There are many factors that affect the durability of Portland cement concrete (PCC), including the mix design and the materials used, the quality of construction, and the environment. Durability is not an intrinsic property of the concrete, but instead is related to how the material interacts with the environment. Durability-related deterioration is referred to as materials-related distress (MRD). Common MRDs include those caused by physical processes, such as freezing and thawing, or chemical processes, such as alkali-silica reactivity (ASR) and sulfate attack. This research project was undertaken to determine whether concrete used in the ADOT system is experiencing, or is potentially susceptible to, ASR or sulfate attack, and if so, to what degree.

Composite materials using asphalts, mineral dusts, and a class of chemical coupling agents known as reactive silanes are prepared for use as binders in paving construction where asphalt alone is in general use at the present. The report describes how these coupling agents may, in very low concentrations, react with both asphalts and mineral dust fillers at the interfaces of their mixtures to integrate them into new materials which may appropriately be termed composite materials. Differing asphalts, mineral fillers, and silanes are considered. Also, wide ranges in composition and differing manufacturing methods are described. The report leads through a series of phases in development and characterization of composite products and in the evolution of the concepts and criteria felt by the author to be required for manufacture and control of superior composite binders.