CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION

1.1 General The most commonly used surfacing material for roads in Malaysia is asphaltic concrete. Other materials used include macadams, stone mastic asphalt, porous

asphalt and surface dressing or chip seals. Unlike asphaltic concrete, porous asphalt is relatively new in the Malaysian context. Porous asphalt was developed in the 1950s on British airport runways to improve the safety of fast moving aircraft traffic. The material later found its usage for roads on similar traffic safety grounds. A

characteristic feature of porous asphalt is its high void content, typically in excess of 20 per cent. This stems from the aggregate gradation which consists of predominantly coarse aggregate fraction but lower sand fraction and filler proportions.

To take advantage of its ability to eliminate ponding water, porous asphalt is normally used for the wearing course. As in conventional mixes, it supports vehicle loads and transfers them to the underlying layers though its structural contribution is low. Other terminologies associated with porous asphalt include drainage asphalt, whispering asphalt, ecophalt, pop-corn asphalt or pervious asphalt. asphalt will be widely used in this thesis. The terminology porous

1.2 Problem Statement Every year, the number of registered vehicles on Malaysian roads increases steadily. According to the Highway Planning Unit (2002), there are 12 million units of registered vehicles in the year 2002 which is about half of the total Malaysian population. The high increase in the number of vehicles annually has partly 1

contributed to the increase in the number of road accidents. However, there are also several pavement factors that have contributed to the increase in road accidents. Current pavement mix such as asphaltic concrete has been acknowledged for its ability and durability in terms of its life-span. However, on wet roads, this conventional material is undesirable to users in terms of splash, spray that results from ponding water.

This research focus on porous asphalt pavement due to its ability to reduce the potential for hydroplaning, improves visibility during wet weather apart from decreasing traffic noise levels. However, the performance of porous asphalt is Therefore, an additional

hampered due to its poor resistance to disintegration.

additive, Drain Asphalt Modified Additive (DAMA) has been added in different percentages to improve its performance. DAMA is intended to improve the resistance to disintegration of the porous asphalt by enhancing the bond between aggregate particles and binder. This is reflected from its better resistance to abrasion loss in the Cantabrian test.

In Malaysia, porous asphalt was first applied about 14 years ago and took place along Jalan Cheras-Beranang. In 1996 there were 16 locations along the Federal Routes that had been resurfaced with porous asphalt and another 25 locations in 1997 that had been identified for implementation. These efforts are to ensure rainwater do not form puddles on road surface and guarantee improved riding comfort to road users (HPU, 1998).

Other sites where porous asphalt have been applied include Jalan Tebrau in Johor Bharu, the Federal Highway, the Kerinchi Link and numerous patchy applications along the North-South Highway.

Porous asphalt is not as durable as dense mix. However, this can be improved through the use of modified mixes. Therefore, this research explores the possibility of

improving porous asphalt performance by incorporating DAMA. The presence of DAMA is hoped to increase the bonding between the aggregate and bitumen and overall improvement in mix durability. For comparative purposes, a commonly used polymer modified bitumen, namely Styrene Butadiene Styrene (SBS), is also studied.

1.3 Objectives The objectives of this research are listed below: 1. To modify the gradation developed by Darin Tech, Korea, to suit to the Malaysian quarry practice. 2. To determine the design binder content of the modified gradation mix prepared using a conventional base bitumen grade 60/70, SBS modified bitumen and 60/70 pen bitumen with varying percentages of DAMA. 3. To characterize the engineering properties of mixes prepared using various percentage of DAMA dry mixed with 60/70 pen binder. 4. To evaluate performance of porous mixes incorporating DAMA compared with conventional and SBS modified mixes.

1.4 Scope of Work The scope of work focuses on porous asphalt performance prepared at varying percentages of DAMA. The aggregate grading used was a modification to the

gradation used in Korea. The basic tests on aggregates and binder were initially conducted to ensure conformity to the specifications. The binders used were a

conventional bitumen grade 60/70 and SBS modified binder while the aggregates used were from the granitic group.

The design binder content was determined based on the Cantabrian and binder drainage tests. Material characterization tests conducted at the design binder content include Marshall stability, resilient modulus, dynamic creep and wheel tracking.

1.5

Justification of the Research

Roads in Malaysia are wet for a considerable duration in a year. Water on road surfaces can be hazardous to motorists because it causes skidding when skid resistance is reduced. The splash and spray produced by the tyres of moving vehicles reduce visibility and pose a danger to overtaking activity. These factors can be a source of road accidents. Among the measures taken in a Highway Planning Unit Report to the Economic Planning Unit to reduce road accidents include use of porous asphalt (HPU, 1998). The outcome of the investigation is expected to produce a durable porous asphalt that would reduce aquaplaning potential, improve skid resistance at high speed, reduce splash and spray, reduce traffic noise, reduce glare particularly on wet roads and improve stability of the construction. With the improved properties of porous asphalt, it is hoped that this material could be applied on a wider scale and contributes to reduce the number of road accidents in Malaysia.