Fatigue cracking in asphalt mixtures: the effects of ageing and temperature

Bituminous mixtures are viscoelastic materials whose mechanical performance is highly influenced by temperature. In addition, during their service life, these types of materials suffer an ageing process that induces an increase in bitumen viscosity and therefore, a variation in the response of the mixture. The changes produced by these phenomena are mainly manifested in terms of stiffness, which could exert a considerable influence on the fatigue cracking resistance of asphalt materials. In this respect, this article attempts to provide a better understanding of the effect of temperature and ageing on the bituminous mixtures' resistance to cracking. For this purpose, the rheological response of the binder has been correlated with the mechanical performance of the bituminous mixture. Results obtained showed that binder ageing has a negative impact on fatigue cracking resistance of asphalt mixtures, which would be more notable as the temperature increases.