Compressive Behavior of Hydraulic Asphalt Concrete under Different Temperatures and Strain Rates

Abstract

Hydraulic asphalt concrete (HAC) used as upstream facing of embankment dams is subjected to different temperatures and loading conditions. The main goal of this paper is to investigate the compressive behavior of HAC under different temperatures (−20°C–30°C) and strain rates (10−5–10−2 s−1). The results showed that temperature and strain rate had significant impact not only on the stress–strain characteristics of HAC, but also on its failure modes. The dynamic compressive strength, elastic modulus, and energy absorption capacity increased with increasing strain rate, while they decreased with increasing temperature. The failure mode at a temperature range of 10°C–30°C was mainly in binder failure, whereas that at a range of −20°C–5°C was in binder failure and transaggregate failure, and the ratio of aggregate cracking increased with increasing strain rate from 10−5–10−2 s−1. Moreover, empirical formulas for temperature influence factors (TIFs) and dynamic increase factors (DIFs) of the compressive strength and elastic modulus of HAC were proposed and found to be in good agreement with test results. Finally, the calculation model of the compressive strength and elastic modulus, considering the interactions between temperature and strain rate, were successfully established based on the time–temperature superposition principle.