Fatigue performance test and life calculation of fiber-reinforced asphalt concrete

Abstract

This paper aims to accurately measure the fatigue performance and calculate the fatigue life of fiber-reinforced asphalt concrete (FRAC). Firstly, splitting fatigue tests were conducted under the stress control mode. Through the tests, the attenuation features of the FRAC stiffness modulus were analyzed with different fiber contents and length-to-diameter ratios. Drawing on damage mechanics theory, a fatigue failure criterion was put forward for the FRAC. Based on stress ratio- fatigue life (S-N) equation, the authors established a calculation model for fatigue life of the FRAC, in the light of the characteristic parameter of fiber content (FCCP). The results show that, the FCCP can reflect the combined effect of fiber content and length-to-diameter ratio on the fatigue performance of the FRAC: With the growth of the FCCP. the FRAC fatigue life always increased first and then decreased: The FRAC realized the longest fatigue life, and achieved the best fatigue performance at the FCCP of 1.13; For AC-13 polyester FRAC (PFAC). the fiber content, length-to-diameter ratio, and the FCCP were optimized as 0.35%, 324, and 1.13, respectively. The research results provide new insights to the fatigue performance of the FRAC.