defets.
 SIDE EFFECTS

 A good number of the cracks are repaired by

patching. Patching sometimes is considered as a
defect type in cases where it becomes a
problem, i.e sometimes in the repair of asphalt
pavement using patching, the surrounding
environment or materials are in compactable
with the new replacement material it is been
patched with an as such creates non-uniformity
and cause further hazards and deterioration.
 When this occurs, a total re-construction is
required.
 8.0: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

 Asphalts are materials used majorly in pavement

construction and are known for high resistance, strength
and durability, but due to the complexity and other
requirement require so much handling and maintenance
requirements due to environmental conditions and a lot of
factors which makes it susceptible to deterioration.
 It is however recommended that quality control should be a
major focus by the quality control engineer, contractor ,
consultant and any other personnel involved in the
construction process. Maintenance work is key to long
preservation, durability and completion of excepted life
cycle of asphalt.
 9.0:REFERENCES
 AUSTROADS. 2004. Pavement design: A guide to the structural design
of road pavements. 2nd rev. ed. ARRB Transport Research.
 Bouwmeester, D., Huurman, M., Tolman, F., and Molenaar, A. 2004.
Probabilistic analysis of fatigue cracking in asphalt pavements. Pp. 657–
64 in Cracking in pavements.
 A. Millien, C. Petit, and I. L. Al-Quadi (Eds.) Bagneux, France: RILEM
Publications s.a.r.l. (TUD) Department of Internal Affairs. 2002.
 New Zealand Local Government Act 2002, no. 84. Published under the
Authority of the New Zealand Government. Henning, T., Costello, S.,
Dunn, R., Parkman, C., and Hart, G. 2004.
 The establishment of a long-term pavement performance study on the
New Zealand state highway network. ARRB Journal 13, no. 2. Henning,
T., Costello, S., and Watson, T. 2006.
 A review of the HDM/dTIMS pavement models based on calibration site
data. Land Transport NZ research report 907. 123pp. Henning, T., Jooste,
S., and Hallet, J. 2008. Network analysis of the Auckland motorway
network. Transit Auckland Alliance, Transit New Zealand, Auckland
 THE END
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