Characterization of Asphalt Concrete Materials for Permanent Deformation

Abstract

The paper deals with asphalt concrete (AC) material characterization needed for predicting permanent deformation in flexible pavements via a mechanistic-empirical procedure. The testing program includes dynamic modulus and repetitive load tests at different temperatures and confining pressures. The test results show that the material properties are very sensitive to the test conditions—temperature and confining pressure.

The paper describes the analysis of the test results. A master curve of the dynamic modulus is obtained using the Fillers–Moonan–Tschoegl (FMT) equation. The attempt to construct a master curve for the accumulated permanent to resilient strain ratio was only partially successful.

Keywords:

• Asphalt concrete
• Dynamic modulus
• Resilient strain
• Permanent strain
• Repetitive loading test
• Temperature
• Confining pressure

Acknowledgements

The research work is funded by the Israeli Department of Public Works. The author wishes to thank the Israeli PDW, and especially to the head of the Research Division, Mr. Shimon Neschikhi for their support and help. Mr. Ehud Cohen prepared the samples in the field. The author thanks him and his staff for their help.