Performance Evaluation of Fiber Reinforced Asphalt Concrete

摘要

Literature review, site condition surveys, and laboratory tests were conducted toassess the porformance of asphalt concrete pavements reinforced by synthetic fibers (mainly polyester fibers and polypropylene fibers) in the present study. Based on available research reports, fiber reinforcement was found, in most instances, to be able to delay reflective crack formation in asphalt concrete pavements for up to two years. However, addition of fibers did not seem to significantly enhance the rutting resistance of fiberized sections. Similar conclusions were also derived based on the existing site condition surveys. Uniaxial creep test, fatigue test, resilient modulus test, indirect tensile strength test, and Marshall stability test were performed in the laboratory to evaluate the effectiveness of fibers in resisting crack formation and rutting in asphalt concrete pavements. It was found that reinforcement provided by fibers does increase the fracture energy and indirect tensile strength, which indicates a better crack resistance provided by the fiberized mixes. However, test results obtained from uniaxial creep test and loaded-wheel test indicated that utilization of fibers may not be a very effective solution for rutting problems observed in asphalt concrete pavements. A more rigorous field test was recommended to verify the findings reported in this project.