Determination and prediction of crack patterns in hot mix asphalt (HMA) mixtures

This paper presents a comparison between predicted and measured crack patterns developing in hot mix asphalt (HMA) mixtures during common fracture tests. A digital image correlation (DIC) System was applied to obtain displacement/strain fields and for detecting crack patterns. The resulting cracking behavior was predicted using a displacement discontinuity boundary element method to explicitly model the microstructure of HMA. The predicted fracture initiation and crack propagation patterns are consistent with observed cracking behavior. The results imply that fracture in mixtures can be modeled effectively using a micro-mechanical approach and that crack propagation patterns can be captured using the DIC System.