Full Scale Accelerated Testing of Bituminous Road Pavement Mixtures

Abstract

The in-service behaviour of a standard Irish Dense Base Coarse Macadam mixture (DBC) was evaluated by using the material to overlay a road section, which was based upon a weak pavement structure. The response of the layer under a fully laden dual axle truck was examined using a series of pressure cells and asphalt strain gauges that were embedded in the test section. The section was traversed repeatedly until a network of fatigue cracks was observed on the road surface. The transverse horizontal tensile strain was found to be the most critical parameter in initiating pavement damage. INTRODUCTIONFull scale test facilities offer particular advantages over simulated laboratory programmes: the effects of size, construction, substructure, boundary and loading conditions correspond more closely to the actual on-site conditions than can be simulated directly with model experiments. However, it is seldom possible to control temperature and moisture when using such facilities and consequently there are always inherent disparities when attempting to relate laboratory and in-situ test data.

Modelling the quasi-static behaviour of bituminous material using a cohesive zone model

“…The objective in designing the mortar mix in the present research was to reproduce mortar mix proportions as they exist in a typical binder course mix [35][36][37][38]. The binder course mortar mix proportions were calculated using only constitutive materials passing through a 6.3mm sieve size, namely sand and Crushed Rock Fines (CRF).…”

Performance Degradation of Large-Sized Asphalt Mixture Specimen under Heavy Load and Its Affecting Factors Using Multifunctional Pavement Material Tester

“…Aggregates and SBS bitumen were preheated to 165 °C and compacted by a steel roller. To fully simulate the pavement service environment [17,18], large-sized specimens with a length of 1000 mm, a width of 500 mm, and a height of 40 mm were used in MPT (Figure 3). The finished specimens were left in room temperature for 24 h and conditioned in MPT for at least 6 h before test.…”