Construction and Building Materials 113 (2016) 927938

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Construction and Building Materials

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/conbuildmat

Review

A review of fatigue damage in bituminous mixtures: Understanding

the phenomenon from a new perspective
F. Moreno-Navarro , M.C. Rubio-Gmez
Construction Engineering Laboratory of the University of Granada (LabIC.UGR), Granada, Spain

h i g h l i g h t s

Innovative fatigue phenomenon approach to study bituminous materials.

Molecular mobility could play a significant role in the appearance of fatigue damage in bituminous materials.

Various materials under different test conditions were performed through UGR-FACT.

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history:
Received 19 June 2015
Received in revised form 23 March 2016
Accepted 23 March 2016

Keywords:
Fatigue
Bituminous mixtures
Thixotropy
Asphalt
Permanent deformations
Review

a b s t r a c t
Fatigue cracking constitutes one of the main distresses responsible for the decline in the service life of asphalt
pavements. The study of fatigue phenomena is therefore a field of research that has become crucially important for enhancing the durability of these structures. In spite of the advances achieved in the understanding
of the fatigue phenomenon in bituminous materials, there remain some questions that are in need of further
research. Firstly, the majority of studies do not consider the influence that permanent deformations can exert
on the mechanical response of materials. Secondly, reversible phenomena that co-exist with damage during
the development of fatigue processes make it difficult to accurately measure the latter. Further, given that
the fatigue phenomenon has both global and local effects that cannot be dissociated, the analysis and failure
criteria used could lead to non-homogenous results and incorrect fatigue life predictions. This research
therefore constitutes a deeper examination of these issues and proposes a new approach that allows for a
global analysis of the fatigue phenomenon. This approach has been tested through the study of various types
of materials under different test conditions using the UGR-FACT device. Results have shown that using this
approach it is possible to distinguish between the different phenomena that appear during cyclic loading and
to establish a homogenous failure criterion. In addition, it has been demonstrated that molecular mobility
could play a significant role in the appearance of fatigue damage in bituminous materials.
2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Contents
1.
2.
3.
4.

5.

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Previous considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Description of the new approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Validation of the new approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.1.
Materials and testing plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.2.
Analysis of the results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.2.1.
Influence of molecular mobility on fatigue damage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.2.2.
Comparison of the new approach with a traditional test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.2.3.
Sensitivity of the new approach to different types of materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Conclusions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: fmoreno@ugr.es (F. Moreno-Navarro), mcrubio@ugr.es (M.C. Rubio-Gmez).
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2016.03.126
0950-0618/ 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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1. Introduction
Roads and highway pavements are designed to support the traffic loads and climatological events (rain, thermal changes, solar
radiation, etc.) that they will be expected to endure during their
service life. Traffic loads are cyclical and their magnitudes are considerably inferior to those that cause the breakage of the asphalt
mixtures used to build them. Nevertheless, the repeated passage
of these loads (combined with the effects caused by environmental
agents) induce a fatigue process that leads to the appearance of
cracks, which, in the long-term, is one of the main causes that
can bring an end to the service life of a road. It is therefore important to develop materials that can offer greater resistance to this
distress, and recent years have seen more studies conducted with
the aim of offering a better understanding of the fatigue phenomenon that occurs in bituminous materials.
Based on these studies, the fatigue that occurs in bituminous
mixtures due to cyclic efforts can be considered as a global process
(Fig. 1) which involves three main phenomena [1]: (i) accumulation of permanent deformations; (ii) reversible degradation (thixotropy) and initiation of irreversible damage (micro-cracks); (iii)
crack propagation (the coalescence of micro-cracks produces the
localization and propagation of macro-cracks).
During the study of the fatigue behavior of asphalt mixtures, the
occurrence of these phenomena can be identified by the changes
produced in their mechanical properties (traditionally expressed
through the changes produced in the phase angle and modulus
[2]). Thus, the results obtained in a typical cyclic loading test can
be divided into three stages (Fig. 2a, [3]): (1) a rapid decrease of
the modulus and increase of the phase angle (which is related to
the occurrence of plastic deformations, along with other viscoelastic reversible phenomena such as heating or thixotropy [1]);
(2) a quasi-stationary stage where the changes produced in these
parameters are small (due to the effect of the reversible phenomena and the initiation of the fatigue damage in the form of
micro-cracks); (3) a rapid decrease of modulus and phase angle
(due to the occurrence and propagation of the macro-crack). The
study of the fatigue behavior of asphalt mixtures should therefore
be approached as a global study that takes into account the developments and changes that asphalt materials suffer during the
entire process.
Nonetheless, as several authors have pointed out [48], this
type of analysis is not easy to accomplish, and more research is
needed in order to offer a better understanding of this
phenomenon.
One of these aspects is the effect caused by the permanent
deformations that appear during the cyclic loading process, which
in turn leads to fatigue. Whilst these deformations cannot be considered as fatigue damage, their appearance changes the viscoelastic properties of the material (making it more elastic and rigid, due

to the strain hardening phenomenon [9,10]), and therefore they

can exert a significant influence on its mechanical response. Thus,
when a controlled stress fatigue test is used, the initial decrease of
the modulus can be largely due to the effect of permanent deformations, which can conceal the real damage produced by the fatigue process (Fig. 2b) [11]. Given this possibility, the majority of
fatigue tests are conducted under controlled strain conditions
(with the aim of avoiding the effects caused by permanent deformations when studying fatigue damage) [1215]. However, this
type of test does not reproduce the same load conditions that affect
bituminous materials during their service life (a stress relaxation
and fatigue process under constant strain occurs in the laboratory
tests, whilst creep, strain hardening, and fatigue process occurs in
the roads due to the presence of constant loads). Therefore, significant differences can be obtained between laboratory fatigue-life
predictions and real fatigue lives [16,17], and between laboratory
tests carried out at controlled stress or strain conditions [18]. Thus,
despite the fact that permanent deformations do not cause damage, their effect on the mechanical properties of the bituminous
mixture cannot be neglected when analysing fatigue processes.
For this reason, it is necessary to use tests that take into account
the influence of this phenomenon and its relationship with fatigue
behavior.
Another aspect that limits the analysis of fatigue in bituminous
mixtures is the presence of other phenomena that co-exist with
damage during cyclic loading (heating, thixotropy, etc.) [1,19,20].
Indeed, many studies have demonstrated that in the stages where
these phenomena co-exist (stages 1 and 2, Fig. 2a), it is very difficult to distinguish which of them causes the changes in the
mechanical properties of the material, and similarly, it is difficult
to quantify the changes that are due only to real damage [21].
Other authors have stated that, due to the large and relatively sudden recoveries produced in the modulus during a short rest period
[2224], the observed recoveries cannot only be related to the
healing of the damage (as it is not possible to produce such an
amount of healing in such a short time period) [25,26]. These studies have shown that a considerable part of the loss in modulus that
occurs during the first stages of a cyclic loading test is due to these
reversible phenomena. During the loading process, thixotropy
causes the bitumen to change progressively from a gel to a sol
structure (ascribed to the dissociation and deformation of interand intra-molecular bonds), which reduces the viscosity and the
modulus of the material (on the cessation of the loads, viscosity
and modulus increase again) [27,28]. Heating is caused by molecular friction during the loading process; it produces chain separation due to thermal expansion and a consequent reduction of the
secondary intermolecular forces (this reduces the modulus of the
material, which is recovered when the loads disappear and the
molecular temperature is restored) [2931]. Therefore, the fatigue
life calculated in traditional tests (where damage is measured

Fig. 1. Sketch of the global process due to the action of cyclic loading.

F. Moreno-Navarro, M.C. Rubio-Gmez / Construction and Building Materials 113 (2016) 927938

929

Fig. 2. (a) Typical results obtained in a strain-controlled fatigue four-point bending test [3]. (b) Main differences between strain and stress controlled tests.

Fig. 3. Sketch of the random propagation of fatigue damage that appeared in the bituminous mixtures.

through the loss in modulus without considering these non-fatigue

related phenomena) could be over-predicted. Based on these considerations, it is clear that the influence of these phenomena
should not be ignored when studying the fatigue behavior of bituminous mixtures and that it is very difficult to isolate them from
real damage. It is therefore of interest to develop new analyses
or test conditions where the impact of these phenomena can be
reduced.
Finally, another of the factors that hinders analysis of the fatigue response of bituminous mixtures is the selection of an accurate
failure criterion. Fatigue damage begins with a micro-crack network (global damage), which develops randomly in the 3 dimensions of a certain volume of the material where the fatigue
process takes place (Fig. 3). Following this, at a certain level of
damage, the coalescence of these micro-cracks creates a macrocrack that propagates inside this volume of material until causing
its total failure (localized damage). During the cyclic loading tests
these damage phenomena co-exist with permanent deformations
and visco-elastic phenomena (thixotropy, heating, etc.), and thus
the amount of micro-cracks that generates the macro-crack or
the propagation of global damage will directly depend on many
variables [11,18] such as the type of bituminous mixture evaluated, the test conditions (amplitude, frequency, and temperature),
the type of test used, or the geometry of the specimen. Due to this,
it is very difficult to clearly separate and identify a damage limit
that defines a homogenous failure criterion (global or local) that
could be generalized to any fatigue test [12,18]. Consequently, in
recent years many studies have focused on the definition of a criterion to minimize the influence of all these variables during the
assessment of the fatigue behavior of bituminous materials
[32,33].
Given these concerns, this research aims to analyze the phenomenon of fatigue in bituminous mixtures, with particular

emphasis on the major constraints that limit their study. For this
purpose, a new approach (which combines the analysis of the geometrical changes and the energy dissipated by the material in each
load cycle, from the appearance of permanent deformations to the
macro-crack propagation) has been developed using the UGR-FACT
(University of Granada-Fatigue Asphalt Cracking Test) method
[34,35]. In this respect, different materials and tests conditions
have been used in order to validate this new tool.

2. Previous considerations
Bituminous mixtures are viscoelastic materials whose mechanical properties are highly dependent on the temperature of service
and the applied loading rate [3638]. In this respect, at high temperatures and under low loading rates (i.e. low frequencies), bituminous materials behave in a more viscous way (ductile fracture,
offering high values of phase angle d) and they are susceptible to
flow, which causes the appearance of plastic deformations
(Fig. 4). In contrast, when the temperature of service is low or
the applied load has a high frequency, these materials behave in
a more elastic way (brittle fracture, with low values of phase angle
d) and thus they have a greater capacity to support the stresses
without flow.
Based on the assumption of good adherence at the bitumen/
aggregate interface, it can be said that these responses are mainly
governed by the molecular mobility of the bituminous binder
[3940], which is highly influenced by the temperature and the
asphaltenes/maltenes relationship [41]. At low temperatures, the
non-polar fractions of the bitumen (maltenes) cannot move and
create a rigid network, whose mechanical response is controlled
by the stretching and bending of intermolecular bonds [31], and
thus by chain scission (brittle fracture). Therefore, as plastic

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F. Moreno-Navarro, M.C. Rubio-Gmez / Construction and Building Materials 113 (2016) 927938

Fig. 4. Sketch of the viscoelastic response of bituminous mixtures.

Fig. 5. Schema of the effects caused by the stresses transmitted by the traffic over bituminous mixtures.

deformations are limited under these circumstances, the energy

introduced in each load cycle is dissipated through fatigue damage
(stress excites a main-chain bond to the state of separation), which
propagates by means of molecular rupture [42]. Conversely, at
higher temperatures, the separation of chains due to thermal
expansion allows for the sliding of the molecular network
[43,44], which causes the appearance of plastic deformations in
the material. In this case, the energy of each load cycle is also dissipated by the maltenes through friction (thermal energy) and dissociation/deformation of molecular bonds (thixotropy) during
plastic flow. After that (strain hardening phenomenon), the energy
is stored in the bonds until the dislocation of micro-structural segments is avoided and molecular scission is produced (ductile
fracture).
Accordingly, for a given repetitive loading (such as produced
due to vehicle circulation), if the molecules can move easily (as
occurs at high temperatures), the mechanical energy introduced
into the material due to the presence of such loading is consumed
by molecular movements (which mainly produces non-recoverable
deformations, and other secondary phenomena such as thixotropy). However, when the molecules have less mobility, as occurs
at low temperatures, the same amount of mechanical energy cannot induce such phenomena and it is absorbed at molecular bonding level, producing stretching and bending of intermolecular
bonds (small recoverable deformations). Thus, the material
absorbs this energy without producing deformations and showing

a more elastic response. In this respect, it is interesting to highlight

that molecular mobility in bituminous binders not only depends on
temperature, but is also influenced by other variables such as the
load frequency or amplitude (thixotropy), as well as the asphaltenes and maltenes content [45].
Some authors state that under controlled-strain cyclic tests, viscoelastic materials with higher molecular mobility (those which
are tested at higher temperatures, lower frequencies, or manufactured with bitumens with a weaker asphaltenes/maltenes relationship) are less susceptible to cracking and are therefore resistant to
more load cycles than stiffer materials [18]. For the same reason,
stiffer materials with reduced molecular mobility allow for a small
decrease in modulus before fatigue failure, whilst ductile materials
allow for a considerable decrease in modulus [11,16]. However,
when controlled stress conditions are used, bituminous materials
that are tested at high temperatures and low frequencies (with a
higher molecular mobility) have a shorter fatigue life than those
which are more rigid [46,47].
When a load is applied over a material (as occurs when the
wheel of a vehicle passes over the pavement), it generates a stress
that is initially homogenously distributed (Fig. 5). This stress
induces a mechanical response in the material in the form of strain,
which could be low in the case of elastic materials with low
molecular mobility (these strains are considered to be recoverable
as they are produced at molecular bonding level), or high in the
case of viscous materials that are more susceptible to molecular

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F. Moreno-Navarro, M.C. Rubio-Gmez / Construction and Building Materials 113 (2016) 927938

re-orientation (where the strains are considered to be permanent).

Given that bituminous mixtures are visco-elastic materials (which
behave more elastically or more viscously in relation to the frequency of the load or the temperature of service), the stress transmitted by the traffic loading will induce strains that could be
produced by stretching and bending of intermolecular bonds
(which are smaller and recoverable) or by molecular movements
(which mainly produce permanent deformations and other secondary phenomena such as thixotropy).
When the molecular mobility in the material is reduced (for
example at low temperatures or when low penetration grade binders are used), the strains produced by traffic-induced stresses
occur primarily at bonding level, until they cause molecular scission (appearance of damage in the material). As the broken bonds
cannot support stresses, the neighboring bonds suffer higher
strains thereby creating a zone with higher stresses (stress concentration). The bonds from this zone are more prone to breaking, creating an area of weakness in the material that will grow as the
number of load cycles increases (propagation of damage in the
material).
In contrast, when conditions are such that molecular mobility in
the material is favored, the strains induced by traffic stresses produce molecular re-orientation that is mainly manifest in the form
of plastic deformations and other phenomena such as thixotropy
(that do not cause damage in the material). In this case, as these
deformations grow, they will create a phenomenon known as
strain hardening [9,10], which changes the mechanical properties
of the material throughout successive cycles, rendering it more
rigid and elastic and reducing its molecular mobility. As the molecular mobility is reduced, the strains produced in each load cycle
begin to appear at molecular bonding level (the molecules have
already been re-oriented and its mobility is limited), and they
cease to induce the appearance and propagation of damage in
the material (molecular rupture). As seen in other materials such
as metals [48,49], the strain hardening phenomenon prompts the
appearance of zones where the stresses are concentrated and the
energy introduced due to loading is dissipated on molecular scission, which will propagate until forming a crack that induces the
failure of the material. Thus, the development of plastic deformations creates zones in the material that are susceptible to cracking
under a given load (molecular dislocation is limited by the stretching or bending of intermolecular and main-chain bonds, and thus
chain failure occurs). The addition of modifiers such as polymers
(SBS, crumb rubber, etc.) to the asphalt binders could help to
recover part of those plastic deformations [50], and therefore
retard strain hardening, which in turn would retard the appearance
of fatigue damage.
It is therefore clear that plastic deformations and other molecular mobility phenomena (such as thixotropy) will have a considerable influence on the appearance of fatigue damage in
bituminous mixtures. Some authors have already shown that creep
strain energy should be considered during fatigue analysis, but it
should be separated from the damage energy [51]. At high temperatures of service or low frequency loads (where molecular mobility
is favored) the stresses transmitted by the traffic will produce
more plastic deformations in the bituminous mixture. Thus, many
concentrated zones of stress (due to strain hardening) and weak
points susceptible to cracking would appear in the material (presenting a ductile fracture failure, which would be wide and ramified, Fig. 5). In contrast, at low temperatures or high frequencies,
molecular mobility is very limited and the stresses induced by
the traffic are firstly absorbed in stretching and bending of intermolecular bonds and are thereafter dissipated in the creation of
damage due to molecular rupture (presenting a brittle fracture,
which would be thin and un-ramified, Fig. 5). It is therefore critical
to consider fatigue as a global process, the study of which should

take into account the influence of all the various phenomena that
occur during cyclic loading.
3. Description of the new approach
Based on the previous discussion, a new approach has been
developed using the UGR-FACT method [34,52]. This methodological approach aims to evaluate the movements produced at molecular and bonding level, as well as the amount of damage produced
due to breakage of molecular bonds. This test procedure reproduces the conditions that lead to the appearance of fatigue cracking in pavements (traffic loads and thermal gradients), by using a
simple device composed of a sliding support (with a recovery
spring), and two elastic elements under these support plates (rubber pads). The latter are reminiscent of both the bending and shear
stresses commonly caused by traffic loading, and the tensile strains
that are a consequence of thermal gradients (Fig. 6).
Four LVDTs (one vertical and one horizontal in each side of the
specimen) are used in order to control the vertical and horizontal
displacements produced in the material in each load cycle
(Fig. 6). Based on the measures taken, two different types of displacements can be observed in each direction (horizontal and vertical) and load cycle: a permanent displacement (hi, vi) that
remains after the load cycle and is related to the non-recoverable
deformations or the damage produced in the material; and a relative displacement (Hi, Vi) that is related to the consistency (stiffness) or damage state of the material in the given cycle (Fig. 7).
Thus, if both types of displacements produced in each load cycle
are used for a combined analysis, it is possible to conduct a precise
evaluation of the evolution of the different phases appearing during the fatigue damage process. On the one hand, the hysteresis
loop described for the relative displacements (Hi, Vi) produced
in the material is used to define the dissipated energy in each load
cycle, which is obtained as the addition of the dissipated energies
calculated in the vertical and horizontal directions (Eq. (1)). These
energies are obtained from the values of the areas inside the hysteresis loops. In this respect, the use of the areas are more accurate
than the use of the absolute value of the relative displacements
(which are commonly used to define parameters such as modulus),
as the areas take into account the viscous and elastic nature of the
material.

xi xhi xv i

1
3

where xi is the dissipated energy in cycle i (in J/m ); xhi is the

horizontally-dissipated energy in cycle i (in J/m3); and xvi is the
vertically-dissipated energy in cycle i (in J/m3).
On the other hand, the permanent displacements (hi, vi) can
be used to define the variation of the geometry (Dei) of the material in the zone where the fatigue phenomenon takes place. This
variation in the volume (measured in percentage) is calculated
from the variations of the dimensions produced in the vertical
and horizontal directions of the material (Eq. (2)).

Dei

j1 dhi  1  dv i j  1
 100
1

where Dei is the variation of the geometry of the specimen in the

cycle i for an initial unitary volume; dhi and dvi are the horizontal
and vertical dimension changes measured in the specimen in the
cycle i.
Fig. 8 shows a typical graph obtained from the representation of
these two parameters (xi in the x axis, and Dei in the y axis). As can
be observed, the different stages of the fatigue process (plastic
deformations, thixotropy, etc.; micro-damage; and macrodamage) can be clearly identified in the material. During the first
part of the test, high variations are produced in the geometry of
the material due to their molecular mobility, and these are reduced

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F. Moreno-Navarro, M.C. Rubio-Gmez / Construction and Building Materials 113 (2016) 927938

Fig. 6. UGR-FACT test device.

Fig. 7. Outline of the efforts and displacements produced in the bituminous material during the UGR-FACT test.

Fig. 8. Example of the values obtained in the representation of De and load cycles as a function of the dissipated energy.

as the number of applied load cycles increases due to strain hardening. In spite of this considerable variation in the geometry of the
material, the dissipated energy measured in each load cycle during
this first part does not correspondingly change (the first part of the
curve almost represents a vertical descent). This implies that the
variations produced in the material due to the cyclic loads do not
produce damage, as the levels of dissipated energy do not change
considerably from the first cycle (which represents the viscoelastic
response of the undamaged material). Based on these considerations, in the example shown in Fig. 8, the first 15,000 load cycles

do not cause fatigue damage in the material, rather they induce

the appearance of plastic deformations and other phenomena such
as thixotropy. The value of initial dissipated energy represents the
molecular mobility capacity of the material evaluated under the
test conditions used (frequency and temperature). As this initial
dissipated energy decreases, the material shows a lower molecular
mobility and therefore the stresses applied in each load cycle will
be absorbed mainly in the form of strains at molecular bonding
level (reducing the variations produced in the geometry of the
specimen due to plastic deformations), until they generate

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F. Moreno-Navarro, M.C. Rubio-Gmez / Construction and Building Materials 113 (2016) 927938
Table 1
Properties of the mixtures studied.
Properties

Bituminous mixtures

Type of Mineral Skeleton

Coarse Aggregates
Fine Aggregates
Type of Bitumen
Bitumen Content (% over the total weight of the mixture)
Bulk Density (g/cm3, EN 12697-6 [55])
Air Voids (%, EN 12697-8 [56]))
Marshall Stability (kN, EN 12697-34 [57])
Marshall Flow (mm, EN 12697-34 [57])
Stiffness at 20 C, rise time value 124 4 ms (MPa, EN 12697-26, C [58])

AC

BBTM-SBS

BBTM-CR

BBTM-B

AC
Limestone
Limestone
B1
5.1
2.534
3.3
14.671
2.5
8937

BBTM
Ophite
Limestone
PMB-SBS
4.8
2.464
5.2
9.301
3.9
3168

BBTM
Ophite
Limestone
PMB-CR
4.8
2.469
5.1
8.473
3.1
4310

BBTM
Ophite
Limestone
B2
4.8
2.496
4.8
8.662
3.3
4784

Table 2
Properties of the binders used in the manufacture of the mixtures.
Property

Bituminous binders

Type of modifier
Softening Point (C, EN 1427 [59])
Penetration at 25 C (mm/10, EN 1426 [60])
Fraass breaking point (C, EN 12593 [61])

B1

PMB-SBS

PMB-CR

B2

66.4
22
12

SBS
68.4
62
17

Crumb Rubber
66
55.8
14

53.2
44
8

100

material passing (%)

90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0.01

0.1

10

100

Sieve (mm)
AC

BBTM

Fig. 9. Grain size curves of the mineral skeletons used in the manufacture of the
mixtures.

molecular breakage. In contrast, a high initial level of dissipated

energy means that there is a high molecular mobility in the material. In this case, the stresses transmitted in each load cycle produce a rapid development of plastic deformations and thixotropy,
which cause the appearance of strain hardening that will induce
the ductile failure of the material.
In the second part of the test (and due to the strain hardening
phenomenon), the variations of the geometry of the material
become very small (less than 0.1% in the example shown), and the
energy introduced in each load cycle is absorbed mainly at bonding
level (producing stretching and bending of intermolecular bonds).
Thus, when the intermolecular bonds begin to fracture, the dissipated energy measured in each additional cycle begins to increase
(Nmd, showing that the internal properties of the material are being
altered). Strain hardening causes a reduction in the molecular
mobility capacity and each additional load cycle does not produce
plastic deformations or thixotropy rather, they begin to produce
micro damage due to molecular rupture. Because of this fact, the values measured of Dei are small (between 0.1 and 0.01% in the example shown), and the dissipated energy gradually increases. Finally,
after a certain number of cycles, the dissipated energy begins to
increase considerably by maintaining the changes produced in the

geometry (NMD, which means the initiation of the macro-crack

due to the coalescence of micro-cracks), until a point where the values of Dei begin to increase again (due to the propagation of the
macro crack), until total failure of the specimen is reached (Nf).
This approach therefore permits accurate measurement of the
propagation of the damage appearing in the material at the two
levels: damage in the volume (micro-cracks) and localized damage
(macro-crack). This information could be very useful for considering macro-damage in the estimation of fatigue life (which traditionally cannot be included because of its randomness and
dispersion), or for the definition of a more accurate failure criterion
(global or local) that could offer an analysis under the same level of
damage (irrespective of the type of materials tested or the testing
conditions used). In addition, this approach also allows for a distinction to be made between the various phenomena that occur
during cyclic loading, and to identify which of these is responsible
for real damage in the material. The real fatigue life (Nfl) of the
material can thus be defined as Nfl = Nf  Nmd, as it marks the number of cycles from the initiation of damage until its total propagation throughout the specimen. Hence, the calculus of the mean
damage parameter (which determines the susceptibility of the
material to damage by cyclic loads [35]) must be obtained from
the values measured during those cycles.
4. Validation of the new approach
4.1. Materials and testing plan
In order to offer a representative analysis of the fatigue phenomenon in bituminous mixtures, and to assess the potential of
the approach presented, different types of materials have been
tested during this study. Four types of bituminous mixture have
been evaluated: one AC mixture EN 13108-1 [53], and three BBTM
mixtures EN 13108-2 [54]) with different types of aggregates (Limestone and Ophite), binders (neat binders of several penetration
grade and modified binders with various modifiers) and mineral
skeletons (continuous and gap-graded). The main characteristics
of these materials are shown in Tables 1 and 2, and Fig. 9.

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Table 3
Test procedure carried out in the study.
Material
tested

Test method

Test conditions

Number of
specimens tested

AC

UGR-FACT

800 kPa; 5 Hz; 5 C

800 kPa; 5 Hz; 15 C
800 kPa; 5 Hz; 30 C
200 le; 5 Hz; 5 C
200 le; 5 Hz; 15 C
200 le; 5 Hz; 30 C

3
3
3
3
3
3

Fatigue Four-Point
Bending Test
BBTM-SBS

UGR-FACT

800 kPa; 5 Hz; 5 C

800 kPa; 5 Hz; 15 C

3
3

BBTM-CR

UGR-FACT

800 kPa; 5 Hz; 5 C

800 kPa; 5 Hz; 15 C

3
3

BBTM-B

UGR-FACT

800 kPa; 5 Hz; 5 C

800 kPa; 5 Hz; 15 C

3
3

mixture AC at different temperatures (which shows the varying

levels of molecular mobility in the material). As can be observed,
for the given test conditions, an increase in the test temperature
produced an increase in variations of the geometry of the material
during the early stage of the loading process. This occurs because
the molecular mobility of bituminous materials increases as the
temperature increases (offering a more viscous response, as indicated by the observed increase in the initial dissipated energy at
the different temperatures). In this case, most of the energy introduced into the material in each cycle (which is provided by the
constant stress loading, and is the same at all test temperatures)
is consumed by the re-orientation of the molecules (mainly producing plastic deformations and other secondary phenomena such
as thixotropy).
In contrast, as the temperature decrease, the molecular mobility
of the AC mixture was reduced, and therefore the stresses produced in each load cycle were mainly absorbed in small movements at molecular bonding level (the material is stiffer and
behaves more elastically). If these stresses are not sufficiently high
to produce movements that cause the rupture of molecular bonds,
the material could support a higher amount of load cycles, as no
energy is consumed in the creation of damage (the dissipated
energy in each additional cycle does not increase, Fig. 10). The
molecular re-orientation was in this case rather slow and limited,
and the initial dissipated energy measured was therefore lower.

Fig. 10. Mean results of the AC mixture tested at different temperatures.

In order to analyze the influence of molecular mobility on the

fatigue behavior of bituminous mixtures, the AC mixture was
tested at different temperatures (5, 15 and 30 C), under stresscontrolled conditions (stress amplitude of 800 kPa, and a frequency
of 5 Hz) using the UGR-FACT method. These test conditions were
selected in order to simulate the real stress conditions usually
endured by the pavement [62,63], and high-speed traffic (around
100 km/h), by assuming a vehicle type with a mean distance
between axes of 6.5 m [64]. The AC bituminous mixture was also
used to compare the fatigue life obtained using the new approach
of UGR-FACT method, and that obtained in a traditional fatigue test
performed under strain-controlled conditions. For this purpose, the
AC mixture was also tested using the four-point bending fatigue
test (EN 12697-24, part D [65]) at the same temperatures and
under a strain amplitude of 200 le (which is a common deflection
registered in asphalt pavements [66]), using a failure criterion of a
reduction of 30% of the initial modulus. Finally, the sensitivity of
the new method to the type of materials tested and their molecular
mobility was also analyzed using the BBTM mixtures manufactured with different types of binders (neat, modified with SBS polymers, and modified with crumb rubber). The test method and
conditions used were the same as those described in the previous
study (UGR-FACT with a load amplitude of 800 kPa and a frequency
of 5 Hz), and the temperatures evaluated were 5 and 15 C.
As a summary, Table 3 show the testing plan carried out in this
study.
4.2. Analysis of the results
4.2.1. Influence of molecular mobility on fatigue damage
Fig. 10 displays the mean values obtained in the parameters xi
and Dei from the various UGR-FACT tests conducted with the

Fig. 11. Definition of the characteristic cycles for the AC mixture at different
temperatures: (a) 30 C; (b) 15 C; (c) 5 C.

F. Moreno-Navarro, M.C. Rubio-Gmez / Construction and Building Materials 113 (2016) 927938

935

Fig. 12. Fatigue life observed for the AC mixture (a) at different temperatures under stress and strain controlled conditions; (b) for different initial dissipated energies under
stress and strain controlled conditions.

Accordingly, permanent deformations that precede the appearance

of damage in the material (molecular scission) were smaller, and
following the fatigue process the fracture produced was brittle.
This aspect can be observed in the tests conducted at a temperature of 5 C, which were stopped at 2,000,000 cycles, and no signs
of fatigue damage were found in the AC material (due to this, the
dissipated energy remained constant).
Fig. 11 shows the mean results obtained in the three AC mixture
specimens tested at the different temperatures, as well as their
characteristic cycles (Nmd, NMD, Nf). Based on them, it can be said
that the specimens evaluated under temperature conditions where
molecular mobility is favored, reached its fatigue failure (Nf) more
rapidly (in accord with previous suggestions). In this respect, it is
clear that once the molecules of the material have been reoriented (and plastic deformations and/or thixotropy are produced), the energy introduced in each additional load cycle is consumed by the production of bonding movements (stretching and
bending of intermolecular bonds), that in the end will induce the
creation of micro-damage (molecular rupture), and ultimately,
the macro-crack propagation. Given this fact, it is worth pointing
out that molecular mobility could play a significant role in the
development of fatigue phenomena in bituminous mixtures, as
no damage would appear whilst the molecules can be re-oriented.
4.2.2. Comparison of the new approach with a traditional test
Traditional tests that study fatigue damage in bituminous mixtures are typically conducted under strain-controlled mode [1,2].
As these tests are based on the measurement of the modulus of
the material, conducting them under controlled-stress mode could
mean that the real damage produced by the fatigue process could
be masked due to the undetected effect of permanent deformations and thixotropy. Thus, in order to limit such an effect, the tests
are conducted by controlling the strain produced in each additional
load cycle. Nonetheless, this load mode also limits the stresses that
cause molecular mobility and bonding failure in the material. Thus,
given that materials with greater molecular mobility (or which are
tested under conditions that favor this molecular re-organization)
can be easily deformed, the stresses produced in each load cycle to
induce the controlled strain imposed on them are lower. Because of
this fact, these types of materials can support a higher number of
load cycles (as each load cycle applies a limited level of stress)
and hence they would offer a longer fatigue life.
Fig. 12a shows the fatigue life of the AC mixture as a function of
temperature, when the material is tested under stress controlled
conditions (using the UGR-FACT method and the Nfl values for each
specimen) and under strain controlled conditions (using the fourpoint bending test and the values of the cycle when the initial
modulus is reduced to 30%). As the material tested is the same
(AC mixture), the resistance to fatigue damage afforded as a function of the temperature should be the same in both tests, irrespective of the control mode used. Nonetheless, it is observed that
when tested under stress-control mode, the material exhibits a

completely opposite response to that observed when tested under

strain controlled mode. This then raises the question of what
exactly is the real mechanical response. It is clear that, if we take
a prismatic specimen of a bituminous mixture and we try to break
it into two pieces, it will be easier to do so as the temperature of
the specimen increases. Therefore, it might be assumed that as
the temperature increases, fewer load cycles of the same stress
intensity are needed to cause the breakage of the specimen. Under
strain-controlled conditions, the stress applied in each additional
load cycle to produce the imposed strain is not constant, becoming
smaller as the temperature increases, the stiffness of the material
decreases, or the degradation produced in it increases. Thus, the
energy introduced in each additional load cycle to produce the failure of the material also becomes smaller under these circumstances and the fatigue life is increased. In contrast, under stresscontrolled conditions, the stress applied remains constant in each
additional load cycle, independently of the stiffness of the material
tested or the test temperature (as occurs in a real pavements,
where the stress applied by the trucks does not depend on the type
of material or environmental conditions).
Fig. 12b demonstrates that if the results of the tests are shown
as a function of the initial dissipated energy [67], both tests (UGRFACT and Four-Point Bending) and control modes (stress and
strain) display the same trend (as would be expected given that
the material tested is the same). This fact confirms that an
approach based on dissipated energy is compatible with the real
mechanical performance of the bituminous mixture, regardless of
the control mode used. Thus the new procedural approach presented in this paper, which is based on the changes produced in
the geometry of the material and the dissipated energy in each
load cycle (distinguishing these changes from the damage produced by other phenomena), can offer an accurate fatigue life prediction under more realistic test conditions (stress-controlled
mode).
4.2.3. Sensitivity of the new approach to different types of materials
Figs. 13 and 14 show the mean results obtained in the three
specimens of the BBTM mixtures manufactured with different
bituminous binders (polymer-modified, crumb rubber, and conventional), at 5 C and 15 C respectively. As observed in the previous tests conducted with the AC mixture, as the temperature
decreases, the molecular mobility of the three bitumens also
decreases (the initial dissipated energies offered by the mixtures
at 5 C are lower than at 15 C), and therefore they can support a
higher number of load cycles (all three offer a longer fatigue life
at 5 C than at 15 C). These results demonstrate that the findings
obtained for continuous mineral skeletons (AC) and conventional
binders (B1) are also consistent for gap-graded mineral skeletons
(BBTM), other types of neat binders (B2), and modified binders
(PMB-SBS and PMB-CR).
However, it has been observed that under the same test conditions (stress amplitude, frequency, and temperature), the lowest

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F. Moreno-Navarro, M.C. Rubio-Gmez / Construction and Building Materials 113 (2016) 927938

Fig. 14. Mean results obtained in the three specimens tested of the BBTM mixtures
at 15 C: (a) BBTM-SBS; (b) BBTM-CR; (c) BBTM-B.
Fig. 13. Mean results obtained in the three specimens tested of the BBTM mixtures
at 5 C: (a) BBTM-SBS; (b) BBTM-CR; (c) BBTM-B.

molecular mobility (measured from the initial dissipated energy)

does not guarantee the longest fatigue life when comparing different materials. Fig. 13 shows that in spite of BBTM-SBS having the
higher initial dissipated energy, it is the mixture that resists the
highest number of load cycles. Similarly, the mixture manufactured with the crumb rubber modified bitumen has a higher initial
dissipated energy than that manufactured with the neat binder,
whilst also exhibiting a longer fatigue life. This effect could be
due to the reversibility of the molecular movements and the
absorption of part of the energy produced by the presence of the
modifiers, which retards the appearance of plastic deformations
(strain hardening phenomenon) and the propagation of the damage. Therefore, on the basis of these results, the novel approach
presented here appears to be sensitive to the evaluation of different materials. This procedure could therefore provide an interesting tool for resolving some of the current problems associated
with the analysis of fatigue damage in bituminous mixtures.
It should be noted that as the response of the material becomes
more viscous (for example, if it is tested at higher temperatures), it
is more difficult to distinguish between the initial phase (where
plastic deformations and thixotropy occur) and the microdamage phase. This is due to the co-existence of molecular mobility in one part of the specimen, and chemical bonding fracture in
other parts (as the process of fatigue is not homogenous in all

sections of the specimen when a ductile fracture is produced).

Therefore, it is suggested that real fatigue damage can be clearly
identified at lower temperatures, where the co-existence of the
various phenomena is less plausible due to the presence of a brittle
fracture.
Further, it has been demonstrated that regardless of the test
temperature, this method is able to identify the proliferation of different types of damage as a function of the type of material tested.
Materials of a higher stiffness (BBTM-CR or BBTM-B) offer a longer
initial stage (due to them having lower molecular mobility). Materials modified with polymers offer a longer phase of micro-damage,
as the elastic polymers absorb part of the energy introduced in
each cycle without increasing the damage caused at chemical
bonding level. Therefore, it is clear that fatigue damage analysis
must identify not only the entire number of cycles, but also the
number of cycles consumed by the various phenomena appearing
in the materials. In this way, the analysis proposed by this
approach combining the variations in the geometry of the material and the energy dissipated in each load cycle allows for a
homogenous failure criterion that can consider separately any
state of damage (micro or macro) produced in the specimen.
5. Conclusions
This paper reviews the main factors that affect the study of fatigue in bituminous materials, and proposes a new methodological
approach that could offer a valuable tool for resolving some of

F. Moreno-Navarro, M.C. Rubio-Gmez / Construction and Building Materials 113 (2016) 927938

the current difficulties associated with its analysis. Based on the

results obtained in the present study (which involved the evaluation of different types of bituminous materials and fatigue test conditions), the following conclusions can be drawn:
Molecular mobility, which induces phenomena such as plastic
deformations or thixotropy, is the initial response of bituminous
materials during cyclic loading. Once the molecules have been
re-oriented and its mobility is reduced, the energy introduced
in each load cycle is consumed by molecular bonding level displacements that ultimately lead to their breakage. Therefore, if
molecular mobility is favored, the appearance of fatigue damage
is accelerated in the material under constant stress. Similarly, if
modifiers such as elastomer are used to recover part of the
molecular mobility, the fatigue damage can be delayed.
Phenomena related to molecular mobility such as plastic deformations or thixotropy that co-exist with damage, cannot be
neglected during fatigue analysis. Fatigue tests conducted under
strain-controlled conditions can limit the development of these
phenomena (as they induce a stress relaxation process in the
material, thereby limiting molecular mobility in any additional
load cycle), which could in turn modify the real response of the
bituminous materials. Due to this fact, materials tested under
strain-controlled mode and under conditions that favor molecular mobility could considerably retard the appearance of damage and therefore offer a longer fatigue life. Nonetheless, these
conditions are different to those that prevail during real traffic
conditions, where the stresses transmitted to bituminous mixtures are not relaxed and each passing axel induces the reorientation of the molecules until they reach the appearance
of damage at molecular bonding level.
It has been demonstrated that the development of the different
stages of the fatigue process (different damage states reached
by the specimens; i.e. phenomena based on molecular mobility,
micro and macro-damage) depends on the characteristics of the
material tested and the test conditions used. Thus, it is very difficult to define a homogenous failure criterion (either global or
local) that could clearly separate and identify a damage limit to
be used to compare the fatigue resistance of different materials.
In this respect, it can be argued that the study of the variation
produced in the geometry of the material seems to be an interesting tool to define each stage of the fatigue process, and therefore to establish certain limits that can be used to determine the
fatigue life of different bituminous mixtures under similar
circumstances.
The new approach presented in this paper, which combines the
study of the changes produced in the geometry and the energy
dissipated by the material in each load cycle, allows for the
identification of the different phases appeared during fatigue
loading conditions. Thus, it provides a more refined analysis of
fatigue damage in bituminous materials, without the confounding effects of other phenomena that are not related to damage.
Similarly, it is possible to establish a homogenous failure criterion that considers a similar level of damage in each material
studied (even when the level of macro-damage level is taken
into account). Finally, the new approach presented here appears
to be sensitive to the variation of the test parameters and the
type of materials evaluated.

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