01620135

Component

https://doi.org/10.3141/2631-04

Several highway agencies have either implemented or considered implementing laboratory performance tests to estimate the cracking potential of asphalt concrete (AC) mixes during the mix design process. One such popular test, the overlay tester (OT), measures the number of cycles to failure of specimens that are caused by the repeated application of deformation. The major concern about using this test as a reliable characterization of the cracking susceptibility of AC mixes, especially for dense-graded mixtures, is the variability in the specified number of cycles to failure in the performance index. The main objective of this paper is to report a means for improving the consistency of the OT test results on dense-graded AC mixes. An assessment of a specimen preparation process that can yield more consistent results was conducted. The consistency of the traditional number of cycles to failure as well as of the load–displacement response and load reduction curves was investigated by using a modified specimen preparation process. The repeatability of alternative performance indexes, such as the critical fracture energy and crack progression rate, that can be measured from the OT test was also investigated and compared with that of the index for the number of cycles to failure. This study indicated that the raw data from the OT test seemed to be repeatable if the proposed specimen preparation process was consistently followed. Alternative performance indexes that yielded an acceptable degree of repeatability may be readily implemented in the OT test to assess the cracking characteristics of AC mixes.

01637861

17-03562

English

pp 30–38

2017

Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board

9780309441506

Digital/other

Figures (6) ; Photos; References (19) ; Tables (3)

Asphalt concrete; Asphalt tests; Dense graded aggregates; Fracture mechanics; Overlays (Pavements); Performance

Asphalt Mixture Performance Tester

Repeatability

Highways; Materials; Pavements

PRP, TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Dec 8 2016 11:21AM

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• Evaluation of Small Specimen Geometries for Asphalt Mixture Performance Testing and Pavement Performance Prediction
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• New and Simpler Cracking Test Method for Asphalt Mix Designs
• Numerical Modeling and Artificial Neural Network for Predicting J-Integral of Top-Down Cracking in Asphalt Pavement
• Practical Method to Determine Strain Level for Cyclic Direct Tension Fatigue Testing in the Asphalt Mixture Performance Tester
• Sensitivity of the Illinois Flexibility Index Test to Mixture Design Factors
• Short-Term Performance and Evolution of Material Properties of Warm- and Hot-Mix Asphalt Pavements: Case Studies
• The Logit Model and the Need to Reproduce the Stiffness Degradation Curve of Asphalt Specimens During Fatigue Testing
• Use of Digital Image Correlation for the Evaluation of Flexural Fatigue Behavior of Asphalt Beams with Geosynthetic Interlayers
• Use of Fine Aggregate Matrix Experimental Data in Improving Reliability of Fatigue Life Prediction of Asphalt Concrete: Sensitivity of This Approach to Variation in Input Parameters
• Use of Nonlinear Acoustic Measurements for Estimation of Fracture Performance of Aged Asphalt Mixtures
• Viscoelasticplastic–Fracture Modeling of Asphalt Mixtures Under Monotonic and Repeated Loads