Rutting and Fatigue Resistance of High-Modulus Asphalt Mixture Considering the Combined Effects of Moisture Content and Temperature

Abstract

High-modulus asphalt mixtures (HMAM) have been widely used in asphalt pavement in high-temperature areas of China, owing to their advantages in rutting and fatigue resistance. However, moisture and temperature interdependently determine the degradation of pavement performance of the HMAM, owing to the unique climatic conditions in summer in some high-temperature areas of China. There were few studies on the rutting and fatigue properties of the HMAM under the combined action of moisture contents and temperatures. Hence, the moisture absorption characteristics of the HMAM at different temperatures were analyzed. The rutting performance of the HMAM was investigated under different moisture contents and temperatures. The fatigue performance of the HMAM was investigated under different moisture contents, temperatures, and stress levels. Results show that: the rutting and fatigue resistance of the HMAM decrease with the increase in temperature and moisture content. The dynamic stability decreases by 8.9% at 40 °C and by 7.0% at 60 °C on average per 10% increase in moisture content and decreases by 22.7% on average per 10 °C increase in temperature. The fatigue life decreases by 4.1% at 15 °C and by 3.1% at 40 °C on average per 10% increase in moisture content and decreases by 31.3% on average per 10 °C increase in temperature. Finally, a prediction equation was established to predict the fatigue life under different moisture contents and temperatures.