Reliability study on rheological and cracking behavior of mastics using different sized particles

The objective of this present work was to evaluate the rheological and cracking behavior of mastics fabricated with different sized particles and asphalt types. Two asphalts (base and modified) and three fillers with different sized particles (C, M and F) were investigated. The rheological functions including the creep and recovery property and the fatigue property were measured by multiple stress creep-recovery (MSCR) and time sweep (TS) tests, respectively, while the cracking behavior of asphalt materials was investigated using extensile (ES) tests. Moreover, the dispersion characteristics of various sized particles inside a bituminous matrix and the associated mastic morphology were assessed by a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results revealed that the presence of coarse-sized particles in matrix increased the non-recoverable compliance and fracture energy but decreased fatigue life of the mastics. The presence of medium-sized particles in matrix enhanced the high-temperature elasticity recovery behavior and degraded the low-temperature fracture energy and the cohesive strength of asphalt mastics, regardless of asphalt types. When filler particle size dropped down to a minimum dimension, asphalt type had negligible effects on the fatigue response and exerted a positive effect on the low-temperature cohesive strength for the related mastics. In addition, the dispersion characteristics of various sized particles inside a bituminous matrix and the associated mastic morphology can account for the rheological response and cracking behavior of the corresponding mastics.