Asphalt specifications for a Wet Handling Track (WHT) are very stringent regarding coefficient of adherence and homogeneity of this coefficient over time. Currently, asphalt mixture pavements used in wet conditions have a very limited useful life and continue degrading following different patterns depending on the asphalt mixtures used. This is due to many reasons, but mainly as a consequence of supporting big strains and the extreme conditions during its useful life. During its lifetime, the asphalt is constantly immersed in water and submitted to adverse weather conditions. Moreover, Wet Handling pavements should provide very specific and stable adherence values for vehicle testing during the asphalt aging evolution.
Consequently, the study, execution and testing of the new asphalt concrete mixture for the pavements and the materials used for WHT is necessary to reach durable, homogenous in time and cost effective pavements with very low adherence parameters.
This paper presents the procedure used for the design, execution, aging and analysis of the performances of three asphalt trial sections laid at IDIADA's WHT. The study also analyses the criterions used for choosing the different pavement features, adherence values, durability and behaviour over time using an accelerated aging method in an open lab as the WHT itself. The conclusion of the study presents a method to analyse different asphalt mixtures and to choose the optimal one according to the specific premises that each project has.