Performance improvement of asphalt concretes using fiber reinforcement
Thaworn Takaikaew, Menglim Hoy, Suksun Horpibulsuk, Arul Arulrajah, Alireza Mohammadinia, Jitwadee Horpibulsuk
Abstract
This study reports on the laboratory performance, field performance and cost analysis of fiber-reinforced asphalt concrete (FR-AC) pavement using AC60/70 and polymer modified asphalt (PMA) as binders. The performance testing included indirect tensile resilient modulus, indirect tensile strength modulus, indirect tensile fatigue life, dynamic creep and wheel-tracker tests. Field trials of AC60/70 and PMA mixtures, were undertaken with and without fibers and the International Roughness Index, texture depth, and rutting of the mixtures were measured over time. The PMA + Fiber mixture exhibited the best performance among the materials tested. The performance of AC60/70 + Fiber mixture were comparable to PMA mixture. The improvement of both fatigue cracking and rutting were similar for AC60/70 + Fiber mixtures while the improvement of fatigue cracking was higher than rutting for the PMA mixtures. Since the performance of FR-AC was similar for both laboratory and plant mixed specimens, the laboratory mix design results can be used to interpret the field performance. The fiber reinforced AC60/70 mixture was found to be the most economical. The outcome of this research can be used as a guide, for establishing the specification of FR-AC pavement in Thailand and other countries using similar mix design.