Evaluation of Three Federal Highway Administration Targeted Overlay Pavement Solutions for Asphalt Pavements Based on Their Performances and Potential to Increase Pavement Service Life

Abstract

The Federal Highway Administration Targeted Overlay Pavement Solutions (TOPS) program presents innovative overlay solutions for both asphalt and concrete pavements. The objective of this study was to conduct a comparative evaluation of three TOPS types for asphalt pavements, namely, Asphalt Rubber Gap-Graded, Stone Matrix Asphalt and High-Performance Thin Overlay as regards performance, how they extend pavement service life, and whether they can be used interchangeably. Asphalt binders from two sources were used in each of these three TOPS types, thus, providing a total of six TOPS mixtures. All TOPS passed the mixture performance tests where the test had a State Transportation Agency (STA) specified or a preliminary criterion, and the test results indicated that all three TOPS types can be used interchangeably. More specifically, all six TOPS mixtures met the Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s TOPS pilot specification criteria for rutting, moisture damage, and intermediate-temperature cracking. They also passed the mixture performance tests for reflective cracking and raveling based on criteria established by other STAs. AASHTOWare^® Pavement Mechanistic-Empirical Design predictive models for bottom-up fatigue cracking indicated that 2 in. of a TOPS mixture placed on an existing in-service pavement can extend pavement service life between 11.2 and 14 years depending on the type of TOPS and source of binder. The maximum difference in service life between the six TOPS was slightly less than 3 years, although most of them were within 2 years of each other. Furthermore, none of the three TOPS types could be chosen to be the best TOPS.

Keywords

pavements design and rehabilitation of asphalt pavements asphalt mechanistic-empirical pavement design sustainable and resilient pavements sustainable pavements

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). Targeted Overlay Pavement Solutions (TOPS). US Department of Transportation, Washington, D.C., April 18, 2022. https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/innovation/everydaycounts/edc_6/targeted_overlay_pavement.cfm. Accessed February 3, 2023.

Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). Center for Accelerating Innovation. US Department of Transportation, Washington, D.C., January 5, 2023. https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/innovation/. Accessed February 3, 2023.

Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). About Every Day Counts (EDC). US Department of Transportation, Washington, D.C., November 12, 2021. https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/innovation/everydaycounts/about-edc.cfm. Accessed February 3, 2023.

Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). Targeted Overlay Pavement Solutions (TOPS). US Department of Transportation, Washington, D.C., n.d. https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/innovation/everydaycounts/edc_6/tops_storyboard/. Accessed February 3, 2023.

Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). Pavements. US Department of Transportation, Washington, D.C., January 4, 2023. https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/pavement/tops/asphalt_resources.cfm. Accessed February 3, 2023.

FHWA Office of Preconstruction, Construction, and Pavements. Asphalt Rubber Gap-Graded. FHWA-HIF-21-001. US Department of Transportation, Washington, D.C., n.d. https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/pavement/tops/pubs/asphalt_tops_combined_508_1.pdf. Accessed February 3, 2023.

FHWA Office of Preconstruction, Construction, and Pavements. Crack Attenuating Mix. FHWA-HIF-22-030. US Department of Transportation, Washington, D.C., n.d. https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/pavement/tops/pubs/TOPS_one_pager_Crack_Attenuating_Mixture.pdf. Accessed February 3, 2023.

FHWA Office of Preconstruction, Construction, and Pavements. Enhanced Friction Overlay. FHWA-HIF-21-007. US Department of Transportation, Washington, D.C., n.d. https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/pavement/tops/pubs/asphalt_tops_combined_508_7.pdf. Accessed February 3, 2023.

FHWA Office of Preconstruction, Construction, and Pavements. TOPS Targeted Overlay Pavement Solutions – High Performance Thin Overlays. FHWA-HIF-22-053. US Department of Transportation, Washington, D.C., March 2022. https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/pavement/tops/pubs/TOPS_HPTO_Case_Study_Report_508.pdf. Accessed February 21, 2023.

10.

FHWA. TOPS Targeted Overlay Pavement Solutions. Webinar. US Department of Transportation, Washington, D.C., n.d. https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/pavement/tops/pubs/1_CAM-HPTO-TOPS%20Webinar_508_v6.pdf. Accessed February 21, 2023.

11.

FHWA Office of Preconstruction, Construction, and Pavements. Open-Graded Friction Course. FHWA-HIF-21-005. US Department of Transportation, Washington, D.C., n.d. https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/pavement/tops/pubs/asphalt_tops_combined_508_5.pdf. Accessed February 3, 2023.

12.

FHWA Office of Preconstruction, Construction, and Pavements. Stone Matrix Asphalt. FHWA-HIF-21-004. US Department of Transportation, Washington, D.C., n.d. https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/pavement/tops/pubs/asphalt_tops_combined_508_4.pdf. Accessed February 3, 2023.

13.

FHWA Office of Preconstruction, Construction, and Pavements. Ultra-Thin Bonded Wearing Course. FHWA-HIF-21-006. US Department of Transportation, Washington, D.C., n.d. https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/pavement/tops/pubs/asphalt_tops_combined_508_6.pdf. Accessed February 3, 2023.

14.

FHWA Office of Preconstruction, Construction, and Pavements. Highly Modified Asphalt. FHWA-HIF-21-003. US Department of Transportation, Washington, D.C., n.d. https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/pavement/tops/pubs/asphalt_tops_combined_508_3.pdf. Accessed February 3, 2023.

15.

FHWA Office of Preconstruction, Construction, and Pavements. Advances in the Design, Production, and Construction of Stone Matrix Asphalt (SMA). FHWA-HIF-22-042. US Department of Transportation, Washington, D.C., July 2022. https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/pavement/asphalt/pubs/hif22042.pdf. Accessed February 3, 2023.

16.

Mogawer

Stuart

Austerman

A. J.

Zhou

Romero

Balanced Mix Design Sensitivity to Production Tolerance Limits and Binder Source. Journal of the Association of Asphalt Paving Technologist, Vol. 88, 2019, pp. 375–400.

17.

American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). Standard Specifications for Transportation Materials and Methods of Sampling and Testing. AASHTO, Washington, D.C., 2021.

18.

Christensen

D. W.

Analysis of Creep Data from Indirect Tension Test on Asphalt Concrete. Journal of the Association of Asphalt Paving Technologist, Vol. 67, 1998, pp. 458–492.

19.

ASTM International. Road and Paving Materials; Vehicle-Pavement Systems. Vol. 04.03. ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA, 2022.

20.

National Center for Asphalt Technology (NCAT). The Delta Tc Parameter: What Is It and How Do We Use It?NCAT, Auburn, AL, Spring 2017. http://www.eng.auburn.edu/research/centers/ncat/newsroom/2017-spring/delta-tc.html. Accessed February 21, 2023.

21.

Anderson

King

Hanson

Blankenship

Evaluation of the Relationship Between Asphalt Binder Properties and Non-Load Related Cracking. Journal of the Association of Asphalt Paving Technologist, Vol. 80, 2011, pp. 615–661.

22.

Texas A&M Transportation Institute. IDEAL-CT — Simple, Reliable, Efficient, Repeatable, Cost Effective. Texas Transportation Researcher, Vol. 57, No. 1. https://tti.tamu.edu/researcher/ideal-ct-simple-reliable-efficient-repeatable-cost-effective/. Accessed February 28, 2023.

23.

Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). Test Procedure for Overlay Test. TxDOT Designaion Tex-248-F. https://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/nchrp/nchrp_rpt_987F.pdf. July 2021.

24.

Habbouche

Boz

Diefenderfer

Validation of Performance-Based Specifications for Surface Asphalt Mixtures in Virginia. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 2022. 2676: 277–296.

25.

Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT). Pavement Preservation and Rehabilitation Manual. MassDOT, Boston, 2022.