Control of Moisture in Pavements During Construction 1

November 2003
APRG TECHNICAL NOTE 13
CONTROL OF MOISTURE IN PAVEMENTS DURING
CONSTRUCTION
1. Introduction
A common contributory factor associated with the premature
failure of newly-constructed unbound pavements is the
presence of excess moisture within the pavement base
immediately prior to the application of the bituminous
surfacing.
Controlling the moisture content of pavements during
construction will reduce the risk of damage to the pavement
and the loss of community benefits after the road is put into
service.
The aim of this Technical Note is to provide assistance to
those involved in specifying, constructing and testing of
pavements.
2. Effect of Moisture
The stability of unbound pavement materials generally
decreases with increasing moisture content or the Degree
of Saturation (DOS). The DOS is a measure of the ratio of
the volume of water to the combined volume of air voids
and water within a material. A material with a DOS of 100%
is fully saturated and has a very high pore pressure and
high instability under load. As the DOS reduces, the
reduction in pore water pressure also reduces with a
corresponding increase in stability.
It has been shown that high pore water pressures will
develop within pavement materials where the DOS exceeds
80%. The stability of the majority of unbound pavement
materials, significantly improves when the pavement is
dried back to a DOS of 70% or 60% in the case of very
moisture sensitive materials.
The presence of excess moisture in a pavement can cause:
Shearing or bearing failure resulting in extensive
cracking and shape loss;.
Premature rutting due to the material becoming
unstable when too wet.
"Lifting", blow-outs or delaminating of the road
surfacing due to positive pore pressure.
Embedment of the cover aggregate of the chip seal
into the soft underlying pavement base resulting in
severe loss of surface texture.
Premature fatigue cracking of any asphalt surfacing
due to inadequate pavement stiffness.
3. Preventative Measures
To help prevent build up of excessive moisture in a
pavement during construction, the following preventative
measures should be undertaken:
(a) Allow time for the pavement surface to dry back
Ensure that the contract duration and/or works program has
provision to allow the pavement to dry back to the specified
moisture requirement or a stable state prior to bituminous
surfacing.
(b) Program the works to minimise exposure to rain
In winter or during the wet season, fully construct short
sections of pavement up to and including the bituminous
surfacing, rather than the construction of the whole of the
sub-base, then the whole of the base and surfacing.
(c) Reduce the exposure of pavement material stockpiles
to the entry of water
Construct stockpiles on a drained site with a minimum
grade of 1 in 20, preferably with two-way cross fall, and
shape and "track roll" stockpiles to assist with shedding of
water.
(d) Minimise the period loose or not fully compacted
pavement material is left in the roadbed
Only sufficient pavement material for each days operation
should be spread out on the pavement. Windrowed material
should not trap water on the surface of the pavement layer,
and boxing drains should always be provided to remove
surface water.
(e) Reduce the moisture content used for compaction
Construct the pavement at the lowest moisture content
necessary to achieve the specified density.
(f) Minimise the amount of water required for surface
preparation
The addition of water to a pavement after placement should
be just sufficient to produce a tight cohesive surface
suitable for bituminous surfacing.
(g) Seal off the pavement surface as soon as possible
Prime or primerseal the prepared surface as soon as the
pavement has dried back to the recommended or specified
DOS (see Section 4).
Control of Moisture in Pavements During Construction 2
(h) Permeability and moisture sensitivity
Materials used for the pavement base should be relatively
impermeable to ensure that most surface water runs off
rather than infiltrating into the pavement. Further, use of
very moisture sensitive materials should be avoided in wet
environments. Moisture sensitivity can be checked by CBR,
Repeated Load Triaxial or wheel track testing at varying
DOSs to produce plots showing the effect of moisture on
strength and/or permanent deformation. The latter tests are
preferred over the CBR test, particularly for crushed rocks.
4. Drying Back of Pavements Prior to
Surfacing
Most construction specifications express the moisture
content of a pavement material in terms of Moisture Ratio
(MR). MR is the moisture content expressed as a
percentage of OMC.
An Accelerated Loading Facility (ALF) trial (APRG Report
16) was undertaken at Beerburrum, Queensland in 1996.
This trial indicated that by drying back a pavement from a
MR of 75% to 70% (a DOS of 85% for the material type
used), resulted in about a four fold increase in pavement life
under accelerated loading. This difference may not be as
pronounced at lower moisture contents but it demonstrates
the importance of allowing pavements to dry back to
maximise the service life.
Also, observations indicate that a pavement material that
has been allowed to dry back will also tend to remain drier
(thus stronger and stiffer) in the long term than a pavement
material that has never been allowed to dry back.
Drying back also improves the performance of the
bituminous surfacing by allowing satisfactory penetration of
the primer or primer binder into the surface.
5. Specification, Measurement and
Assessment of Drying Back
To assess whether or not a pavement base has been dried
back sufficiently prior to bituminous surfacing, one or more
of the following techniques can be used.
5.1 Moisture Content at a Specified Degree of
Saturation
Specification and measurement of the moisture content of
the pavement base is considered the most reliable way of
ensuring that the pavement surface has been satisfactorily
dried back.
Some works specifications include a maximum MR for the
pavement base prior to sealing although this can be
misleading for some materials as the MR does not always
provide a good indication of stability. For this reason, it is
preferable to specify a maximum DOS prior to surfacing. If
the material is relatively uniform, an equivalent maximum
MR (or actual moisture content) can be calculated from the
DOS to make moisture assessment simpler on site.
For major highways and freeways with a traffic loading in
excess of 5x10
6
ESAs, a maximum DOS of 60% for the
base pavement prior to bituminous surfacing is
recommended. For other roads the maximum DOS may be
increased to 65%.
For any material, the DOS for a given moisture content or
alternatively, the moisture content for a given DOS can be
calculated by:
DOS = w
APD
d
w

1
1

or

=
APD
w
d
w
DOS
1

where:
APD = Apparent Particle Density (t/m
3
) as determined
by the AS 1289.3.5.1;
DOS = Degree of Saturation (%);
w = moisture content (%);
w
= 1.0 t/m
3
(density of water); and
d
= Dry Density of the Material (t/m
3
).
Care should be taken when determining the APD in
situations where the material comprises blends of different
materials or porous aggregates.
The most convenient way to measure the moisture content
is with a nuclear gauge although oven drying methods can
also be used for greater accuracy for thicker layers. The
Characteristic MR is determined from 6 to 10 randomly
selected test sites in a similar way to the Characteristic
Density Ratio.
5.2 Clegg Impact Value (CIV)
In conjunction with checking the dry back moisture content,
or, if weather conditions do not permit the pavement to be
dried back to the specified DOS prior to bituminous
surfacing, the stability of the surface can be checked with a
4.5 kg Clegg Impact Hammer. This is a portable device
consisting of a drop hammer fitted with an accelerometer
that has been suitably calibrated to provide an indication of
the strength at or near the surface of the pavement.
If the Characteristic CIV calculated from of 6 to 10
randomly-selected test sites is 50 or greater, then the
pavement base should have sufficient stability to avoid
delamination of the surfacing or excessive deformation
shortly after opening to traffic. The Clegg Hammer can also
be used to detect isolated areas that may not have dried
back sufficiently.
There are other types of impact hammers in the market
place but the Clegg Impact Hammer is the most common
device used in Australia.
5.3 Test Rolling
In conjunction with the suggestions in 5.1 and 5.2 above, a
specified test rolling procedure can also be used to provide
an indication of the stability of a pavement prior to
surfacing. Assessment is made on whether or not visible
movement of the pavement surface can be detected.
6. References
Main Roads Queensland (1993). Controlling Moisture in
Pavements. Technical Note 7 (MRD Qld, Brisbane)
Austroads (1996). Performance of Unbound and Stabilised
Pavement Materials under Accelerated Loading: Summary
Report of the Beerburrum II ALF Trial. APRG Report No 16.
AUSTROADS (1992) Pavement Design A Guide to the
Structural Design of Road Pavements.
For further information please contact:
Ross Paul VicRoads GeoPave
Tel: (03) 9881 8928; Fax: (03) 9881 8900
Vasantha Wijeyakulasuriya Main Roads Department,
Queensland Tel: (07) 3834 3020; Fax: (07) 3834 3011