Evaluation and Mitigation of Asphalt Pavement Top-Down Cracking
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to discuss different ways to stem top-down cracking in pavement in order to achieve satisfactory overall pavement performance. To do this, enhanced asphalt materials and construction technology along with the use of stone mastic asphalt and polymer modified asphalt binders have been shown to be very effective on a life-cycle performance and cost basis. It is important hat top-down cracking, which is a rather complex surface distress mode related to tensile and shear stresses associated with non-uniform tire stresses, interlayer slippage, thermal stresses, stiffness gradients, construction problems such as segregation, and premature asphalt binder age hardening, is mitigated in order to achieve satisfactory overall pavement performance.