Development of Asphalt Materials to Mitigate Studded Tire Wear of Pavements

Abstract

This study deals with the PacTrans theme of “Developing Data Driven Solutions and Decision-Making for Safe Transport.” Currently, all four northwestern states, including Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington, allow the use of studded tire. Studded tire can dig into asphalt pavement and pick out the small aggregate and eventually result into pavement rutting (1). Rutting was reported as one of the most important reasons of vehicle hydroplaning and loss of skid resistance in wet weather and can be closely related with traffic accidents during night and accidents under rain weather conditions (2, 3). Each year, millions of dollars are spent to repair/rehabilitate the wear from the studded tire. Developing pavement surface materials that resist studded tire wear will greatly improve the conditions of pavements, and reduce the traffic accidents and repair/rehabilitation costs associated with the studded tire wear. Therefore, the objectives of this proposed study is to determine potential material and mix design variables towards development of a wear-resistant asphalt mix.