Quality of cold-mix asphalt in bituminous pavement maintenance in Ghana: Preliminary indications
Prevalence of premature patch failures in bituminous pavement maintenance in Ghana, involving pothole and partial-depth repairs using cold-mix asphalt (CMA), has become a major concern as the failures call for repeated patching in the face of limited maintenance budget and repeated disruption to tra...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2021-12-01
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| Series: | Case Studies in Construction Materials |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214509521002849 |
| _version_ | 1823956318111662080 |
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| author | Kwadwo Appiah Boateng Yaw Adubofour Tuffour Daniel Obeng-Atuah Stephen Agyeman |
| author_facet | Kwadwo Appiah Boateng Yaw Adubofour Tuffour Daniel Obeng-Atuah Stephen Agyeman |
| author_sort | Kwadwo Appiah Boateng |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Prevalence of premature patch failures in bituminous pavement maintenance in Ghana, involving pothole and partial-depth repairs using cold-mix asphalt (CMA), has become a major concern as the failures call for repeated patching in the face of limited maintenance budget and repeated disruption to traffic. The most commonly documented failures associated with CMA patches in the country are disintegration, shoving, and dishing. All three failure modes suggest a deficiency in binder coupled with a weakness in aggregate functionality often attributable to a compromised aggregate skeletal structure lacking sufficient interlock/load-bearing ability resulting in a patch with no rigidity and stability. In this study, samples of stockpiled ready-to-use cold-mix asphalt concrete from six contractor sites and three failed patches from roads in the Ashanti, Volta, and Bono Regions in Ghana, were investigated to assess material quality. Bitumen extraction, aggregate gradation, stability, and volumetric analysis of compacted specimens were carried out on the samples. The results indicated poor CMA aggregate structure which consisted essentially of single-sized aggregates having uniformity coefficients between 4 and 6 and residual asphalt contents between 3% and 6%. All mixtures formulated using bitumen emulsion binder had values lower than those formulated with cutbacks and none satisfying specifications. Specimens compacted in the laboratory disintegrated during conditioning for stability and flow test, suggesting the absence of stickiness and cohesion within the compacted matrix. Our results suggest that pothole patching failures prevalent in the country may be blamed principally on inadequate aggregate structure and low binder content of the CMA mixes. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-17T15:43:47Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-06f63fe78339447ebae7096d64de5e8c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2214-5095 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-17T15:43:47Z |
| publishDate | 2021-12-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Case Studies in Construction Materials |
| spelling | doaj.art-06f63fe78339447ebae7096d64de5e8c2022-12-21T21:42:36ZengElsevierCase Studies in Construction Materials2214-50952021-12-0115e00769Quality of cold-mix asphalt in bituminous pavement maintenance in Ghana: Preliminary indicationsKwadwo Appiah Boateng0Yaw Adubofour Tuffour1Daniel Obeng-Atuah2Stephen Agyeman3Regional Transport Research and Education Centre, Kumasi (TRECK), Department of Civil Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana; Department of Civil Engineering, Sunyani Technical University, Sunyani, Ghana; Correspondence to: Department of Civil Engineering, Sunyani Technical University, Box 206, Sunyani, Ghana.Regional Transport Research and Education Centre, Kumasi (TRECK), Department of Civil Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, GhanaRegional Transport Research and Education Centre, Kumasi (TRECK), Department of Civil Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, GhanaDepartment of Civil Engineering, Sunyani Technical University, Sunyani, Ghana; School of Transportation, Southeast University, Nanjing, ChinaPrevalence of premature patch failures in bituminous pavement maintenance in Ghana, involving pothole and partial-depth repairs using cold-mix asphalt (CMA), has become a major concern as the failures call for repeated patching in the face of limited maintenance budget and repeated disruption to traffic. The most commonly documented failures associated with CMA patches in the country are disintegration, shoving, and dishing. All three failure modes suggest a deficiency in binder coupled with a weakness in aggregate functionality often attributable to a compromised aggregate skeletal structure lacking sufficient interlock/load-bearing ability resulting in a patch with no rigidity and stability. In this study, samples of stockpiled ready-to-use cold-mix asphalt concrete from six contractor sites and three failed patches from roads in the Ashanti, Volta, and Bono Regions in Ghana, were investigated to assess material quality. Bitumen extraction, aggregate gradation, stability, and volumetric analysis of compacted specimens were carried out on the samples. The results indicated poor CMA aggregate structure which consisted essentially of single-sized aggregates having uniformity coefficients between 4 and 6 and residual asphalt contents between 3% and 6%. All mixtures formulated using bitumen emulsion binder had values lower than those formulated with cutbacks and none satisfying specifications. Specimens compacted in the laboratory disintegrated during conditioning for stability and flow test, suggesting the absence of stickiness and cohesion within the compacted matrix. Our results suggest that pothole patching failures prevalent in the country may be blamed principally on inadequate aggregate structure and low binder content of the CMA mixes.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214509521002849Cold mix asphaltBitumen contentAggregate gradationSustainable cold patchesGhana |
| spellingShingle | Kwadwo Appiah Boateng Yaw Adubofour Tuffour Daniel Obeng-Atuah Stephen Agyeman Quality of cold-mix asphalt in bituminous pavement maintenance in Ghana: Preliminary indications Case Studies in Construction Materials Cold mix asphalt Bitumen content Aggregate gradation Sustainable cold patches Ghana |
| title | Quality of cold-mix asphalt in bituminous pavement maintenance in Ghana: Preliminary indications |
| title_full | Quality of cold-mix asphalt in bituminous pavement maintenance in Ghana: Preliminary indications |
| title_fullStr | Quality of cold-mix asphalt in bituminous pavement maintenance in Ghana: Preliminary indications |
| title_full_unstemmed | Quality of cold-mix asphalt in bituminous pavement maintenance in Ghana: Preliminary indications |
| title_short | Quality of cold-mix asphalt in bituminous pavement maintenance in Ghana: Preliminary indications |
| title_sort | quality of cold mix asphalt in bituminous pavement maintenance in ghana preliminary indications |
| topic | Cold mix asphalt Bitumen content Aggregate gradation Sustainable cold patches Ghana |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214509521002849 |
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