Top Banner
IMPROVED RICE METHOD FOR DETERMINING THEORETICAL MAXIMUM GRAVITY OF ASPHALT PAVING MIXTURES B y PrithviS.Kandhal MaqboolA.Khatri Paper published in Transportation Research Board, Transportation Research Record 1353, 1992 277TechnologyParkway Auburn,AL36830
14

Improved Rice Method for Determining Theoritical Maximum Density of Asphalt Paving Mixtures

May 30, 2018

Download

Documents

Welcome message from author
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
Page 1: Improved Rice Method for Determining Theoritical Maximum Density of Asphalt Paving Mixtures

8/9/2019 Improved Rice Method for Determining Theoritical Maximum Density of Asphalt Paving Mixtures

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/improved-rice-method-for-determining-theoritical-maximum-density-of-asphalt 1/14

IMPROVEDRICEMETHODFORDETERMININGTHEORETICALMAXIMUMGRAVITYOFASPHALT PAVINGMIXTURES

By

PrithviS.Kandhal

MaqboolA.Khatri

PaperpublishedinTransportationResearchBoard,TransportationResearchRecord1353,1992

277TechnologyParkway •Auburn,AL36830

Page 2: Improved Rice Method for Determining Theoritical Maximum Density of Asphalt Paving Mixtures

8/9/2019 Improved Rice Method for Determining Theoritical Maximum Density of Asphalt Paving Mixtures

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/improved-rice-method-for-determining-theoritical-maximum-density-of-asphalt 2/14

IMPROVEDRICEMETHODFORDETERMININGTHEORETICALMAXIMUMSPECIFICGRAVITYOFASPHALTPAVINGMIXTURES

By

PrithviS.Kandhal

AssistantDirectorNationalCenterforAsphaltTechnology

AuburnUniversity,Alabama

MaqboolA.Khatri

ResearchEngineerSouthwesternLaboratories

PaperpublishedinTransportationResearchBoard,TransportationResearchRecord1353,1992

Page 3: Improved Rice Method for Determining Theoritical Maximum Density of Asphalt Paving Mixtures

8/9/2019 Improved Rice Method for Determining Theoritical Maximum Density of Asphalt Paving Mixtures

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/improved-rice-method-for-determining-theoritical-maximum-density-of-asphalt 3/14

DISCLAIMER

Thecontentsofthisreportreflecttheviewsoftheauthorswhoaresolelyresponsibleforthefactsandtheaccuracyofthedatapresentedherein.ThecontentsdonotnecessarilyreflecttheofficialviewsandpoliciesoftheNationalCenterforAsphaltTechnologyofAuburnUniversity.Thisreportdoesnotconstituteastandard,specification,orregulation.

i

Page 4: Improved Rice Method for Determining Theoritical Maximum Density of Asphalt Paving Mixtures

8/9/2019 Improved Rice Method for Determining Theoritical Maximum Density of Asphalt Paving Mixtures

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/improved-rice-method-for-determining-theoritical-maximum-density-of-asphalt 4/14

ABSTRACT

Ricemethod(ASTMD2041)isusedfordeterminingthetheoreticalmaximumspecificgravity

ofasphaltpavingmixtureswhichisoneofthemaintestparametersusedformixdesignandconstructionqualitycontrol.TherepeatabilityandreproducibilityoftheRicemethodisnotconsideredsatisfactoryespeciallywhenhighlyabsorptiveaggregatesareusedinthemixture.SuchaggregatescanabsorbwaterduringthevacuumingphaseoftheRicemethod.Thisnecessitatestheuseofasupplementary(dry-back)procedurewhichisevenmorepronetotestingerrors.ThereisaneedtoimprovetheRicemethodtoavoidtheaforementionedproblems.

Twodensegradedasphaltpavingmixtures(representinglowandhighabsorptionaggregates)

andoneAC-20asphaltcementwereusedinthisstudy.Threefactors(temperature,residualpressure,andvacuumingtime)affectingtheresultsfromtheRicemethodwereinvestigatedatthreelevelseach,involvingsome108tests.

Basedonthetestdata,optimumlevelshavebeenrecommendedfortemperature(77°F),residual

pressure(30mmHg),andvacuumingtime(15minutes).UseoftheseoptimumlevelsbyalllaboratoriesisexpectedtoimprovethereproducibilityoftheRicemethod,especiallywhenhighlyabsorptiveaggregatesareusedintheasphaltpavingmixtures.TheimprovedRicemethodisalsolikelytominimizethenecessityofusingthesupplementary(dry-back)procedure.

ii

Page 5: Improved Rice Method for Determining Theoritical Maximum Density of Asphalt Paving Mixtures

8/9/2019 Improved Rice Method for Determining Theoritical Maximum Density of Asphalt Paving Mixtures

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/improved-rice-method-for-determining-theoritical-maximum-density-of-asphalt 5/14

Kandhal&Khatri

EVALUATIONOFPARTICLESHAPEANDTEXTUREOFMINERALAGGREGATES

ANDTHEIRBLENDS

PrithviS.Kandhal,MaqboolA.Khatri,andJohnB.Motter

INTRODUCTION

TheoreticalmaximumspecificgravityofHotMixAsphalt(HMA)mixturesisusedinallstagesofHMAdesign,construction,andevaluation.TheprocedurefordeterminingthetheoreticalmaximumspecificgravityofHMAmixtureswasoriginallydevelopedbyRice(7 ,2)andisstandardizedasASTMD2041-TheoreticalMaximumSpecificGravityandDensityofBituminousPavingMixtures.Itisoneofthemaintestparametersusedformixdesignandconstructionqualitycontrol.BesidesthevoidparametersofanHMAmixture,theamountofasphaltcementabsorbedbytheaggregateisalsocomputedbytheuseoftheoreticalmaximumspecificgravityisdeterminedbyASTMD2041.

Although,thisisoneofthemostcriticaltestparametersinthedesignofHMAmixtures,its

repeatabilityandreproducibilityhasgenerallybeenunacceptable.InJuly1983,thetaskforceonrevisionofASTMD2041(theRicespecificgravitymethod)recommendedthatthewaterbemadetoboil(throughsuitablecombinationsofsaturationtemperatureandpressure)inthevesselwhensubjectingthespecimentovacuumforremovalofair.However,notestdatawasreportedto justifytherecommendationanditwasnotmadeapartofthetestmethod.

ThesituationisfurthercomplicatedwhenhighlyabsorptiveaggregatesareusedinHMA

mixturesandthereisapotentialofwaterbeingabsorbedbytheaggregateduringthevacuumingphase.ThecurrentASTMmethodspecifiesaminimumvacuumlevel(maximumresidualpressureof30mmofHgorless).Therefore,onecanuseahighvacuumlevelandincreasethepotentialforwaterabsorption.ThecurrentASTMtestmethodsuggeststheuseofasupplementalproceduretocorrectforthissituation.However,thisprocedureisquitetime

consuminganditsrepeatabilityandreproducibilityhavenotbeenestablished.

Alternativetechniquesfordeterminingthetheoreticalmaximumspecificgravityhavealsobeen

proposedandareinuse.TheU.S.ArmyCorpsofEngineers(3,4)developedandhasusedthebulkimpregnatedspecificgravityinthedesignandcontrolofasphaltpavingmixtures.Onelimitationofthismethod,however,isthepossibledifficultyofremovingairbubblesentrappedintheasphaltcementwhenbothcoarseandfineaggregatesareaddedtomoltenasphalt.FrancoandLee(5)haverecentlyevaluatedtheviabilityofusinganairmeterfordeterminingthemaximumspecificgravityofHMAmixtures.Theairmeterhasnormallybeenusedfordeterminingthepercentofairentrainedinportlandcementconcrete.Theso-calledpressuremethodworksontheprincipleofBoyle'slaw.AweighedsampleofHMAmixisintroducedintothebowloftheairmeter(TypeBairmeterasspecifiedinAASHTOT152)andwateris

introducedtofillthemetertothecapacity(noattemptismadetoremovetheentrappedair).Thefilledairmeterisweighedandtheweightofwaterobtained.TheaircontentofthemeteristhendeterminedinaccordancewithAASHTOT152.BackcalculationsarethenperformedandthevolumeoftheHMAmixisdetermined.Furtherworkisneededtoimprovethedesignoftheairmetersothatitsconsistencyandsensitivityisacceptable.

ThisstudywasaimedatrefiningthecurrentRicemethod(ASTMD2041).Twodifferent

aggregatesandoneasphaltcementwereusedinthisstudy.Threefactors,namely,temperature,residualpressure,andvacuumingtimewereinvestigatedtodeterminetheiroptimumlevels.Thematerialsusedinthestudy,theexperimentalplan,testresults,andconclusionsarepresentedbelow.

1

Page 6: Improved Rice Method for Determining Theoritical Maximum Density of Asphalt Paving Mixtures

8/9/2019 Improved Rice Method for Determining Theoritical Maximum Density of Asphalt Paving Mixtures

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/improved-rice-method-for-determining-theoritical-maximum-density-of-asphalt 6/14

Kandhal&Khatri

MATERIALSUSED

Aggregates

AllthematerialsusedinthisstudywereobtainedfromtheStrategicHighwayResearchProgram(SHRP)'sMaterialsReferenceLibrary(MRL).Thefollowingtwodifferentaggregateswereused:

RD-FrederickLimestone(BulkSpecificGravity=2.713,WaterAbsorption=0.38%)

RB-WatsonvilleGranite(BulkSpecificGravity=2.692,WaterAbsorption=1.68%)

AggregateRDwasusedinthefirstphaseofthestudywherethreefactors,temperature,residualpressureandvacuumingtime,wereinvestigatedfortheiroptimumlevels.ThisaggregatewasselectedbecauseithadthelowestwaterabsorptionofalltheSHRPMRLaggregatesanditsusewouldreducethevariationoftestresultsduetowaterabsorptionduringthevacuumingoperation.AggregateRB,whichwasusedinphase2ofthisstudy,wasselectedtorepresenta

highabsorptionaggregate.Initially,thehighestabsorptionSHRPMRLaggregateRCwastried.However,duringvacuumingatlowresidualpressures(highvacuum)whilerunningtheRicemethod,thewaterintheflaskbecamemuddyduetosuctionoffinesfromthematedaggregateparticles.Asaresult,thesupplementalprocedurewasinerror.UseofahighabsorptionaggregatelikeRBwasnecessitatedtoamplifythedifferenceinthevaluesofthetheoreticalmaximumspecificgravitybeforeandafterrunningthesupplementalprocedure.ThewashedgradationsofthemixesusedaregiveninTable1.

Table1.WashedGradationsofMixesUsed

SieveSize PercentPassingforAggregate

RB RD

1/2in. 100.0 100.0

3/8in. 81.1 95.8

No.4 54.1 50.3

No.8 48.6 40.4

No.16 35.0 28.7

No.30 26.8 20.0

No.50 18.5 14.7

No.100 11.0 11.5

No.200 6.1 9.5

AsphaltCementsOnlyoneasphaltcement(AAM-1,WestTexas)wasusedinthisstudyanditwasanAC-20.ItwasselectedbecauseAC-20isthemostwidelyusedviscositygradedasphaltcementinUnitedStates.

TESTINGPLAN

Thisstudywasdividedintwophases.Phase1involvedtheuseoftheleastwaterabsorptionSHRPMRLaggregateRDinordertoavoidthesupplementalprocedureoftheRicemethod.Threefactors,temperature,residualpressureandvacuumingtime,wereallinvestigatedatthreelevelseach.Thelevelsofthefactorstestedwere:

2

Page 7: Improved Rice Method for Determining Theoritical Maximum Density of Asphalt Paving Mixtures

8/9/2019 Improved Rice Method for Determining Theoritical Maximum Density of Asphalt Paving Mixtures

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/improved-rice-method-for-determining-theoritical-maximum-density-of-asphalt 7/14

Kandhal&Khatri

Temperature - 69,77,and85°F.ResidualPressure - 16,23,and30mmHg.VacuumingTime - 5,10,and15min.

Therespectivecombinationsoftemperatureandresidualpressure,namely,69°Fand16mmHg,77°Fand23mmHg,and85°Fand30mmHg,wereselectedtoensurecontinuousboilingofwaterduringthevacuumingphaseoftheRiceprocedure.Threereplicateswererunateachtreatmentcombination.Thedesignwasa33designwiththreereplicatesgivingatotalof81tests.Thereplicateswereconsideredasblocks.

Forphase2,thefactortemperaturewasdroppedbasedontheresultsfromphase1.Theother

twofactors,i.e.,residualpressureandvacuumingtime,wereincludedatthreelevelseach.Thelevelsusedforthesefactorswerethesameasforphase1.Threereplicateswererunforeachtreatmentcombinationandweretreatedasblocks.Thedesignwasa32designwiththreereplicatesgivingatotalof27tests.

DISCUSSIONOFRESULTSTheresultsforphase1ofthestudyarereportedinTable2.AnanalysisofvariancewascarriedoutandANOVAisreportedinTable3.Allthreefactors,temperature(A),residualpressure(B),andvacuumingtime(C),werefoundtobesignificantata=0.05.OnlyoneinteractionA×C(temperature×vacuumingtime)wasfoundtobesignificantat"=0.05.BylookingattheaveragesreportedinTable2foreachfactor,itcanbeseenthataveragetheoreticalmaximumspecificgravitydoesnotvarymuchatthevariouslevelsofailfactors.Theerrorvarianceisfoundtobe0.00001givingastandarddeviationof0.00228.Thisgivesasingleoperatorprecisionfortheexperimentas0.007whichislessthanthecurrentASTMvalueof0.011.Moreover,therangeofthevaluesfortheentireexperimentis2.490-2.502=0.012whichisaboutthesameasthecurrentASTMsingleoperatorprecision.

Forphase1ofthestudy,theobjectivewastomaximizethevalueofthetheoreticalmaximum

specificgravity.Theoptimalconditionsforallthefactorsareselectedasfollows.

WithoutConsideringInteractions

Thecumulativeaverages(averageof27observations)forallthefactorsaretabulatedbelow:

1.Temperature:

2.ResidualPressure:

3.VacuumingTime:

Level

69°F

77°F

85°F

Level

16mmHg

23mmHg

30mmHg

Level

5min.

10min.

15min.

CumulativeAverage

2.497

2.495

2.496

CumulativeAverage

2.495

2.496

2.497

CumulativeAverage

2.495

2.496

2.498

3

Page 8: Improved Rice Method for Determining Theoritical Maximum Density of Asphalt Paving Mixtures

8/9/2019 Improved Rice Method for Determining Theoritical Maximum Density of Asphalt Paving Mixtures

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/improved-rice-method-for-determining-theoritical-maximum-density-of-asphalt 8/14

Kandhal&Khatri

Table2.RiceSpecificGravitiesUsingAggregateRD

Temperature,°F 69 77 85

Res.Pressure,mmHG 16 23 30 16 23 30 16 23 30

v 2.501 2.495 2.503 2.492 2.495 2.499 2.495 2.495 2.500acuum

T

ime,

m

in

51015

2.493

2.492

2.495

2.495

2.4962.497

2.496

2.496

2.496

2.497

2.496

2.498

2.493

2.495

2.496

2.4982.499

2.498

2.501

2.499

2.498

2.499

2.501

2.500

2.501

2.496

2.4962.499

2.497

2.500

2.500

2.497

2.499

2.491

2.491

2.491

2.496

2.4932.499

2.496

2.502

2.497

2.498

2.499

2.495

2.490

2.493

2.491

2.4902.493

2.491

2.499

2.495

2.496

2.497

2.492

2.492

2.494

2.493

2.4962.491

2.493

2.502

2.500

2.495

2.499

2.491

2.493

2.493

2.495

2.4972.494

2.495

2.497

2.497

2.495

2.496

2.494

2.495

2.495

2.495

2.4942.493

2.494

2.500

2.497

2.497

2.498

2.493

2.494

2.496

2.495

2.5012.502

2.499

2.499

2.496

2.494

2.496

4

Page 9: Improved Rice Method for Determining Theoritical Maximum Density of Asphalt Paving Mixtures

8/9/2019 Improved Rice Method for Determining Theoritical Maximum Density of Asphalt Paving Mixtures

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/improved-rice-method-for-determining-theoritical-maximum-density-of-asphalt 9/14

Kandhal&Khatri

Table3.ANOVAForRiceGravitiesUsingAggregateRD

Total

Source df

80

SS

0.00081

MS

---

Fo

---

FCrit.

---

Temperature(A) 2 0.00009 0.00005 8.72 3.18*

Res.Pressure(B) 2 0.00006 0.00003 5.42 3.18*

VacuumTime(C) 2 0.00012 0.00006 11.69 3.18*

A×B 4 0.00003 0.00001 1.53 2.56

A×C 4 0.00006 0.00002 3.08 2.56*

B×C 4 0.00004 0.00001 2.03 2.56

A×B×C 8 0.00008 0.00001 1.99 2.13

Error 52 0.00027 0.00001 --- ---*=Significantat "=0.05.

Observingthecumulativeaveragevaluesofthetheoreticalmaximumspecificgravity,the

optimallevelsoffactors,basedonthehighestvalue,areselectedas:

Temperature - 69°F.

ResidualPressure - 30mmHg.VacuumingTime - 15min.

ConsideringInteractionA×C

ThecellaveragesforinteractionA×C(temperature×vacuumingtime)areasfollows:

VacuumingTime,min.(C)

Temperature,°F(A) 5 10 15

69 2.497 2.497 2.498

77 2.493 2.494 2.498

85 2.494 2.496 2.497

Observingthecellaverages,theoptimallevelforfactorC(vacuumingtime)isconfirmedtobe15minutes.However,forfactorA(Temperature),twolevelsareindicated.Theselevelsare69°F

and77°F.Sincethereisnotmuchvariationinresults,andmoreover,since77°Fisarepresentativeindoortemperatureandisquitecommonlyusedformostoftheindoortesting,itwasselectedastheoptimaltemperature.

Theoptimallevelsforthefactorsselectedonthebasisofphase1ofthestudy,therefore,are:

Temperature - 77°F.

ResidualPressure - 30mmHg.VacuumingTime - 15min.

Asaconsequenceoftheresultsfromphase1,itwasdecidedtodropthefactortemperaturefrom

thedesignforphase2ofthestudy.Forphase2,itwasdecidedtousethehighwaterabsorptionaggregateRB.

5

Page 10: Improved Rice Method for Determining Theoritical Maximum Density of Asphalt Paving Mixtures

8/9/2019 Improved Rice Method for Determining Theoritical Maximum Density of Asphalt Paving Mixtures

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/improved-rice-method-for-determining-theoritical-maximum-density-of-asphalt 10/14

Kandhal&Khatri

Theresultsfromphase2experimentsarereportedinTable4.Therepottedresultsincludethe

valuesfortheoreticalmaximumspecificgravitybothbeforeandafterrunningthesupplementaryprocedure.TheANOVAforthisphasearereportedinTables5and6,respectively,for:

a.differenceintheoreticalmaximumspecificgravityvaluesbeforeandafterrunning

thesupplementaryprocedure,and,b.theoreticalmaximumspecificgravityvaluesbeforerunningthesupplementary

procedure.

Theresultsareindividuallydiscussednowfora)andb)above.

Table4.RiceSpecificGravitiesUsingAggregateRB

ResidualPressure(A),mm

5

VacuumingTime(B),min.

10

15

Hg

16Avg.

23

Avg.

30

Avg.

Before

2.529

2.527

2.529

2.528

2.518

2.520

2.523

2.520

2.529

2.522

2.524

2.525

After

2.524

2.520

2.519

2.521

2.508

2.510

2.513

2.510

2.527

2.518

2.521

2.522

Difference

0.005

0.007

0.010

0.007

0.010

0.010

0.010

0.010

0.002

0.004

0.003

0.003

Before

2.533

2.524

2.524

2.527

2.532

2.526

2.526

2.528

2.524

2.527

2.520

2.524

After

2.523

2.514

2.515

2.517

2.529

2.524

2.522

2.525

2.519

2.519

2.516

2.518

Difference

0.010

0.010

0.009

0.010

0.003

0.002

0.004

0.003

0.005

0.008

0.004

0.006

Before

2.534

2.531

2.532

2.532

2.530

2.531

2.536

2.532

2.532

2.528

2.527

2.529

After

2.528

2.524

2.521

2.524

2.521

2.523

2.525

2.523

2.530

2.526

2.523

2.526

Difference

0.006

0.007

0.011

0.008

0.009

0.008

0.011

0.009

0.002

0.002

0.004

0.003Notes:Before,After,andDifferencerefertobeforedry-back,afterdry-back,andthedifferenceofthetwo.

Table5.ANOVAForRiceGravitiesUsingAggregateRB

Total

Source df

26

SS

0.00026674

MS

---

Fo

---

FCrit.

---

Res.Pressure(A) 2 0.00010496 0.00005248 23.09 3.63*

VacuumTime(B) 2 0.00000230 0.00000115 0.51 3.63A×B 4 0.00011215 0.00002804 12.33 3.01*

Blocks 2 0.00001096 --- --- ---

Error 16 0.00003637 0.00000227 --- ---*=Significantat "=0.05.

6

Page 11: Improved Rice Method for Determining Theoritical Maximum Density of Asphalt Paving Mixtures

8/9/2019 Improved Rice Method for Determining Theoritical Maximum Density of Asphalt Paving Mixtures

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/improved-rice-method-for-determining-theoritical-maximum-density-of-asphalt 11/14

Kandhal&Khatri

Table6.ANOVAForRiceGravityValuesBeforeRunningSupplementaryProcedure

UsingAggregateRB

Total

Source df

26

SS

0.00055000

MS

---

Fo

---

FCrit.

---

Res.Pressure(A) 2 0.00005267 0.00002633 2.92 3.63

VacuumTime(B) 2 0.00021667 0.00010833 12.00 3.63*

A×B 4 0.00009733 0.00002433 2.70 3.01

Blocks 2 0.00003889 --- --- ---

Error 16 0.00014444 0.00000903 --- ---*=Significantat "=0.05.DifferencesHerethefactorA(residualpressure),andtheinteractionA×B(residualpressurexvacuumingtime)arefoundtobesignificantata=0.05.Theobjectiveinthiscasewastominimizethedifferences.Todeterminetheoptimallevels,thecumulativeaveragesforfactorAarereportedbelow:

Level CumulativeAverage

16mmHg 0.008

23mmHg 0.007

30mmHg 0.004Theoptimallevelsoffactors,withoutconsideringinteractions,areselectedas:

ResidualPressure - 30mmHg.

VacuumingTime - Anylevel

Now,sincetheinteractionA×Bwasalsosignificant,weshouldtakealookatthecellaverages:

VacuumingTime,min.(B)

ResidualPressure,mmHg(A) 5 10 15

16 0.007 0.010 0.008

23 0.010 0.003 0.009

30 0.003 0.006 0.003

Thefactorlevel30mmHgforfactorAappearstobesupportedonthebasisofinteractionA×Baswell.ForfactorsB,however,wecouldselectanylevel.Theoptimallevelsbasedonthedifferences,therefore,are:

ResidualPressure - 30mmHg.

VacuumingTime - Anylevel

7

Page 12: Improved Rice Method for Determining Theoritical Maximum Density of Asphalt Paving Mixtures

8/9/2019 Improved Rice Method for Determining Theoritical Maximum Density of Asphalt Paving Mixtures

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/improved-rice-method-for-determining-theoritical-maximum-density-of-asphalt 12/14

Kandhal&Khatri

ValuesBeforeRunningSupplementaryProcedure

HereonlyfactorB(VacuumingTime)isfoundtobesignificantata=0.05.Theobjectiveinthiscasewastomaximizethevalueofthetheoreticalmaximumspecificgravitybeforerunningthe

supplementaryprocedureortoeliminatetheneedforrunningthesupplementaryprocedurewhichistimeconsumingandpronetotestingerrors.Todecidetheoptimallevels,thecumulativeaveragesforfactorBarereportedbelow:

Level5

min.

10min.15

min.

Theoptimallevelsoffactorsareselectedas:

CumulativeAverage

2.525

2.526

2.531

ResidualPressure - AnylevelVacuumingTime - 15min.

Combiningtheresultsthen,theoptimallevelsoffactorsforphase2are:

ResidualPressure - 30mmHg

VacuumingTime - 15min.

Finally,asaresultoftheexperimentsconductedduringphase1and2ofthisstudy,the

followinglevelsoffactorsshouldbeusedwhenemployingtheRicemethodtodeterminethetheoreticalmaximumspecificgravityofHMAmixtures:

Temperature - 77°F.

ResidualPressure - 30mmHg.VacuumingTime - 15min.

Theuseoftheseoptimallevelsoffactorsbecomesevenmoreimportantwhendealingwith

absorptiveaggregateswhichtendtoabsorbwaterduringthevacuumingphasethusrequiringtheuseofsupplementaryproceduretocorrectforthis.Theuseoftheselevelswillminimizethedifferencebetweenthevaluesofthetheoreticalmaximumspecificgravityobtainedbeforeandafterrunningthesupplementaryprocedureandmayeveneliminatetheuseofthesupplementaryprocedureforabsorptiveaggregatesiftheseareadequatelycoated.

ThecurrentASTMtestmethodD2041(theRicemethod)doesspecifythetemperaturetobe

77°F.However,thereisnorestrictiononthelowerlimitoftheresidualpressure(or,inotherwords,theupperlimitofthevacuumlevel)whichisimportantwhiledealingwithhighlyabsorptiveaggregates.Thishasprobablyledtothepoorreproducibilityofthetestmethod.Onemoreconclusionthathasemergedoutofthisstudyisthatitisnotnecessarytomakethewaterboilduringvacuumingphaseinordertogetalltheairoutofthesample.Thisisconcludedbasedonthefactthattheinteractionoftemperatureandresidualpressurewasnotfoundtobesignificant.

CONCLUSIONSANDRECOMMENDATIONS

Basedonthedataobtainedusingtwodifferentaggregatesandoneasphaltcement,thefollowingconclusionsaredrawnandrecommendationsmade.

1.Thefollowingoptimumlevelsofthefactors:temperature,residualpressure,andvacuumingtime,arerecommendedforusewhenemployingtheRicemethodfor

determiningthetheoreticalmaximumspecificgravityofanHMAmixture:8

Page 13: Improved Rice Method for Determining Theoritical Maximum Density of Asphalt Paving Mixtures

8/9/2019 Improved Rice Method for Determining Theoritical Maximum Density of Asphalt Paving Mixtures

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/improved-rice-method-for-determining-theoritical-maximum-density-of-asphalt 13/14

Kandhal&Khatri

Temperature - 77°F.

Residualpressure - 30mmHg.Vacuumingtime - 15min.

Theuseoftheselevelsoffactorsbecomesevenmoreimportantwhendealingwithabsorptiveaggregateswhichtendtoabsorbwaterduringthevacuumingphasethusrequiringtheuseofsupplementary(dry-back)proceduretocorrectfortheamountofwaterabsorbed.Useoftheseoptimumlevelswillminimizethedifferencebetweenthevaluesofthetheoreticalmaximumspecificgravityobtainedbeforeandafterrunningthesupplementaryprocedureandmayeveneliminatetheuseofthesupplementaryprocedureforabsorptiveaggregatesiftheaggregateisadequatelycoated.UseofthesesamelevelsbyalllaboratoriesisalsoexpectedtoimprovethereproducibilityoftheRicemethod.

2.ItisnotnecessarytomakethewaterboilduringvacuumingphaseoftheRicemethodinordertogetalltheairoutofthesample.Infact,theuseoflowerpartialvacuum(30mmHgresidualpressureinsteadof23mmHgasrequiredforboilingat77°F)is

evenmoreimportantwhenaggregatesofabsorptivenaturearebeingdealtwith.3.ProposedmodificationstotheASTMstandardmethodD2041inviewoftheaboveconclusionsandrevisionstotheprocedureareindicatedinAppendixA.CuringoftheHMAmixat290°FforfourhourspriortorunningtheRicemethodisbasedonpreviousresearchbytheauthorsunderSHRPProjectA-003B.Itshouldbenotedthattheproposedmodificationsarebasedondatafromtwomixesonly.Amultilaboratoryroundrobinstudyinvolvingseveralmixesisrecommended.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

ThisstudywasconductedbytheNationalCenterforAsphaltTechnology(NCAT)atAuburnUniversityundertheStrategicHighwayResearchProgram(SHRP)ContractA-003BonFundamentalStudiesofAsphaltAggregateInteractionsIncludingAdhesionandAbsorption.The

opinions,findings,andconclusionsexpressedherearethoseoftheauthorsandnotnecessarilythoseofSHRP,NCAT,orAuburnUniversity.REFERENCES1.2.

3.

4.

5.

J.M.Rice,"MaximumSpecificGravityofBituminousMixturesbyVacuumSaturationProcedure,"ASTMSpecialTechnicalPublication,191(1956).J.M.Rice,"NewTestMethodforDirectMeasurementofMaximumDensityofBituminousMixtures,"CrushedStoneJournal(September1953).W.C.Ricketts,J.C.Sprague,D.D.Tabb,andJ.LMcRae,"AnEvaluationoftheSpecificGravityofAggregatesforUseinBituminousMixtures,"Proc.ASTM,Vol.54(1954)."InvestigationofthePenetrationofAsphaltintoPorousAggregatesasRelatedtoand

AffectingtheSpecificGravityoftheAggregate,"U.S.CorpsofEngineersWaterwaysExperimentStation,CorpsofEngineersMisc.PaperNo.4-66(1954).C.A.FrancoandK.W.Lee,"DevelopmentofAPressureMethodtoDetermineTheoreticalSpecificGravityofBituminousPavingMixtures,"TransportationResearchRecord1269(1990).

9

Page 14: Improved Rice Method for Determining Theoritical Maximum Density of Asphalt Paving Mixtures

8/9/2019 Improved Rice Method for Determining Theoritical Maximum Density of Asphalt Paving Mixtures

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/improved-rice-method-for-determining-theoritical-maximum-density-of-asphalt 14/14

Kandhal&Khatri

APPENDIXA

ADDITIONS/REVISIONSTOASTMSTANDARDTESTMETHODD2041-90

Theproposedrevisionsand/oradditionstotheASTMStandardtestmethodD2041-90-TheoreticalMaximumSpecificGravityofBituminousPavingMixtures-basedonthisstudyaregivenbelow.

Section6.1.2

Old:6.1.2Thevacuumcontainersizedependsontheminimumsamplesizerequirementsgivenin8.2.Avoidusingasmallsampleinalargecontainer.

New:6.1.2Thevacuumcontainersizedependsontheminimumsamplesizerequirementsgiven

in7.2.Avoidusingasmallsampleinalargecontainer.

NewSectionandNote

7.3Formixdesignandproductioncontrolpurposes,thesampleshouldbecuredinanovenat290°Fforatleast4hours.

Note5:Curingintheovenatthespecifiedtemperatureisespeciallyimportantwhenabsorptive

aggregatesareused.Thiswillensurethecomputationofrealisticvaluesfortheamountofasphaltabsorbedbytheaggregateandvoidpropertiesofthemix.

Note6:Curingofthemixasrequiredin7.3abovemaynotbenecessaryduringproductionifthe

mixisstoredinasurgeorstoragesiloforatleastthreehours.Curingtimecanalsobereducedoreliminatedduringproductionifitcanbedemonstratedthroughaseriesoftestsconductedafter0,1,2,3,and4hourscuringtime.

Note5

RenumberexistingNote5toNote7.

Section9.4andNewNote

Old:Removeairtrappedinthesamplebyapplyinggraduallyincreasedvacuumuntiltheresidualpressuremanometerreads30mmofHgorless.Maintainthisresidualpressurefor5to15min.Agitatethecontainer....

New:Removeairtrappedinthesamplebyapplyinggraduallyincreasedvacuumuntilthe

residualpressuremanometerreads30mmofHg.Maintainthisresidualpressurewithin+1mmHgfor15min.Agitatethecontainer....

Note8:Ithasbeenfoundthatbyusingthiscombinationofresidualpressure(30mmHg)and

vacuumingtime(15min.),theneedforrunningthesupplementaryprocedure(section11)can

generallybeavoidedwhentestingathoroughlycoatedmix.

Note6

DeleteexistingNote6.

Notes7,8,and9

RenumberexistingNotes7,8,and9toNotes9,10,and11.

Section13

Changeallthereferencesof'Section9'intheprecisionstatementsto'Section11.'

10