AN INVESTIGATION OF THE PULL-OUT STRENGTH OF ASPHALT CONCRETE EXPOSED TO VARYING FREEZING AND THAWING CYCLES

The stability of asphalt concrete under the effects of freezing and thawing has been studied experimentally using the Marshall and ultrasound methods. Ozgan used 10 cm diameter asphalt core samples which were alternately frozen (-20° C for 16 h) and thawed (16° C for 8 h) for 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 cycles to simulate daily winter conditions. The stability of the asphalt concrete in the laboratory environment temperature of 17° C was used as a reference. The results showed that the stability of the asphalt core samples exposed to freezing and thawing increased, and this increase varied between 22.7 and 19.2% for the 5- and 30-day cycles, respectively. Here, Ozgan and Bektas investigate the effects of freezing-thawing on the pull-out strength of the asphalt concrete. The pull-out strength and ultrasound velocity of the asphalt core samples were exposed to different freezing-thawing cycle and examined experimentally.