1. research | consulting | technology www.arrb.com.auAdvancing safety and efficiency in transport through knowledge TT1825 Mix design and field evaluation of foamed bitumen stabilised pavements December 2014

2. Need for cost-effective pavement rehabilitation treatments 2

3. Increasing use of foamed bitumen to stabilise unbound granular bases of rural highways 3 Commonly use about 3% bitumen and 1.5% quicklime

4. National procedures for design of FBS treatments project commenced in July 2012 two progress reports published completion June 2016 4 mix design distress modes improved Austroads thickness design procedures

5. Collaboration is maximising research outcomes research being guided by a Working Group comprising road agencies and industry extensive collaborative of road agencies, industry and ARRB laboratory testing by two experienced labs, Downer and TMR road agencies and industries are contributing through the construction of under-designed pavts 5

6. Foamed bitumen (FB) mix design Existing mix design process in need of improvement 6

7. Requirements for untreated material requirements for grading and plasticity of the untreated material, generally accepted not the focus of research 7

8. Amount of bitumen and lime determined from indirect tensile modulus testing 8

9. Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) Queensland modulus requirements Austroads building on TMR experience over the last 15 years TMR lab mixes are compacted into 150 mm diameter moulds and 10 kg Marshall hammer 9

10. TMR mix requirements initial modulus 3 hours after lab compaction used as a indicator of early-life rut resistance also undertake wheel tracking 10

11. TMR mix requirements bitumen and lime content adjusted to satisfy requirements for cured dry and wet modulus 11

12. Issues being addressed in the research project Need to harmonise test methods throughout Australia various compaction methods in use (e.g. gyratory, standard Marshall, large Marshall) recently agreed that the interim Austroads method would be large Marshall based on TMR experience various mixing and compacting moisture contents being used –70% standard Proctor OMC untreated material –85% modified Proctor OMC untreated material some labs using quicklime other hydrated lime 12

13. Effect of mixing moisture 13

14. Research will lead to Austroads test method and mix design procedure 14

15. Issues being addressed in the research project The most challenging issue is validation of usefulness of lab moduli in materials characterisation/mix design. Need to link lab moduli to field performance usefulness of initial moduli in evaluating early-life rut resistance usefulness in cured dry and wet moduli in predicting long term field performance 15

16. 16 The purpose of this project is: to improve and harmonise national mix design procedures for bituminous stabilised materials to identify distress modes of bituminous stabilised pavements from the trial sites. to improve the Austroads thickness procedures. Purpose

17. Field performance to address the project objectives data on the field performance of FBS pavement is required to obtain performance data during the research project (4 years), a number of under-designed pavements have been constructed and are being monitored to date we have five trials –Kwinana Freeway Perth (2010) –Port Wakefield Road South Australia (2011) –Kewdale Road, Welshpool Perth (2011) –Calder Freeway, Woodend Victoria (early 2013) –Newell Highway Bellata, NSW (late 2013) 17

18. Summary of trials SiteSurfaceFBS thickness (mm) Nominal bitumen content (%) Nominal lime content (%) Kwinana FreewayOGA on DGA 150 mm3.5%0.8% hydrated lime Port Wakefield road seal150 mm and 200 mm 3%1% hydrated lime Kewdale roadDGA100 mm and 150 mm 3%0.8% quicklime Calder Freewayseal150 mm3.5%1.5% quicklime Newell Highwayseal175 mm3.5%1.5% quicklime 18

19. Kwinana Freeway after FBS placement before asphalt and GRS placed, 2010 19

20. Port Wakefield Road 2011 20

21. Calder Freeway Victoria under construction March 2013 21

22. Newell Highway 2013 22

23. Sites tested during construction and monitored for performance 23

24. Proposed trial on Western Highway Victoria Heavily trafficked road about 1-2 million ESA per year 200 mm depth FBS, anticipate fatigue after 2-3 years Two binder contents 2.7% and 3.5% 24

25. 25

26. FINDINGS TO DATE 26

27. Ravelling of Calder Freeway when pavement was opened to traffic the day of construction ravelling next day may have been affected by adding additional material late in construction to adjust level to match adjacent lane 27

28. Cracking has been observed at commencement of trial doubts whether fatigue cracking was a distress mode for FBS to date observed cracking at 2 of the 3 trial sites with seal surfaces 28 Port Wakefield Road, 18 monthsCalder Freeway, 18 months

29. Only one instance of rutting, when an old asphalt patch was inadvertently stabilised 29

30. Foamed bitumen and lime stabilisation produces high modulus in situ With high temp in summer construction enabled rapid water loss, FBS cores can be taken 7 days after construction 30

31. Modulus varies with markedly depth/density in situ modulus can decrease significantly with depth due to lower densities 31

32. Back-calculated moduli being monitored to predict time to fatigue damage 32

33. Issues being addressed to improve thickness design FBS design modulus currently values of 2000 – 3000 MPa are commonly used need improve process to determine the flexural design modulus from the lab IDT moduli 33

34. Data being obtained to improve determination of design modulus relationship between moduli of lab specimens and moduli of early-life field cores relationship to correct the lab moduli to the field densities relationship to adjust IDT modulus to a flexural modulus 34

35. Issues being addressed to improve thickness design currently fatigue relationship used is that for asphalt with a reduced volume of binder given material contains 1-2% lime and the bitumen distribution is different from asphalt this relationships needs to be validated 35

36. Summary research is being undertaken to improve Austroads procedures for foamed bitumen stabilisaton: –mix design –thickness strong collaboration and involvement of road agencies and industry will maximise research outcomes progress report published in 2014 project is due for completion in June 2016 36