Characterisation of Some Candidate Surfacing Materials for Orthotropic Steel Bridge Decks

Abstract

To study the distress phenomena of orthotropic steel deck bridges, and in particular the rather short lifespans of surfacing materials, a research project has started at the Technical University of Delft. The main goal of the research is to suggest new design techniques for the structure. To achieve this goal, it is important to characterise some candidate surfacing materials for orthotropic steel deck bridges. In this paper, results of an extensive experimental program on three surfacing materials will be presented. The mixes which were tested in this program are: SBS modified mastic asphalt, guss asphalt and open synthetic wearing course. The tests carried out included: fatigue tests, frequency sweep tests, uniaxial monotonic compression and tension tests and static indirect tensile tests. Several properties/phenomena have been quantified and modeled e.g. dependency of mix stiffness on strain levels, dependency of compressive/tensile strength on temperature and strain rate.