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Flexible Failure Modes

Asphalt pavement can experience a variety of failure modes. These include bleeding caused by excessively high temperatures, block cracking from thermal stresses and aging, and corrugation/shoving near intersections from excessive moisture or poor mix design. Other failure modes include fatigue cracking appearing as alligator cracks from increased wheel loads or temperatures, longitudinal cracking as a form of fatigue cracking, and potholes exposing subbases from unrepaired fatigue cracking over time.

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Manohar Babu
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57 views2 pages

Flexible Failure Modes

Asphalt pavement can experience a variety of failure modes. These include bleeding caused by excessively high temperatures, block cracking from thermal stresses and aging, and corrugation/shoving near intersections from excessive moisture or poor mix design. Other failure modes include fatigue cracking appearing as alligator cracks from increased wheel loads or temperatures, longitudinal cracking as a form of fatigue cracking, and potholes exposing subbases from unrepaired fatigue cracking over time.

Uploaded by

Manohar Babu
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Flexible (Asphalt) Pavement Failure Modes

Whether its to go get a gallon of milk, drop off the kids at soccer practice, or go to work,
most of us drive a car everyday. And every day that we travel, we are likely to drive on a
road that was paved with asphalt. Asphalt is a by-product of crude oil refinement and is
the surface of choice for nearly 94% of the roads in America. This is because asphalt is
an inexpensive, readily available, and relatively easy to use material. The following
definitions will help the lay person understand the wide variety of failure modes that
this type of pavement can experience.

Failure Modes
Bleeding - A failure mode of the pavement surface characterized by prominent black
streaks on the pavement's surface typically located in the path of vehicle wheels. This
form of failure is generally caused excessively high temperatures. This causes the
asphalt to be 'squeezed out' of the void spaces within the mix.

Block Cracking - A failure mode similar to fatigue cracking that is characterized by large
rectangular blocks on the pavement surface. This form of failure is caused by thermal
stresses, aging pavements, and poor mix design.

Corrugation/Shoving - A failure mode of that is characterized by ripples or waves


accross the pavement surface. The ripples occur perpendicular to the direction of travel
and most often occurs near intersections or adjacent to more rigid surfaces. This form of
failure is caused by excessive moisture and/or poor mix design.

Depression - A failure mode of the pavement surface characterized by prominent


channel-like features in the pavement. Rutting results from increased wheel loads and
poor subbase and subgrade construction.

Fatigue Cracking - A failure mode of the pavement surface characterized by 'alligator'


shaped cracks or fractures. This type of crack forms propagates upward from the
bottom of the asphalt layer. This form of failure results from increased wheel loads
when a flexible pavement is too rigid or the temperatures have been too cold. It can
also be caused by poor design and/or construction.

Longitudinal Cracking - A failure mode consisting of long parallel cracks or fractures in


the direction of vehicular traffic. This type of cracking is a form of fatigue cracking. This
form of failure is caused by poor joint construction or poor mix design.

Polishing - Polishing is a failure mode of the pavement surface consisting of rough


exposed aggregates. This form of failure is caused by excess repeated traffic on an aging
pavement system.
Potholes/Patches - Potholes are large bowl shaped holes in the pavement surface
indicative of a localized problem such as drainage or subgrade deterioration. Usually
the pothole exposes the pavements subbases. Potholes usually occur after fatigue
cracking has gone un-repaired for some time. Potholes are more common in thinner
pavements. Areas of dense potholes may indicate an overall failure of an aging
pavement. Patches are the repair that is completed to remedy the othole. The patch is
still consider a failure mode as it almost never completely meshes with the existing
pavement nor is it structurally bound to it.

Pumping - A failure mode of the pavement surface characterized by upward seepage of


water through the pavement layers. This form of failure is typically caused by poor
drainage or a high water table.

Raveling - A failure mode characterized by complete disintegration of the pavement


surface resulting in dislodgement of the aggregates. The aggregate is left behind as
loose gravel on the surface of the pavement. This form of failure is caused by poor
compaction during construction or poor mix design. Raveling is also known as
weathering.

Rutting - A failure mode that is characterized by permanent deformation of the


pavement surface in the wheel path of vehicular traffic. Rutting differs from depression
is there is usually some shearing or 'uplift' of the pavement surface at the edge of the
ruts. This form of failure is caused by inadequate compaction during construction and
poor mix design.

Stripping - A failure mode similar to raveling that is characterized by the loss of


adhesion between the asphalt binder and aggregates at the bottom of the pavement
layer. This form of failure is caused by poor quality aggregates that may not be clean or
contain too much moisture.

Top Down Cracking - A failure mode of the pavement surface characterized by surface
cracks or fractures that have a definite change in width as the depth increases. The
form of failure is caused by oxidation penetration of the asphalt mix. It can also be
caused by the freeze and thaw process of water on the pavement surface.

Thermal Cracking - A failure mode of the pavement surface characterized by


longitudinal cracks or fractures. At first glance it may be in-discernable from fatigue
cracking. This form of failure results from thermal expansion and contraction of the
pavement surface due to large and quick changes in temperature. Thermal cracking is
also known as transverse cracking.

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