Research on fatigue cracking growth parameters in asphaltic mixtures using computed tomography

Abstract Distress of asphalt concrete pavement due to repeated bending from traffic loads has been a well-recognized problem in Brazil. If it is assumed that fatigue cracking growth is governed by the conditions at the crack tip, and that the crack tip conditions can be characterized by the stress intensity factor, then fatigue cracking growth as a function of stress intensity range ΔK can be determined. Computed tomography technique is used to detect crack evolution in asphaltic mixtures which were submitted to fatigue tests. Fatigue tests under conditions of controlled stress were carried out using diametral compression equipment and repeat loading. The aim of this work is imaging several specimens at different stages of the fatigue tests. In preliminary studies it was noted that the trajectory of a crack was influenced by the existence of voids in the originally unloaded specimens. Cracks would first be observed in the central region of a specimen, propagating in the direction of the extremities. Analyzing the graphics, that represent the fatigue cracking growth (dc/dN) as a function of stress intensity factor (ΔK), it is noticed that the curve has practically shown the same behavior for all specimens at the same level of the static tension rupture stress. The experimental values obtained for the constants A and n (of the Paris–Erdogan Law) present good agreement with the results obtained by Liang and Zhou.