‘Advanced Testing and Characterization of Bituminous Materials ~ Loizos, Partl, Scarpas & Al-adi (eds) © 2009 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-55854-9. Testing of low temperature behaviour of asphalt mixtures in bending creep test M. Pszezola & J. Judycki Gdansk University of Technology, Poland ABSTRACT: The paper presents a method of bending beam test and its importance for evaluation of asphalt mixtures behaviour at low temperatures. Two types of asphalt mixtures: asphalt concrete AC with normal paving grade bitumen and stone mastic asphalt SMA with SBS-modified bitumen were tested. Long-term oven ageing (LTOA) test was also used in the laboratory according to SHRP procedure. The Burgers model was applied and rheological parameters of asphalt mixtures were determined in range of temperature from 10°C to 10°C. It has been found that the theoretical Burgers model fits well the experimental data obtained from the creep test. The testing method of bending beam under constant load was relatively simple and easy to use, The paper presents the method of testing, numerical results and analysis of data. 1 INTRODUCTION ‘The low temperature cracks formed in the asphalt wearing courses accelerate weather and traffic related deterioration of pavement. While lowering the overall strength of pavement these cracks have a negative effect on the fatigue life of pavement, Low-temperature cracking isa distress directly related with the stiffness of asphalt mixtures, which in low temperatures become brittle and susceptible to cracking. With the increasing stiffness the thermal tensile stresses in asphalt wearing course also increase and when they exceed the tensile strength, a crack is formed. For this reason low temperature properties are a crucial parameter of asphalt mixtures. These properties may be determined in bending test. It simulates the real conditions where the pavement is exposed to both low temperature and wheel loading. The bending creep test allows for determination of rheological parameters of tested specimens (Di Benedetto et al. 2004, 2007, Judycki 1990), 27 ING PROCEDURE 21 Testing equipment The creep of specimens has been determined on a test stand prepared for bending test (Schmalz et al. 1990). Before the test, calibration of the loading force was carried out to determine the actual loads applied on the specimens. The test set-up included temperature chamber in which the specimens were subjected to temperatures below the freezing point. The specimens were rectangular in shape of 50 x 0 x 300 mm in size. The specimens were compacted with a small manual roller and conditioned in the temperature chamber at the test temperature for at least 12 hours (for test temperatures of 10°C, 5°C and 0°C) and at least 6 hours (for test temperatures of +10°C and +20°C). One series consisted of 3-4 uniform specimens. The test set-up is schematically represented by a simple beam with a point load applied in the middle of the span. Bending load was applied for 1 hour (3,600 s) followed by I hour (3,600 s) unloading cycle. The strains on the beam underside were recorded both during load- ing and unloading, ie. through 7,200 seconds 303The level of loading force depended on the testing temperature according to the rule that the generated stresses should not exceed half of the tensile strength in bending of a particular asphalt mixture. The loading diagram is presented in Fig. 1 The tensile stresses in the bottom fibres of beam midsection have been calculated as follows: M_,,#l oy= as 1 0 be a) where: 1, ~_ tensile stress in the midsection bottom fibres under a constant load F, MPa, M = — bending moment, M= 4 bh W ~ section modulus, W="—, F ~ constant load applied at the beam mid-section, 1 — span between supports, |= 260 mm, b ~ beam width, fmm], as measured, average of 50 mm, hh — beam depth, [mm], as measured, average of 50 mm, Displacement at the beam underside was measured with LVDT inductive transducer mounted in steel grips defining the measurement base. The steel grips were fixed to the speci- men with epoxy glue. The strain of beams under a constant load was calculated as follows: pie e cha ® F Figure I. Testing assembly in bending creep test Figure 2. Schematic representation of Burgers model, 304where: £ — strain along measurement base ¢ at the time f, p ~ displacement of LVDT transducer under load F [mm] € — measurement base [mm], ¢ — half of beam depth [mm], a — distance between the beam underside and the LVDT axis [mm] 2.2 Theoretical model ‘The Burgers linear-viscoelastic model was employed to establish the rheological properties of the tested asphalt mixtures (Pszczola & Judycki 2003, Pszczola 2006). This theoretical model was appropriate over narrow range of temperature used during the test. Over a wide range of temperature more appropriate could be the 2S2P1D model (Olard & Di Benedetto 2003) ‘The basic configuration of the model used is presented in Fig. 2 For proper recording of results a software program has been developed, which enabled recording of creep curve €(0) (relationship between strain ¢ under a constant load and during time 1) and determination of the following rheological parameters: + Emoduli: £, and £,, * viscosity coefficients: 7, ,, and + stress relaxation time 2, ‘The program uses the creep curve (1), approximating the test results with the theoretical relationship describing the Burgers model. In the constant load test (creep test) the stress o() is either: * 0, for loading time 0 < 1 < 1,, where f, is the time at the moment of unloading, * 0° for unloading time t > 1, The following equations describe the creep curve in the Burgers model: * for loading time 0 < r< f,, while 0, = const 1 t AIN)= Fy — + — QB) Eh + for unloading time t > t,, while , = 0 Ai) a ® where: e(0) — strain, o, — constant stress under constant load, MPa, E,and £, ~ E-moduli: £, — instantancous clastic modulus, £, ~ retarded elastic modulus, MPa, n,and n, — viscosity coefficients: 1, — steady flow viscosity, 1), — elastic delay viscosity and 7, =E,"h,, MPas, A stress relaxation time, s. ‘The Burgers model shows immediate elastic strain ¢,= o/E,, retarded elastic strain £,= 9B, and viscous flow at a rate of o,/n,. The first two strain types are recoverable, while viscous flow is non-recoverable. Removing of load is followed by immediate recovery of strains of o/£,. The permanent strains in long-term relaxation are calculated as follows: = Opt: 3052.3. Algorithm for determination of rheological parameters The indices of creep curve were established on the basis of files containing 7,200 records {measurement points) obtained from a single measurement. The data were recorded at | sec. intervals. The file contained the strains measured in the two respective phases: loading and unloading, as a function of time. The following equation has been established to describe the initial part of the creep curve, i.e. within the time span 1 (0, 1,): E(t) = A+ B+ (le!) (5) Equation (5) was established on the basis of Burgers model equation (3). The values of A,B, Cand D constants were established on the basis of the experimental creep curves. The process of fitting the theoretical Burgers curve to the experimental creep curves consisted of ‘two steps: first the values of A, B, C and D were established and then optimised by applica- tion of the least squares method. When the values of A, B, C and D had been established on the basis of the above assump- tions, optimisation was carried out to fit as closely as possible the theoretical curve based on equation (5) to the experimental creep curve. The resulting equation (5) defines the relationship between the strain as a function of time and the five parameters which depend on the equation parameters. These equation parameters are adjusted with the non-linear least squares method (equation 6), using the experimental data described by the function €(t). A Yew) SA, ), t,)) => min 6) where: e(t) set of experimental data, f(A, B, C.D, 1) ~ function, as in equation (5), Optimisation was carried out first for D, then for C and finally for B. This sequence was related to the gradients of the respective parameters. The procedure was repeated until the assumed accuracy 6 was attained. The target error 5 was determined in the range: 0.01-0.001 The numerically determined values of theoretical strain curve were used to determine the theological parameters (parameters of the basic elements of rheological model) 24 Types of asphalt mixtures Laboratory tests were carried out on two types of asphalt mixtures: 0/12.8 mm asphalt con- crete (AC) with unmodified bitumen DS0 and 0/9.6 mm stone mastic asphalt (SMA) with SBS modified bitumen DE80B. These mixtures are commonly used for production of wear- ing courses of asphalt pavements. The testing was carried out also to examine the effect of long-term ageing simulated under laboratory conditions on the rheological parameters of asphalt mixtures. The specimens were taken from two coating plants. This has allowed for the effect of short- term ageing during production of asphalt mixtures. Such procedure had a significant effect on the research results, as the short-term ageing and other processes during coating affect the low-temperature resistance of asphalt mixtures. Grading of the tested asphalt mixtures is presented in Table 1 ‘Table 1. Grading of the tested mixtures. Percent passing sieve, mm Type of acid Bitumen mixtwe 125 10 8 63 4 2 085 042 03 0.18 0.15 0.075 content AC 100 93.1 77.0 66.1 520 40.1 271 206 179 139 122 79 56 SMA 100-913 67.9 459 318 205 151 128 118 104 98 83 62 3062.5 Long-term oven ageing in laboratory conditions The process of long-term oven ageing (LTOA) in laboratory conditions simulated the serv- ice life ageing of pavement. It has a significant effect on the properties of asphalt mixtures, as it increases the stiffness of asphalt mixture (Bell et al. 1994). The low-temperature resist- ance is affected in particular and early low-temperature cracking may occur. Long-term oven ageing was simulated according to SHRP procedure, which consisted of the following steps: * conditioning of specimens in forced-air oven on perforated trays for 120 hours + 0.5 hour at temperature + 85°C + 1°C; * on completion of ageing the specimens were taken out and left to cool down at tempera- ture 25°C. 3. TEST RESULTS Table 2 presents the average values of the rheological properties of asphalt concrete—original and afier long-term ageing The above results have demonstrated a definite effect of temperature on all the tested theological properties of asphalt concrete, The lower are the temperatures, the higher are the values of immediate and retarded elastic moduli and viscosity coefficients. This is indicative of stiffening of asphalt concrete in low temperatures. The greatest increase was observed for steady flow viscosity , which increased 100 times between +20°C and -10°C. The relation- ships between the rheological parameters and the temperature were approximately linear on a semi-logarithmic scale (this concerns in particular E, and 1). The longest stress relaxation time for asphalt concrete was noted at -10°C. This is indicative of worse dissipation of stresses under low temperatures. As the temperature increased the stress relaxation time was shortened, which means faster and easier dissipation of stresses in the course of pavement Table 3 presents the average values of rheological properties of SMA—original and after long-term oven ageing Table 2. Average values of rheological properties of asphalt concrete - original and after long-term. oven ageing. E-modulus Viscosity coefficient Temperature Stress ‘Immediate E, Retarded Steady flow Elastic delay Relaxation time rc] MPa [MPa] E,[MPa] [MPa] 1, {MPas]__ 2,8] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Original 420 0.27 390 "4 27x10 5.710" 681 H10 09 1852 665 11x10 3.1% 10° 607 0 2.37 3646 110 46% 10 3.2108 1265 S 2.23 6915 2047 11x10" 5.2% 10% 1598 10 2.46 10301 3013 305x107 78x10 2919 ‘After long-term oven ageing 420 0.275 1292 434 TARO 13x10 554 +10 0.94 2542 708 3.0x 108 3.9 10° 1190 0 241 5184 2165 48x10" 11x10" 926 “s 2.75 9640 2565 38x 10° 80x10 3950 10 2.25 10402 3884 35x10) 10x10" 3327 307‘Table 3. Average values of rheological properties of SMA~original and after long-term oven ageing, E-modulus Viscosity coefficient Temperature Stress ‘Immediate F, Retarded E, Steady flow Elastic delay Relaxation rc] ‘MPa (MPa] [MPa] n,[MPa's}n,(MPas] time A, [s] 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 Original +10 083 1270 164 54x 10° 98x10 422 0 2.44 5401 141 25% 10° 33x 10° 465 S 2.38 7846 1479 13x10" 65x10 1666 10 2.27 11500 2680 24% 10° 7.3% 10° 2104 After long-term ageing +10 ost 1340 210 64x 10° 13% 10° 476 0 2.38 7297 1245 517x108 46x10 845 5 2.30 10401 2151 LSx10) 61X10 1564 -10 2.33 16614 3327 33x10" 94x10 192 (*) —due to high susceptibility of SMA to deformation at temperature +20°C the temperature range was limited to +10°C to 10°C, The above relationships between rheological properties and temperature for SMA are simi- lar to asphalt concrete, For the stress relaxation time non-linearity has been noted. This may be caused by greater non-uniformity of SMA, as compared to asphalt concrete Both the original and long-term oven aged specimens have shown a definite effect of decreasing temperature on increase of the theological properties of SMA. Moreover, at 0°C a slight bent has been noted on the curve of E-modulus and viscosity coefficient. 4 EFFECT OF LONG-TERM OVEN AGEINING ON THE RHEOLOGICAL PROPERITES OF ASPHALT MIXTURES Fig. 3 compares the rheological properties of asphalt concrete AC—original and after long- term oven ageing In order to clearly demonstrate the effect of long-term oven ageing on the rheological properties the ageing index AJ was determined to indicate the degree of change in the rheo- logical properties as a result of ageing. For all the tested properties the AT index is calculated as follows: values of (Ey Exh ths Ax) after ageing values of (Ey, Ez, hy A) before ageing @ Any values higher than one signify the effect of ageing on the analysed rheological proper- ties. The values of ageing index are presented in the table below. Fig. 3 compares the rheological properties of SMA—original and after long-term oven ageing ‘The values of ageing index for SMA are presented in Table 5. ‘The effect of long-term oven ageing LTOA proved to be significant both for asphalt con- crete and SMA. According to the graphs (Fig. 3 and Fig. 4) the rheological properties are higher after LTOA. This means that long-term oven ageing increases the stiffness of the tested 308tet oa an ee mas format cone t EAS siaeal oevot oS Temper 6) ic SS i tee aes — see F ssc — i Jen vee Figure 3. The effect of long-term oven ageing on the rheological properties of asphalt concrete. Table 4. Values of ageing index for asphalt concrete ‘Temperature [°C] Rheological property 10 E, 0.99 E, 129 1 13 m 130 a, 0.99 5 0 HO 420 139° 142) 137 331 125° 1.95 106 5.86 347 105 283 265 154335 126 238 M8 1.73 11S 041 materials both in terms of elasticity and viscosity. In most cases the ageing index assumes val- ues higher than 1 which signifies change of the properties due to ageing. 5 RHEOLOGICAL PROPERTIES DEPENDING ON MIXTURE TYPE The rheological properties depending on mixture type are presented on the graphs in Fig. 5. ‘The effect of mixture composition on the rheological properties determined during the creep test showed better properties of SMA mixture in comparison with asphalt conerete 309i i —— ——— || -— ean: ara 3 Tempest} ect of peng on vice cuter», FMA. ect of ageing on vison collet i 90 | Su og} 5 : e 3 Temperature ob “empertre(") ‘Se ranaton in Figure 4. The effect of long-term oven ageing on the rheological properties of SMA. ‘Table 5, Rheological property ‘Values of ageing index AI for SMA. ‘Temperature [°C] a +0 1441.33 1.05 124145 1.28 137,117 1.20 129 0.94 1.29 108 0.73, 097 when exposed to low temperatures. The reason was the SBS-modified bitumen which was added to SMA mixture and significantly decreased the stiffness of SMA mixture. 6 CONCLUSIONS ‘The method used in the present research which analyses the long-term creep of beam-shaped specimens under constant load enables proper evaluation of rheological properties: elasticity, 310Temperate {6 u SSS ee || Uy cl 2e 208 1,0B404 4 Set nna ne depending nih pe of opal Tampere) Figure 5. Rheological properties depending on the type of asphalt mixture. viscosity and relaxation of stresses in asphalt mixtures, This enables a more accurate evalua- tion of the low temperature performance of asphalt mixtures. Among the numerous rheological models the simple Burgers model was chosen, as it is quite accurate in representing the performance of asphalts in constant-load creep test. The experimental data were to a large extent consistent with the theoretical description of the model in the narrow range of temperature from —10°C to +20°C. The test results showed a definite effect of temperature on all the analysed rheological properties of both asphalt concrete and SMA. Lowering of temperature increased the values of elastic modulus and viscosity coefficient, which is indicative of stiffening of the tested mixtures. Lowering of temperature resulted in longer relaxation time which slows down the relaxa- tion of thermal stresses caused by low temperatures, The laboratory simulated long-term oven ageing showed significant changes in rheologi- cal properties of asphalt mixtures subjected to such long-term ageing process. The ageing index was determined, which showed a definite increase in the values of clastic modulus and viscosity coefficient in the aged specimens, as compared to the original ones at most tempera- tures. However, the effect of long-term ageing was not so definite for stress relaxation time. Therefore, we can conclude that ageing had a significant effect in long-term loading tests and had no effect in short-term loading tests The effect of mixture composition on the rheological properties determined during the creep test showed better properties of SMA mixture in comparison with asphalt concrete when exposed to low temperatures, 31REFERENCES Bell C.A., AbWahab Y,, Christi ME. & Sosnovske D. 1994. Selection of laboratory aging procedures ‘for asphalt concrete-aggregate mixtures, Report No, SHRP-A-383, Strategic Highway Research Pro- ‘gram, National Research Council, Washington DC. 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