Experimental Evaluation of Representative Volume Elements of Heterogeneous Asphalt Concretes Subjected to Uniaxial Tension

This paper presents an experimental evaluation of representative volume elements (RVEs) of heterogeneous asphalt concrete mixtures subjected to uniaxial tension. To evaluate the proper dimension of RVEs when structural damage is involved in a typical dense-graded asphalt concrete mixture, uniaxial tensile tests are performed by incorporating three types of displacement measurement systems: (i) two-dimensional full-field displacement measurements using the digital image correlation (DIC) technique; (ii) conventional on-specimen LVDTs with a 100-mm gauge length; and (iii) a crosshead LVDT. The combined approaches to characterize strain behavior herein exhibit the point of localization where significant damage is initiated in the mixture. Before localization occurs, the DIC analysis results indicate that, for the typical dense-graded Superpave asphalt mixtures often used today, approximately 50-60 mm can be effectively used as the minimum dimension of the RVE to characterize mixture properties and performance behavior, while much greater care is necessary after localization due to the significant damage resulting in additional mixture heterogeneities such as cracks. The research outcomes and approaches presented in this study can be potentially applied to specify more appropriate dimensions of testing geometry and gauge length of asphalt mixtures and to conduct advanced mechanistic modeling for predicting mechanical mixture characteristics.

• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Lee, Junghun
  • Kim, Yong-Rak
• Conference:
  • Transportation Research Board 89th Annual Meeting
  • Location: Washington DC, United States
  • Date: 2010-1-10 to 2010-1-14
• Date: 2010

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: DVD
• Features: Figures; Photos; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 14p
• Monograph Title: TRB 89th Annual Meeting Compendium of Papers DVD

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Asphalt concrete; Bituminous materials; Cracking of asphalt concrete pavements; Deformation curve; Mix design; Representative samples (Testing); Rutting; Superpave; Uniaxial stress
• Subject Areas: Highways; Materials; I32: Concrete;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01158100
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 10-1350
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: May 30 2010 7:44AM