Test Methods and Specifications

The test method outlines the procedure for determining the permeability of a water-saturated asphalt specimen in the laboratory using the ponding method. The test method was primarily developed for dense-graded, stone mastic and gap-graded asphalt mixes and may not necessarily be appropriate for mixes with an open-graded aggregate structure (e.g. open-graded asphalt).

It involves establishing the relationship between permeability and air voids through testing of cylindrical asphalt specimens prepared at three different compaction levels using a gyratory compactor. It also allows for the permeability of asphalt cores extracted from a pavement to be determined in the laboratory.

The method is only applicable to asphalt specimens with a permeability ranging from 0.1 to 3000 μm/s.

This test method can also be downloaded as a Word document.