The Effect of Water during the Compaction Process on Surface Characteristics of HMA Pavement

During the compaction process of HMA pavement, it is common to spray cold water on the wheel of a road roller to prevent the mixture from sticking to the wheel, which might deteriorate the bonding strength between the asphalt binder and aggregate, and consequently lead to surface polishing of the pavement. This paper aims to demonstrate whether the water used during the compaction process affects the surface performance of HMA pavement. In this study, the black pixel ratio and mass loss ratio were used to evaluate the water effect on the surface performance of asphalt pavement, considering the water consumption, molding temperature and long-term ageing process. The test results indicated that the water used during the compaction process would increase the risk of surface polishing of HMA pavement. This adverse effect became more significant if the HMA samples were prepared using greater water consumption, a greater molding temperature and a long-term ageing process. Moreover, there exists a certain correlation between the black pixel ratio and mass loss ratio, and their relationships were demonstrated by the experimental results in this study. It is recommended that further research concentrates on the influencing mechanism and the treatment strategy for the adverse effect caused by the water used during the compaction process. The use of more types of asphalt binders, aggregate and methodologies is also recommended in further studies.