Project Summary

Low temperature cracking is one primary distress of pavement materials in New England area. It is estimated that only half of the major US roads are in good condition, whereas thirteen percent are in poor condition. This project will measure adhesion between plain binders and aggregate minerals at low temperatures, and measure adhesion between modified binders and aggregate minerals at low temperatures. Numerical modeling is performed to understand the effects of chemical constituents on the adhesion between asphalt binders and aggregates. The findings could provide potential guidance of asphalt mixtures in low temperature regions since the proper combination of aggregates and binders will be accurately evaluated based on more accurate adhesion results.