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. 2021 Dec 17;14(24):7839.
doi: 10.3390/ma14247839.

Correlation between Rheological Fatigue Tests on Bitumen and Various Cracking Tests on Asphalt Mixtures

Muhammad Aakif Ishaq  1 , Filippo Giustozzi  1
Affiliations

Correlation between Rheological Fatigue Tests on Bitumen and Various Cracking Tests on Asphalt Mixtures

Muhammad Aakif Ishaq et al. Materials (Basel). .

Abstract

Accurate characterisation and appropriate binder selection are essential to increase the load-induced cracking resistance of asphalt mixtures at an intermediate temperature. Hence, the primary goal of this study was to correlate the cracking resistance exerted by the binder with the cracking performance of asphalt mixtures. The laboratory-based experimental plan covered various types of laboratory tests specified by various agencies and road authorities to study the correlation of a neat bitumen and five polymer-modified binders with their corresponding asphalt mixtures. The fatigue life of the binders was assessed through a Linear Amplitude Sweep (LAS) test and statistically correlated with various load-induced cracking parameters from the indirect tensile test, semi-circular bending (SCB) test, and four points bending beam test (FPBB) of asphalt mixtures at 25 °C. Binders and mixes were further grouped depending on their polymeric family (i.e., modified with a particular type of polymer) to validate their statistical correlation. The indicator that mostly correlated the binder properties with the asphalt mixture properties is the secant modulus from the SCB test. Fatigue parameters obtained through LAS better explain the asphalt fatigue performance obtained through FPBB; specifically, asphalt tests at high strain levels (e.g., 400 micro strain) better correlate to the LAS fatigue parameter (Nf).

Keywords: asphalt; bitumen; cracking; dissipated energy; fatigue; fracture energy; tensile strength.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Combined aggregate gradation curve of the asphalt mixtures.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Experimental plan.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Typical load–displacement curves for various mixes.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Plastomers RDEC plot using the approach developed by Carpenter et al. [94].
Figure 5
Figure 5
Typical dissipated energy ratio plot with the three characteristic zones [5].
Figure 6
Figure 6
Typical plot between dissipated energy and loading cycles fitted with the Franken model [86].
Figure 7
Figure 7
Example of calculation of the exponential slope value (k) of the fitted DE-Loading Cycle for PV computation using Carpenter and Shen’s approach [87].
Figure 8
Figure 8
Ranks and Properties of HMA mixes@25 °C for IDT and LAS tests.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Ranking and properties of HMA mixes@25 °C for the SCB test.
Figure 10
Figure 10
Ranking and properties of HMA mixes@300 μstrain for FBBT tests.
Figure 11
Figure 11
Ranking and properties of HMA mixes@400 μstrain for FBBT tests.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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