Fénix test: development of a new test procedure for evaluating cracking resistance in bituminous mixtures

This paper presents a new direct tensile test to evaluate cracking resistance of asphalt concrete mixtures called Fénix test. First, the literature on cracking factors and mechanisms of bituminous mixtures as well as current tests to measure cracking properties are reviewed. Next, the Fénix test is described and some initial experimental results of the influence of variables such as binder type and content and test temperature are provided. Additionally, test repeatability and sensitivity are statistically analyzed. Correlations between parameters obtained by the Fénix test and the three-point bending beam fatigue test are also shown. Finally, the main conclusions of this work are summarized. These conclusions confirm that the Fénix test is a practical and efficient method for characterizing cracking behaviour of asphalt concrete mixtures as far as the studied variables are concerned