Non-Destructive Evaluation of Asphalt Concrete Materials Performance During their Life Cycle Based on Accelerated Pavement Testing

The characteristics of asphalt concrete materials (ACM) composing the surfacing layer of a bituminous pavement must fulfil a requirement to maintain a level of operational capability demanded by national standards of a given country. ACM’s are a subject to significant stress caused by traffic load and climate conditions, this leads to changes in their physico-mechanical properties. The loss of physico-mechanical properties causes deterioration of road surface characteristics. Since these changes occur throughout the ACM’s life cycle, it is necessary to know the deterioration curves related to loading and time in mathematical terms, i.e. functions describing the initiation and progression of pavement’s defect in time. Pavement Performance Models (PPM) ascertained by non-destructive testing are used to objectively express the surface properties of pavements and their deterioration. The methodology consists of an analytical method to ascertain physico-mechanical characteristics of ACM’s and the use of experimental accelerated pavement testing (APT) facilities.