Implication of Nondestructive Test NDT for Evaluation of Crack Healing in Asphalt Concret

Abstract

Asphalt concrete practices heavy loading and environmental impacts through the service life of the pavement. Micro cracks usually initiate and accumulate to form various types of distresses. However, asphalt concrete has the ability of self-healing under rest period and environment conditioning. Asphalt concrete is a composite material consisting of aggregates, bitumen, and air voids. Its mechanical behavior is complex due to its dependency of temperature, loading frequency, and strain level. In this investigation, asphalt concrete specimens of wearing course have been prepared in the laboratory and subjected to repeated indirect tensile stresses to initiate the micro-cracks. The test was stopped after 1200 load repetitions, and the specimens were stored in an oven at 60°C for 120 minutes to allow the crack healing process by external heating to start. Specimens were returned to the testing chamber and were subjected to another round of load repetitions. Specimens were tested before and after load repetitions and crack healing with the aid of ultrasonic pulse velocity traversing the specimen using pundit instrument. The healing indicator was the change in pulse velocity before and after the repeated load test and before and after healing process. It was concluded that the velocity decreases as the loading cycles proceeds indicating the start of damage, while the ultrasonic pulse velocity increases after the micro-crack healing process.