Influence of Temperature on the Mechanical Response of Asphalt Mixtures Using Microstructural Analysis and Finite-Element Simulations
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 30, Issue 12
Abstract
Asphalt pavements are commonly used for highways and airport runways. In pavement design and analysis, environmental factors such as temperature need to be taken into account to accurately predict the service life of asphalt pavements. The effect of temperature variations on the mechanical performance of asphalt mixtures was investigated at the microscale in this study. X-ray computed tomography (X-ray CT) scanning and digital image processing (DIP) techniques were applied to detect, analyze, and reconstruct the microstructure of asphalt specimens. Based on DIP, indicators related to air voids before and after fatigue testing were obtained and are discussed in this study. The results show that higher test temperatures resulted in larger air voids and promote crack initiation. Asphalt specimens measured at higher temperatures exhibited more prominent cracking characteristics because of decreased bonding capability between asphalt mastic and aggregates and because of decreased strength of the asphalt mastic. Finite-element simulations were conducted to simulate uniaxial compression tests. With increasing temperature, the proportion of larger compressive maximum principal stresses at the interface between the asphalt mortar and the aggregates decreased. Energy dissipation decreased with increasing temperature. The results reveal the significant influence of temperature on the fatigue damage and mechanical responses of asphalt; further investigations should be carried out to facilitate the improvement of the pavement design process.
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Acknowledgments
The work underlying this project was carried out under research Grant No. FOR 2089/2 (OE514/1-2) on behalf of the grant sponsor, the German Research Foundation (DFG).
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Information & Authors
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Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 30 • Issue 12 • December 2018
Copyright
©2018 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jan 24, 2018
Accepted: Jun 14, 2018
Published online: Oct 3, 2018
Published in print: Dec 1, 2018
Discussion open until: Mar 3, 2019
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