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Title: Bacteria and asphalt stripping. Final report, December 1983-August 1987

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:6593550

Major types of bituminous pavement distress were rutting, cracking (longitudinal, transverse, and alligator) and stripping. The rubble and loosely bound material contained bacteria. The deterioration lessened upward from the pavement-soil interface. The soil appears to be the prime source of the bacteria. Most of the bacterial cells were sausage shaped with polar flagellation. They appeared to belong to the genus Pseudomonas, which is a known user of asphaltic hydrocarbons. Cocci-type bacteria and a virus were also noted. Increasing the density of some asphaltic concrete and strengthening the bond between aggregate and asphalt are considered as the preferred alternatives to using chemical biocides. Anything to reduce pavement cracking would help. Adding lime to asphalt mixes may be one effective means of improving aggregate-asphalt bond and controlling biodeterioration. Lime stabilization of soils under asphalt pavements may provide an added protection against bacterial attack by rendering the soil more hostile to bacterial habitat. Full-depth hot-mix recycling would be more effective than partial-depth recycling in retarding bacterial decay at cracks.

Research Organization:
Kansas Dept. of Transportation, Topeka (USA). Bureau of Materials and Research
OSTI ID:
6593550
Report Number(s):
PB-89-113492/XAB
Resource Relation:
Other Information: See also PB--85-103455
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English