ISSN: 1945-7553
CODEN: JTEVAB
Page Count: 9

Elasto-Plastic Fracture Characterization of Paving Materials at Low Temperatures

Mahboub, K
Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering, and Head of the Bituminous Materials Research Section, Kentucky Transportation Center, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY

(Received 19 April 1989; accepted 26 October 1989)

Abstract

A methodology for characterization of low-temperature fracture behavior of paving mixtures is presented. The critical elasto-plastic energy release rate, the J_Ic parameter, is adopted as the fracture criterion. The methodology permits the study of fracture in plasticized sulfur (Sulphlex) and asphaltic paving mixtures. To accommodate special fracture characteristics of pavement materials, certain modifications to the standard ASTM fracture testing procedures are proposed. The rationale for these modifications is also discussed. Approximate values of K_Ic, KQ, are correlated to the JQ measurements, which are a provisional representation of J_Ic, and results are compared with theoretical predictions. Tearing modulus is also investigated. The overall results of this study indicate that the JQ parameter can be effectively utilized for characterization of thermal cracking susceptibility of pavement materials.

Keywords:
fracture testing, pavement materials, asphalt, Sulphlex, low-temperature cracking, elastoplastic fracture, JIc, JQ, KIc, KQ, tearing modulus, three-point bend

Paper ID: JTE12474J
DOI: 10.1520/JTE12474J
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