Effect of ageing and water action on the cracking resistance of asphalt mixtures

Abstract

Cracking in asphalt layers is one of the most frequent distress mechanisms in flexible pavements due to thermal stresses and traffic loads. Furthermore, the ageing phenomenon along with moisture damage are the key factors for evaluating the asphalt mixture cracking resistance. The effect of ageing and water action on the cracking resistance of an asphalt mixture is studied in this paper. To this end, an asphalt concrete mixture, manufactured with two different bitumens (conventional and polymer modified binders), is subjected to ageing in the laboratory. Then, specimens are prepared with the aged mixture and subjected to the action of water. Unaged, aged and water-aged specimens are subjected to a direct tensile test (Fénix test) at different temperatures to obtain the variation of the fracture energy and toughness under these conditions.