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This report summarizes efforts of using the disk-shaped compact tension (DCT) test to measure thermal fracture properties of asphalt mixtures on five asphalt paving projects in Minnesota during the 2013 construction season. Five construction projects throughout the state were chosen by a team of researchers at the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) and University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) representing differing climatic conditions, construction practices, and asphalt PG binder grades. Contractors from these varying projects provided UMD with mix design and production pills and MnDOT with loose production mix and raw materials for specimen fabrication. Testing was done to verify mixes met the required fracture energy value of 400 J/m2. If DCT results did not meet this requirement, mix adjustment recommendations were made by the research team. When recommendations were accepted, test sections with adjusted mix were paved. DCT testing was conducted on both adjusted and unadjusted production mix. Results of these efforts showed a drop in fracture energy between mix design and production for each project. The cause is not known at this time, but will be investigated in future research. Preliminary distress surveys indicated projects with mill and overlay experienced higher amounts of cracking compared to projects with reclaim or new construction. It should be noted distress surveys were conducted 9 months after initial paving, with the roadways subjected to only one season of freezing conditions. Condition of underlying pavement structure was not investigated before paving began in the cases of mill and overlays

The report describes the construction and design of composite pavements as a viable design strategy to use an asphalt concrete (AC) wearing course as the insulating material and a Portland cement concrete (PCC) structural layer as the load-carrying material. These pavements are intended for areas with heavy trucks and problem soils to increase the service life and minimize maintenance. The project focused specifically on thermally insulated concrete pavements (TICPs) (that is, composite thin AC overlays of new or structurally sound existing PCC pavements) and developed design and construction guidelines for TICPs. Specific research objectives include determining behavior of the layers of the TICP system, understanding life-cycle costs and the feasibility of TICPs, and incorporating the results into design and construction guidelines. Both construction and design guidelines are considered in light of the construction and performance of TICP test sections at the Minnesota Road Research project (MnROAD).

This paper details the efforts regarding the construction and analysis of three stabilized full-depth reclamation (SFDR) sections (cells 2, 3, and 4) constructed at the Minnesota Road Research Facility (MnROAD) on I-94 in 2008. Three test sections with varying pulverized asphalt concrete/granular base ratios were constructed in order to study the performance of full-depth reclaimed (FDR) pavements stabilized with engineered emulsion. Emulsion content and base structure varied between test sections. Each test section was designed for 3.5 million ESALs over a period of five years. The sections have been subjected to approximately 2.2 million ESALs as of 30 June 2012. Strain gages were embedded at the bottom of the hot-mix asphalt (HMA) and SFDR layers in each test section to measure responses. The strain gages indicate that both the bottom of the HMA and SFDR layers are subject to horizontal tensile strain from falling weight deflectometer (FWD) and heavy vehicle loading. Pavement performance in terms of rutting, cracking, and international roughness index (IRI) has been measured periodically. The results indicate that all three cells are performing well. The only crack in the three cells exists in cell 3, IRI values are well within the acceptable range, and rutting, while progressing, is still acceptable. Finally, the paper concludes with modeled responses and performance predictions from DARWinME and BISAR. Model predictions indicate that a SFDR layer will provide greater structural benefits and increased performance than similar structures with unstabilized FDR or granular base layers. Content Note: This is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in the Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, Issue Number: 2368, Publisher: Transportation Research Board ISSN: 0361-1981. The final version can be found at https://doi.org/10.3141/2368-11.