Professional Documents
Culture Documents
1.
Preface
2.
Foreword
3.
Scope
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Preface .......................................................... 1
Foreword ....................................................... 1
Scope ............................................................ 1
Safety Disclaimer........................................... 2
Further Development ..................................... 2
References .................................................... 2
Equipment ..................................................... 3
7.1 Basic Features..................................... 3
7.2 Thermostatic Chamber ........................ 4
7.3 Checking of the Testing Equipment ..... 4
8.
to determine the modulus of the material at different temperatures and frequencies and to develop
flexural modulus master curves
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
Because this test method does not impose a particular type of testing device, the precise choice of the test
conditions depends on the possibilities and the working range of the device used. For the choice of specific
test conditions, the requirements of the product standards for bituminous mixtures need to be respected. The
applicability of this Austroads test method is described in the product standards for bituminous mixtures.
4.
Safety Disclaimer
Warning: the use of this Austroads test method may involve hazardous materials, operations and equipment.
The method does not purport to address all of the safety problems associated with its use. It is the
responsibility of the user to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability
of regulatory limitations prior to use.
5.
Further Development
Revision of the accuracy and number of replicates. Derivation of an uncertainty of measurement statement.
6.
References
AGPT04/07
European standards
EN 12697-24:2012
Bituminous mixtures Test methods for hot mix asphalt Part 24: resistance to
fatigue
EN 12697-26:2012
Bituminous mixtures Test methods for hot mix asphalt Part 26: stiffness
Standards Australia
AS 1545
AS 2193
AS 2891.1
AS 2891.2.1
AS 2891.7.1
AS 2891.8
Methods of sampling and testing asphalt: voids and density relationships for
compacted asphalt mixes
AS 2891.9.2
7.
Equipment
As described in Section D.2 of EN 12697-24:2012, Bituminous mixtures Test methods for hot mix asphalt
Part 24: resistance to fatigue, except as detailed in this Austroads test method.
7.1
Basic Features
The specimen shall be subjected to four-point bending. The test configuration is shown schematically in
Figure 7.1. Free rotation and longitudinal translation shall be provided at the outer clamps, which provide the
support points, as well as at the inner clamps, where a sinusoidal load is applied using a suitable
mechanism. The effective length, L, is the centre to centre distance between the support points. For the
customary Austroads test configuration L = 355.5 mm. The centre to centre distance between each of the
clamps shall be equal to one-third of L.
The frequency, f, of the sinusoidal load shall have a range of 0.1 to at least 10 Hz, and preferably up to
60 Hz for modulus testing, with an accuracy of 0.1 Hz. The load cell shall have a range of at least 4500 N
with a resolution of 2.2 N or better and an accuracy of 20 N. The displacement transducer should have a
measuring range of 1.0 mm with a resolution of 0.25 m or better and an accuracy of 1 m
The resonance frequency of the load cell, the vertical displacement transducer and the coupled moving mass
should be at least 10 times as high as the test frequency.
The measurement of the force applied by the two middle clamps shall take place at the midpoint of effective
length L.
The measurement of the deflection shall take place at the top or bottom surface of the beam specimen.
Deflection shall be measured at the midpoint of L and at the midpoint of the width of the beam. To enable
verification of the required pure bending of the specimen, the displacement of the two inner clamps shall also
be measured.
7.2
Thermostatic Chamber
The thermostatic chamber shall be capable of maintaining the test temperature within 0.5C (throughout
the duration of the test). The thermostatic chamber shall have sufficient internal space to accommodate the
loading frame, at least two test specimens in addition to the specimen to be tested, a dummy temperature
specimen, adjustment of the loading frame and the displacement measuring devices, and the placing of
specimens into, and removal from, the loading frame.
7.3
8.
Specimen Preparation
As described in Section D.3 of EN 12697-24:2012, Bituminous mixtures Test methods for hot mix asphalt
Part 24: resistance to fatigue, except as detailed in this Austroads test method.
Specimens shall be prepared from asphalt slabs, which were mixed either in the plant or in the laboratory,
conditioned, and compacted in the laboratory in accordance with AGPT/T220, or which were obtained from a
pavement. Slabs shall be cut to produce beam specimens of rectangular cross-section, transverse to the
direction of compaction, with dimensions 390 5 mm in length, 50 5 mm in depth and 63.5 5 mm in
width.
The specimens shall have all cut faces and shall not have imperfections likely to adversely affect the
performance of the test or the quality of the data captured during the test. If any such imperfections are
apparent prior to testing, or become apparent during the test or upon examination of the data captured, the
test result shall be rejected.
Care is to be exercised at all times to ensure that the specimens remain flat prior to testing.
8.1
Specimens and the slabs from which they are to be prepared shall be stored in an environment where the
temperature does not exceed 30 C. Wherever practicable, tests should be performed within 30 days of the
date of compaction for laboratory-prepared slabs or the date of removing slabs from field pavements. During
this storage period the specimens should be placed on a flat, stiff surface.
8.2
Measure the beam specimen width and depth at five locations along the beam as follows:
(a)
(b)
(c)
within 10 mm of points located 90 mm in either direction from the centre of the beam.
The mean of the five measurements for each dimension shall be reported to the nearest 0.1 mm. Reject the
beam if any one of the five measurements, for either width or depth, differs by more than 1.5 mm from the
respective mean value.
8.3
Because asphalt properties are heavily dependent on the level of compaction (specifically, percent air voids),
testing shall be carried out on each replicate specimen to determine percent air voids.
Air voids shall be determined as follows:
(a)
Determine the maximum density of the asphalt mix in accordance with AS 2891.7.1 for each mix type.
Determine the bulk density of each beam specimen in accordance with AS 2891.9.2. Calculate the air
voids in the beams in accordance with AS 2891.8.
(b)
Austroads fatigue tests are typically performed on beam specimens with an air void content of 5.0%
0.5%. For some mix types, or design situations, a different air void content may be specified as
appropriate.
(c)
The bulk density shall be determined either before or after the fatigue test. However, if the bulk density
is determined before testing, then the specimens shall be dried to constant mass at ambient
temperature prior to placing in the loading frame.
(d)
The maximum density of the asphalt from field pavements, if determined using the beam specimens,
shall be determined upon completion of the fatigue test.
9.
Test Procedures
The test procedure to characterise the stiffness of asphalt is contained in Section 10 of this Austroads test
method. The procedure to determine the fatigue performance is described Section 11. Section 12 contains a
method to develop a complex modulus master curve from modulus results obtained using the method in
Section 10.
The modulus and fatigue characterisation tests can be run independently, or can be run consecutively with
the fatigue test following the modulus test.
10.
Stiffness Test
10.3 Equipment
As described in Section 7 of this Austroads test method.
General:
1. reference to this test method, including version date
2.
(b)
(c)
(d)
Information on specimens:
1. sample number
2.
3.
4.
test frequencies
3.
4.
for each specimen and each combination of test temperature and frequency: complex modulus
and phase angle, or real and imaginary components of the complex modulus (E1 and E2 ).
master curve developed from test data in accordance with the procedure in Section 12 of this
Austroads test method
3.
results of equipment check as per Section 7.3 of this Austroads test method.
11.
11.3 Equipment
As described in Section 7 of this Austroads test method.
Be aware that heat may accumulate in the specimen. This problem is especially dominant at prolonged
measurements and/or higher frequencies.
General:
1. reference to this Austroads test method, including version date
2.
(b)
(c)
(d)
12.
Information on specimens:
1. sample number
2.
3.
4.
test frequency
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
master curve developed from test data in accordance with the procedure in Section 12 of this
Austroads test method
3.
average number of cycles and the standard deviation obtained for each level of the chosen
loading mode
4.
5.
12.1 Principle
To develop modulus relationships that are valid at any combination of loading speed and temperature, tests
are run at different load frequencies and temperatures in accordance with the procedure in Section 10 of this
Austroads test method. The results are shifted to fit a continuous function for a selected reference
temperature, the so-called modulus master curve. An example of a master curve constructed using flexural
modulus testing on an AC14 asphalt mix with Class 320 bitumen is shown in Figure 12.1. Once the master
curve is developed, the modulus at any point of interest can be calculated; the process is typically automated
through the use of software. In the example of Figure 12.1, and using the model form of the master curve
(Equation 1), it can be determined that the modulus at 25 C and 10 Hz is equal to the modulus at the
reference temperature (in this case 20 C) and 1.58 Hz, resulting in a value of 4995 MPa.
10
20
Frequency
(Hz)
Statistics
7B2
14B3
15B1
27B3
Mean
(MPa)
STDEV
(MPa)
CoV
(%)
0.1
13 837
12 821
12 689
16 403
13 938
1 722
12.4
0.5
16 099
14 867
15 184
19 126
16 319
1 943
11.9
16 740
15 540
16 046
19 935
17 065
1 975
11.6
18 501
16 967
17 909
22 267
18 911
2 325
12.3
10
19 137
17 639
18 727
23 130
19 658
2 399
12.2
20
19 837
18 247
19 477
23 803
20 341
2 406
11.8
0.1
6 875
7 135
7 291
8 169
7 368
561
7.6
0.5
9 044
9 214
9 378
10 386
9 506
603
6.3
10 168
10 236
10 444
11 467
10 579
604
5.7
12 513
12 574
12 787
13 965
12 960
680
5.2
10
13 469
13 487
13 721
14 893
13 893
677
4.9
20
14 271
14 296
14 509
15 844
14 730
750
5.1
0.1
1 791
2 055
2 348
2 357
2 138
270
12.6
0.5
3 275
3 225
3 688
3 601
3 447
231
6.7
4 163
4 134
4 520
4 612
4 357
244
5.6
6 304
6 107
6 674
6 740
6 456
302
4.7
10
7 235
7 106
7 753
7 785
7 470
350
4.7
20
8 146
7 916
8 695
8 725
8 371
403
4.8
Temperature
(C)
Frequency
(Hz)
30
40
Statistics
7B2
14B3
15B1
27B3
Mean
(MPa)
STDEV
(MPa)
CoV
(%)
0.1
595
571
551
689
602
61
10.1
0.5
992
896
863
1 029
945
78
8.3
1 303
1 169
1 136
1 333
1 235
97
7.9
2 601
2 303
2 287
2 648
2 460
191
7.8
10
3 404
2 993
2 959
3 437
3 198
257
8.0
20
4 139
3 618
3 607
4 120
3 871
299
7.7
0.1
254
272
242
292
265
22
8.2
0.5
311
317
303
334
316
13
4.2
389
404
394
435
406
21
5.1
815
824
783
936
840
67
7.9
10
1 182
1 178
1 154
1 323
1 209
77
6.4
20
1 539
1 538
1 470
1 747
1 574
120
7.6
Various functions can be used to construct a master curve from such data. The model form recommended in
this Austroads test method is known as the sigmoidal model. The sigmoidal function is shown in Equation 1.
log| | = +
where
r
, , ,
reduced frequency
fitting parameters
1+
The fitting parameters and depend on aggregate grading, binder content, and air voids content, whereas
the parameters and depend on the characteristics of the binder and the magnitude of and .
The results of the complex modulus tests at different temperatures as shown in Table 12.1 are shifted with
respect to time of loading until a single smooth curve emerges, by means of the reduced frequency
parameter (fr). The reduced frequency is defined in Equation 2 as the actual loading frequency in the test
multiplied by the time-temperature shift factor, a(T).
= ()
where
frequency (Hz)
temperature (C)
()
The shift function is fitted using a second-order polynomial equation (Equation 3).
3
log a(T) = aT 2 + bT + c
where
a, b, c
fitting parameters
Microsoft Excel solver can be used to simultaneously determine the optimum values for the fitting
parameters a, b, c, , , , , in Equation 1 and Equation 2, against a set of experimental values of E*
determined in accordance with Section 10. Fit optimisation is performed by maximising the coefficient of
determination (R2) of the fit. The frequency shift factor as a function of temperature is used to construct the
temperature shift factor in Figure 12.2. In the fitting process, a reference temperature is selected, for which fr
is set equal to f. The reference temperature used for the fit in this case is 20 C. This translates into a shift
factor of 1 at 20 C, which plots as 0 in the figure (log(1) = 0).
Figure 12.2: Example temperature shift factor
The master curve parameters providing the best fit to the data in Table 12.1 are shown in Table 12.2. With
these parameters entered into Equation 1 and Equation 2, the modulus of the asphalt material can now be
calculated for any combination of loading frequency and temperature, and to plot the master curve as shown
in Figure 12.1.
Table 12.2: Master curve fitting parameters
R2
Ti (C)
1.66944
2.68335
1.01996
0.55930
1.32050E-03
0.21531
3.75742
0.997
20
(b)
Amendment Record
Amendment No.
Clauses amended
Action1
Date
Key
Format
Change in format
Substitution
New
Removed