Investigation on surface characteristics of epoxy asphalt concrete pavement

The mechanical performance of epoxy asphalt concrete has been well reported in existing studies. This study investigated the surface characteristics of asphalt concrete, including the permeability, friction coefficient, moisture damage resistance and surface texture. The permeability test, dynamic friction test, Cantabro test, Hamburg test and laser texture scanning test were carried out for such investigations. Test results show that the permeability of the epoxy asphalt concrete was very low, which is desirable for protecting the steel deck. The friction coefficient can satisfy the requirement for steel deck bridge according to the Pendulum Number. However, it was found that the skid resistance could be a concern when the vehicle speed is higher than a certain level according to the dynamic friction test. The results suggested to control the traffic speed when epoxy asphalt concrete is applied as steel bridge pavement. In terms of the raveling and stripping, it was found that the epoxy asphalt mixture has an excellent anti-stripping performance based on the Cantabro test and Hamburg wheel tracking test results. The yield point was not reached after 20,000 loading cycles at 60 °C in the immersed Hamburg wheel tracking test. The mean profile depth of the epoxy asphalt concrete is 0.305 mm, much lower than conventional asphalt concrete indicating a very fine surface texture.