Characterizing the Rutting Behaviour of Reinforced Cold Mix Asphalt with Natural and Synthetic Fibres Using Finite Element Analysis

Abstract

The quality of an asphalt mix is one of the most important and significant factors that affects the performance of both hot and cold mix flexible pavements. High-quality mixes are often cost-effective as these mixes require less maintenance and increase the service life of the pavements. It is also cost-efficient to replace the semi-experimental flexible pavement design methods with fast and powerful software that includes finite element analysis. Recently utilizing fibres to enhance the bituminous mixtures’ performance under moving loads has been considerably developed. Previous studies show that using natural and synthetic fibres in the bituminous mixtures enhances the mechanical properties of such mixtures, but none exists for the cold mix asphalt. A series of wheel-tracking tests was conducted to evaluate the permanent deformation performance of flexible pavements under different stress levels and temperatures. Very good agreement has been obtained between the developed finite element model and experimental results for determining rutting depth. Results show that the flexible pavements based on cold mix asphalt can be improved under moving loads using natural and synthetic fibres.