Effect of deicing salt on permeability coefficient of asphalt mixture under freeze-thaw cycle

Abstract

The widespread use of deicing salt in road maintenance work not only protects the pavements, but also causes serious damage to it. This paper investigates and analyzes the influence of three different deicing salt solutions under three low-temperature environments on the permeability coefficient of two asphalt mixture through freeze-thaw cycles, and based on the experimental results, the significance of each influencing factor on the permeability coefficient of asphalt mixture is analyzed from a statistical perspective. The results show that the permeability coefficients of both dense-graded asphalt mixtures increase to varying degrees after multiple freeze- thaw cycles; when the freezing temperature is higher than the freezing point of the deicing salt solution, the corresponding increase in the permeability coefficient is slow, and the main influencing factor is the erosion damage caused by the salt solution entering the mixture; when the freezing temperature is lower than the freezing point of the deicing salt solution, the corresponding increase in the permeability coefficient is rapid, and the main influencing factor is the severe frozen heaving failure inside the mixture affecting the permeability coefficient, furthermore, variance analysis shows that the freeze-thaw cycle times have the most significant impact on the permeability coefficient.