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Gdańsk University of Technology

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Consideration of Pseudo Strain Energy in Determination of Fatigue Life and Microdamage Healing of Asphalt Mastics

Rest periods between cyclic loads can lead to recovery of damage and extension of fatigue life. This phenomenon is referred to as healing. Healing is clearly observed in bituminous materials, such as asphalt mastics, which belong to the components of asphalt mixtures. Due to the nature of road pavement traffic loading, which is characterized by series of intermittent pulses with rest periods, consideration of healing is necessary for accurate fatigue life estimation. Nevertheless, the vast majority of existing methods relies on relationships established using continuous load conditions. The paper presents a new approach to fatigue life determination, based on pseudo strain energy density. Two components of energy released in fatigue test are considered: the energy responsible for damage growth and the energy consumed to counteract the healing effect. Theoretical derivations were verified in experimental tests, which were performed on asphalt mastics using the Dynamic Shear Rheometer (DSR). It was shown that fatigue life increases with the duration of rest periods on a linear-log scale. Moreover, fatigue life and healing abilities of the analysed asphalt mastics were affected by the type of bitumen and filler, as well as the ageing process.

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