This paper describes research, forming part of the Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP), to identify a suitable laboratory test program which will provide an estimate of the thermal fatigue fracture resistance of asphalt concrete mixtures. In this study, monotonic and cyclic thermal stress tests were performed on asphalt concretebeam specimens in an effort to simulate actual field conditions. Restrained asphalt concrete beam specimens were subjected to thermally induced tensile stresses and fatigue cracking responses were monitored relative to different asphalt-aggregate mixtures. Various mixture and binder properties obtained from existing laboratory test procedures are evaluated with respect to the test results obtained in this study and a methodical approach to the prediction of thermal fatigue performance in areas of extreme thermal cycling is presented. Attempts are also made to validate the laboratory results with respect to performance of existing pavements and test strips documented within the United States.
Abstract