Drying of Porous Asphalt Concrete Investigated by X-Ray Computed Tomography

Porous asphalt concrete is composed of aggregates, a bituminous binder and air voids which can form a complex network. Because rain water can easily drain through this network of voids, porous asphalt concrete is often used for improving the security of highways. However, porous asphalt concrete is often deteriorating fast due to its large contact area with environmental agents. A quantitative determination of the influence of rain water on the aging of porous asphalt concrete requires an understanding of water drainage and evaporation in the material. In this paper, the water evaporation rate in a sample of porous asphalt concrete was investigated by means of X-ray micro computed tomography. Discontinuities in the evaporation rate were observed. A qualitative inspection of the pore network allowed tentatively linking sudden acceleration of evaporation to the disappearance of water lids which were clogging pores.