Warm Mix Asphalt Processes Applicable to North Dakota

Abstract

Warm mix asphalt (WMA) represents a group of technologies that allows production of asphalt mixtures at lower temperatures compared to traditional hot mix asphalt (HMA). This results in less fuel consumption and reduction in CO2 ¬and fumes emission. This research was conducted in order to provide North Dakota department of transportation (NDDOT) with a thorough study on state of the practice of WMA in USA and compare WMA performance with HMA. Extensive literature study was conducted, collecting reports and field experiment data from DOTs of states with climate similar to ND. Viewpoints of experts in the field were collected and analyzed using a comprehensive survey. These were added to analysis of collected data on WMA performance. The research results suggest using foaming processes (Double Barrel Green in particular) and chemical additives (Evotherm in particular) at this early stage with guidelines for modifications in WMA specification and testing compared to HMA.