Use of Digital Image Correlation for the Evaluation of Flexural Fatigue Behavior of Asphalt Beams with Geosynthetic Interlayers

In this study, the flexural fatigue performance of two-layer asphalt beams with and without geosynthetic interlayers was evaluated with a digital image correlation (DIC) technique. A field scenario was simulated by considering an old, destressed pavement as the bottom layer with a compacted bituminous mix as an overlay. An appropriate tack coat and geosynthetic interlayer were at the interface. The digital images were recorded at a specific interval of load cycles during a repeated load four-point bending test. The displacement fields obtained from the digital images were analyzed so that the crack width, crack height, and tensile strains could be obtained and the crack initiation and propagation phenomena studied. The deformation data obtained from the DIC analysis were validated with the vertical deformations measured through linear variable differential transformers. The DIC results correlated very well with the measured data. The DIC data indicated that the tensile strains were as high as 4.75% at the crack tip in the control specimen compared with 1.42% in a polyester grid interlayered specimen at the failure of the corresponding specimens. With the inclusion of interlayers, the fatigue performance of the two-layer asphalt beam specimens improved by about 39, 12, and 1.7 times for Specimens I1, I2, and I3, respectively