The mechanical behavior of epoxy asphalt mixture under cyclic loading

Abstract

In order to investigate the mechanical behavior of epoxy asphalt mixture under cyclic traffic loading, cylindrical samples of the epoxy asphalt mixture were subjected to cyclic loading-unloading tests under varying confining pressures. The accumulation and dissipation of energy were observed in the energy evolutions. It turns out that the epoxy asphalt mixture exhibits elastic-plastic property in the first few cycles, and then the elastic property would be strengthened gradually in the cyclic loading tests. Applying a moderate confining pressure would significantly reduce the dissipated energy. The proportion of dissipated energy is about 25% from the unconfined test, and less than 15% from the confined test. As a result, more energy would be required if to produce equal permanent deformation under higher confining pressures. Therefore, a moderate increase in the confining pressure would be helpful in restraining permanent deformation, such as rutting.