Preventive maintenance of porous asphalt concrete using surface treatment technology

Abstract Porous asphalt concrete is widely used as a surfacing layer on highways in the Netherlands because of its benefit that it is effective in reducing traffic noise. However, the service life of porous asphalt wearing courses is limited due to the fact that it is vulnerable to raveling. A preventive maintenance strategy using surface treatment material is being considered as a cost-effective and environmentally sustainable option to extend the service life of existing porous asphalt wearing courses. In this paper, the effect of a surface treatment to porous asphalt wearing courses is discussed. A surface treatment material was sprayed on the porous asphalt pavement surfaces in two field trials. Computed Tomography (CT) scans were performed on the porous asphalt concrete cores from the field trials to measure their volumetric properties. The rotating surface abrasion tests were used to determine the raveling resistance of the porous asphalt concrete samples. Finite element models with a realistic structure of the porous asphalt concrete were created for analyzing the stresses and strains as a result of traffic loads in the pavement surface with the surface treatment material. It is found that the effect of the surface treatment is positive.