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Structural hot mix asphalt (HMA) pavements have become popular in New Zealand in recent times as heavy traffic volumes have increased and early failures of granular pavements have become more common, especially in urban areas where road maintenance causes major traffic disruption.

Elastic modulus values are important inputs for the structural HMA pavement design process; however, there is generally a lack of data in New Zealand regarding appropriate elastic modulus values for typical HMA mixes. The primary objective of this project was to address the issue of characterising the elastic modulus parameter for HMA materials.

The project involved performing flexural modulus and indirect tensile tests on specimens of HMA typically used in New Zealand. The results were compared with published presumptive values and the results of analyses using the Shell Bands software. The report interprets the elastic modulus results with respect to a number of material and test variables. The fatigue properties of the test specimens were also examined.

Keywords: Contamination, environmental impact, leaching, recycling, road construction, secondary aggregates