Fatigue resistance characterization of warm asphalt rubber by multiple approaches

Abstract

Warm asphalt rubber (WAR) mixture is a sustainable paving material with advantages including waste recycling and noise reducing. A comprehensive understanding of the fatigue performance ofWAR specimens is helpful to its wide application. However, research on evaluating the fatigue performance of WAR binder and mixtures is very limited. This paper applies five fatigue analysis approaches to evaluate the fatigue life ofWAR samples with three different warm mix asphalt (WMA) additives. The conventional G*sinδ, linear amplitude sweep (LAS), indirect tensile fatigue test (ITFT), and four-point bending beam (4PB) test were conducted based on available standards. In addition, a novel shear fatigue test was performed on WAR mortars. Test results indicated that the incorporation of crumb rubber has a significantly positive effect on fatigue resistance. WAR with chemical and foaming additives exhibited a poorer performance than asphalt rubber (AR), but their fatigue performance was still greatly superior to the non-rubberized samples. Finally, LAS as well as mortar shear fatigue and 4PB tests provided the same prediction of fatigue resistance, while the results of G*sinδ and the ITFT were inconsistent. It is recommended to use LAS, the mortar shear fatigue test, and the 4PB test for the fatigue resistance evaluation of rubberized specimens. The validation of the findings with more materials and field performances is recommended.