Impact of temperature increase on binder selection and rutting performance of asphalt pavements
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.58922/transportes.v34.e3218Keywords:
Climate change, Temperature, Asphalt pavements, Binder selection, PerformanceAbstract
Historical climate data already show temperature increases at both global and regio-nal scales, impacting the performance of asphalt pavements. In this context, this study evaluates the impact of temperature increases associated with climate change on binder selection and rutting performance of asphalt pavements, considering historical climate data from five different locations in Brazil. Three pavement structures with different asphalt materials and traffic levels were analyzed. The results show the negative impacts of climate change on pavement performance. When comparing the most recent period (2001–2023) with the earlier period (1980–2000), an increase of one grade in the high-temperature PG (Performance Grade) of asphalt binders was observed for three of the five locations evaluated. Regarding the impact of climate change on rutting development in asphalt layers, different behaviors were observed among the evaluated locations, with reductions in service life of up to 48.0% when comparing simulation results from the most recent period (2013–2023) with those from the baseline period (1980–1990). The use of modified binders proved to be an efficient alternative to mitigate the effects of temperature increases.
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