Study on fracture behavior of HMA mixtures under mixed mode I/III loading

This paper deals with the effect of mixed mode I/III loading on fracture resistance of hot mix asphalt (HMA) mixtures at a low temperature of −15 °C. In order to simulate mixed mode I/III loading, a new simple fracture test configuration using semi-circular bend (SCB) specimen containing a tilted crack was proposed by performing many finite element analyses. The SCB specimens were produced utilizing gyratory compaction machine. A simple three-point bend fixture was employed for loading the test specimens. Critical stress intensity factors were then calculated using fracture loads recorded from the fracture tests. It was found that by increasing the proportion of mode III in cracked road structures, the fracture resistance of HMA mixtures reduced significantly.