Journal Published Online: 17 October 2013
Volume 42, Issue 1

Fracture and Viscoelastic Properties of Asphalt Binders During Fatigue and Rest Periods

CODEN: JTEVAB

Abstract

Viscoelastic asphalt binder plays an important role in bonding individual aggregate particles and contributes to the durability and stability of asphalt pavement. When asphalt binder is subjected to cyclic loading, deformation and fracture may develop simultaneously within it, leading to the deterioration of material properties and eventually fatigue failure. Research has found that some degree of recovery may develop if rest periods are applied after fatigue deterioration. However, it is not clear whether such recovery is caused by fracture healing, viscoelastic recovery, or both. This paper presents an analysis to differentiate the contributions of fracture healing and viscoelastic recovery to the asphalt binder during rest periods. It also evaluates the damage caused by deformation and fracture during a fatigue process. It is found that viscoelastic recovery plays an important role in the instant increase in the dynamic shear modulus at the beginning of the rest period. The effect of fracture healing on dynamic shear modulus recovery is more dominant in the long term. A healing index is developed based only on the fracture healing of asphalt binder, excluding the effect of viscoelastic recovery. It can be used to evaluate the true healing properties of different asphalt binders.

Author Information

Shen, Shihui
Pennsylvania State University – Altoona, Altoona, PA, US
Lu, Xin
Washington State Univ., Pullman, WA, US
Zhang, Yuqing
Texas A&M Transportation Institute, College Station, TX, US
Lytton, Robert
Texas A&M Univ., College Station, TX, US
Pages: 10
Price: $25.00
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Details
Stock #: JTE20130030
ISSN: 0090-3973
DOI: 10.1520/JTE20130030