Evaluation of Compaction Characteristics of Asphalt Mixture under Different Compaction Effects

To investigate the effects of different compaction methods on the water damage resistance, the air void and high-temperature stability of AC-13 asphalt mixture, Marshall compaction, roller wheel compaction, and gyratory compaction specimens were compacted with the same air void as the standard for comparative analysis. Then asphalt cement (AC)-13 (dense-graded), stone matrix asphalt (SMA)-13 (gap-graded), and porous asphalt concrete (PAC)-13 (open-graded) mixtures were compacted by gyratory compaction, and the gradation, compaction cycles, and initial compaction temperature, which affect the gyratory compaction characteristics of asphalt mixtures, were studied. The results show that the comprehensive compaction quality of the gyratory compaction specimen was the best considering the air void uniformity, uniaxial penetration strength (UPS), and residual Marshall stability of the three compaction methods. The slope of compaction degree and gyratory compaction times of gyratory compaction specimens can clearly reflect the ratio of compaction degree at different compaction phases. In this research, a new reasonable evaluation method for the laboratory compaction of an asphalt mixture is proposed, and the feasibility of using the corresponding fitting curves at different initial compaction temperatures to quickly determine the required gyratory compaction cycles to achieve the desired compaction degree is verified, which provides a reference for the evaluation of compaction methods and compaction characteristics of asphalt mixture specimens.