Impact of Asphalt Mixture Composition on Particulate Matter Production

Road traffic is one of the main sources of particulate matter. Nevertheless, the traffic volume is still increasing and has unpleasant impact on longevity of the pavements and the environment. Vehicle motions cause mechanical wearing of asphalt pavement surface by vehicle tires. The aim of paper is to confirm the abrasion of pavement surface as a source of particulate matter and to verify the impact of the composition of asphalt mixture on particulate matter production. The findings from chemical analyses of basic materials and intercepted particulate matter are applied in the research and used for verification of this impact. The research deals with abrasion of bituminous wearing courses of pavements. Each of the tested samples is specific in its composition - the type of bituminous binder, the amount of bituminous binder, type of aggregate, different lines of aggregate granularity. The particulate matter (PM) measurements were performed in laboratory conditions and the asphalt mixture samples were rutted in wheel tracking machine. The paper presents comparison of rutted asphalt samples in terms of PM mass concentrations and chemical composition. In the asphalt mixture sample with the highest average PM2.5 mass concentration (13.51 μg/m3) the aggregates melaphyre and dolomite were used. On the other hand, the lowest average PM2.5 mass concentration (7.21 μg/m3) was measured for the asphalt mixture with aggregate siliceous limestone.