ABSTRACT
The results are discussed of a laboratory investigation on the fatigue resistance of Base Courses Asphalt (BCA) mixes, for road pavements, evaluated by means of the four-point bending test. The experimental analysis was performed on bituminous mixtures with Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (RAP), up to 40% by weight of the aggregate. Both conventional and polymer modified bitumen was used in the investigation. The mix design was based on volumetric (gyratory) and indirect tensile tests, on both wet and dry samples. The fatigue behaviour was evaluated at 20°C and 10 Hz, under strain control mode, by means of the conventional approach, based on the reduction in the initial stiffness modulus, as well as using a dissipated energy method focused on the Plateau Value concept. Between the different approaches used for the fatigue data analysis, it has been verified a qualitative consistency in the mixtures ranking, with a higher fatigue resistance presented by the polymer modified mixtures produced with RAP aggregates.
