Asphalt mix fracture energy based reflective cracking performance criteria for overlay mix selection and design for pavements in cold climates

• Published in: Construction & building materials Vol. 211; pp. 1025 - 1033
• Main Authors: Oshone, Mirkat, Dave, Eshan V., Sias, Jo E.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 30-06-2019; Reed Business Information, Inc. (US)
• Subjects: Asphalt concrete; Fracture energy; Material selection; Overlay thickness; Pavement cracking; Pavement maintenance; Properties; Reflective cracking; Total fracture resistance; Minnesota; Total fracture resistance; Pavement maintenance; Material selection; Fracture energy; Reflective cracking; Overlay thickness
• ISSN: 0950-0618; 1879-0526
• DOI: 10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2019.03.278

•Investigate dependence of overlay field cracking performance on overlay thickness.•Investigate dependence of overlay field cracking performance on fracture energy.•Propose a new performance parameter for reflective cracking performance evaluation.•Propose thresholds for selection of overlay thicknesses and material types.
This study investigates the dependence of overlay field cracking performance on overlay thickness and fracture energy of asphalt mixture. A total of 15 pavement sections in Minnesota for which Disk-shape Compact Tension (DCT) testing was performed on field cores from overlays were used for the study. Due to the difference in the overlay lives, different cracking performance measures such as average transverse cracking rate (ATCR), maximum transverse cracking rate (MTCR) and transverse cracking performance index (TCTotal) were calculated. These cracking performance measures were compared with asphalt overlay thicknesses and DCT fracture energies. The analysis indicated the dependence of TCTotal on both overlay thickness and fracture energy. The observed relationship was assessed for reliability using a statistical analysis and a new performance parameter that combines overlay thickness with fracture energy is proposed to provide measure of total fracture resistance of the overlay. Preliminary thresholds are also proposed for selection of overlay thicknesses and material types in new overlays.