Abstract
The exclusive effects of microsurfacing on thermal cracks were quantified in terms of IRI. In addition, vehicle operating costs related to the IRI were estimated. For the MnROAD project, using a measurement device with high resolution, pavement surfaces with thermal cracks were profiled before and after microsurfacing. The crack profiles were transferred into longitudinal profiles with no cracks so that the exclusive contribution of original and microsurfaced cracks to roughness could be analyzed. Then, vehicle operating costs corresponding to the exclusive roughness were evaluated. Applying the given amount of microsurfacing materials, the IRI resulting from cracks with 0.7 cm depth and 0.58 m width was reduced by about 80 percent for serviceable roughness levels. The IRI resulting from cracks with 1.5 cm depth and 0.61 m, and 1.8 cm depth and 0.80 m width were decreased by about 60 percent and about 45 percent, respectively. By examining vehicle operating costs, it was found that a small difference in crack severities results in a greater increase in cost. Therefore, it was concluded that prompt operation of microsurfacing for any crack severity levels is no less important than earlier operation for low severity cracks. In addition, it was concluded that microsurfacing can be a cost-effective maintenance technique for cracks for a year. If more than 3 cracks would be detected in the field, microsurfacing would be still a cost-effective maintenance method for any severity crack level.
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Bae, A., Stoffels, S.M. Economic effects of microsurfacing on Thermally-Cracked pavements. KSCE J Civ Eng 12, 177–185 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12205-008-0177-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12205-008-0177-y