The bond strength between asphalt and aggregate plays a fundamental role in evaluating the moisture sensitivity of HMA Mixtures. In this study the effect of water on adhesive and cohesive properties of asphalt-aggregate systems was investigated using a modified version of the PATTI. The device was used to measure the pull-off strength on different asphalt-aggregate combinations and to evaluate the influence of water immersion at two different temperatures. In particular, six asphalt binders were employed in combination with two aggregate types, having different asphalt affinity. The effect of the aggregate surface temperature during specimen preparation was also tested. In the first phase of the study the within-laboratory repeatability of the test procedure was investigated. The results showed the PATTI test is able to evaluate with good precision the pull-off strength and that its repeatability depends on the failure type (adhesive or cohesive). In the second phase of the study a full factorial experiment was employed to verify the reliability of the test for routine use in determining the adhesive and cohesive properties of asphalt-aggregate combinations and the effects of moisture damage. The results showed that, in the dry condition, the test was able to measure the internal cohesion of the asphalt binders. The results also showed the effects of water damage on the pull-off strength and the decisive role of asphalt-aggregate affinity was clearly highlighted. Using wet conditioning of the PATTI samples it was proven that water affects the adhesive bond between asphalt and aggregate much more than the asphalt cohesion. Moreover, the results indicate that aggregate temperature during sample preparation has only a limited effect on the adhesive strength.

Cold recycling of asphalt pavements proved to be an effective maintenance and rehabilitation technology for both environmental and economic reasons. Nevertheless, the use of cold-recycled (CR) asphalt mixtures requires a careful assessment of their mechanical properties, especially when they are designed to replace traditional hot-mix asphalt concrete (AC) mixtures. In this study, the potential use of a CR asphalt mixture as base course of an Italian motorway was evaluated. The studied mixture was produced in a central plant employing high-reclaimed asphalt (RA) content and used to construct two experimental sections along an in-service Italian motorway. In particular, a special mixing procedure, involving the use of water vapour and bituminous emulsion, was tested. A third experimental section was constructed with the same layer thickness using the AC mixture currently used in rehabilitation projects, incorporating 30% of RA. Volumetric properties, stiffness, resistance to permanent deformation and fatigue behaviour of mixtures were investigated by performing tests on samples cored from the three test sections and on laboratory-compacted samples. Results of the mechanical tests showed that CR mixtures provide lower stiffness modulus and lower resistance to repeated loading, but better resistance to permanent deformation when compared with AC. This behaviour can be explained due to the presence of cementitious bonds that reduce thermal sensitivity and viscous response.

Full-depth reclamation is one of the most used rehabilitation methods for subbase courses in high-traffic roads. The use of both cement and bituminous binders as binding agents for reclaimed pavement materials can lead to mixtures having high bearing capacity and resistance to permanent deformation, avoiding premature cracking due to shrinkage. This article focuses on two main topics: compactability and thermal sensitivity of cement–bitumen-treated materials (CBTMs). The dosage of liquids in CBTMs is a key parameter in order to obtain an effective compaction. The volumetric characteristics and the optimum liquid content of CBTMs were studied by means of two compaction methods: Proctor and Shear Gyratory Compactor. The temperature susceptibility of CBTMs can be a valuable factor in both design and construction quality control. The influence of temperature on the stiffness modulus of CBTMs was investigated using two testing methods: indirect tensile stiffness modulus and ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV). While ITSM provided reference modulus values at strain levels and rates typical of traffic loads, UPV was used to estimate Young's modulus at very low strain levels and high frequencies.