Microstructure and mechanical properties of fibre reinforced asphalt mixtures

Mohammed, Monketh; Parry, Tony; Thom, Nick; Grenfell, James

Abstract

Conventional asphalt mixtures can perform satisfactorily in most flexible pavement and airfield applications. However, during recent years the trend has been towards traffic growth, severe climate conditions, and heavier loads. This allied to durability and cost effectiveness issues, has raised the demand to improve the mechanical properties of conventional asphalt materials by means of modification. Fibres may have the potential to achieve such modification and, thereby, enhance the mechanical properties of asphalt mixtures. This paper examines the relative performance of asphalt mixture modified with different fibre types and contents against the main distress types experienced by flexible pavements. Also, fibre distribution and orientation in the asphalt mixture are explored in this paper. The scanning electronic microscope images show the difference in the microstructure among fibre types. X-ray computed tomography investigation results indicate that steel fibres are present throughout the asphalt mixture specimen. The test results show that fibres have a notable impact on the stiffness modulus and fracture toughness of asphalt mixtures at 20 °C test temperature. In addition, fibres provide slightly improved fatigue life of fibre reinforced asphalt mixtures, mainly at low strain values. Furthermore, results indicate that there is no detrimental impact of fibres on either the tensile strength or the moisture damage resistance of such mixtures.

Citation

Mohammed, M., Parry, T., Thom, N., & Grenfell, J. (2020). Microstructure and mechanical properties of fibre reinforced asphalt mixtures. Construction and Building Materials, 240, Article 117932. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2019.117932

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Dec 20, 2019
• Online Publication Date: Jan 7, 2020
• Publication Date: Apr 20, 2020
• Deposit Date: Jan 10, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 8, 2021
• Journal: Construction and Building Materials
• Print ISSN: 0950-0618
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 240
• Article Number: 117932
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2019.117932
• Keywords: General Materials Science; Civil and Structural Engineering; Building and Construction
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/3702352
• Publisher URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0950061819333859
• Additional Information: This article is maintained by: Elsevier; Article Title: Microstructure and mechanical properties of fibre reinforced asphalt mixtures; Journal Title: Construction and Building Materials; CrossRef DOI link to publisher maintained version: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2019.117932; Content Type: article; Copyright: © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.