Materials and Design 31 (2010) 3194–3206

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Materials and Design

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Investigation into material optimization and development for improved

ravelling resistant porous asphalt concrete
L.T. Mo a,b,*, M. Huurman a, M.F. Woldekidan a, S.P. Wu b, A.A.A. Molenaar a
a
Road and Railway Engineering, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands
b
Key Laboratory of Silicate Materials Science and Engineering of Ministry of Education, Wuhan University of Technology, PR China

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Ravelling, the loss of aggregate from the pavement surface, is the dominant defect of noise reducing por-
Received 10 December 2009 ous asphalt wearing courses. Meso-mechanical simulations of porous asphalt concrete (PAC) under a
Accepted 13 February 2010 moving tyre passage were performed to get insight into the in-mixture stresses. The simulation results
Available online 17 February 2010
showed that ravelling developed over a wide range of temperatures and that particularly low or high
temperatures were critical. Ravelling resistance at high temperatures strongly depends on the confining
Keywords: stresses that follow from the pavement deflection. However, the tensile strains induced by the combined
A. Concrete
effect of pavement deflection and thermal contraction are the main cause for ravelling at low tempera-
E. Fatigue
H. Failure analysis
tures. Material optimization by changing mortar or bitumen properties can result in a significant
improvement on ravelling resistance. A flexible bituminous binder with ample relaxation behaviour
showed to give an optimal performance for ravelling resistance. Adhesive failure and cohesive failure
are the failure mechanisms within the stone contact and the weak link is responsible for ravelling. Adhe-
sive failure is predominant at low temperatures, while cohesive failure is the main cause at high temper-
atures. Aging mainly enhances the high-temperature ravelling performance, but dramatically degrades
low-temperature ravelling performance.
Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Approximately 90% of the Dutch primary road network has a
noise reducing porous asphalt wearing course. The benefit of the
use of porous asphalt concrete (PAC) with more than 20% in situ
void content on traffic noise reduction is satisfactory. However,
the durability of PAC is a big challenge in the Netherlands. Com-
pared to traditional dense asphalt mixtures that have a service life
of approximately 18 years, the average service life of porous as-
phalt (PA) mixtures is limited to 10–12 years. The large amount
of pores dramatically reduces the strength and fatigue resistance
of PAC, which is reflected by its vulnerability to ravelling, that is,
the loss of aggregate from the pavement surface. Ravelling is the
dominant defect resulting in frequent road maintenance and thus
in reduced road network availability.
Ravelling is a mixture associated problem and it is in fact a type
of failure that finds its cause within stone-to-stone contact regions.
This implies that the processes responsible for ravelling take place
at meso-scale of millimetres. A meso-mechanistic tool (Lifetime
* Corresponding author. Address: Room 2.34, CiTG, TUdelft, P.O. Box 5048, 2600
GA Delft, The Netherlands. Tel.: +31 0 15 27 84019; fax: +31 0 15 27 83443.
E-mail addresses: molt@whut.edu.cn, l.mo@tudelft.nl (L.T. Mo).
Optimization Tool, LOT) that allows ravelling analysis was thus
developed at the Delft University of Technology [1–4]. LOT is fo-
cused on meso-structural geometry of course aggregates bonded
by mortar that consists of filler, fine sand and bitumen. By applica-
tion of finite element modelling, LOT basically translates the mov-
ing traffic loadings, mixture geometry and mortar response into
stress and strain signals at various locations within the mixture.
Life expectancy can be estimated by interpretation of the com-
puted stress and strain signals. Finally, LOT predicts what type of
failure (i.e. adhesive failure where the mortar meets the aggregate
surface, or cohesive failure within the mortar bridges that connects
neighbouring coarse aggregate particles) that results in ravelling
and the number of tyre passages is required to cause this type of
failure. It also provides information on which material component
properties should be changed to achieve a better ravelling resis-
tance and thus a longer life. Information on LOT application and
validation can be found elsewhere [5–7].
Numerous attempts on the use of modified bitumen to improve
ravelling resistance had been made. However, the observations in
field showed that the results were not satisfactory with what
was intended [8–12]. It indicates that fundamental knowledge is
still required for material development and optimization that en-
ables to design durable PA mixtures. As mentioned previously,
LOT may serve as a tool for this purpose.

0261-3069/$ - see front matter Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.matdes.2010.02.026
 L.T. Mo et al. / Materials and Design 31 (2010) 3194–3206
This study aims to provide some fundamental knowledge on
improved ravelling resistance on the basis of material properties,
i.e. response and fatigue. This knowledge will be great of impor-
tance towards the development of performance-based specifica-
tions. To this end, LOT simulations will be discussed by means of
a representative case. This representative case focuses on traffic
loads, pavement structures and mixtures that are typically used
in the Netherlands. Apart from the direct tyre–road contact force
that acts on the pavement surface, the effects of deflection bowl
of the whole pavement and temperature fluctuation during a day
were also taken into account in the meso-scale model. Simulations
at various temperatures (10 °C, 0 °C, 10 °C, and 20 °C) were con-
ducted to investigate the effect of changes of mortar properties
on the ravelling resistance. After getting better insight into ravel-
ling resistance, discussions on materials properties and failure
mechanisms are presented for the purpose of material optimiza-
tion and development.
2. LOT simulations: a representative case
In this study, finite element simulations on PAC subjected to
moving tyre loadings and thermal loadings were considered on a
representative case (see Fig. 1). Since LOT is a meso-scale model
and thus limited to a length of approximately 10 times of the rep-
resentative aggregate size, the deflection of a whole pavement
structure has to be fed to the model by prescribing deformation
at the boundary conditions [5,6]. Fig. 2 gives an illustration. The di-
rect tyre-road contact force was applied to the individual surface
aggregate particles (see Fig. 1). The thermal loadings due to tem-
perature fluctuations within a 24-h period were considered by
adding an additional horizontal stress. For reasons of simplicity,
use was made of standard axle load, representative traffic, a typical
Dutch pavement structure as well as commonly used material
properties of various structural layers. However, the mortar re-
sponse properties, which are very important for stress and strain
calculations at meso-scale, were determined on the basis of an
extensive test program in the LOT project [1–4]. The wearing
course was assumed to be a typical Dutch PA, PA 0/16 mixture. Ta-
ble 1 gives the mixture composition of PA 0/16 that was used in
this study.
Direct tyre-road contact force
Pavement structure
2
1 As shown in Fig. 5, the idealized model considers perfectly
1 = adhesive failure
Thermal loading within 24hours 2 = cohesive failure
Fig. 1. Illustration on LOT simulations taking into account the direct tyre–road
contact force, thermal loading over a 24-h period and the effect of pavement
deflection.
3195
2.1. Standard axle load and representative traffic
A standard axle load of 50 kN wheel load applied via a Good
Year 425R65 super single tyre was considered. The contact patch
is assumed to be 330 mm in width and 170 mm in length. The
above leads to an average contact stress of 0.891 MPa. When a nor-
mal speed of 76.5 km/h is considered, one can compute that 8 ms is
required for the tyre to pass over a certain point. In the following
simulations, only non-driven, i.e. free rolling was considered. The
contact stresses as applied in the vertical and longitudinal direc-
tions were given in Fig. 3. These contact stresses were applied to
the individual aggregate particles at the top row of the meso-scale
model. More information on how to translate the tyre–road contact
stresses into the moving loadings of a meso-scale model can be
found elsewhere [13,14]. Furthermore, a value of 10,000 load rep-
etitions of an equivalent standard 100 kN axle at the slow lane per
day is assumed as a representative number.
2.2. Representative pavement and computed deflection bowls
Table 2 gives the thicknesses of various layers of a typical Dutch
pavement structure that was considered in this study. The corre-
sponding material properties are also listed in Table 2. It should
be noted that these material parameters are based on the Dutch
design method for asphalt pavements on motorways [15].
WESLEA, a well-known software tool for Linear elastic multi
layer analyses, was used to compute the deflection bowl of the
pavement listed in Table 2. The standard axle load of a 50 kN wheel
load as described previously was loaded to the model. Deflections
were computed up to 2000 mm away from the load centre at 5 mm
and 27.5 mm depth. Computations were made for temperatures of
10 °C, 0 °C, +10 °C and +20 °C. Deflections at 15,000 mm were
considered to be neglected and an exponential function was ap-
plied to extrapolate deflections further than 2000 mm away from
the load centre. The obtained deflection bowls are shown in
Fig. 4. As mentioned earlier, these deflections will be used to de-
scribe the deformation of meso-scale model of PAC during a tyre
passage (see Fig. 2).
2.3. Representative PA mixture
Due to the very complex material composition, modelling of the
structural geometry of PAC requires simplifications. To enable
structural modelling, the structure of PAC was simplified to the fol-
lowing phases: (1) coarse aggregates, i.e. larger than 2 mm; repre-
sented by spherical grains with an equivalent size, which is
determined as 9.8 mm according to the aggregate grading given
in Table 1; (2) mortar consisting of bitumen, filler and fine aggre-
gates, i.e. smaller than 0.5 mm; (3) air voids and (4) the adhesive
zones where the mortar meets the aggregate surface [16,17].
For practical reasons, use is made of a 2D idealized model and
calculations were done by means of ABAQUS package (version
6.6-1). Fig. 5 gives an overview of the model on a representative
PA mixture. The model is generated on the basis of the mixture
composition as listed in Table 1.
round spheres bound together via mortar bridges. The aggregate
particles are modelled by using rigid bodies. It is acceptable that
the aggregate particles are modelled as rigid bodies given the huge
difference in stiffness between aggregate and mortar. The aggre-
gate particles themselves are not visible and formed by implemen-
tation of restraints forming rigid bodies. The model consists of
three rows of aggregate particles enclosed in a mortar film. The
mortar films closer to the middle of the model are of special inter-
est therefore they are modelled using a finer element mesh.
3196 L.T. Mo et al. / Materials and Design 31 (2010) 3194–3206

30 m
V = 76.5 km/h

Deflection bowl

110mm

2D idealized meso-scale model

Fig. 2. Illustration of deflection bowl and its effect on the deformation of 2D idealized meso-scale model.

Table 1
PA 0/16 mixture composition for LOT simulation.

Sieve size (mm) 16 11.2 8 5.6 2 0.5 0.063

Cumulative percentage (%) 0–7 15–30 50–65 70–85 85 – 95.5
Aggregate grading design (%) 3.5 22.5 57.5 77.5 85 91.2 96
SBS modified bitumen content: 4.5% by weight of the total aggregate
Air void content: 20% by volume of total asphalt mixture
Density of bitumen: 1020 kg/m3; density of aggregate and filler: 2650 kg/m3

edges of the model. More detailed information of LOT generation

1
can be found elsewhere [1].
0.8
Vertical stress
2.4. Material component behaviour
Contact stress [MPa]

0.6
longitudinal stress
0.4 A long-term aged SBS modified mortar with a mass ratio of
0.34:0.30:0.36 (bitumen:filler:fine sand) was considered in the
0.2
simulations. The response and fatigue properties of the used mor-
0 tar were determined on the basis of an extensive laboratory test
0 0.002 0.004 0.006 0.008 0.01 program in the LOT project. More information on mortar labora-
-0.2 tory testing can be found elsewhere [4]. The mortar response
behaviour is described by means of a Prony series model [3].
-0.4
Time [s] !
X
n  t

Fig. 3. Illustration of the moving tyre–road contact stresses over a certain point. EðtÞ ¼ E0  1  ai 1  esi
ð1Þ
i¼1

where E(t) = stiffness as function of time (MPa); E0 = instantaneous

Only the five aggregate particles closest to the centre of the
model are fitted with a layer of thin elements that represent the
adhesive zone. This adhesive zone is modelled by using an ABAQUS
element (code: COH2D4) and each node has 2° of freedom, e.g. nor-
mal and tangential traction components [18].
In the 2D model use is made of rigid body aggregate particles to
limit the mathematical size of the model. For the same reason the
mortar film surrounding the particles is meshed coarsely at the
stiffness (MPa); ai = stiffness reduction parameter (); si = time
constant (s) and t = time (s).
Table 3 gives the response parameters of the used mortar and
the stiffness parameters of the adhesive zones. The adhesive zone
stiffness was estimated based on the mortar stiffness and the
thickness of the adhesive zone, i.e. 10 lm. In effect, the adhesive
zone was simulated by considering a very thin bitumen film by
means of an ABAQUS element (code: COH2D4).

Table 2
Representative structural design of a Dutch motorway pavement [15].

Material Thickness (mm) Poisson’s ratio () Stiffness (MPa)

10 °C 0 °C +10 °C 20 °C
Porous asphalt 50 0.35 10,475 8625 6000 3750
Dense asphalt 200 0.35 20,950 17,250 12,000 7500
Unbound base 225 0.4 400
Sand sub base 1000 0.4 100
Subgrade 1 0.4 55
 L.T. Mo et al. / Materials and Design 31 (2010) 3194–3206 3197

Longitudinal distance [mm] Longitudinal distance [mm]

-15000 -10000 -5000 0 5000 10000 15000 -2000 -1000 0 1000 2000
0.00 0.10

Deflection @ 5 mm depth [mm]

Deflection @ 5 mm depth [mm]

0.05
0.15
0.10

0.15 0.20
-10°C
0.20 0.25 -10°C
0°C
0.25 0°C
+10°C
0.30 +10°C
0.30 +20°C
+20°C
0.35 0.35

Fig. 4. Deflections at 5 mm below the pavement surface as a function of asphalt temperature.

Finer mortar elements Thin interface elements

Interface element

Interface element
Mortar element

Fig. 5. 2D idealized meso-scale model of porous asphalt concrete, PA 0/16.

Table 3
Prony response parameters and adhesive zone stiffness.

Mortar response 10 °C 0 °C +10 °C +20 °C

i ai () si (s)
1 0.248513 0.00825 0.00023 7.8E-06 3.4E07
2 0.041772 0.04063 0.00113 3.9E-05 1.7E06
3 0.089259 0.20005 0.00558 0.00019 8.1E06
4 0.182293 0.98504 0.02749 0.00094 4E-05
5 0.15219 4.85024 0.13538 0.00461 0.0002
6 0.115648 23.882 0.6666 0.02268 0.00097
7 0.074913 117.592 3.28227 0.11168 0.00479
8 0.049458 579.01 16.1615 0.5499 0.02358
9 0.022485 2850.98 79.5775 2.70763 0.11612
10 0.010191 14037.9 391.83 13.3321 0.57175
11 0.00716 69120.8 1929.33 65.6455 2.81523
12 0.003601 340,343 9499.77 323.231 13.8619
13 0.001616 16,75,809 46775.8 1591.55 68.2542
E0 = 5284 MPa m = 0.45
Adhesive zone stiffness Ks (MPa/mm) 114,702 112,935 75,447 29,923
Kn (MPa/mm) 332,636 327,512 218,796 86,778
3198 L.T. Mo et al. / Materials and Design 31 (2010) 3194–3206

"r ðt Þþr ðt Þ#n

E G X
m e iþ1 e i
Kn ¼ and K s ¼ with E ¼ 2ð1 þ mÞ  G ð2Þ DðtÞ ¼ 2
 Dt ð6Þ
d d r0
i¼1
where Kn = normal stiffness of adhesive zone (MPa/mm); Ks = shear P
stiffness of adhesive zone (MPa/mm); d = thickness of adhesive where D(t) = the accumulated damage at time t ¼ m i¼1 t i ;
zone, 0.01 mm; G = shear complex modulus of mortar (MPa); re(ti) = the equivalent tensile stress at time ti (MPa); re(ti+1) = the
E = uniaxial tensile complex modulus of mortar (MPa); m = Pois- equivalent tensile stress at time ti+1 (MPa); Dt = ti+1  ti, the time
son’s ratio, m = 0.45. increment (s); r0 = model parameter (MPa) and n = model
As indicated in Fig. 1, cohesive failure within the mortar bridges parameter.
may result in ravelling. To explain the mortar fatigue behaviour, a When the damage accumulation reaches the value of one, it
practical mortar fatigue model based on the dissipated energy con- indicates that failure occurs. The life expectancy of the adhesive
cept was developed for the life predictions using the stress and zone was determined by the reciprocal of the cumulative damage
strain signals as determined by means of LOT [2,7]. The fatigue in 1 cycle.
model is using the following equation.
1
As indicated in Fig. 1, cohesive failure within the mortar bridges Nf ¼ ð7Þ
Dð1Þ
may result in ravelling. To explain the mortar fatigue behaviour, a
practical mortar fatigue model based on the dissipated energy con- where D(1) = the accumulative damage in only one repetition.
cept was developed for the life predictions using the stress and Adhesive zone laboratory tests were done on two types of stone,
strain signals as determined by means of LOT [2,7]. The fatigue i.e. greywacke and sandstone as well as the same SBS modified
model is using the following equation: bitumen that was used in the mortar. Test results showed that
 b the fatigue characteristics of these two material combinations are
W initial cycle
Nf ¼ ð3Þ similar [2,7]. Since the interest is in the fatigue behaviour of a rep-
W0
resentative Dutch motorway pavement, computations were made
where b = material constant (); W0 = reference energy (MPa); using the average fatigue behaviour of adhesive zones of these
Winitial_cycle = dissipated energy per cycle in initial phase (MPa). two types of stone. Based on the available data the model param-
The value of Winitial_cycle were determined by the total area of eters are derived and given in Table 5.
various stress–strain hysteresis loops by:
X Z 2.5. Temperature fluctuations
W initial cycle ¼ W ij ¼ rij deij
X rij ðt þ DtÞ þ rij ðtÞ 
Since the aggregate particles are simulated as rigid bodies, LOT
¼  eij ðt þ DtÞ  eij ðtÞ ð4Þ can not be used for the calculation of thermal stress. A model in
2 which the aggregate particles are represented as physical bodies
Where rij = stress components (MPa) and eij = strain components. was developed (see Fig. 6). The aggregate particles in this model
Table 4 gives the model parameters for the used mortar at 0 °C were modelled linear elastically with E = 50,000 MPa and
and +10 °C. No information was available for mortar fatigue at m = 0.25. The mortar was modelled by the visco-elastic behaviour
temperatures of 10 °C and +20 °C. by means of the Prony series model as described earlier. The linear
Apart from cohesive failure within the mortar bridge, adhesive thermal expansion coefficient was chosen as 6.6  106/°C for
failure at the mortar–aggregate interfacial zone may contribute to stone aggregates and 2.5  105/°C for mortar [20].
ravelling. To obtain insight into the fatigue characteristics of the Four daily average temperatures (i.e. 10 °C, 0 °C, 10 °C and
mortar–stone interfacial zone, specimens that consist of two stone 20 °C) were considered. The change of temperature within 24 h
columns bonded by a very thin bitumen film in between were pre- was modelled by a sinusoidal signal and the difference in temper-
pared and tested [4]. Hereafter, these stone–bitumen–stone sand- ature between the day and the night was chosen as 10 °C. For the
wich structures are referred to as adhesive zones. For the damage reasons of simplicity, constant mortar response properties at each
development in the adhesive zone, a damage model is developed daily average temperature were considered in simulating the effect
based on a linear damage accumulation rule combined with the of temperature fluctuations within 24 h.
Mohr–Coulomb failure criterion [2,7,19]. As shown in Fig. 6, movements in the mortar surfaces at the
edges of the model are fully restrained. As temperature increases
re jsj or reduces, the mortar and aggregate particles tend to expand or
D_ ¼ ð Þn for re > 0; D_ ¼ 0 for re < 0 with re ¼ rn þ ð5Þ
r0 tg/ contract. Due to the boundary conditions, expansion in response
to heating results in thermal compressive stress, while contraction
where D_ = the rate of damage; D_ = 0 for re < 0; re = equivalent ten-
on cooling leads to tensile stresses. The resultant stresses are al-
sile stress (MPa); rn = normal stress (MPa) ( for compression and +
lowed to relax over time depending on mortar’s relaxation
for tension); s = the shear stress (MPa); / = the internal friction an-
behaviour.
gle (°); t = time (s).
Each aggregate particle at the top row has four contacts with
Fist of all, the model translates the combined action of normal
the neighbouring particles and these contacts are numbered as
and shear stresses into an equivalent tensile stress by using the
indicated in Fig. 6. Contacts 1 and 4 at the horizontal direction
Mohr–Coulomb failure criterion. The damage development of any
(which are called horizontal contacts hereafter) are highly stressed
stress signal is then determined by the sum of the various damage
compared to Contacts 2 and 3 at the bottom (which are referred as
increments.
Table 5
Damage accumulation parameters for adhesive zones.
Table 4
Fatigue parameters for mortar. Temperature r0 (MPa) n () / (°)
10 °C 20.63 2.74 70.2
Temperature W0 (MPa) b ()
0 °C 12.18 5.14 25.1
0 °C 0.522 2.702 10 °C 10.56 3.56 31.9
10 °C 0.502 2.728 20 °C 8.35 3.17 35.5
 L.T. Mo et al. / Materials and Design 31 (2010) 3194–3206 3199

High tensile stresses

Mortar
Stone
1 4
2 3

Fig. 6. Model for determination of the in-mixture temperature stress (upper: overview; bottom–left: zoom-in; bottom–right: thermal stress).

bottom contacts hereafter). Fig. 7 gives the obtained results at the 1. The relevant loadings are well reflected in the stress signals and
horizontal contacts at various daily average temperatures. As can three phases can be distinguished: In Phase I, the stone contact
be seen, only at 10 °C, the thermal stress becomes quite signifi- region is subjected to the combined effects of pavement deflec-
cant. This may attributes to the dramatic degradation of bitumen’s tion, direct tyre–road contact force and temperature loading. In
relaxation behaviour as temperature decreases. It should be noted Phase II, the tyre wheel is coming or going and thus the com-
that the computed thermal stress will be considered as an addi- bined effects of pavement deflection and temperature play an
tional material stress for the LOT simulations, which only take into important role. When the wheel has run far away, only temper-
account the effect of traffic loadings. ature loading remains as indicated in Phase III.
2. Compared with the bottom contacts of the top-row aggregate,
3. Computational results the horizontal contacts are heavily stressed. The stress states
in the horizontal contacts are more complex than the stress
The simulations discussed above enable us to get insight in the states in the bottom contacts. As indicated in Fig. 9, the bottom
stress development in the adhesive zones and the mortar bridges contacts are mainly subjected to compressive stresses.
due to the combined action of traffic loadings (direct tyre–road 3. The phase that is likely to cause failure is dependant on temper-
contact force and the effect of deflection) and thermal loadings. ature. At high temperatures (i.e. 20 °C), Phase I seems to make
In the 2D idealized model, the main particle of interest is the cen- the main contribution to failure, indicated by the fact that the
tral particle in the upper row. This aggregate particle has four con- direct tyre–road contact forces are predominant. As tempera-
tacts with the surrounding material (see Fig. 6). The stress in these ture decreases, Phase II replaces Phase I as the decisive phase
four contacts will be discussed hereafter. and during this phase, the effect of pavement deflection
Figs. 8 and 9 give the results of the adhesive zone stresses at the accounts for failure. Further reduced temperature will result
horizontal (1 and 4) and bottom (2 and 3) contacts, respectively. It in a significant increase of the effect of the thermal stress and
should be noted that all the simulations were made by applying a thus enhances the contribution of Phase II.
tyre passage at the lowest temperature within a 24-h period. As a 4. The confinement that follows from pavement deflection plays
result, the material components are subjected to the maximum an important role on resisting the shear force induced by the
thermal tensile stress within a day. For comparison purpose, the tyre–road interaction. Since the deflection bowls are strongly
combined action of normal and shear stresses was further trans- dependant on the quality of the base of a pavement structure,
lated into an equivalent tensile stress by means of Mohr–Coulomb the computed deflection varies within ±15% as temperature
failure criterion as described previously. Based on these figures, the changes (see Fig. 5). The asphalt stiffness controls the magni-
following observations are made: tude of the confining stresses that follow from the pavement

0.2 0.2
-10C
Adhesive zone normal stress [MPa]

0.15 0.15
0C
0.1 10C 0.1
Mortar stress [MPa]

0.05 20C 0.05

0 0
9 12 15 18 21 24 27 30 33
-0.05 -0.0008 -0.0004 -0.05 0 0.0004 0.0008
-10C
-0.1 -0.1
0C
-0.15 -0.15 10C
20C
-0.2 -0.2
Time [h] Strain [-]

Fig. 7. Computed adhesive zone normal stress in horizontal contacts (left) and mortar stress–strain hysteresis loops in horizontal contacts (right).
3200 L.T. Mo et al. / Materials and Design 31 (2010) 3194–3206

1
I
0.5 III II II III
0

Stress [MPa]
-0.5 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4
Shear@20C Time [s]
-1 Normal@20C
Shear@10C
-1.5 Normal@10C
-2 Shear@0C
Shear@0C
-2.5 Shear@-10C
Normal@-10C
-3
Translate into equivalent tensile stress
1
II I II
0.5
Stress [MPa]

0
-0.5 0.6 0.65 0.7 0.75
Time [s]
0.8

-1 Equ. tensile@20C

-1.5 Equ. tensile@10C

Equ. tensile@0C
-2 Equ. tensile@-10C
-2.5

Fig. 8. Development of adhesive zone stresses at the horizontal contacts (upper: normal and shear stress; bottom: equivalent stress).

1
I
0.5
III II II III
0
Stress [MPa]

-0.5 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4

Shear@20C
Time [s]
-1 Normal@20C
Shear@10C
-1.5 Normal@10C
-2 Shear@0C
Shear@0C
-2.5 Shear@-10C
Normal@-10C
-3
Translate into equivalent tensile stress
1.0
0.5 II
II I
0.0
0.69 0.695 0.7 0.705 0.71 0.715 0.72 0.725 0.73
Stress [MPa]

-0.5
Equ. tensile@20C Time [s]
-1.0
Equ. tensile@10C
-1.5 Equ. tensile@0C
-2.0 Equ. tensile@-10C

-2.5
-3.0

Fig. 9. Development of adhesive zone stresses at the bottom contacts (upper: normal and shear stress; bottom: equivalent stress).

deflection. An asphalt concrete with low stiffness (i.e. at high
temperature) may result in less confinement, while an asphalt
concrete having high stiffness (i.e. at low temperature) may
create a higher confinement due to traffic load. This is indi-
cated by an increase of the normal stress in the horizontal
contacts as temperature decreases (see Fig. 8). Fig. 8 also
shows that the equivalent tensile stress reduces from tension
(positive) at high temperatures to compression (negative) at
low temperatures.
5. Tyre shear seems to be critical for ravelling resistance at high
temperature while the horizontal tensile strains close to pave-
ment surface account for ravelling at low temperature. The fail-
ure at high temperature is a type of strength failure under force
controlled mode. At low temperatures, failure is mainly caused
by the combined action of pavement deflection and thermal
contraction under displacement controlled mode. The above
also implies that mortar response (i.e. soft or stiff) plays an
important role in the development of ravelling.
Fig. 10 gives the mortar stress–strain hysteresis loops during a
tyre passage. Similar to the adhesive zone, the mortar is also sub-
jected to a combined effect of normal (i.e. S11) and shear (i.e. S12)
stresses. The shear stress remains constant while the normal stress
increases with decreasing temperature. The area enclosed by vari-
ous hysteresis loops is reduces when temperature decreases from
10 °C to 0 °C. The sum of the area of the various loops is used to
estimate the mortar life expectancy.
Table 6 gives the life expectancies of the adhesive zones and
mortar bridges at the various contacts. These life expectancies
were computed by using the stress and strain signals in the adhe-
sive zone and mortar combining with the fatigue damage models
as discussed previously. The critical contact showing the minimum
number of cycles to failure is defined as the design life. Because fa-
tigue relationships for the mortar were not available at 10 °C and
+20 °C only the mortar fatigue lives at 0 °C and 10 °C are given.
Fig. 11 gives the design life plotted against temperature. As can
been seen, the computed life of the mortar is in the same order of
 L.T. Mo et al. / Materials and Design 31 (2010) 3194–3206 3201

1 1.E+10

0.5 Adhesive zone

Stress [MPa]

0 1.E+09 Mortar

Life expentancy [cycles]

-0.0015 -0.001 -0.0005 0 0.0005 0.001
-0.5

-1 S11@10C 1.E+08
S12@10C
-1.5
S22@10C
-2 S11@0C 1.E+07
S22
-2.5 S12@0C
S11 S22@0C 1.E+06
-3
S12
-3.5
Strain [-] 1.E+05
-20 -10 0 10 20 30
Fig. 10. Mortar stress–strain hysteresis loops at the horizontal contacts (S11, S12 Temperature [ºC]
and S22).
Fig. 11. Relation between life expectancy and temperature.

magnitude as the computed life of the adhesive zone and the

trends are the same as temperature decreases from 10 °C to 0 °C.
With respect to the life of adhesive zone, a maximum life appears
at 0 °C. High or low temperatures tend to reduce the life expec-
tancy and the latter seems to have a worse effect. It indicates that
ravelling may occur over a wide range of temperatures but also
that low and/or high temperatures are critical.

4. Discussions on material properties

For stress and strain calculations, loading, material property and

structural geometry are three critical issues. Hereafter focus is on
material properties. For a given loading and structural geometry,
stress and strain are likely be controlled by stiffness of the struc-
ture. Failure is then controlled by the magnitude of the stresses
(i.e. the ratio of stress over material strength) and/or the fatigue
characteristics when the material is subjected to repeated load.
Hereafter, the effects of material response, strength and fatigue/
Fig. 12. Master curves of shear complex modulus and phase angle for various
damage characteristics will be discussed separately.
bitumen binders at a reference temperature of 10 °C.

4.1. Material response

The computational results presented above showed that the
mortar response properties play an important role on the stress
states to which the adhesive zone and mortar are subjected. Indi-
cations are that changing the mortar response properties may sig-
nificantly reduce the stresses to which the material components
mentioned above are subjected. Therefore, interest now is in what
kind of bitumen response properties may be important for ravel-
ling resistance.
Fig. 12 gives the master curves of shear complex modulus and
phase angle for various bituminous binders. The reference temper-
ature is 10 °C. Data in this plot were produced by means of dy-
namic shear rheometer (DSR) and tests were done within the
linear viscoelastic range [7]. As shown in this figure, four types of
normal bitumen with different penetrations are included as well
as the SBS modified bitumen that was used for the previous simu-
lations. For comparison purposes, the master curves are further di-
vided into four temperature zones. With respect to SBS modified
bitumen, its optimal performance was observed at a temperature
of 0 °C based on the simulation results. At this temperature, the
responsible bitumen properties are a shear complex modulus of
approximately 80 MPa and a phase angle of about 25°. A bitumen
showing these rheological properties is flexible enough to follow
the pavement deflection and stiff enough to create a good confine-
ment to resist the direct tyre–road contract forces. For this reason,
it is foreseen that other types of bitumen showing similar proper-
ties may perform well too. For hard bitumens (i.e. penetration 30/
45 and 40/60) the optimal temperature may be shifted to a

Table 6
Life expectancies of the adhesive zones and mortar bridges.

Temperature Location Life expectancy (cycles)

Contact 1 Contact 2 Contact 3 Contact 4 Design life
10 °C Adhesive zone 4.07E+05 6.44E+08 2.30E+08 4.13E+05 4.07E+05
0 °C Adhesive zone 2.65E+10 4.45E+09 2.54E+09 2.98E+10 2.54E+09
Mortar 2.19E+09 1.70E+09 1.15E+09 2.21E+09 1.15E+09
10 °C Adhesive zone 6.76E+07 2.26E+08 1.16E+08 7.68E+07 6.76E+07
Mortar 1.93E+08 5.39E+07 3.57E+07 1.91E+08 3.57E+07
20 °C Adhesive zone 4.56E+06 1.53E+08 6.11E+07 5.18E+06 4.56E+06
3202 L.T. Mo et al. / Materials and Design 31 (2010) 3194–3206

temperature higher than 0 °C, while soft bitumen like Penetration
160/220 may perform better at a temperature lower than 0 °C.
Therefore, it is concluded that the use of hard or soft bitumen
may show both advantages and disadvantages for ravelling resis-
tance. A good balance should be considered for the selection of
binding materials based on the critical temperature for ravelling.
Fig. 13 shows how the master curves of complex modulus and
phase angle should be changed for improved ravelling resistance.
At the range of low frequencies (high temperatures), the modulus
should increase together with decreasing phase angle. This will re-
sult in relatively stiff and more elastic bitumen. On the contrary,
bitumen showing lower stiffness and higher phase angle is needed
at the range of high frequencies (low temperatures). Ample relax-
ation behaviour, which is indicated by high phase angle, is impor-
tant at low temperatures.
It is known that the rheological properties of bitumen vary sig-
nificantly depending on type of bitumen and modification tech-
niques [21–26]. Based on the data found in literature, the effects
of commonly used polymer and inorganic modification are indi-
cated in Fig. 13. Hereafter, the general tends of type of bitumen
and the introduction of polymer and inorganic modifiers are com-
pared to the desired properties as described previously.
– Type of bitumen: the use of soft bitumen improves the low-tem-
perature rheological properties significantly, but degrades the
high-temperature rheological properties.
– Polymer modification: the addition of polymers tends to
improve the rheological properties of bituminous binders over
a wide range of temperatures. However, the improvement at
low temperature is much less significant and more uncertain
because mixed trends occur for complex modulus and phase
angle.
– Inorganic modification: inorganic modified bitumen tends to
result in an increase in complex modulus together with decreas-
ing phase angle over a wide range of temperatures. This indi-
cates that inorganic modifier seems to have a positive effect at
high temperatures but a negative effect at low temperatures.
Among these three categories mentioned above, the use of soft
bitumen seems to have a more pronounced improvement at low
temperatures. Compared with inorganic modification, polymer
modification seems to be promising for the overall performance
over a wide range of temperatures. The above leads to the conclu-
sion that a soft base bitumen modified with high polymer content
may be of interest. However, other issues, especially adhesion and
effect of aging should be taken into account.
1.E+11
30/45 Pen
1.E+10 70/100 Pen
SBS modified
1.E+09
1.E+08
(d) (b) (c) (a)
Complex modulus [Pa]
Fig. 14 shows the effect of long-term aging on the rheological
master curves of the SBS modified bitumen at a reference temper-
ature of 10 °C. The long-term aging regime consists of a 1000-h
aging by using a combination of ultraviolet light (60 W/m2,
300  400 nm wavelength), a temperature of 40 °C, 70% relative
humidity and oxygen (open environment). According to Hagos’ re-
search, the used long-term aging reflects the initial 3-year field
aging of PAC in the Netherlands [27]. As shown in Fig. 14, the com-
plex modulus increases with extending aging while the phase an-
gle decreases. These trends are especially strong at low frequencies
(i.e. high temperatures). At high frequencies (i.e. low tempera-
tures) the effect of extended aging results in an increased modulus
by approximately 50% and a reduced phase angle by 5o. Further-
more, the master curves of the phase angle of the fresh bitumen
exhibit a plateau region. According to other studies on aging of
SBS polymer modified bitumen, it is known that such a plateau re-
gion can be used as a sensitive indicator of the existence of a poly-
meric network structure in the base bitumen [28,29]. Obviously,
this plateau region becomes indistinct after long-term aging, indi-
cating the network structure of SBS modified binder was damaged.
The above indicates that aging may significantly change the
bitumen’s rheological properties. Furthermore, the positive effect
of polymer modification may degrade with extended aging. These
effects should be taken into account when developing new bitumi-
nous binders by means of polymer modification. In general, aging
tends to show a negative effect on ravelling resistance at low tem-
peratures, but a positive effect at high temperatures.
4.2. Material strength and fatigue
The strength and fatigue behaviour of bituminous materials is
also dependant on temperature. The local material components
within the stone contact region account for the failure and ravel-
ling. Therefore, the mechanical properties of the adhesive zone
and mortar will be discussed hereafter. Please note that the adhe-
sive zone is defined as where the mortar meets the coarse aggre-
gate surface. This zone is a bitumen-rich interlayer surrounding
the aggregate surface compared to the mortar that far way the
aggregate surface. It indicates that this zone can be well repre-
sented by a sandwich system consisting of two stone surfaces
bounded by a thin bitumen film in between. In the following, the
bitumen tensile strength and the adhesion strength between bitu-
men and stone will be discussed on the basis of data obtained from
the literature. The fatigue characteristics of the adhesive zone and
mortar will be discussed based on test data obtained from LOT pro-
gram. More information on specimen preparation and test proce-
dure can be found elsewhere [4,7].
100
40/60 Pen
160/220 Pen
70/100Pen+nanoclay 4%
90
1.E+09 90
80 SBS modified SBS modified LTA (d)
80
Plateau region
70 1.E+08

(a) (b) (c) (b) (d) (a)

70
1.E+07
Phase angle [º]

Complex modulus [Pa]

60
Phase angle [degree]

(a)
1.E+06 1.E+07 60
(a)
50
1.E+05 50
(d) (b) (c)
40 1.E+06
1.E+04 (a) (b) (c) (d) 40
30 (a)
1.E+03 1.E+05 30
(a): desired direction
1.E+02 (b): polymer modification 20 20
(a): desired direction
(a)
(c): inorganic modification 1.E+04 (a) (d): aging effect
1.E+01 (d): soft bitumen 10 10
(b) (c) (d) (d)
1.E+00 0 1.E+03 0
1.E-07 1.E-05 1.E-03 1.E-01 1.E+01 1.E+03 1.E+05 1.E-07 1.E-05 1.E-03 1.E-01 1.E+01 1.E+03 1.E+05
Reduced frequency [Hz] Reduced frequency [Hz]

Fig. 13. Illustration on how the master curves should be changed for ravelling Fig. 14. Effect of long-term aging (LTA) on the rheological properties of SBS
resistance. modified bitumen at a reference temperature of 10 °C.
 L.T. Mo et al. / Materials and Design 31 (2010) 3194–3206 3203

Fig. 15 gives the relationship between the tensile strength and 5.0
AC-5
the stiffness modulus of bitumen reported by Heukelom [30]. As AC-5_SBS5%
AC-5_SEBS5%
can be seen, the tensile strength increases to a maximum and then 4.0 AC-5_SBR5%
decreases with a further increase in bitumen modulus. It should be AC-5_ELVY3%
AC-5_CRM15%

Shear stress [MPa]

noted that the bitumen modulus shows a strong dependence on AC-10
AC-10_SBS5%
temperature. High temperatures result in low stiffness modulus, 3.0 AC-10_SEBS5%
AC-10_SBR5%
while low temperatures lead to high stiffness modulus. For this AC-10_ELVY3%
AC-10_CRM15%
reason, this plot, in fact, also reflects the tensile strength of bitumi- 2.0 Averg_AC-10
Averg_AC-5
nous materials as a function of temperature.
Fig. 16 gives the adhesion strengths of two types of normal bitu-
1.0
men by means of lap-shear tests reported by Khattak et al. [31]. Ef-
fects of temperature, type of modifier, concentration of the
modifier are included in this plot. Here interest is on the tempera- 0.0
-30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30
ture dependence of the shear strength. For this reason, the general
Temperature [ oC]
trends, which are obtained based on the average value at each tem-
perature are indicated by the dashed lines. A marked increase in Fig. 16. Lap-shear strengths of various types of bitumen reported by Khattak et al.
the shear strengths is observed as temperature decreases and a fur- [31] (AC-5 and AC-10: normal bitumen; SBS, SEBS, SBR, ELVY, CRM: polymer
ther decrease in temperature results in decreased shear strengths. modifiers; 3%, 5%, 15%: polymer content; bitumen film 0.13 mm, extension rate
0.5 cm/min).
The above discussion leads to the conclusion that a maximum
strength of bitumen and bitumen–stone adhesion appears over a
wide range of temperatures.
Fig. 17 shows the mortar fatigue test results done at tempera-
tures of 0 and 10 °C and frequencies of 10 and 40 Hz. The effect
of short-term and long-term aging is also included. These mortar
fatigue tests were performed under torque controlled mode. De-
tailed information on specimen preparation and fatigue testing
can be found elsewhere [4,7]. Due to scatter in the data, the effects
of frequency and water conditioning can not be clearly distin-
guished in this plot. Only temperature and aging effects could be
made visible. These are indicated by means of the trend lines.
The figure gives an impression on the effects of decreasing temper-
ature, extended aging as well as the combined action of both on the
fatigue characteristics of mortar. As indicated, the mortar shows
improved fatigue characteristics with decreasing temperature or
proper aging. This figure also indicates that aging shows a positive
effect on the fatigue characteristics at 10 °C, while its effect be-
comes mixed at 0 °C. It should be noted that the data in this plot
are obtained from tests under stress controlled mode and they
are discussed on the same stress level. In reality, the mortar stiff- Fig. 17. Relationship between number of cycles to failure with shear stress of
ness increases as temperature decreases or after subjected to mortar (SM: short-term aged mortar; LM: long-term aged mortar; 0 T and 10 T:
aging. As a result, the stress to which the mortar is subjected temperature; 10 Hz and 10 Hz: frequency; W: water-conditioning.).
may also increase as indicated in the previous simulation results.
Proper fatigue characterization should take into account the effect
of the actual stress level. Furthermore, the selection of test con-
trolled mode, i.e. strain or stress controlled, may also be important.
Fig. 18 gives adhesive zone fatigue tests results by means of DSR
machines. Data in this plot include two types of stone, two types of
bitumen and water conditioning. A wide range of temperatures
from 10 °C to 20 °C is also involved. The scatter in the data and
temperature effect can clearly be observed. Five distinct tempera-
ture trends are observed by drawing straight lines in this log–log
scale plot. In this way the effect of temperature on the fatigue

Fig. 18. Adhesive zone fatigue test results (B = sandstone; G = greywacke; SB =

short-term aged bitumen; LB = long-term aged bitumen; W = water conditioning;
10, 0, 10 and 20 = test temperature).

Fig. 15. Tensile strength of bitumen and mixes as a function of the stiffness behaviour of bitumen–stone adhesion has been established. As
modulus of bitumen reported by Heukelom [30]. temperature drops, all of the material combinations show a better
3204
fatigue resistance. The slope of straight line tends to be steeper
with a decline in temperature.
The fatigue data in Fig. 18 can also be explained by using the
adhesive zone damage model as described earlier. Combining the
damage model parameters listed in Table 5 leads to the results gi-
ven in Fig. 19. This figure shows that as temperature drops, the
damage rate at the same stress level tends to decrease. However,
further reduced temperature results in an increased damage rate.
The influence of temperature on the damage rate indicates that
both low and high temperatures enhance the development of
damage.
In the above, the material strength and fatigue behaviour of the
adhesive zone and mortar is discussed. Indications are that a re-
marked increase in mechanical properties is obtained with a de-
crease of temperature and further decreasing temperature results
in decreased properties. The previous simulations show that the
computed stresses to which the material is subjected tend to in-
crease as temperature decreases. Combining the change of the
stress and strength may lead to a rough performance evaluation.
Fig. 20 gives an illustration. As illustrated, the material stress
may excess the material strength at very low or high temperatures.
In this case, the strength failure occurs at high temperature while
fracture failure at low temperature. At intermediate temperatures,
the stresses are expected to be smaller than the material strength
and thus material fatigue may account for failure. At a certain tem-
perature, the ratio of stress over strength may show a minimum
value and thus reflects an optimal performance over a wide range
of temperatures. This may be a good indication on how to develop
a binder material with an optimal performance for ravelling resis-
tance. Material strength, magnitude of stress to which the material
is expected to be subjected and fatigue characteristic when the
material is subjected to such a repeated load should be taken into
account when developing new binders.
5. Discussions on failure mechanism
Better understanding of the failure mechanisms is helpful for
developing a new bituminous binder and a good balance between
bitumen cohesion and bitumen–stone adhesion is always needed.
Adhesive failure, cohesive failure or the combined action of both
is responsible for the failure that occurs within the stone contact
region. Furthermore, failure tends to find its way in the weakest
link among the local material components including the adhesive
zone and mortar. Indications are that the contact region may
exhibit different failure mechanisms over a wide range of temper-
atures. In general, adhesive failure is predominant at low temper-
atures, while cohesive failure is predominant at high temperatures.
1.E-01
1.E-02
1.E-03
Damage rate[s -1]
1.E-04
1.E-05
1.E-06
1.E-07
1.E-08
-15 -10 -5 0 5 10
Temperature [oC]
Fig. 19. Effect of stress level and temperature on the damage rate of the adhesive
zone.
L.T. Mo et al. / Materials and Design 31 (2010) 3194–3206
Stress or strength [-]
Strength
Fatigue failure
Fracture failure
Stress
Strength failure
-20 -10 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Temperature [ºC]
Fig. 20. Illustration on changes of material stress and strength as a function of
temperature.
Babcock and Statz conducted a study of various asphalt binders
using lap shear bonds and found that the transition temperature
from adhesive failure to cohesive failure is about 6 °C [32]. Khattak
and Baladi found that the failure mode of bitumen–aggregate
systems changed from cohesive failure at temperature of 0–20 °C
to adhesive failure at temperatures lower than 10 °C. The poly-
mer modification may result in a slight improvement on the low-
temperature adhesive properties of the processed binders [31].
Fig. 21 gives a comparison between the fatigue characteristics
of the adhesive zone and mortar at 10 °C. The fatigue data in this
plot is obtained from Figs. 17 and 18 for the mortar and adhesive
zone, respectively. As can be seen, the used mortar shows a better
fatigue characteristic comparing to the adhesive zones that were
represented by the same bitumen used in the mortar together with
two types of stone. It should be noted that among other things,
type of bitumen, aggregate and filler, the introduction of antistrip-
ping agent could affect the relevance of adhesive failure vs. cohe-
sive failure as well as moisture damage [33]. Insight into this
may result in a better understanding on the weak link to ravelling
and thus is important for material development and optimization.
Further analysis of the fracture surfaces also showed that the
adhesive zones, which are represented by stone–bitumen–stone
sandwich systems, exhibited two failure mechanisms: adhesive
failure at bitumen–stone interface and cohesive failure within
the thin bitumen films. Fig. 22 gives the influence of temperature
and aging on the percentage of adhesive failure that was inspected
on the fracture surfaces. As shown in this figure, aging increases
the possibility of adhesive failure especially at relatively high tem-
peratures. For short-term aged bitumen (SB) there is an obvious
transition temperature for the failure modes. For example, when
temperatures are above 5 °C, failure tends to be cohesive failure,
10000000
2.0MPa
1.0MPa Mortar_DSR
Number of cycles to failure[-]
1000000
B_DSR
G_DSR
100000
0.5MPa
10000
1000
100
15 20 25 0.1 1 10
Shear stress [MPa]
Fig. 21. Compare of the fatigue characteristic of the adhesive to the mortar at 10 °C
(B: sandstone; G: greywacke).
 L.T. Mo et al. / Materials and Design 31 (2010) 3194–3206 3205

while adhesive failure seems dominant at temperatures below

Relative ravelling damge [-]

5 °C.

Rejuvenate or soft bitumen

Based on the above discussion, it is concluded that the failure
Aging or hard bitumen
mechanisms in the contact region show a strong temperature
dependence. When the bitumen becomes stiffer or stronger due
to decreasing temperature, extending aging, the introduction of
polymers or even filler, then the risk of adhesive failure is higher
than that of cohesive failure. In reality, weak adhesion between
aggregate and bitumen might exist because of dirty aggregate Self-healing effect
surfaces, moisture penetration, etc. This all together may further -20 -10 0 10 20 30
enhance the chance of adhesive failure [34,35]. For a quick identi- Temperature [oC]
fication of the potential weak link, i.e. adhesive failure vs cohesive
failure, tests on a sandwich system consisting of two stone sub- Fig. 23. Illustration on relative ravelling damage during a tyre passage as a function
strates bound by a thin mortar in between is recommended. It of temperature.

should be clear that the potential weak link to failure must be

taken into account for developing a better binder. Improvement
400 2.5
on the weak link may result in better ravelling resistance and more
durable mixtures. number of day

Relative yearly damage [-]

2.237 2.0
300 relative yearly damage

Number of days [-]

6. Temperature dependence of ravelling damage 1.5
200 185
0.983
Fig. 23 gives an illustration on relative ravelling damage during 1.0
a tyre passage as a function of temperature. This plot was made 102
74
based on the simulation results as well as the discussions on mate- 100
0.5
rial properties. The effects of use of soft or hard bitumen, rejuvena- 0.003
4
tor and the self-healing of bitumen are also estimated. As 0.274
0 0.0
indicated, the curve of relative ravelling damage tends to shift to -20 -10 0 10 20 30
a higher temperature after aging or when hard bitumen is used. Temperature [degree]
However, the use of soft bitumen or rejuvenator may shift the
Fig. 24. Estimated relative yearly ravelling damage at various temperatures.
curve to a lower temperature. The self-healing of bitumen may re-
duce fatigue damage, especially at relatively high temperatures
[36].
25
Fig. 24 gives an estimate on the relative yearly ravelling damage Daily average temperature
20
at various temperatures. The relative yearly ravelling damage at
15
each temperature was computed by taking into account the ravel-
Temperature [°C]

ling damage during a tyre passage, the yearly temperature distri- 10

butions and an estimate of 10,000 load repetitions of the 5

equivalent standard100 kN axle at the slow lane per day. Hereto, 0
a representative yearly temperature distribution was considered -5
based on the data provided by Royal Netherlands Meteorological -10
Minimum surface temperature
Institute (see Fig. 25). It was assumed that within a year of
-15
365 d, there were 4 d, 74 d, 185 d and 102 d with a minimum daily 28-10-95 24-07-98 19-04-01 14-01-04 10-10-06 6-07-09
temperature of -10 °C, 0 °C, 10 °C, and 20 °C, respectively. Combin- Date [dd-mm-yy]
ing the above assumptions leads to the relative yearly ravelling
Fig. 25. Impression of temperatures registered in the municipality of de Bilt (centre
damage as shown in Fig. 24. The computed relative yearly ravelling
of the Netherlands).
damage is very high at high or low temperatures and the optimal
temperature is found at 0 °C. It must be noted that the self-healing
effect is not taken into account at high temperatures, i.e. 20 °C.
100
However, it is known that this effect is significant and thus less
damage can be expected [36]. The sum of the relative yearly ravel-
Area percentage of adhesive failure [%]

90
ling damage at various temperatures is recommended to serve as
80
an indicator for the overall performance of a certain PA mixture.
70
PA mixtures showing higher values indicate a more severe ravel-
60
ling susceptibility. Improvement of ravelling resistance is recom-
50 mended to focus on the critical temperature at which severe
40 ravelling damage is expected.
30
20 B+SB G+SB 7. Conclusions
10 B+LB G+LB
0 The following conclusions have been drawn on the basis of the
-15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15 20 25 findings and analysis presented in this paper.
Temperature [ oC]

Fig. 22. Influence of temperature and aging on the percentage of adhesive failure
(1) Meso-scale mechanical modelling is a powerful tool for
(B: sandstone; G: greywacke; SB: short-term aged bitumen; LB: long-term aged ravelling analysis.
bitumen). (2) Ravelling develops over a wide rang of temperatures.
3206 L.T. Mo et al. / Materials and Design 31 (2010) 3194–3206
(3) Low or high temperatures are critical for ravelling develop-
ment because of fracture or strength failure. At intermediate
temperatures, fatigue failure is responsible for ravelling.
(4) Although ravelling is a surface defect, the pavement struc-
ture itself has a great influence on ravelling resistance; this
is reflected by the deflection of the pavement under load.
(5) Ravelling resistance at high temperatures strongly depends
on the confining stresses that follow from the pavement
deflection. However, the tensile strains due to the combined
effect of pavement deflection and thermal contraction are
the main cause for ravelling at low temperatures.
(6) It has been shown that ravelling resistance can be signifi-
cantly improved by changing mortar or bitumen properties.
(7) A flexible bitumen binder with ample relaxation behaviour
exhibits an optimal performance for ravelling resistance.
(8) Adhesive failure and cohesive failure are the failure mecha-
nisms within the stone contact and the weak link is respon-
sible for ravelling. Adhesive failure is predominant at low
temperatures, while cohesive failure is the main cause at
high temperatures.
(9) Aging has a strong effect on bitumen’s response, strength
and fatigue properties. Indications are that aging mainly
enhances high-temperature ravelling performance, but dra-
matically degrades low-temperature ravelling performance.
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