FRACTURE MECHANICS 0F ASPHALT MIXTURES AND ESTIMATE OF ASSOCIATED PARAMETERS BY THE REPEATED INDIRECT TENSILE TEST

Fatigue cracking is a major pavement distress. Different procedures and testing equipment are used in the laboratory to describe the fatigue properties of asphalt mixes. Normally laboratory fatigue tests use one of two basic types of loading, controlled strain or controlled stress. Both loading modes produce fatigue prediction models relating to the initial response (tensile strain or stress) of the asphalt mixture to the fatigue life. The influence of crack growth on the occurring stresses and strains is not taken into account. One of the fundamental approaches is based on the principles of fracture mechanics. This paper presents an application of the repeated indirect tensile test to determine the fundamental parameters governing the crack propagation process in asphalt mixtures. The adopted hypotheses, the used data reduction techniques and the results obtained for four different asphalt mixtures are presented and discussed. A unique relationship is shown to exist between the crack propagation rate and the stress intensity factor for samples tested at both high and low stress levels.

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  • Corporate Authors:

    University of Mississippi, University

    Center for Advanced Infrastructure Technology
    University, MS  United States  38677-1848
  • Authors:
    • Martinez, F
    • Angelone, S
  • Publication Date: 2002-9

Language

  • English

Media Info

  • Features: Figures; References; Tables;
  • Pagination: p. 1-12
  • Serial:

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 00935096
  • Record Type: Publication
  • Files: TRIS
  • Created Date: Dec 26 2003 12:00AM