Use of Digital Image Correlation for the Evaluation of Flexural Fatigue Behavior of Asphalt Beams with Geosynthetic Interlayers

Abstract

In this study, the flexural fatigue performance of two-layer asphalt beams with and without geosynthetic interlayers was evaluated with a digital image correlation (DIC) technique. A field scenario was simulated by considering an old, destressed pavement as the bottom layer with a compacted bituminous mix as an overlay. An appropriate tack coat and geosynthetic interlayer were at the interface. The digital images were recorded at a specific interval of load cycles during a repeated load four-point bending test. The displacement fields obtained from the digital images were analyzed so that the crack width, crack height, and tensile strains could be obtained and the crack initiation and propagation phenomena studied. The deformation data obtained from the DIC analysis were validated with the vertical deformations measured through linear variable differential transformers. The DIC results correlated very well with the measured data. The DIC data indicated that the tensile strains were as high as 4.75% at the crack tip in the control specimen compared with 1.42% in a polyester grid interlayered specimen at the failure of the corresponding specimens. With the inclusion of interlayers, the fatigue performance of the two-layer asphalt beam specimens improved by about 39, 12, and 1.7 times for Specimens I1, I2, and I3, respectively.

Assessing the Impact of Geosynthetic Interlayers on Laboratory Cracking and Delamination of Hot-Mix Asphalt Mixtures

“…Zofka et al (8) reported that four times more energy was needed for crack propagation to break through the geosynthetic interface and the remaining portion of the HMA beam. Similar findings were found in later studies (1,9).…”

“…DIC is a technique for measuring deformation, displacement, and strain from a captured image set. Two-dimensional DIC analysis has proven successful for analyzing crack propagation in asphalt mixtures with geosynthetic interlayers (1). The basic function of the DIC software is to track a random pattern of particles within a determined subset size throughout the full sequence of testing images.…”

“…Geosynthetic interlayers are high-strength synthetic materials that are able to endure high tensile loads while still being flexible, which allows for their use in flexible pavements. Several studies have identified an improvement in HMA fatigue performance attributed to geosynthetic inclusion (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6).…”

A Multiscale Study on Shale Wettability: Spontaneous Imbibition Versus Contact Angle

“…Its ability to estimate strains with reasonable accuracy has been well documented with experimental validation using strains measured by devices such as strain gauges (Gothekar, ; Rutkiewicz & Jakobczak, ; Sadek et al, ). In particular, DIC proved to be efficient in detecting microcracks in geomaterials (Kumar & Saride, ; Sause, ). Particularly, it was shown that for in‐plane and small‐strain measurements (such as in this study), DIC is very accurate (Acciaioli et al, ; Hoult et al, ).…”

Laboratory Characterization of Geosynthetics-Reinforced Asphalt Mixture

“…Although the use of geosynthetics for reinforcement of asphalt pavement has been verified by most researchers in various aspects [ 21 , 22 , 23 ], the evaluation of the reinforced effect varies with the research content. For example, the improvement of crack resistance of geosynthetics is often ignored when analyzing its inhibition of reflection crack, and its effect on rutting resistance is also ignored when analyzing its anti-crack performance [ 24 , 25 ].…”