Investigating the Effective Laboratory Parameters on the Stiffness Modulus and Fatigue Cracking of Warm Mix Asphalt

Abstract

Lack of attention to the effect of laboratory conditions on the results of asphalt mixture tests, especially these of the warm mix asphalt (WMA), makes the analysis of results misleading. Thus herein, after examining the research on WMA and factors affecting test results in laboratory conditions, the effect of three parameters including short-term aging (asphalt binder storage in the oven), curing time (from construction to placement in the test chamber), and thermal equilibrium time (from placement in the test chamber to the test onset) were investigated on the characteristics of WMA at mid-temperature. To simultaneously examine these three factors, 36 modes were developed to evaluate their effect on the stiffness modulus and fatigue cracking, using the indirect tensile stiffness modulus test (ITSM) and indirect tensile fatigue test (ITFT), respectively. Results of the experiments showed that increasing the time of asphalt binder placement in the oven for 2–6 h significantly increased the stiffness modulus of the mixture, which reduced the fatigue life of the WMA. With increasing the curing time and improving the adhesion between asphalt binder and aggregates, the stiffness modulus and fatigue life of the specimens increased; however, by increasing the thermal equilibrium time, the stiffness modulus and fatigue life of the specimens decreased due to asphalt binder viscoelastic behavior and temperature sensitivity. Results of statistical analyses revealed that short-term aging, curing time, and thermal equilibrium time in laboratory conditions were effective on the stiffness modulus and fatigue life of WMA at a 95% confidence level.