the svappavaara road test sections - diva...

Sigurdur ErlingssonAbubeker Ahmed

The Svappavaara road test sections

Field coring and laboratory tests

VTI notat 30A-2015 | The Svappavaara road test sections. Field coring and laboratory tests

www.vti.se/en/publications

VTI notat 30A-2015Published 2015

VTI notat 30A-2015

The Svappavaara road test sections

Field coring and laboratory tests

Sigurdur Erlingsson

Abubeker Ahmed

Diarienummer: 2012/0248-29

Omslagsbilder: Sigurdur Erlingsson, VTI

Tryck: LiU-Tryck, Linköping 2015

VTI notat 30A-2015

Preface

This VTI note describes and gives results from the laboratory testing of specimens taken from four

new instrumented test road sections that have been built on E45 close to the Svappavaara municipality

in Norrbotten County in Northern Sweden. The structures are situated on road E45 close to the

intersection to road E10. The structures are instrumented with road performance and climate sensors.

The structures will be monitored over the years to come.

As a part of the monitoring programme drilled asphalt specimens were taken from the road structure

and tested at VTI’s material testing laboratory in Linköping. Furthermore, samples from the unbound

base course have been taken and tested.

The aim of this report is to briefly describe the laboratory testing process as well as the testing results.

The Swedish Transport Administration (STA) has financed the project. The contact person has been

Johan Ullberg.

Linköping, November 2015

Sigurdur Erlingsson and Abubeker Ahmed

VTI notat 30A-2015

Quality review

Internal peer review was performed by Björn Kalman. Sigurdur Erlingsson and Abubeker Ahmed has

made alterations to the final manuscript of the report. The research director Björn Kalman examined

and approved the report for publication on 24 November 2015. The conclusions and recommendations

expressed are the author’s/authors’ and do not necessarily reflect VTI’s opinion as an authority.

Kvalitetsgranskning

Intern peer review har genomförts av Björn Kalman. Sigurdur Erlingsson och Abubeker Ahmed har

genomfört justeringar av slutligt rapportmanus. Forskningschef Björn Kalman har därefter granskat

och godkänt publikationen för publicering 24 november 2015. De slutsatser och rekommendationer

som uttrycks är författarens/författarnas egna och speglar inte nödvändigtvis myndigheten VTI:s

uppfattning.

VTI notat 30A-2015

Table of content

Summary .................................................................................................................................................7

Sammanfattning .....................................................................................................................................9

1. Introduction .....................................................................................................................................11

2. The test sections ...............................................................................................................................12

3. Coring ...............................................................................................................................................15

4. Laboratory test results ....................................................................................................................17

4.1. Volumetric properties tests ........................................................................................................17 4.2. Stiffness tests..............................................................................................................................18

4.2.1. Indirect tensile stiffness modulus test ...................................................................................18 4.2.2. Frequency sweep stiffness modulus test ...............................................................................22 4.2.3. Frequency sweep shear modulus test ....................................................................................24

4.3. Fatigue test .................................................................................................................................27 4.4. Unbound granular base course ...................................................................................................28

5. Conclusions ......................................................................................................................................32

References .............................................................................................................................................33

Appendix A ...........................................................................................................................................35

VTI notat 30A-2015

VTI notat 30A-2015 7

Summary

The Svappavaara road test sections. Field coring and laboratory tests

by Sigurdur Erlingsson (VTI) and Abubeker Ahmed (VTI)

This report describes laboratory testing of specimens taken from four new instrumented test road

sections that have been built on E45 close to the Svappavaara municipality in Norrbotten County in

Northern Sweden. The structures are located about 100 km north of the Arctic Circle in a climate that

is characterized by long cold winters and short mild summers.

The four test sections were built in a conventional manner. Each structure is about 200–250-metre-

long with a central 100-metre-long part defined as the actual test section. All structures are in total

60 centimetres in thickness resting on top of a 70-centimetre-thick old existing road. The bitumen

bound part of all the four structures consists of four layers; a thin surface course layer, two binder

layers and a road base layer. All structures have the same wearing course, TSK 16 with a standard

160/220 penetration grade bitumen. The main difference between the structures lies in the binder as

well as the two road base layers. In structure 01 polymer modified binder were used in the binder layer

as well as in both road base layers whilst in structure 02 only the binder layer was polymer modified.

Structure 03 consists on the other hand of a binder layer and road base layers mixed with conventional

penetration grade bitumen materials. Structure 04 has a binder layer with conventional penetration

grade bitumen but the road base layers consists of a 2 × 90-millimetre-thick layers of large aggregates

mixed with a cold emulsion.

As a part of the monitoring programme drilled asphalt specimens were taken in 2013 from the road

structure and tested at VTI's material testing laboratory in Linköping. Furthermore, samples were

taken from the unbound base course and tested. This report presents the test results for asphalt bound

layers as well as for the unbound base course. For the bound layers the testing procedure included

volumetric properties, stiffness modulus and fatigue tests for the different types of conventional and

polymer modified asphalt mixtures. The tests were conducted in accordance with the Swedish or the

equivalent European standards. For the unbound base course fundamental properties were estimated as

well as stiffness and permanent deformation properties for different moisture contents.

The project is sponsored by the Swedish Transport Administration.

8 VTI notat 30A-2015


Sammanfattning

Test sträckor på E45 vid Svappavaara – provkärnor och laboratorietestning

av Sigurdur Erlingsson (VTI) och Abubeker Ahmed (VTI)

Denna rapport beskriver laboratorieprovningar av provkroppar tagna från fyra instrumenterade

vägsträckor på E45 nära samhället Svappavaara i Norrbottens kommun. Sträckorna ligger omkring

100 kilometer norr om polcirkeln i ett klimat som kännetecknas av långa kalla vintrar och korta milda

somrar.

De fyra teststräckorna är byggda på konventionellt sätt. Varje delsträcka är omkring 200–250 meter

lång med en central del på 100 meter som utgör den egentliga teststräckan. Alla konstruktionerna har

en överbyggnadstjocklek på 60 centimeter och ligger ovanpå en gammal vägkonstruktion som

uppskattas till 70 centimeter i tjocklek. Den bitumenbundna delen består av fyra lager, ett ytlager,

bindlager samt två bundna bärlager. Ytlagret är identiskt på alla sträckorna TSK 16 med 160/220

standard bitumen. Huvudskillnaden i strukturerna ligger i sammansättningen av bindlagret samt de två

bundna bärlagren. I struktur 01 används polymerer i bindlagret samt de två bundna bärlagren men i

struktur 02 är endast bindlagret polymermodifierade. Struktur 03 och 04 är sedan helt utan polymerer.

Struktur 04 har sedan ett 2 × 90 millimeter bundet bärlager som består av storstensskelett makadam

blandad med kall emulsion (Viacomac från NCC).

Som en del i uppföljningsprogrammet togs på hösten 2013 borrade kärnor från alla sträckorna som

sedan testades i VTI:s laboratorium i Linköping. Dessutom togs det prov från det obundna bärlagret

som också testades. Denna rapport presenterar resultaten av laboratorietesterna. För de bundna lagren

bestämdes sammansättning, styvhet samt utmattningsmotstånd. Alla tester utfördes enligt svensk eller

ekvivalent europeisk norm. För det obundna bärlagret bestämdes några fundamentala egenskaper samt

styvhet och permanenta deformationsegenskaper vid olika fuktkvoter.

Projektet är finansierat av Trafikverket.


1. Introduction

Four new Long Term Pavement Performance (LTPP) pavement test structures were built in

Norrbotten County in Northern Sweden in 2012. The structures are situated on the road E45 close to

the intersection to road E10 near the village Svappavaara. This is about 100 km north of the Arctic

Circle in a climate that is characterized by long cold winters with short mild summers where the

duration of the thawing period exceeds two months. The structures are instrumented with road

performance and climate sensors. The structures will be monitored over the years to come.

The Norrbotten County is a sparsely populated area where the pavement structures usually consist of

thin pavements and the traffic volume is low. In terms of traffic volume, the AADT for the sections

was 1325 in the year 2010 with 14% classified as heavy vehicles. In 2012 a local iron ore operator

received a special permission to transport ore along 160 km of the road network using vehicles that are

25 m long with a 90 tonnes gross weight, instead of the permissible 60 tonnes. The vehicles consist of

a single wheel steering axle and three tridem axles. The axle’s weights are 1 × 9 + 3 × 27 = 90 tonnes.

Thus, the individual axle loads fulfil the current legislation but as the vehicles are longer with more

axles and their total weight exceeds the current legislation.

Due to this new ore transport it was deemed necessary to strengthen the local road network. As a part

of evaluating pavement performances for very heavy vehicles four test structures were selected and

built with the main objectives to increase the knowledge about pavement response and performance

under heavy loading in cold climate with seasonal variation.

The four test sections were built in a conventional manner. All structures were in total 60 cm in

thickness resting on top of an old existing road. The bitumen bound part of all the four structures

consist of four layers; a thin surface course layer, a binder layer and two road base layers. All

structures have the same wearing course TSK 16, a thin layer asphalt course with 16 mm maximum

chipping size, with 160/220 penetration grade bitumen. The main difference between the structures

lies in the structures binder and road base layers. Structure 01 has a polymer modified binder course

and road base layers whilst structure 02 has the same polymer modified binder course as structure 01

over a more conventional road base layers. Structure 03 consists of conventional bound materials, with

70/100 penetration grade bitumen for the binder course as well as for the two road base layers.

Structure 04 has a conventional binder course but the two road base layers consists of a large

aggregate skeleton layers mixed with a cold mix emulsion with 160/220 penetration grade bitumen.

As a part of the monitoring programme drilled asphalt specimens were taken from the road structure

and tested at VTI´s material testing laboratory in Linköping. Furthermore, samples were taken from

the unbound base course and tested.

The aim of this report is to briefly describe the laboratory testing process as well as the testing results.


2. The test sections

The four test sections are located on E45 close to the intersection with E10 in the vicinity of the

Svappavaara village (see Figure 1). The test structures were built in the summer of 2012. The wearing

course was placed in the beginning of July 2013.

Each test section is around 200–250 m long, with a central 100 m long part defined as the actual test

section. In the remaining parts between the sections some overlapping of layers can occur.

Figure 1. Overview of the four test sections.

The test sections were built in a conventional manner on top of an existing road that had been rebuilt

in 1975. The old pavement structure was a thin flexible structure with 5 cm AC on top of 15 cm of

unbound gravelly base course over a subbase consisting of 65 cm of natural gravel. The top 15 cm of

the old pavement were milled and widened in accordance with the new geometric design, leaving a

sandy gravel layer on top of the native soil. The remains of the old road structure can therefore be

expected to consist of approximately 70 cm of sandy gravel resting on top of the native silty sand

subgrade.

The cross sections of the four test structures are shown in Figure 2. A more detailed description of the

layer composition is further provided in Table 1. The layer thicknesses of structures 01–03 are

identical but structure 04 has a thicker road base course, consisting of a cold asphalt concrete mix, and

a reduced subbase thickness in order to have the same total thickness as the other structures.

The bitumen bound part of all the four structures consists of four layers; a thin surface course layer, a

binder layer and two road base layers. All structures have the same wearing course TSK 16 with

160/220 penetration grade standard bitumen. Structure 01 has a polymer modified binder course as

well as the two road base layers whilst structure 02 has the same polymer modified binder course as

structure 01 but a more conventional road base layers. Structure 03 consists of conventional bound

materials, with a 70/100 penetration grade bitumen for the binder course as well as for the two road

base layers. Structure 04 has a conventional binder course but the two road base layers consists of a

large aggregate skeleton layers mixed with cold emulsion with 160/220 penetration grade bitumen.

1 2

3 4


Figure 2. Cross sections of the test sections. Structures 01 to 03 have same layer thicknesses.

Structure 01, 02 and 03

0.0

2.0

8.0

20.0

30.0

60.0

Depth [cm]

Unbound Base Course

Crushed rock 0/31.5

Asphalt Road base

2 × 60 mm layers

Binder Course

Surface Course

Structure 04

0.0

2.0

8.0

26.0

36.0

130.0

Depth [cm]

Unbound Base Course

Crushed rock 0/31.5

Asphalt Road base

2 × 90 mm layers

Binder Course Surface Course

Subbase Crushed rock 0/90 Subbase

Crushed rock 0/90

Subbase Sandy gravel

(old existed road)

Subbase Sandy gravel

(old existed road)

Subgrade

Gravelly till / sandy silt Subgrade Gravelly till / sandy silt

130.0

60.0


Table 1. Properties of the layers for the four different test structures.

Structure

01 02 03 04

Wearing course

20 mm

asphalt surfacing TSK16 160/220

20 mm


20 mm


20 mm


Binder course 60 mm

ABb22 with Nypol 64-34

60 mm

ABb22 with Nypol 64-34

60 mm

ABb22 70/100

60 mm

ABb22 70/100

Road base

60 mm

AG22 40/100-75

+

60 mm

AG22 90/150-75

2 x 60 mm

AG22 160/220

2 x 60 mm

AG22 70/100

2 x 90 mm

Large aggregate AC (Viacomac 32) 160/220

Unbound base course

100 mm

Crushed rock 0/31.5

100 mm

Crushed rock 0/31.5

100 mm

Crushed rock 0/31.5

100 mm

Crushed rock 0/31.5

Subbase

300 mm

Crushed rock 0/90

+

300 mm

Crushed rock 0/90

+

300 mm

Crushed rock 0/90

+

240 mm

Crushed rock 0/90

+

≈ 700 mm

Sandy gravel

(old existed road)

≈ 700 mm

Sandy gravel

(old existed road)

≈ 700 mm

Sandy gravel

(old existed road)

≈ 700 mm

Sandy gravel

(old existed road)

Subgrade Gravelly till / sandy silt

Gravelly till / sandy silt



A more detailed description of the composition of the bound layers can be found in Erlingsson and

Carlsson (2014).


3. Coring

Figure 3 gives an overview of the test road structures.

Figure 3. The test road structures after opening the road for traffic.

The coring took place on September 23, 2013. A specific scheme as given in Figure 4 was used for the

coring.

Figure 4. Overview of the coring scheme that was applied at all test sections. The coring area were

situated between the wheel paths.

100 m

Coring areas

5 m

To Svappavaara

5 m 10 m 10 m 10 m 10 m 10 m 10 m 10 m 10 m 10 m

N

S

Pole with a data logger box

Instrumentation

To Vittangi

16 m


An overview of the number of cores is given in Table 2.

Table 2. Overview of the number of cylindrical cores drilled from the test roads.

Cylindrical cores

Section = 100 mm = 150 mm = 300 mm

1 4 10

2 3 10

3 15 10

4 1 10 4

Besides the cylindrical cores, a disturbed sample was taken from the unbound base course.

Based on the cores, thickness of each layer was estimated. The average results are given in Table 3

and thickness of each drilled core is given in Appendix A.

Table 3. Average thickness [mm] of each layer based on the drilled cores.

Section 1 2 3 4

Wearing course 16.5 16.3 18.2 17.2

Binder course 65.8 58.7 60.9 62.3

Road base upper 63.6 56.2 63.0 93.5

Road base lower 66.6 65.6 67.2 110.6

Total 212.4 196.8 209.2 283.5


4. Laboratory test results

Laboratory tests were conducted on samples cored from the test structures described in the preceding

sections. The laboratory tests carried out cover the volumetric properties, stiffness, fatigue and shear

modulus tests of the bound layers. The stability of the large aggregate cold mix used as road base in

structure 4 was poor and therefore it was not possible to carry out any testing on them. They have

therefore been excluded from this report. Repeated load triaxial tests (RLT) were performed on the

unbound aggregate base. The results are summarized in the subsequent sections.

4.1. Volumetric properties tests

The volumetric properties of the different types of mixes used in the test sections were determined

according to the European standards (SS-EN12697-5, SS-EN12697-6 and SS-EN12697-8). Table 4

presents the compact densities and the air voids of the asphalt layers of the different test structures.

Figures 5 and 6 show the compact densities and air voids with their corresponding standard deviations.

The binder contents of the mixes were determined using the solvent extraction method and

subsequently the grain size distributions of the mixes were obtained in accordance with the European

standards SS-EN 12697-1 and SS-EN 12697-2, respectively. The grain size distribution curves of the

different mixes are shown in Figure 7.

Table 4. Volumetric properties of the layers for the four different test structures.

Structure Layer Mix type

Compact

density

[g/cm3]

Air void

[%]

Binder

cont.

[%]

1 & 2 Binder Course ABb22 Nypol 64-34 2.50 2.20 4.95

3 & 4 Binder Course ABb22 70/100 2.51 3.37 4.53

1 Road base – upper AG22 40/100-75 2.50 2.73 4.95

1 Road base – lower AG22 90/150-75 2.48 2.87 4.69

2 Road base – upper & lower AG22 160/220 2.50 2.91 4.42

3 Road base – upper & lower AG22 70/100 2.51 3.67 4.93

Figure 5. Compact densities of the different mixes with their standard deviations.

2,40

2,42

2,44

2,46

2,48

2,50

2,52

2,54

ABb22 Nypol 64-34 ABb22 70/100 AG22 40/100-75 AG22 90/150-75 AG22 160/220 AG22 70/100

Max

imum

den

sity

(gm

/cm

3)

Mixture


Figure 6. Air voids of the different mixes with their standard deviations.

Figure 7. Grain size distribution curves of the different mixes.

4.2. Stiffness tests

Three different types of stiffness tests were carried out in accordance with the Swedish industry

standard (FAS method), a sinusoidal indirect stiffness modulus test, a frequency sweep stiffness

modulus test and a dynamic shear modulus.

4.2.1. Indirect tensile stiffness modulus test

The stiffness test was carried out at three temperatures (3, 10 and 20C) in accordance with the

Swedish industry standard FAS 454. Figure 8 shows the actual test setup and Figure 9 shows the load

pulses. The load pulse consists of 0.1 sec loading and 2.9 sec rest period. Figures 10 and 11 present the

stiffness modulus of the binder course and the asphalt road base course mixes, respectively.

0,00

0,50

1,00

1,50

2,00

2,50

3,00

3,50

4,00

4,50

ABb22 Nypol 64-34 ABb22 70/100 AG22 40/100-75 AG22 90/150-75 AG22 160/220 AG22 70/100

Air

vo

id (

%)

Mixture

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

0,01 0,1 1 10 100

Per

ssen

t p

assi

ng

Sieve size (mm)

St. 1 &2 Binder course ABb22 Nypol 64-34

St. 3 & 4 Binder course ABb22 70/100

St. 1 Upper asphalt base course AG22 40/100-75

St. 1 Lower asphalt base course AG22 90/150-75

St. 2 Upper and lower asphalt base courses AG22 160/220



Figure 8. Indirect stiffness modulus test setup.

Figure 9. Load pulses for stiffness modulus test.

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14

Lo

ad (

N)

Time (sec)


Figure 10. (a) Stiffness modulus for the binder course mixtures of the test structures at three test

temperatures. (b) Curve fitted data.

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

St. 1 Binder course

ABb22 Nypol 64-34

St. 2 Binder course

ABb22 Nypol 64-34

St. 3 Binder course

ABb22 70/100

St. 4 Binder course

ABb22 70/100

Sti

ffnes

s m

od

ulu

s (M

Pa)

Mixture

3°C 10°C 20°C

(a)

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

14000

0 5 10 15 20 25

Sti

ffnes

s m

od

ulu

s (M

Pa)

Temperature (C)

St. 1 and 2 Binder course ABb22 Nypol 64-34

St. 3 and 4 Binder course ABb22 70/100

(b)


Figure 11. (a) Stiffness modulus for the asphalt base course mixtures of the test structures at three

temperatures. (b) Curve fitted data.

The measured stiffness data is fitted using exponential function, shown in Equation (1). The curve

fitting parameters are given in Table 5.

refTTb

ref eEtE

(1)

where E is the stiffness modulus, Eref is the reference stiffness modulus at a reference temperature of

Tref = 10C, T is temperature in °C, and b is a regression constant.

Table 5. Curve fitting parameters for stiffness modulus data.

Parameters ABb22 Nypol

64-34

ABb22

70/100

AG22

40/100-75

AG22

90/150-75

AG22

160/220

AG22

70/100

b 0.090 0.079 0.096 0.095 0.091 0.082

Eref 3851.6 6756.2 4186.9 4013.1 5767.1 6569.8

R2 0.979 0.990 0.979 0.964 0.981 0.966

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

St. 1 Upper asphalt

base course

AG22 40/100-75

St. 1 Lower asphalt

base course

AG22 90/150-75

St. 2 Upper and lower

asphalt base course

AG22 160/220

St. 3 Upper and lower

asphalt base course

AG22 70/100

Sti

ffnes

s m

od

ulu

s (M

Pa)

Mixture

3°C 10°C 20°C

(a)

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

14000

0 5 10 15 20 25

Sti

ffnes

s m

od

ulu

s (M

Pa)

Temperature (C)



St. 2 Upper and lower asphalt base course AG22 160/220

St. 3 Upper and lower asphalt base course AG22 70/100

(b)


4.2.2. Frequency sweep stiffness modulus test

The cyclic stiffness modulus test or the cyclic indirect stiffness modulus test consists of applying a

certain number of cyclic (sinusoidal) loading along the vertical diametral plane of a cylindrical

specimen to achieve a constant peak tensile strain along the horizontal diametral plane perpendicular

to the loading plane. The samples extracted from the test structures were tested at four temperatures

(-5, 0, 10 and 15 oC) and six loading frequencies (16, 8, 4, 1, 0.5 and 0.1 Hz). A similar test setup and

procedure as shown in Figure 8 was employed. The test results of the cyclic IDT tests are presented in

Figures 12 and 13 as master curves of the dynamic modulus and phase angle at a reference

temperature of 10 oC. A fitting function shown in Equation (2) was used to fit the master curve for

phase angle and a sigmoidal fitting function was used for dynamic modulus shown in Equation (3).

Arrhenius equation, Equation (4), was used as a shifting function:

2

11

1

b

af

c

e

ed

re

af

e

af

r

r

(2)

rf

Elogexp1

log

(3)

273

1

273

1log

ref

TTT

Ra (4)

T

rT

f

fa (5)

where is phase angle; a, b, c, d and e are phase angle master curve fitting parameters; E is the

dynamic modulus, fr is the reduced frequency, fT is the frequency at temperature T; α, β, γ and δ are

sigmoidal fitting function parameters for dynamic modulus master curve; aT is the shift factor, T is the

temperature in °C, Tref = 10C is the reference temperature and R is constant.

The speed, depth and loading frequency relationship shown in Equation (5) can be used to convert

speed into frequency (Said et al., 2013, Ahmed and Erlingsson, 2014):

Vzt log94.02.05.0log (6)

where t is the loading time in sec, z is the depth in meters and V is the speed in km/h.

The frequency at reference temperature fT is given as:

t

fT2

1 (7)

The curve fitting parameters are given in Table 6.


Figure 12. Master curves of dynamic modulus for different types of mixes at a reference temperature

of 10C.

Figure 13. Master curves of phase angle for different types of mixes at a reference temperature of

10C.

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

1,E-02 1,E-01 1,E+00 1,E+01 1,E+02 1,E+03 1,E+04

Dyn

amic

mo

du

lus

(MP

a)

Reduced frequency (Hz)






St. 3 Upper and lower sphalt base courses AG22 70/100

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

1,E-02 1,E-01 1,E+00 1,E+01 1,E+02 1,E+03 1,E+04

Phas

e an

gle

()

Reduced frequency






St. 3 Upper and lower sphalt base courses AG22 70/100


Table 6. Fitting parameters for dynamic modulus and phase angle master curves.

Fitting

parameters

Mixture

ABb22 Nypol

64-34

ABb22

70/100

AG22

40/100-75

AG22

90/150-75

AG22

160/220

AG22

70/100

4.52 4.56 4.29 4.43 4.52 4.54

-3.38 -7.24 -2.23 -2.99 -4.41 -10.91

0.70 2.01 0.53 0.62 1.34 2.50

-0.49 -0.36 -0.73 -0.56 -0.48 -0.37

a 1.32 -0.16 0.74 -0.13 -0.78 -2.16

b 28.36 23.56 27.79 3.12 2.85 4.19

c 8.81 5.09 10.34 25.66 28.51 22.98

d 33.61 47.24 32.65 22.84 23.86 45.60

e 0.88 1.55 0.87 0.84 1.10 1.58

R 10279.82 12137.01 9975.38 9999.53 11411.17 12232.36

4.2.3. Frequency sweep shear modulus test

The dynamic shear modulus test was conducted in accordance with the method and the equipment

developed at Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, VTI. According to this method,

the two sides of a cylindrical asphalt specimen having diameter of 150 mm and thickness of ¼ of the

sample diameter are glued to two steel plates using epoxy. Then the glued specimen is mounted on the

shear box device where one of the plates is rigidly fixed and the other is then exposed to a vertical

sinusoidal cyclic loading over a range of frequencies. Further details on the testing procedure can be

found in Said et al. (2013). The dynamic shear testing procedure involves testing at four temperatures:

-5, 10, 30 and 50oC, and eight loading frequencies: 16, 8, 4, 2, 1, 0.5, 0.1 and 0.05 Hz. Figure 14

shows the shear box apparatus. The master curves for the dynamic shear modulus and the phase angle

are presented in Figures 15 and 16. The curve fitting parameters according to Equations (2), (3) and

(4) are given in Table 7.


Figure 14. Dynamic shear modulus test setup.

Table 7. Fitting parameters for dynamic shear modulus and phase angle master curves.

Fitting

parameters

Mixture

ABb22 Nypol

64-34

ABb22

70/100

AG22

40/100-75

AG22

90/150-75

AG22

160/220 AG22 70/100

3.65 3.71 3.71 3.67 3.65 3.67

-1.47 -1.57 -1.58 -1.41 -1.51 -1.59

0.38 1.14 0.56 0.49 0.98 1.15

-0.85 -0.64 -0.77 -0.76 -0.79 -0.70

a -0.98 -2.33 -1.24 -1.17 -1.64 -2.07

b 1.91 2.16 1.96 2.04 1.92 2.22

c 26.40 22.24 26.18 24.26 30.38 25.58

d 11.66 10.20 11.61 9.20 5.54 6.39

e 5.59 7.52 5.84 7.35 8.67 8.70

R 9714.08 10898.16 9761.96 10092.93 10980.30 10991.12


Figure 15. Master curves for dynamic shear modulus of the asphalt mixes at a reference temperature

of 10C.

Figure 16. Master curves for phase angle of the asphalt mixes at a reference temperature of 10C.

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000

4500

5000

1,E-08 1,E-06 1,E-04 1,E-02 1,E+00 1,E+02 1,E+04

Dynam

ic m

od

ulu

s (M

Pa)








0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

1,E-08 1,E-06 1,E-04 1,E-02 1,E+00 1,E+02 1,E+04

Phas

e an

gle

()









4.3. Fatigue test

The fatigue test was conducted in accordance with the VTI notat 38-1995 or SS-EN 12697-24

Appendix E. The method involves applying a certain number of load pulses along the vertical

diametral plane of a cylindrical sample thus inducing a tensile stress along the horizontal diametral

plane perpendicular to the loading plane. The load pulse consists of 0.1 sec loading and 0.4 sec rest

period as shown in Figure 17. Figure 18 presents the results of the fatigue tests conducted for lower

asphalt road base mixes of the test structures 1, 2 and 3.

Figure 17. Load pulses for fatigue test.

Figure 18. Fatigue test results.

Equation (8) was used to fit the measured fatigue test data.

n

t

f KN

1 (8)

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

0 0,5 1 1,5 2 2,5 3

Lo

ad (

N)

Time (sec)

10

100

1000

1E+3 1E+4 1E+5 1E+6 1E+7

St

rain

(µ

stra

in)

Load cycle

St. 1 AG22 90/150-75

St. 2 AG22 160/220

St. 3 AG22 70/100Nf = K (1/)n


where Nf is the number of load cycle to failure, t is the initial tensile strain; K and n are regression

constants. The curve fitting parameters are given in Table 8.

Table 8. Curve fitting parameters for fatigue test results.

Parameters St 1.

AG22 90/150-75

St. 2

AG22 160/220

St 3.

AG70/100

n 2.61 3.15 3.62

K 4.50E+11 3.10E+12 2.80E+13

R² 0.81 0.97 0.92

4.4. Unbound granular base course

Samples were taken from the unbound granular base course material. The material was tested in

laboratory for estimation of some fundamental properties such as grain size distribution, specific

gravity, Proctor test and optimum moisture content, see Figure 19 and Table 9. Further, a repeated

load triaxial (RLT) test was carried out on 150 mm × 300 mm samples to evaluate the resilient and

permanent deformation properties. Further details on the testing procedure can be found in Rahman

and Erlingsson (2012).

Figure 19. Grain size distribution curve for the base course layer.

For the resilient testing totally seven tests on the same samples with different moisture contents were

carried out in the range 2–7.5% corresponding to 26–99% degree of saturations, see Table 9. Figure 20

shows the obtained results. Further, the obtained k1 and k2 values from Equation (10) are given in

Figure 21 as a function of degree of saturation.

Table 9. Fundamental parameters for the base course material.

GS

[-]

Fines

content

(< 75 µm)

[%]

wopt

[%]

Sopt

[%]

wsat

[%]

Maximum

dry density

[gm/cc]

Test conditions

γdry

[gm/cc]

Range

of w [%]

Range

of S [%]

Samples

tested

2.68 8.6 6.9 91.6 7.6 2.35 2.23 2-7.5 26-99 1

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

0,01 0,1 1 10 100

Pas

sing [

% b

y w

eight]

Sieve size [mm]


The resilient modulus MR, which is an estimate of the stiffness modulus of the specimen is expressed

as:

r

dRM

(9)

where d is the cyclic deviator stress and r is axial resilient strain.

The stiffness is highly dependent on the state of stress and is therefore frequently expressed as a

function of the bulk stress = 1 + 2 + 3. Here MR is expressed with the well known k- model

given in its non-dimensional form as:

2

1

k

a

aRp

pkM

(10)

where k1 and k2 are material parameters and pa is reference pressure taken as equal to the atmospheric

pressure, that is pa = 100 kPa.

The degree of saturation S of the specimen is related to the moisture content w of the specimen

through:

1dry

wsG

wS

(11)

where Gs is the specific gravity of the specimen, w is the unit weight of water dry is the dry unit

weight of the specimen.

Figure 20. Stiffness (resilient modulus) as a function of mean stress for the base course material.

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

1000

0 200 400 600 800 1000

Res

ilie

nt

modulu

s, M

R[M

Pa]

Mean stress, p [kPa]

w = 2% w = 3% w = 4% w = 5% w = 6% w = 7% w = 7.5%Model (solid lines)


Figure 21. The parameters k1 and k2 as a function of the degree of saturation.

The permanent deformation properties were studied based on Multi Stage (MS) RLT tests. The stress

levels for the tests were selected according to Low Stress Level (LSL) according to the European

standard. Totally 30 stress paths were applied each with 10 thousand load repetitions, thus resulting in

totally 300,000 load repetitions. Six tests were performed, see Table 10. First three tests at different

moisture content at constant degree of compaction followed by three tests at constant moisture content

but varying degree of compaction.

Table 10. Permanent deformation tests.

Fines

content

(< 75 µm)

[%]

wopt

[% by

weight]

GS

[-]

Maximum

dry

density

[gm/cc]

Tests performed with

w

[% by

weight]

S

[%]

γdry

[gm/cc]

Stress

level

Samples

tested

8.6 6.9 2.68 2.35

2 26.7 2.23 LSL 2

4 53.5 2.23 LSL 2

7 78.3 2.16 LSL 1

7 85.4 2.20 LSL 1

7 93.6 2.23 LSL 2

7 99.8 2.26 LSL 1

The results were analysed according to the model:

f

bS

p SaNN f̂ (12)

where p̂ is the accumulated permanent strain after N load repetitions and a and b are regression

parameters related to the material. The term Sf describes the effect of the stress conditions and is

expressed as:

0

250

500

750

1000

1250

1500

1750

0 20 40 60 80 100

k 1 [

-]

S [%]

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

1.2

0 20 40 60 80 100

k 2 [

-]

S [%]


a

a

f

p

p

p

q

S (13)

where q is the deviatoric stress, p is the hydrostatic stress and is parameter determined using a

regression analysis. A value of 0.75 gives usually a good agreement and that value has been used

here. Table 11 gives the curve fitting parameters.

Figure 21. Permanent deformation development with the number of load pulses from RLT test.

Table 11. Curve fitting parameters for the permanent deformation tests of the unbound base course.

w

[% by

weight]

Degree of

saturation

[%]

Dry

density

[gm/cc]

Degree of

compaction

[%]

Model parameters

Quality of fit

(α = 0.75)

a b R2

Correct

shakedown

range

predictions [%]

2 26.7 2.23 95 0.0001 0.120 0.71 86.7

4 53.5 2.23 95 0.0019 0.120 0.98 73.3

7 78.3 2.16 92 0.0026 0.120 0.50 56.7

7 85.4 2.20 93.5 0.0024 0.120 0.74 63.3

7 93.6 2.23 95 0.0023 0.120 0.61 63.3

7 99.8 2.26 96 0.0023 0.120 0.82 63.3

0

0,02

0,04

0,06

0,08

0,1

0,12

0,14

0,16

0 60000 120000 180000 240000 300000

Acc

um

ula

ted

p

erm

anen

t st

rain

, εˆ

p

Number of load cycles, N

w = 2%

w = 4%

w = 7% (DOC = 96%)

w = 7% (DOC = 95%)

w = 7% (DOC = 93.5%)

w = 7% (DOC = 92%)

Sequence 1 Sequence 2 Sequence 3 Sequence 4 Sequence 5

Low stress level


5. Conclusions

This report presents the laboratory test procedures and results of specimens taken from the four

instrumented test road sections that have been built on E45 close to the Svappavaara municipality in

Norrbotten County in Northern Sweden. The project is sponsored by the Swedish Transport

Administration. The structures are located about 100 km north of the Arctic Circle in a climate that is

characterized by long cold winters and short mild summers.

Each test section is around 250 m long, consisting of a 100 m long inner part that constitutes the

intrinsic test section. The structures were built and instrumented in the summer of 2012 except for the

wearing course that was placed in the summer of 2013 along with the temperature sensors that are

placed in the asphalt layers.

In 2013 drilled cores were taken from all bound layers and disturbed samples from unbound layers for

further laboratory analysis. This report presents the test results for asphalt bound layers as well as for

the unbound base course. For the bound layers the testing procedure included volumetric properties,

stiffness modulus and fatigue tests for the different types of conventional and polymer modified

asphalt mixtures. The tests were conducted in accordance with the Swedish or the equivalent European

standards. For the unbound base course fundamental properties were estimated as well as stiffness and

permanent deformation properties at different moisture contents.

The testing procedure went well without any problems except for the large aggregate cold mix layer

(road base layer) in section 4. The cores were not stable and aggregates loosened while preparing the

samples in the laboratory. It was therefore not possible to carry out any testing on them. They have

therefore been excluded from this report.


References

Ahmed A. W. and Erlingsson, S. (2014) “Evaluation of permanent deformation model for asphalt

concrete mixtures by means of extra-large wheel tracking and full scale accelerated pavement tests,”

Road Materials and Pavement Design. DOI: 10.1080/14680629.2014.987311.

Erlingsson, S. and Carlsson, H. (2014) “The Svappavaara Road Test Sections – Instrumentation,” VTI

notat 12A-2014. http://www.vti.se/sv/publikationer/pdf/nya-testvagstrackor-pa-e45-vid-svappavaara--

instrumentering.pdf

Rahman, S. and Erlingsson, S. (2012). Moisture Sensitivity of Unbound Granular Materials,

Proceedings of the 4th European Pavement Asset Management Conference (EPAM4), September

2012, Malmö, Sweden.

Said, S., Hakim, H. and Oscarsson, E. (2013) “Rheological characterization of asphalt concrete using a

shear box,” Journal of Testing and Evaluation, Vol. 41, No. 4, pp. 602-610. DOI:

10.1520/JTE20120177. ISSN 0090-3973.

http://www.vti.se/sv/publikationer/pdf/nya-testvagstrackor-pa-e45-vid-svappavaara--instrumentering.pdf

http://www.vti.se/sv/publikationer/pdf/nya-testvagstrackor-pa-e45-vid-svappavaara--instrumentering.pdf


Appendix A

Table A1. Thickness of layers based on drilled cores.

Thickness [mm]

Section Drilling area Sub-test Test no. Surface course Binder layer Road base - Upper Road base - Lower Total

1 2 a 1-2a 16 68 62 66 211

1 2 b 1-2b 17 66 66 62 211

1 3 a 1-3a 16 63 65 70 214

1 3 b 1-3b 17 65 65 65 212

1 4 a 1-4a 15 70 63 70 218

1 4 b 1-4b 17 68 62 70 217

1 5 a 1-5a 19 60 64 65 208

1 5 b 1-5b 15 66 62 65 208

2 1 a 2-1a 16 58 51 64 188

2 1 b 2-1b 14 58 53 71 196

2 2 a 2-2a 15 55 53 60 183

2 2 b 2-2b 16 58 50 65 189

2 3 a 2-3a 18 60 58 67 203

2 3 b 2-3b 15 60 60 68 203

2 4 a 2-4a 17 60 60 65 202

2 4 b 2-4b 16 59 57 63 195

2 5 a 2-5a 17 60 60 65 202

2 5 b 2-5b 19 60 60 68 207

3 1 a 3-1a 17 60 62 70 209

3 1 b 3-1b 18 63 63 70 214

3 2 a 3-2a 18 61 60 64 202

3 2 b 3-2b 19 57 63 63 201

3 3 a 3-3a 20 60 65 67 212

3 3 b 3-3b 20 55 70 65 210

3 4 a 3-4a 17 60 60 67 204

3 4 b 3-4b 18 62 60 67 207

3 5 a 3-5a 18 65 64 70 217

3 5 b 3-5b 17 66 63 70 216

4 1 a 4-1a 16 63 81 105 264

4 1 b 4-1b 16 59 90 107 272

4 2 a 4-2a 18 55 105 110 288

4 2 b 4-2b 17 60 95 130 302

4 3 a 4-3a 17 65 104 100 286

4 3 b 4-3b 17 65 85 120 287

4 4 a 4-4a 18 60 95 104 277

4 4 b 4-4b 18 64 90 110 282

4 5 a 4-5a 18 65 95 110 288

4 5 b 4-5b 17 67 95 110 289

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