IMPACT OF CLIMATE ON ASPHALT PAVEMENT PERFORMANCE

This research work was carried out to understand the impact of climate on asphalt pavement. Climate, changes due to the activities of the human kind as technology advances it leads to the emission of greenhouse gas into the atmosphere, thereby in the long term altering with the climate. It is paramount to always factor in the future climate projection when designing pavement due to the impact climate parameters such as temperature and precipitation have on the performance of the pavement. The methods used for the determination of the performance of the pavement due to the climate is the pavement temperature model and the rutting depth of the pavement over time. The pavement temperature is determined using the historic temperature data and future projected temperature data of the study area. The data used for the determination of the historic pavement temperature of the road was that of January 2025 using the Viljoen pavement temperature. The future projection of the pavement temperature for the year 2021 to the year 2040 is that gotten from the CMIP6 temperature model used by the world bank for world climate research program. The rutting depth throughout the design life of the pavement is gotten from the MEPDG workbook. The result of the maximum pavement temperature gave a standard deviation of ±1.6 ̊C with the coefficient of variation equal to 2.86% with the minimum pavement temperature giving a standard deviation of ±1.89 ̊C with the coefficient of variation equal to 7.34%.The rutting depth of the pavement in study location was predicted to reach the depth of 11.53mm by the end of the design life.