Procedure for a Temperature-Traffic Model on Rubberized Asphalt Layers for Roads and Railways

Abstract

The impact of temperature on the mechanical properties and thermal susceptibility of the railway bituminous sub-ballast layer, has served as motivation to develop the advanced measurement of thermal cycles in this layer and, an evaluation of the average seasonal temperatures interpolated by sinusoidal functions, of which characteristic parameters are determined. According to weather situation, Barber’s temperature model was used to prove the effectiveness for the railway superstructure. It is included the assessment of improved modified asphalt mixes performed with coarse rubber from scrap tires, having 1.5 to 3 percent of crumb rubber (particle size 0.2-4 mm) by weight of the total mix, as sub-ballast layer in railway and base layers on roads, recurring to the Superpave mix design compaction enhanced after computer simulations to evaluate real stresses derived from the rail traffic and climatic conditions. This article following the assessment of the average seasonal temperatures, involves the characterization of rubberized materials with attention to crumb rubber properties, designed with dry technology, to enhance the bitumen-rubber and binder-voids ratios. Indirect tensile strength and water sensitivity tests were applied for the evaluation of its mechanical properties including dynamic complex modulus at elevated temperature to measure the amount of bitumen absorbed by the rubber. The rubberized mix-results obtained and the comparison with a conventional HMA (hot mix asphalt) show that these dry rubber bituminous mixtures are particularly effective in damping vibrations. The purpose of using rubber modifiers in hot mix asphalt to obtain a stiffer-elastic sustainable material has been achieved for the assessment of its behavior in sub-ballast/base layers.