Fatigue and Rutting Study of Asphalt Mixtures Produced in Goiás

ABSTRACT

This paper consists in the evaluation of asphalt mixtures regarding their mechanical behavior, especially the fatigue life of some asphalt mixtures traditionally used in the state of Goiás, Brazil. For sample preparation, the grain size distribution of the aggregates was defined using the Bailey methodology and then checked by the Dominant Aggregate Size Range (DASR). Besides the fatigue tests, other laboratory tests were performed to evaluate the mechanical behavior of the mixtures. The results obtained in this research were able to demonstrate that only the particle size selection from the Bailey methodology was not enough for a given mixture to present improvements in terms of permanent deformation. Therefore, analysis of the DASR porosity as well as mechanical tests such as the uniaxial repeated load test for determination of the Flow Number were necessary. The studied mixtures presented good fatigue behaviour and fit in Class 4 of the methodology used in the Brazilian design software (MeDiNA). Thus, this study points that for fatigue performance, the studied mixtures can be considered satisfactorily. However, in terms of permanent deformation they do not showed the necessary behavior, and the grain size adjustment based only at the Bailey method was not enough to improve the Flow Number. From these results, it is recommended that the DARS porosity range must be considered and other types of asphalt binders be incorporated into these mixtures to achieve their best performance.

Keywords
Pavement; Bailey Method; DASR Porosity; Fatigue life; Flow Number