Characterization of Crack Sealant Materials and Implementation Techniques

• Main Author: Mazumder, Mithil
• Format: Dissertation
• Language: English
• Published: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses 01-01-2019
• Subjects: Civil engineering; Materials science; Transportation
• ISBN: 9781687959812; 1687959811

Crack sealant materials are used to seal cracks early to reduce water infiltration and pavement repair. Crack sealant with high stiffness property is required due to the premature failure of sealant materials in cold weather. In order to put the sealant into the crack, crack sealing and filling technique has always been an important consideration to prolong the life of pavement. Crack sealing uses a router to cut the face of the crack to provide a uniform rectangular reservoir whereas filling is simply inserting sealant without performing any modification to the crack walls. For saving the cost of transportation agency, it is required to implement the best crack treatment techniques along with a new prospective crack sealant material. This research investigated the prospective of a new crack sealant material and its implementation techniques, and the objectives included: 1) investigating the rheology, cracking and microstructural properties of asphalt binder modified with SIS; 2) evaluating and comparing the field performance of crack treatment techniques in Texas; 3) investigating the best cost effectiveness practice between crack filling and sealing techniques; 4) quantifying the environmental impacts of crack filling and sealing treatment. The following conclusions were drawn based on the comprehensive laboratory and field investigation: 1) SIS modifier has the potential to be produced as a crack sealant material; 2) crack sealing treatment exhibited excellent performance and is observed to have on an average 37% more treatment effectiveness than crack filling treatment; 3) the highway design and maintenance program (HDM-III) and field cost input analysis showed that crack sealing can be more cost effective practice in a long run compared to filling technique; 4) although the initial environmental emissions of crack sealing treatment is higher compared to filling technique, this can be compensated along with an approximately 25% reduction in emissions by implementing crack sealing treatment over a long period; 5) implementing with proper guidelines crack sealing technique is more cost effective practice in a long run compared to filling technique.