EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES OF WEARING AND TEARING OF ASPHALT CONCRETE SURFACING UNDER THE ACTION OF WATER PRESSURE IN MICROPORES
Statement of the problem. The goal of this study is to identify the effect of wet surfacing on its wear and tear. The mechanism of influence of transport loading in the presence of moisture and experimental methods of measurement of its influence on wear and tear of the top layer of asphalt concrete are discussed. Results. The contribution of the presence of moisture in the upper layer of the pavement to its wear and tear in the form of track formation was identified, and the hydrodynamic effect of water in the micropores of the pavement was investigated. Experimental data on the values of water pressure in the pores of the asphalt-concrete pavement in the moistened state under the action of the wheels of the moving traffic flow were obtained. Therefore it became possible to identify the maximum values of the pressure effect, the depth of penetration of the fluid pressure front and its effect on the destruction of the surfacing.Conclusions. The analysis of the data showed not only the presence of brittle fracture, but also the impact of moisture moving in the pores of asphalt concrete, exceeding its structural strength. Using experimental data, regression dependences of the wear and tear value on the standard flow parameters were obtained. For the operated surfacings regression dependence enables one to predict the size of wear and tear for the whole life cycle of the road.