Warm Mix Asphalt for Cold Weather Paving 2006 6. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION CODE 7. AUTHOR(S) 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION REPORT NO.

• Main Author: Olof Kristjansdottir
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2006
• Subjects: Iceland
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.369.7750; http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/research/reports/fullreports/650.1.pdf

Increased environmental awareness and stricter emissions regulations have led to a development of warm mix asphalt (WMA) to reduce the high mixing temperatures of regular hot mix asphalt (HMA). Its benefits are reduction in energy consumption during production and reduced emissions during production and placement. The three most tested methods are; WAM Foam, Aspha-min zeolite and Sasobit wax. All three methods reduce the viscosity of the binder at a certain temperature range, allowing the aggregate to be fully coated at lower temperatures than in HMA production. Previous research has not focused much on how WMA functions in cold weather paving. This paper investigates WMA’s potential in cold weather conditions and specifically how Iceland, with such conditions, can benefit from it. The conclusions in this paper are drawn from a literature review and a survey that was conducted among Iceland’s paving industry professionals. Reduced emissions are especially beneficial in densely populated areas and in non-open air paving. The decreased viscosity allows effective compaction at lower temperatures where cool down rates are slower. WMA’s disadvantages are mainly related to rutting and moisture susceptibility issues. Using WMA processes at HMA production temperatures: 1) Increases the temperature gap between production and cessation, allowing e.g.