First-year asphalt mixture results from a European in situ Ageing Consortium (EurIAC)

Abstract

Ageing of asphalt pavements is an inevitable phenomenon that reduces the overall lifespan of the road net-work. Typically, this process is simulated in the lab, however several climatic factors are often overlooked in such simulations. To evaluate the ageing effects more realistically, a network of universities in six West-ern-European countries was established in the summer of 2023. This paper reports the first-year results of in situ climatic conditioning and its effect on a reference asphalt mixture. Asphalt slabs were assessed for their mechanical performance via indirect tensile strength and resilient modulus. The findings depict slight differences between the participating labs concerning these properties, with the majority of them pointing to slightly increased modulus values ascribed to ageing. The extent of mix properties changes, yet in the early stages of long-term ageing, is still insignificant. Finally, a moderate positive correlation was found between the two asphalt mixture properties which can collectively explain the regional differences across Europe in the near future. Correlations with the changes at the binder level will also be considered as well as the link-age to the climatic history, as additional results will become available over extended time intervals.