Characterization of the Tensile Viscoelastic Properties of an Undamaged Asphalt Mixture

Abstract

All characterization of asphalt mixtures must begin with the properties of the mixture in an undamaged state. Subsequent tests of the mixture in different stress or strain states at a level to cause damage can be referred to this undamaged state to assess the degree to which the mixture has been changed. All forms of such change from an original state by such damaging processes as fatigue, plasticity, healing, moisture damage, and aging can only be properly assessed by comparison with an accurately measured undamaged state. This is particularly the case with the use of pseudostrain dissipated energy to characterize the departure of a material from an original linear viscoelastic state. This paper presents a new test and data analysis protocol based on linear viscoelasticity theory to characterize the master curves of the viscoelastic properties of an asphalt mixture. Instead of running a relaxation modulus test in which controlling the test apparatus is a serious challenge, the proposed test protocol applied a uniaxial monotonically increasing tensile stress to the test specimen. The axial and radial deformations of the specimen were recorded and used to calculate the axial and radial strains. The uniaxial tensile loading rate and time were carefully controlled to assure that the strain of the specimen was limited to the small-strain condition