Critical position of fatigue damage within asphalt pavement considering temperature and strain distribution

ABSTRACT

The fatigue properties of the asphalt pavement layer are influenced significantly by different strain levels and temperatures. This research investigated the critical fatigue position within the asphalt pavement layer considering the couple effects of strain levels and temperatures. Firstly, field tests were conducted to measure the typical temperature distribution of the asphalt pavement layer. Secondly, laboratory four-point beam fatigue test and dynamic modulus test were applied to evaluate the fatigue life and the dynamic modulus of the asphalt mixture, respectively. Based on the results of field and laboratory tests, the distributions of strain and fatigue damage within the asphalt layer at different temperature conditions were calculated. It was found that the fatigue life of asphalt mixture decreased with the rising strain level but increased with the rising temperature. The critical fatigue position in the flexible pavement changed from 5 to 20 cm when the pavement temperature condition varied from high to medium/low. In terms of the semi-rigid pavement, this position varied between 6 and 12 cm at different temperature conditions. In addition, the fatigue damage within the semi-rigid pavement at high temperature was found to be as noticeable as that at medium/low temperatures. Thus, the fatigue properties of the asphalt layer at higher temperatures need to be carefully evaluated as well.

KEYWORDS:

• Asphalt layer
• fatigue
• temperature distribution
• strain distribution
• critical fatigue damage
• Finite Element method

Acknowledgment

The research was supported by the grants from the National Key R&D Program of China (2018YFB1600100) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (51678443). The sponsorships are gratefully acknowledged. The contents of this paper reflect the views of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official views or policies of the sponsors. This paper does not represent any standard or specification.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The research was supported by the grants from the National Key R&D Program of China [grant number 2018YFB1600100] and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) [grant number 51678443].