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Prediction of Fatigue Cracking in Flexible and Semi-rigid Asphalt Pavement Sections

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Abstract

The prediction of asphalt pavement performance has been the focus of many studies. The characterization of fatigue resistance has been proposed by means of laboratory testing, field data evaluation, and numerical and analytical models. In relation to laboratory characterization, there is no consensus on which test should be performed, on the failure criterion, on the test conditions or on the specimens’ geometry. For asphalt mixtures, the most common tests are the cyclic indirect tension test (ITT), the four-point bending beam test (4PBBT), and the tension–compression (push–pull) test. The present research characterized one hot mix asphalt (HMA), and the results were used in different performance models, including the newly proposed mechanistic-empirical design method for Brazilian asphalt pavements. The results indicate that the conventional prediction model provided by the mechanistic-empirical pavement design guide (MEPDG) tends to overestimate the fatigue life of analyzed asphalt pavement. The main reason for this is attributed to the fact that this model does not consider relevant inputs, such as base layer stiffness, climate conditions, and the viscoelastic characteristics of the asphalt mixture. The proposed Brazilian design method resulted in predicted values of cracked areas that were similar to the values observed in the field, which highlights the importance of the use of models calibrated with respect to local conditions.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support of Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) (Grant no. 1456520), Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), Petrobras, Agência Nacional de Transportes Terrestres (ANTT) and Arteris Concessionary.

Funding

This work was supported by the Resources for Technological Development (RDT) of Fernão Dias Concession, under the National Land Transport Agency (ANTT) regulation, by the Project No. 001319 and the Contract No. 1.589/13.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Transportation Engineering, Universidade de São Paulo, Av. Professor Almeida Prado, Travessa do Biênio, No. 83, Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, SP, 05508-070, Brazil

    Iuri Bessa, Kamilla Vasconcelos & Liedi Bernucci

  2. Department of Transportation Engineering, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Campus do Pici, 703, Pici, Fortaleza, CE, 60440-554, Brazil

    Verônica Castelo Branco

  3. Centro de Pesquisas, Desenvolvimento e Inovação Leopoldo Américo Miguez de Mello (CENPES), Av. Horácio Macedo, 950, Cidade Universitária, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 21941-915, Brazil

    Luis Alberto Nascimento

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  1. Iuri Bessa
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  2. Kamilla Vasconcelos
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  3. Verônica Castelo Branco
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  4. Luis Alberto Nascimento
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  5. Liedi Bernucci
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Contributions

Data collection: IB and LAN; analysis and interpretation of results: IB, KV, VCB, LAN, and LB; draft manuscript preparation: IB. All the authors reviewed the results and approved the final version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Iuri Bessa.

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Bessa, I., Vasconcelos, K., Castelo Branco, V. et al. Prediction of Fatigue Cracking in Flexible and Semi-rigid Asphalt Pavement Sections. Int. J. Pavement Res. Technol. 16, 563–575 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42947-021-00148-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42947-021-00148-5

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