ENERGY DISSIPATION: THE LEADING FACTOR OF FATIGUE

By dynamic four point bending tests under controlled strain with a non-sinusoidal, composite signal it is shown that the fatigue life of asphalt beams is not only determined by the height of the strain amplitudes, but that the average energy, dissipated per load cycle describes the fatigue test much better. With the dissipated energy, a predictive model for the fatigue life had been composed, enabling calculation of the fatigue damages for, in principle, all types of load signals.