Assessing Climate Change Impact on Asphalt Binder Grade Selection and its Implications

Abstract

Anthropogenic climate change is having and will continue to have unpredictable effects on Canadian weather. Trends in average annual temperatures have been rapidly increasing over the last 50 years. The severe climatic variations in Canada are in line with global changes in climate occurring as a result of increased greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere. Under the current CO2 emission scenarios, scientists predict the climate trends to further intensify in the near future. It is well known that asphalt binder is highly sensitive to climate factors. For this reason, reviewing asphalt binder grade is a vital step, and can help decelerate pavement deterioration. The objective of this study was to assess the change in asphalt binder grade for the future climate and to determine the influence of change in binder grade on the performance of pavements in Canada. To achieve this, the analysis was carried out in five phases. In the first phase, statistically downscaled climate change models were gathered from the Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium database. In the second phase, the temperature and precipitation data were extracted for the selected locations in southern Canada. In the third phase, the asphalt binder grade was determined for future climate data. In the fourth phase, the pavement materials, traffic, and structural data were collected from the Long-Term Pavement Performance database. Lastly, the pavement performance with the base binder and the upgraded binder were assessed using AASHTOware Mechanistic–Empirical Pavement Design. The results reemphasize the necessity of upgrading the asphalt binder grade in various provinces of Canada.

Laboratory Evaluation of Storage Stability for Asphalt Binder Modified with Crumb Rubber and Styrene–Isoprene–Styrene Depending on Evaluation Factors and Blending Condition

“…These results also unveiled variances through statistical analysis. (6) This research exclusively employed a CRM and SIS; hence, the investigation into the behavior of other modifiers is required. In the future, a comprehensive analysis will likely necessitate the inclusion of diverse modifiers and a deeper examination of their direct influence on asphalt mixtures.…”

“…In addition, in the case of aged pavement, the deterioration of cracking damage is worsening [5]. Consequently, the significance of selecting an asphalt binder, modifier, and mixture design while taking into account diverse conditions and environments is acknowledged [6][7][8].…”

An Economic Pavement Management Framework for Extremely Budget- and Resource-Constrained Agencies in Canada

“…For a sustainable PMS, it is important to consider environmental issues as these are linked to the performance of the pavement. Swarna et al quantified the influence of Canadian environmental changes on pavement performance ( 32 ). This study concluded that temperature and precipitation are the significant factors influencing pavement distresses, such as asphalt concrete rutting, bottom-up fatigue cracking, and subgrade rutting, which leads to reduced pavement service life ( 32 ).…”

“…Swarna et al quantified the influence of Canadian environmental changes on pavement performance ( 32 ). This study concluded that temperature and precipitation are the significant factors influencing pavement distresses, such as asphalt concrete rutting, bottom-up fatigue cracking, and subgrade rutting, which leads to reduced pavement service life ( 32 ). Environmental data may include the yearly average precipitation, pavement temperature, subgrade drainage conditions, freeze–thaw cycles, and so forth.…”

Accounting for Expansive Soil Movement in Geotechnical Design—A State-of-the-Art Review

“…Changes in temperature and rainfall may affect the behaviour of geotechnical infrastructure. Moreover, changes such as rises in the sea level, changes in soil suction profiles resulting from changes in precipitation patterns, excessive desiccation due to prolonged spells of high-temperature days, soil erosion, hydro-mechanical failure resulting from rising water pressure inside soils [18], slope stability changes [12,17,[19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30], and changes in the strength and stiffness of pavement materials [31] can affect geotechnical infrastructure. Depending on the geolocation, local climate, expected future changes in the climate, and structure type, these effects can vary.…”