CORAL ROCK ASH AS A SUPPLEMENTARY FILLER IN ASPHALT CONCRETE WEARING COURSE: LABORATORY PERFORMANCE AND MECHANISTIC–EMPIRICAL SERVICE-LIFE PREDICTION

Muh Miftahulkhair; Achmad Wicaksono; Muhammad  Reza Hasrul; Syukuriah  Katjo; Sainuddin; Almayana Alwi; Risma  Nofianti Idris

doi:10.5937/jaes0-62324

Muh Miftahulkhair Universitas Sulawesi Barat, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering, Majene, Indonesia https://orcid.org/0009-0003-1739-6320
Achmad Wicaksono Brawijaya University, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering, Malang, Indonesia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2275-7202
Muhammad Reza Hasrul Okayama University, School of Environmental, Life, Natural Science and Technology, Okayama, Japan https://orcid.org/0009-0002-9767-2649
Syukuriah Katjo Universitas Sulawesi Barat, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering, Majene, Indonesia https://orcid.org/0009-0008-4136-8609
Sainuddin Universitas Sulawesi Barat, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering, Majene, Indonesia https://orcid.org/0009-0007-5759-2923
Almayana Alwi Department of Civil Engineering, Universitas Sulawesi Barat, Indonesia https://orcid.org/0009-0005-5899-8939
Risma Nofianti Idris Universitas Sulawesi Barat, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering, Majene, Indonesia https://orcid.org/0009-0007-4013-9989

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5937/jaes0-62324

Keywords: hot-mix asphalt, coral rock ash, multilayer elastic analysis, mechanistic–empirical design, pavement service life

Abstract

Flexible pavements with hot-mix asphalt (HMA) may underperform when conventional mineral filler provides insufficient mastic stiffness and moisture resistance. This study evaluates coral rock ash (CRA) as a partial replacement of conventional mineral filler in an asphalt concrete wearing course (AC–WC) mixture to improve laboratory performance and predicted service life. CRA was introduced at 0–10% of the total mixture mass, replacing an equivalent portion of filler in the gradation. Marshall stability/flow and indirect tensile strength (ITS, tensile strength) were measured at an optimum asphalt content of 6%. To link mixture-scale changes to structural performance, layer responses were computed using KENPAVE multilayer elastic analysis, where the HMA elastic modulus was derived from the ITS-based stiffness correlation used in the study (with Poisson’s ratio held constant), enabling mechanistic–empirical estimation of critical strains and allowable load repetitions. Regression analysis identified 4.8% CRA as optimal, yielding peak Marshall stability (1060.7 kg) and the smallest 7-day strength loss after 60 °C conditioning. Relative to the control, ITS increased by 22.6% (11.62→14.25, unit-consistent with the original dataset). In the mechanistic analysis, the improved mixture stiffness led to a reduction in bottom-HMA tensile strain (εt) and a corresponding increase in predicted allowable repetitions, extending the design life of the reference pavement section from 5 to 7 years. These findings indicate that CRA is a feasible, locally available supplementary filler for improving HMA performance and extending service life in coastal regions, provided that sourcing uses non-living, naturally stranded coral debris and complies with environmental regulations.

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