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Fatigue Testing of Bituminous Binders

with a Dynamic Shear Rheometer


by
Hilde Soenen
Bernard Eckmann
AB NYNAS Petroleum
Group Competence Center
Nynashamn, Sweden

Technical Session
Keywords

:
:

Performance Testing and Specifications for Binder and Mix


Fatigue, Testing, Binder

Abstract
In literature, fatigue properties are most often measured on asphalt mixes, and little attention has
been given to a possible fatigue property of the binder itself. At the Nynas Group Competence
Center (GCC) a method to study the fatigue resistance of bituminous binders with a dynamic shear
rheometer is under development. Experimental evidence shows that repetitive shear oscillations can
generate a fatigue failure provided the stiffness is above a certain value, or indirectly that the
temperature is low enough. Crack formation and growth is seen as a steadily decrease in modulus
with increasing number of oscillations. Measurements have mostly been done under controlled
stress conditions, with initial strains varying from 0.004 to 0.015. Due to the fact that the fatigue
phenomenon is only observed at higher stiffness values (e.g. 20 to 50 MPa), one must however
ensure that the measurements are not biased by the compliance of the equipment.
As is well known for many other materials, the number of oscillations needed to produce failure
shows a linear dependency to the applied initial strain in a log-log plot. However, the slope and
position of these lines is binder specific, and changes with polymer modification or oxidative
ageing treatments. Up to now, no correlation with the SHRP fatigue parameter could be obtained
(binders with similar G*sin values may show very significantly different fatigue lines). An
intrinsic behaviour could be evidenced in the case of straight-run pure bitumens of the same crude
origin. When testing different penetration grades (in this case, ranging from 15 dmm to 90 dmm) at
a fixed stiffness level (thus at different temperatures), one obtains approximately a unique fatigue
line !
So far, only a limited number of direct comparisons between binder and asphalt mix fatigue lines is
available. These results show a good agreement in the case of pure bitumens but which is less
satisfactory in the case of polymer modified binders. The planned continuation for these investigations
is to evaluate the potential impact of rest periods.

Fatigue Testing of Bituminous Binders


with a Dynamic Shear Rheometer
by
Hilde Soenen
Bernard Eckmann
AB NYNAS Petroleum
Group Competence Center
Nynashamn, Sweden
This paper presents and evaluates a method to measure the fatigue behavior of bituminous binders,
using a dynamic shear rheometer. In literature, fatigue is mostly investigated on bituminous mixes,
and several experimental test methods are available (2). On the other hand, fatigue measurement on
bitumen itself only recently got some attention (4-6). One of the reasons is certainly the lack of a
convenient fatigue test for bitumen binders and the lack of experimental evidence showing its
impact on mix fatigue behavior. Fatigue tests on the bitumen binder however, provide the
advantage that no elaborate mix slabs need to be prepared, and that the influence of different mix
designs, including their statistical variations in compaction, is absent.
Fatigue failure, as considered herein, is a form of cracking resulting from repeated loading.
Engineering materials, like polymers, steel, ceramics, have been observed to fail as a result of the
repeated application of stresses at levels considerably below that required for immediate fracture. The
repeated stresses that are insufficient in magnitude to produce failure in one cycle nonetheless induce
damage in the material with every cycle. This damage accumulates and ultimately leads to failure.
Most often, S-N diagrams in which the logarithm of the magnitude of the alternating stress, or strain, is
plotted versus the logarithm of the number of cycles to failure, is used to represent fatigue test results.
In this paper we present experimental evidence that a fatigue induced cracking can take place in
bituminous binders, within certain limits of strain and stiffness, and show a means of measuring this
fatigue life on the binder directly. In addition, experimental difficulties and limitations of this method
will be discussed. In the course of this investigation, we have focused on the following parameters on
the fatigue life; the influence of bitumen stiffness (penetration grade), differences in fatigue behavior
upon changing from straight-run bitumen towards slightly and severely oxidized products, and the
influence of a polymer modification. At this time, the evaluation of the impact of the binder fatigue
properties on the fatigue behavior of asphalt mixes is still ongoing, but first directions can be
addressed.
Experimental approach
Sample Selection:
Four straight run bitumen, coming from the same crude origin and differing only in penetration grade,
were selected. In addition, one slightly and one severely oxidized product was used. Sample
properties are shown in Table 1. One of the straight run samples was also used after aging. The aging
procedure was chosen according to SHRP: RTFOT followed by PAV at 100C. In addition, different
PMB`s have been used and their composition will be given when the test results are presented.
Rheology:
A fatigue cracking was induced by applying continuous oscillatory shear loading using a Rheologica
Stress Tech rheometer. Plate-plate geometry (4mm radius) was chosen, and the measurements were

Table 1.

Properties of the different bituminous samples.

Sample ID
B15
B65
B90
B180
SOx35
Ox20

Description
Straight-run
Straight-run
Straight-run
Straight-run
Slightly oxidised
Severely-oxidised

Pen (mm/10)
17
70
94
192
35
20

R&B (C)
62
47
45
37.9
55
66.5

performed with a 2 mm gap setting, the reason for this will be discussed together with the experimental
difficulties. In order to observe fatigue cracking, the stiffness of the binder needs to be high enough.
For example the sample B90, showed a fatigue cracking at stiffness levels between 10 MPa and 50
MPa. In this range, repeated sinusoidal oscillations, controlled stress as well as controlled strain
deformations, lead after a certain number of loadings to an abrupt decrease in modulus. In case of
constant stress measurements, the sample completely breaks, and lower and upper plates are separated
after the test. In the case of controlled strain measurements, the decrease in modulus levels off at a
much lower value as the initial stiffness level. In these tests the frequencies were between 10Hz and
50Hz. Since the stiffness of the binders needs to be high, the different penetration grades could not be
compared at a constant temperature. Instead, they were compared at a constant value of G*. Thus, the
test temperatures were adapted.
Microscopy:
The microscopic photographs presented in this paper were made by Peter Westerlund, Bergstrm
Instrument AB, Solna, Sweden.

G*, (Pa)

1e+8

B90, 6.5oC
B15, 20o C
o
B65 + 3.5% SBS, 8.5 C
B90 + 5% EVA, 8.5oC

1e+7
1e+1

1e+2

1e+3

1e+4

Time, (s)

Figure 1: Time sweeps for different binders at the same initial


strain levels and with the same SHRP fatigue parameter.

Results and discussion


Fatigue observation:
Figure 1 represents an example of a time sweep resulting in fatigue damage. In this figure four binders
were evaluated, and a constant stress mode was used. The fatigue of the sample is observed as a
complete breakage, upper and lower plate are no longer connected. In constant stress tests, the time or
the number of oscillations needed to break the sample is taken as the fatigue time. In a similar way, a
constant strain can be applied to the sample and in this case, the stress will decrease as the stiffness
decreases. The rate of damage slows down as the stress becomes low. In controlled strain, the fatigue
time is taken as that time at which the stiffness is reduced by 50% of its initial value, in analogy with
fatigue mix tests. During fatigue damage, hairline cracks start to grow from the edge towards the
middle of the sample. A microscopic picture of the bitumen surface at bottom, respectively upper plate
is shown in figure 2A and 2B. If the sample is left at rest for a longer period of time, the cracks will
slowly heal and a smooth surface will be formed, figure 2C. The rate at which the cracks disappear
strongly depends on the bitumen stiffness and thus indirectly on the temperature.
In figure 3, the fatigue time is plotted as a function of strain. As strain increases, fewer oscillations are
necessary to produce fatigue damage, and this relation is linear in a logarithmic plot. This fatigue
damage occurs independent whether the initial strain is inside or outside the linear viscoelastic domain.
The measurements in figure 3 were performed using constant strain tests, but similar graphs are
obtained using constant stress tests, as will be shown later. In figure 3 the fatigue of a polymer
modified sample with a low polymer modification is also shown. In this case, the influence of the
polymer on the fatigue line is strain dependent and rather small for the higher strain levels tested here.

Figure 2A.

B15, bottom plate after fatigue


at 50Hz, 0.01 strain.

Figure 2B.

B15, upper plate after fatigue at


50Hz, 0.01 strain.

Figure 2C.

B15, after fatigue damage, left at room temperature for 3 days

Experimental considerations:
Since the stiffness of these samples is high, compliance errors may effect the measurements. To
investigate this, stiffness measurements for the same sample were made at different gap settings, as
shown in figure 4. As the gap decreases, compliance effects influence the measurements, and the
measured stiffness deviates from the true stiffness. The measurement at a gap of 2 mm is still similar
to the measurements made at higher gaps, for the stiffness range investigated here. This indicates that
compliance errors are inapplicable.
In order to improve the repeatability of these measurements, some other experimental factors had to be
controlled carefully: a good adhesion of the sample to both plates was assured by heating the samples
in the rheometer to a high temperature (60C-80C, depending on the samples stiffness) before
trimming and starting the measurement. Trimming had to be done very carefully in order to get a
constant outward bulge of the sample, and temperature gradients inside the sample had to be kept as
small as possible (<0.2C). This has required certain modifications to the temperature control of the
rheometer.
Evaluation of different parameters:
The different binders listed in table 1, were not compared at a constant temperature but at a constant
value of G*. So the test temperatures were adapted. After some initial testing under different
conditions, the final measurement conditions for these samples were set at 50Hz for the frequency,
and 20 MPa for G*, and the tests were performed under constant stress. In figure 5, the
measurement points and regression lines are shown. These bitumen differ only in penetration. The
test temperature for each sample is indicated in the graph. As one can see, all measurements seem
to be similar within the precision of this test, indicating that fatigue resistance is fairly independent
of the penetration grade as such, at least as long as the same crude origin and manufacturing process
is used. However, the stiffer samples will exhibit fatigue cracking at already much higher
temperatures than the softer grades. This independence of penetration grade was also found for
measurements under constant strain (not shown).
In figure 6, the measurements for straight-run together with oxidized samples are shown. Upon
oxidation the slopes of the lines become steeper, oxidized samples are more resistant to fatigue at
low levels of strain, but at high strain levels oxidized samples are very prone to fatigue failure.
For practical purposes, this would indicate that for roads with heavy traffic and thin layers, which
have high stresses and strains, highly oxidized products may show more fatigue cracking. On the
contrary, roads with thick layers and only light traffic, oxidized products may even become
beneficial regarding fatigue resistance. Furthermore, upon oxidation the temperatures at which
fatigue occurs in our test, are also higher than for straight run samples.
In this study, also aged and polymer modified samples were included. Aging has an effect similar
to oxidation. The fatigue line becomes steeper and more strain dependent. As a result of increasing
stiffness, the test temperature for the aged sample is higher compared to the non-aged product. For
Pmb samples, the polymer modification can have a positive effect on the fatigue behavior, as seen
in figures 1 and 3, but this positive effect was not always observed. Especially low volumes of
added polymers showed only little improvement.
Comparison with the SHRP fatigue parameter:
Finally, we have compared this fatigue failure with the SHRP parameter, G*.sin(phase) for fatigue. A
correlation could only be found for the 4 straight run, non modified samples, since their SHRP
parameters and fatigue lines were very alike. However, for (all) the oxidized and modified samples
used, no correlation could be found. An example is shown in figure 1, since these four binders were
actually evaluated at temperatures where they had the same SHRP parameter.

Time to failure, (s)

1e+5

1e+4

o
B65, 15 C
B65 + 3,5% SBS, 15oC
1e+3
0,01
Initial Strain

Figure 3: Repeatability test on fatigue measurements.

3.0 mm gap
2.5 mm
2.0 mm
1.5 mm
1.0 mm
0.47 mm
0.35 mm
cone-plate

G*, (Pa)

1e+8

1e+7

20

30

40

50

Phase, degree

Figure 4: Black curves measured at different gap settings.

60

B15, 33.0 C
Regr.
B65, 20.5o C
Regr.
o
B90, 18.0 C
Regr.
B180, 12.5o C
Regr.

Time to failure, (s)

10000

1000

100
0,001

0,01

0,1

Initial Strain

Figure 5: Time-initial strain plot for four bitumen


having different penetrations.

Time to failure, (s)

10000

Straight-run
Regr
Sox35, 24oC
Regr
o
Ox20, 29 C
Regr

1000

100
0,001

0,01
Initial Strain

Figure 6: Time-initial strain plot for straight-run


and oxidized samples.

0,1

Comparison with fatigue mix testing:


So far, only a limited number of direct comparisons between binder and asphalt mix fatigue lines were
made. In a first study, 5 straight-run and 5 polymer modified binders were compared regarding binderand mix-related fatigue properties. The test conditions such as temperature, frequency and in this case
the use of controlled stress, were exactly the same in both cases. These results showed a good
agreement in the case of pure bitumens; the position as well as the slopes of the fatigue lines were very
well alike. For the PMBs however, a less satisfactory agreement was found.
In a second comparative study, the same intrinsic fatigue behaviour as shown in Figure 5 could be
verified under controlled strain conditions for straight-run bitumens of different penetration grades.
When tested under equi-stiffness conditions (hence at different temperatures), the fatigue lines of
the binders were confounded. The same result was obtained for the fatigue lines measured on a mix
at the corresponding temperatures. Again, however, this agreement was not found when
contemplating polymer-modified binders. Additional tests are planned to clarify this issue.
On interpreting these fatigue lines, and their impact on fatigue cracking in asphalt mixes, it is clear
that the strain level, which the bitumen actually is exposed to in the asphalt mix, is crucial. Fatigue
damage increases with increasing strain, especially for oxidized and aged samples. Recent research
(3), has indicated that the actual strain levels in asphalt mixes is much higher, about 10 to 100
times, as the bulk strains to which mixtures are subjected. Because of the large difference in
stiffness between the binder and the aggregates, the bitumen domains will take most of the
deformation. And because of the non-uniformity of the binder domains, it is expected that there is a
complex strain distribution over these domains. In our comparison between binder and mix fatigue
life times, we also found a strain difference between the binder and the mix of about 100 times, in
order to obtain the same life time.
Conclusions
q
q
q
q
q
q

Below a certain temperature, bitumen binders exhibit fatigue cracking, which can be measured
by applying continuous cyclic shear loadings, as for example in a dynamic shear rheometer.
Different penetration grades have the same fatigues line if tested at a constant value for G*.
Upon oxidation and after aging, fatigue lines become more strain dependent.
Polymer modification can have a positive effect on the fatigue life, but this is not general.
No correlation with the SHRP fatigue parameter could be established.
So far, our results suggest a good correlation with fatigue mix tests for non-modified binders, less
correlation for PMB`s

References
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)

D.A. Anderson, D.W. Christensen, H.U. Bahia, R. Dongre, M.G. Sharma, J.J. Button, Binder
Characterization and evaluation, Volume 3, Physical characterization, SHRP-A-369 Report, The Strategic
Highway Research program, National research Council, Washington, D.C., 1994
S.C.S. Rao Tangella, J. Craus, J.A. Deacon, C.L. Monismith, Summary report on fatigue response of
asphalt mixtures, SHRP-A/IR-90-011-Report, The Strategic Highway Research program, National
research Council, Washington, D.C., 1990
H.U. Bahia, H. Zhai, K. Bonnetti, S. Kosi, Non-linear viscoelastic and fatigue properties of asphalt
binders, a paper submitted for presentation at the 1999 Annual Meeting of the Association of Asphalt
Paving Technologists, July 1998
V. Potscha, H. Schmidt, Fatigue life of polymer modified bitumen, Proc. Eurobitume Congress, Vol IA,
16-18 June, Stockholm, 1993
M.C. Phillips, Multi-step Models for Fatigue and Healing, and Binder Properties Involved in Healing,
Eurobitume Workshop 99 Performance Related Properties for Bituminous Binders, paper No. 115
H. Soenen, B. Eckmann, Binder-related Fatigue Properties studied by Rheology, V International
Conference Durable and Safe Road Pavements, Kielce 11-12 May 99

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