Hot Asphalt Mix Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Hot Asphalt Mix - Lab Report Example   This implies that the cohesive forces between the mixture particles are at their minimal. This is considering that in cohesive materials; the cohesive forces reduce with the increase in the moisture volume. At high temperatures, the viscosity of the asphalt reduces making it be more of a liquid. This permits the particles of the aggregate to interlock in an effective way. At a slightly lower temperature, the binder will act as a lubricant allowing the aggregate of the asphalt to undergo densification and shift in the process of compaction. Further temperature reduction leads to a binder stiffening in which case its cohesion avoids any more densification. From the results, it is clear that as the content of asphalt increase, the asphalt thickness of the aggregate also increases. At the temperatures set for compaction, the thickened films make the effect of lubrication to be experienced more. The mixture temperature has an effect on the process of compaction in a similar way the content of asphalt does. However, there is a limit to the temperature which is 150 degrees. Above this temperature will lead to asphalt damage through hardening being accelerated. On the other hand, there is also a lower temperature limit which is approximately 85 degrees; any temperature below this means that there is need of compaction effect on the content of void. Asphalt mix in most cases has many volumetric properties which are constituent of few properties in the volume like voids in the aggregate of the mineral, void in asphalt, void in the total mix. The crucial void in the air is directly related to the density (Marker, 284). The results showed the air void to range from 2.618 to 8.631 and the average is 4.613%. The average gives a perfect figure for the mixtures that are dense-graded.  Ã‚