Characterization of Fatigue Damage Properties of Fine Aggregate Matrix and Hot Mix Asphalt

Abstract It is still a challenge to evaluate the fatigue damage property of hot mix asphalt (HMA) with low workload, low cost, and high efficiency. This study aims to better evaluate the fatigue damage properties of asphalt mixtures by testing and characterizing the fatigue damage behavior of fine aggregate matrix (FAM) and HMA. Three varieties of HMA and corresponding FAM were created using neat asphalt, styrene-butadiene-styrene modified asphalt, and high-modulus modified asphalt. The dynamic modulus of the three types of HMA and FAM were tested using the standard performance tester. The materials testing system is used to conduct a direct tensile fatigue test on the three types of HMA and FAM. The fatigue performance of HMA and FAM was investigated using the simplified viscoelastic continuum damage model. The damage characteristic curves of FAM and HMA, as well as the master curve of dynamic modulus and phase angle, were assessed. Additionally, the apparent damage capacity and average pseudo stiffness reduction value (DR) were used to evaluate the fatigue characteristic between FAM and HMA. The findings show that: (1) for FAM and HMA prepared by the same asphalt binder, there is a high degree of shape and change similarity between the master curves of dynamic modulus and phase angle. (2) Based on the Tukey multiple comparison test and two-way analysis of variance, the fatigue performance of HMA and FAM were evaluated by DR and had higher discrimination ability and sensitivity. (3) There is a significant correlation between HMA and the FAM fatigue index DR. The evolution of FAM’s fatigue damage is similar to that of HMA’s. It is feasible to test the dynamic and fatigue performance of the FAM using the experimental methods in this article.