November 2003

APRG TECHNICAL NOTE 13

CONTROL OF MOISTURE IN PAVEMENTS DURING CONSTRUCTION
1. Introduction 3. Preventative Measures
A common contributory factor associated with the premature failure of newly-constructed unbound pavements is the presence of excess moisture within the pavement base immediately prior to the application of the bituminous surfacing. Controlling the moisture content of pavements during construction will reduce the risk of damage to the pavement and the loss of community benefits after the road is put into service. The aim of this Technical Note is to provide assistance to those involved in specifying, constructing and testing of pavements. To help prevent build up of excessive moisture in a pavement during construction, the following preventative measures should be undertaken: (a) Allow time for the pavement surface to dry back Ensure that the contract duration and/or works program has provision to allow the pavement to dry back to the specified moisture requirement or a stable state prior to bituminous surfacing. (b) Program the works to minimise exposure to rain In winter or during the wet season, fully construct short sections of pavement up to and including the bituminous surfacing, rather than the construction of the whole of the sub-base, then the whole of the base and surfacing. (c) Reduce the exposure of pavement material stockpiles to the entry of water Construct stockpiles on a drained site with a minimum grade of 1 in 20, preferably with two-way cross fall, and shape and "track roll" stockpiles to assist with shedding of water. (d) Minimise the period loose or not fully compacted pavement material is left in the roadbed Only sufficient pavement material for each days operation should be spread out on the pavement. Windrowed material should not trap water on the surface of the pavement layer, and boxing drains should always be provided to remove surface water. (e) Reduce the moisture content used for compaction Construct the pavement at the lowest moisture content necessary to achieve the specified density. (f) Minimise the amount of water required for surface preparation The addition of water to a pavement after placement should be just sufficient to produce a tight cohesive surface suitable for bituminous surfacing. (g) Seal off the pavement surface as soon as possible Prime or primerseal the prepared surface as soon as the pavement has dried back to the recommended or specified DOS (see Section 4).

2.

Effect of Moisture

The stability of unbound pavement materials generally decreases with increasing moisture content or the Degree of Saturation (DOS). The DOS is a measure of the ratio of the volume of water to the combined volume of air voids and water within a material. A material with a DOS of 100% is fully saturated and has a very high pore pressure and high instability under load. As the DOS reduces, the reduction in pore water pressure also reduces with a corresponding increase in stability. It has been shown that high pore water pressures will develop within pavement materials where the DOS exceeds 80%. The stability of the majority of unbound pavement materials, significantly improves when the pavement is dried back to a DOS of 70% or 60% in the case of very moisture sensitive materials. The presence of excess moisture in a pavement can cause: Shearing or bearing failure resulting in extensive cracking and shape loss;. Premature rutting due to the material becoming unstable when too wet. "Lifting", blow-outs or delaminating of the road surfacing due to positive pore pressure. Embedment of the cover aggregate of the chip seal into the soft underlying pavement base resulting in severe loss of surface texture. Premature fatigue cracking of any asphalt surfacing due to inadequate pavement stiffness. Control of Moisture in Pavements During Construction

(h) Permeability and moisture sensitivity Materials used for the pavement base should be relatively impermeable to ensure that most surface water runs off rather than infiltrating into the pavement. Further, use of very moisture sensitive materials should be avoided in wet environments. Moisture sensitivity can be checked by CBR, Repeated Load Triaxial or wheel track testing at varying DOSs to produce plots showing the effect of moisture on strength and/or permanent deformation. The latter tests are preferred over the CBR test, particularly for crushed rocks.

DOS =

w d

w 1 w or w = DOS d APD 1 APD

where: APD = Apparent Particle Density (t/m3) as determined by the AS 1289.3.5.1; DOS = Degree of Saturation (%); w = moisture content (%);

4.

Drying Back of Pavements Prior to Surfacing

w d

= =

1.0 t/m3 (density of water); and Dry Density of the Material (t/m3).

Most construction specifications express the moisture content of a pavement material in terms of Moisture Ratio (MR). MR is the moisture content expressed as a percentage of OMC. An Accelerated Loading Facility (ALF) trial (APRG Report 16) was undertaken at Beerburrum, Queensland in 1996. This trial indicated that by drying back a pavement from a MR of 75% to 70% (a DOS of 85% for the material type used), resulted in about a four fold increase in pavement life under accelerated loading. This difference may not be as pronounced at lower moisture contents but it demonstrates the importance of allowing pavements to dry back to maximise the service life. Also, observations indicate that a pavement material that has been allowed to dry back will also tend to remain drier (thus stronger and stiffer) in the long term than a pavement material that has never been allowed to dry back. Drying back also improves the performance of the bituminous surfacing by allowing satisfactory penetration of the primer or primer binder into the surface.

Care should be taken when determining the APD in situations where the material comprises blends of different materials or porous aggregates. The most convenient way to measure the moisture content is with a nuclear gauge although oven drying methods can also be used for greater accuracy for thicker layers. The Characteristic MR is determined from 6 to 10 randomly selected test sites in a similar way to the Characteristic Density Ratio. 5.2 Clegg Impact Value (CIV) In conjunction with checking the dry back moisture content, or, if weather conditions do not permit the pavement to be dried back to the specified DOS prior to bituminous surfacing, the stability of the surface can be checked with a 4.5 kg Clegg Impact Hammer. This is a portable device consisting of a drop hammer fitted with an accelerometer that has been suitably calibrated to provide an indication of the strength at or near the surface of the pavement. If the Characteristic CIV calculated from of 6 to 10 randomly-selected test sites is 50 or greater, then the pavement base should have sufficient stability to avoid delamination of the surfacing or excessive deformation shortly after opening to traffic. The Clegg Hammer can also be used to detect isolated areas that may not have dried back sufficiently. There are other types of impact hammers in the market place but the Clegg Impact Hammer is the most common device used in Australia. 5.3 Test Rolling In conjunction with the suggestions in 5.1 and 5.2 above, a specified test rolling procedure can also be used to provide an indication of the stability of a pavement prior to surfacing. Assessment is made on whether or not visible movement of the pavement surface can be detected.

5.

Specification, Measurement and Assessment of Drying Back

To assess whether or not a pavement base has been dried back sufficiently prior to bituminous surfacing, one or more of the following techniques can be used. 5.1 Moisture Content at a Specified Degree of Saturation Specification and measurement of the moisture content of the pavement base is considered the most reliable way of ensuring that the pavement surface has been satisfactorily dried back. Some works specifications include a maximum MR for the pavement base prior to sealing although this can be misleading for some materials as the MR does not always provide a good indication of stability. For this reason, it is preferable to specify a maximum DOS prior to surfacing. If the material is relatively uniform, an equivalent maximum MR (or actual moisture content) can be calculated from the DOS to make moisture assessment simpler on site. For major highways and freeways with a traffic loading in excess of 5x106 ESAs, a maximum DOS of 60% for the base pavement prior to bituminous surfacing is recommended. For other roads the maximum DOS may be increased to 65%. For any material, the DOS for a given moisture content or alternatively, the moisture content for a given DOS can be calculated by:

6.

References

Main Roads Queensland (1993). Controlling Moisture in Pavements. Technical Note 7 (MRD Qld, Brisbane) Austroads (1996). Performance of Unbound and Stabilised Pavement Materials under Accelerated Loading: Summary Report of the Beerburrum II ALF Trial. APRG Report No 16. AUSTROADS (1992) Pavement Design A Guide to the Structural Design of Road Pavements. For further information please contact: Ross Paul VicRoads GeoPave Tel: (03) 9881 8928; Fax: (03) 9881 8900 Vasantha Wijeyakulasuriya Main Roads Department, Queensland Tel: (07) 3834 3020; Fax: (07) 3834 3011

Control of Moisture in Pavements During Construction