From binder to mixture: experimental programme on permanent deformation behaviour

Asphalt mixture, the most common road construction material, comprises bitumen, filler, fine and coarse aggregates, and air voids. Traditionally and for simplification, the mixture is treated as a continuous and homogenous material confined in the domain of linear behaviour. The demand for more durable roads, particularly with the progressive growth in traffic volumes and loads, has raised the requirement for improved design methods. Wisely, before the complex adoption of the nonlinear behaviour, understanding the nature of the internal stress-strain relationships at different scales and determining their linearity limits is essentially required taking into consideration the time and temperature dependency. So far, most experimental programs have been concerned with testing either asphalt mixture or bitumen in isolation. This thesis is intended to establish a systematic experimental investigation from binder to the asphalt mixture scale in terms of permanent deformation behaviour. Preliminary conclusions of the components contributions, their interactions, and the effect on the total macroscopic response are drawn from the experimental observations. Investigation of the fillers influence on the viscoelastic property of the mastic (filler +bitumen) binder in the dynamic shear rheometer (DSR), results exhibited that binder behave nonlinearly at high shear stress levels and the linearity range reduces with increasing filler content and/or raising the temperature. Although filler inclusion increased the deformation resistance (stiffness) of the binder, its recoverability decreased. Consequently, a new binder rutting evaluation test was designed to distinguish between the two rutting resistance mechanisms; stiffness and recovery. Results from the new test indicated that the linearity of the modified binders begins after an initial inherent nonlinearity stage and before a secondary nonlinearity stage triggered by the applied state of stresses in the DSR. A new designed mortar type was developed from the mastic and originated from a standard asphalt mixture. The focus of this part in the research emphasised on measuring the stiffening effect of fine aggregates utilising a constitutive stress-strain relationship and determining the influence on the viscoelastic behaviour. Results indicated that the stiffening effect varies depending on the stress condition (uniaxial, triaxial, or shear), temperature, fine aggregate gradation, and binder with filler content. The stress linearity limit was also found to vary at different degrees with the previous parameters. Uniaxial compression constant stress and strain rate tests were conducted on asphalt mixtures of different aggregate gradations at 30 and 500C. X-ray CT was incorporated to characterise the coarse aggregates and air voids through advanced image analysis techniques. The test was shown to be insensitive to the asphalt mixture type in terms of air voids uniformity. Mixtures of coarse aggregates produced larger size and smaller number of air voids, opposite to the fine aggregate ones. Comparing the stiffening effect between fine and coarse aggregates, it was revealed that the air void content is a key factor. Finally, the radial strain as measured along the height followed the pattern of air void distribution in the specimen and exhibited both tensile and compressive forms