International Journal of Fatigue 31 (2009) 1598–1602

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International Journal of Fatigue

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijfatigue

Investigation of the dynamic and fatigue properties of fiber-modified

asphalt mixtures
Qunshan Ye a,*, Shaopeng Wu b, Ning Li b
a
School Traffic and Transportation Engineering, Changsha University of Science and Technology, Changsha 410004, People’s Republic of China
b
Key Laboratory of Silicate Materials Science and Engineering of Ministry of Education, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, People’s Republic of China

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

Article history: The dynamic response and fatigue properties of fiber-modified asphalt mixtures were investigated in this
Received 13 September 2007 paper. Three types of fibers including cellulose fiber, polyester fiber and mineral fiber were used as mod-
Received in revised form 5 April 2009 ifiers for asphalt mixture with the dosage of 0.3%, 0.3% and 0.4% by the total weight of asphalt mixture,
Accepted 10 April 2009
respectively. Dynamic modulus tests using Superpave simple performance tester (SPT) were conducted to
Available online 18 April 2009
determine the dynamic modulus and phase angle of asphalt mixtures at various temperatures and fre-
quencies. The fatigue properties of asphalt mixtures were studied by the indirect tension fatigue test
Keywords:
(ITFT) at different stress ratios. Test results showed that asphalt mixtures containing different fibers
Fiber-modified
Asphalt mixture
tended to have lower dynamic modulus (|E*|) and phase angle (d). It indicated that the stiffness of
Dynamic modulus fiber-modified asphalt mixtures could be reduced and the flexibility of mixtures was improved, which
Phase angle also resulted in the change of viscoelastic properties of asphalt mixtures. Fatigue parameter (jE j  sin d)
Fatigue life derived from the dynamic response measurements was employed to estimate the fatigue resistance of
asphalt mixtures. The results showed that the fatigue parameters of asphalt mixtures with fibers were
decreased, which indicated that the fatigue property could be improved by fiber modifiers. The fatigue
test results further demonstrated that fiber-modified asphalt mixtures showed better fatigue resistance
when compared with the control mixture.
Ó 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Asphalt has been widely used in road pavement as the binder of
aggregates [1,2]. However, asphalt mixture or coating layer shows
severe temperature susceptibility such as high temperature rut-
ting, medium temperature fatigue and low temperature cracking
damage. Therefore, asphalt mixture should be modified in some
way to promote its further application. Among the modifiers of
asphalt, fibers have obtained more and more attention for their
excellent improvement effects. Various types of fiber modifiers,
such as cellulose fiber, polyester fiber and mineral fiber, have been
widely used in different kinds of asphalt mixtures, especially in
stone mastic asphalt (SMA), open grade friction concrete (OGFC)
[3,4]. Previous investigations were focused on the influence of fiber
additives on the engineering properties of asphalt binder or asphalt
mixture.
Chen [5] investigated the influence of cellulose, rock wool and
polyester fiber additives on the engineering properties of asphalt
and found that good adhesion between fibers and bitumen en-
hanced the load-carrying ability of asphalt-fiber mastics. Putman
[6] compared the performance of SMA mixtures containing waste
tire and carpet fibers with ones made with commonly used cellu-
lose and polyester fibers. The results indicated that the tire, carpet
and polyester fibers significantly improved the toughness of the
mixtures, but no significant difference in permanent deformation
or moisture susceptibility was found. Wu [7] conducted dynamic
shear rheometer (DSR) test to study the rheological properties of
asphalt binders with cellulose fibers, polyester fibers and mineral
fibers. The results indicated that the rutting-resistance property
of asphalt binder with fibers could be improved to a large extend.
Fiber-modified asphalt binder and its mixture have been suc-
cessfully applied in field of road engineering. However, the effects
of fiber additives on the pavement engineering performances are
profound, and the mechanism of fiber affect bitumen is complex.
The objective of this research aims to investigate the dynamic re-
sponse and fatigue properties of fiber-modified asphalt mixtures
and study the improvement of fiber modifiers on the fatigue prop-
erties of asphalt mixtures.
2. Materials and experimental design
2.1. Raw materials

* Corresponding author. Tel./fax: +86 27 87162595. Asphalt was highway construction standard asphalt (AH-70)
E-mail address: yeqs@whut.edu.cn (Q. Ye). produced by Koch Asphalt Co. Ltd. (Hubei Province, China), with

0142-1123/$ - see front matter Ó 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.ijfatigue.2009.04.008
 Q. Ye et al. / International Journal of Fatigue 31 (2009) 1598–1602 1599

Table 1
Physical properties of various fibers.

Fiber types Length (mm) Diameter (mm) Bulk specific gravity (g/cm3) Melting point (°C) Tension strength (MPa)
Cellulose fiber 1.1 0.045 0.025–0.03 >200 –
Polyester fiber 6.0 0.02 1.32–1.40 248 520
Mineral fiber 6.0 0.005 2.7 ± 0.25 1500 >1000

Table 2
Selected mix gradation.

Sieves (mm) 19 13.2 9.5 4.75 2.36 1.18 0.6 0.3 0.15 0.075
Passing (%) 100 93.0 79.6 50.6 33.2 23.1 16.8 12.0 8.7 5.3

Table 3 with an environmental chamber. A haversine load signal under

Properties of basalt aggregate.
Test items Measured values
Specific gravity (g/cm3) 2.96
Water absorption (%) 0.65
Frost action (%) (with Na2SO4) 7.05
Abrasion loss (%) (Los Angles) 15.6
Polishing value 0.62
a penetration of 68 (0.1 mm at 25 °C, 100 g and 5 s), ductility at
5 °C of 26.7 cm and softening point of 48.5 °C according to ASTM
D 3381. Cellulose fiber and polyester fiber used in this research
are provided by Tianhui Fiber Co. Ltd. (Hubei Province, China),
and mineral fiber produced by Fiberand Co. Ltd. (Beijing, China).
Physical properties of these fibers are shown in Table 1. The dos-
ages of cellulose fiber, polyester fiber and mineral fiber are 0.3%.
0.3% and 0.4% by the total weight of asphalt mixture, respectively.
Asphalt mixtures were obtained with a 12.5 mm Superpave gra-
dation. The selected mix gradation is presented in Table 2. Basalt
coarse aggregates larger than 2.36 mm, limestone fine aggregate
smaller than 2.36 mm and filler smaller than 0.075 mm were used
for mixture preparation. Some physical properties of basalt coarse
aggregates are shown in Table 3.
2.2. Specimens preparation
Standard Superpave mix procedures were employed to prepare
the specimens for dynamic modulus tests and indirect tensile fati-
gue tests. Before gyratory compaction, the mixtures were sub-
jected to short-term oven aging for 4 h at 135 °C. Cores were
taken from the compacted specimens. To obtain the required
geometry, the obtained cores were carefully sawed and polished.
The diameter and height of specimens for dynamic modulus tests
were 100 mm and 150 mm, and for indirect tension fatigue test
were 150 mm and 38 mm, respectively. During specimen’s prepa-
ration, various fibers were blended with aggregates for about
30 s prior to the addition of asphalt binders and mineral filler.
The optimum binder content for mixtures without fiber was
4.8%. For asphalt mixtures containing cellulose fiber, polyester fi-
ber and mineral fiber, the optimum binder contents were 5.1%,
5.0% and 4.9%, respectively. The air void contents for all specimens
were controlled at 3.0% by the total volume of compacted asphalt
concrete.
2.3. Testing procedure
2.3.1. Dynamic modulus test
Dynamic modulus tests were conducted unconfined by means
of Universal Testing Machine (UTM-25, produced by IPC, Australia)
compression was applied. Nine frequencies ranging from 0.1 Hz
Standard to 25 Hz and three temperatures (5 °C, 15 °C and 20 °C) were se-
ASTM C-127 lected in the test procedure. Tests were performed under fre-
ASTM C-127 quency sweep mode in an order of decreased frequency at each
ASTM C-88 test temperature. In order to obtain the uniform temperature dis-
ASTM DC-131
tribution throughout the specimen, the test sample was condi-
BS-813
tioned at the test temperature for at least 3 h. The dynamic
modulus |E*| could be calculated as follows [8]:
r0
jE j ¼ ð1Þ
e0
where r0 is the applied stress amplitude; e0 is the measured strain
amplitude.And the phase angle can be obtained as follows:
ti
/¼  ð360Þ ð2Þ
tp
where ti is the average time lag between a cycle of stress and strain
(s), tp is the average time for a stress cycle (s).
2.3.2. Fatigue test
Indirect tensile fatigue tests were also performed by means of
Universal Testing Machine. The loading pattern used was a haver-
sine signal. During a complete repetition, the loading time was
0.1 s following by a rest period of 0.4 s. The fatigue tests conducted
at the temperature of 15 °C. Three stress ratios (0.3, 0.4 and 0.5)
were involved, which were defined as the applied stress amplitude
divided by the indirect tensile strength of asphalt mixtures.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Dynamic characteristics of asphalt mixtures
For linear viscoelastic materials such as asphalt mixtures, the
stress–strain relationship under a continuous sinusoidal loading
can be explained by means of complex dynamic modulus (E*),
which is defined as the ratio of the amplitude of the sinusoidal
stress and strain at any given time and the angular load frequency
[9,10]. Figs. 1 and 2 show the test results of dynamic modulus and
phase angle at 15 °C for all asphalt mixtures with or without fibers.
It is indicated that the dynamic modulus increases with the in-
crease of frequency, while the phase angles decreases with the in-
crease of frequency. When various fibers were added, both the
dynamic modulus and phase angle were decreased. The decrease
of dynamic modulus indicates that the stiffness of asphalt mixtures
can be reduced by the addition of fibers. Furthermore, the decrease
of phase angle also indicates that the elastic property of fiber-mod-
ified asphalt mixtures can be enhanced, which can improve the
resistance to fatigue damage for asphalt mixtures after numerous
cycles loading [11].
1600 Q. Ye et al. / International Journal of Fatigue 31 (2009) 1598–1602

19000

17000

Dynamic modulus /MPa

15000

13000

11000

9000
Control Cellulose fiber

7000 Polyester fiber Mineral fiber

5000
0. 1 1 10 100
Frequency /Hz

Fig. 1. Dynamic modulus of asphalt mixtures containing various fibers at 15 °C.

3.2. Master curve

25
As described in the previous section, the dynamic modulus of
asphalt mixture was measured at three different temperatures
and at nine different frequencies (for each temperature level).
Control Cellulose fiber
The dynamic modulus data collected at different test temperatures
Polyester fiber Mineral fiber
can be shifted relative to so called reduced time or frequency to
Phase angle /Degree

20
form a single master curve at a reference temperature. In this
study, the reference temperature was chosen as 15 °C. The master
curve describes the loading rate (frequency) and temperature
dependent properties of asphalt mixtures under linear viscoelastic
15 conditions. Master curves of dynamic modulus for all asphalt mix-
tures are shown in Fig. 3. As shown in this figure, the dynamic
modulus of various asphalt mixtures containing fibers are slightly
reduced when compared with the control mixture over a wide
range of frequency. For example, the dynamic modulus of the
10
0. 1 1 10 100 control mixture with frequency of 100 Hz is 22.605 GPa, while
Frequency /Hz the values for asphalt mixtures containing cellulose fibers, polyes-
ter fibers and mineral fibers are 22.023 GPa, 20.186 GPa and
Fig. 2. Phase angle of asphalt mixtures containing various fibers at 15 °C. 20.517 GPa, respectively. The decrease of dynamic modulus can

28000
Dynamic modulus /MPa

23000

18000

13000

Control Cellulose fiber

8000
Polyester fiber Mineral fiber

3000
0.01 0.1 1 10 100 1000 10000
Reduced frequency /Hz

Fig. 3. Master curves of dynamic modulus for fiber-modified asphalt mixtures at 15 °C.
 Q. Ye et al. / International Journal of Fatigue 31 (2009) 1598–1602 1601

result in the reduction of loss modulus for asphalt mixture at every 4000
loading–unloading period in fatigue test, which lead to the
improvement of fatigue property of asphalt mixtures containing

Fatigue parameters /MPa

various fibers. 3500

3.3. Fatigue resistance estimation from dynamic response

3000
Fatigue cracking is one of the most serious distresses for asphalt
pavement. Generally, the initiation and propagation of cracking
always relate to the magnitude of dissipated energy produced by
outer loading. The loss modulus (jE j  sin d) could be an effective 2500
parameter to characterize the resistance to fatigue cracking of
asphalt mixture as jG j  sin d used for asphalt binders. The high va-
lue of jE j  sin d relates to the poor resistance to fatigue cracking of 2000
Control Cellulose fiber Polyester fiber Mineral fiber
asphalt mixture. Therefore, jE j  sin d was defined as a fatigue
parameter to evaluate the fatigue resistance for fiber-modified Fig. 5. Fatigue parameters for asphalt mixtures at 15 °C with frequency of 10 Hz.
asphalt mixtures in this research. The fatigue parameters for all
asphalt mixtures were compared at 15 °C with different frequen-
cies (Fig. 4). It could be seen clearly that the fatigue parameters
Control Cellulose fiber
were reduced significantly when various fibers were added into
Polyester fiber Mineral fiber
asphalt mixtures, which could estimate that the dissipated energy
1.E+05
produced from cyclic loading can be reduced for fiber-modified

Cycles number to failure /Times

asphalt mixtures. One reason may be that the fibers can distract
the stress produced in asphalt mixture and prevent the initiation
1.E+04
and propagation of cracks. As can be seen in Fig. 5, the fatigue
parameter for control mixture at 10 Hz is 3.957 GPa, and for three
fiber-modified mixtures are 3.562 GPa (cellulose fiber), 3.455 GPa
(polyester fiber) and 3.529 GPa (mineral fiber), respectively. The 1.E+03
polyester fiber is the best among all fibers in improving the fatigue
resistance for asphalt mixture in this study.
1.E+02
3.4. Fatigue properties verification

Indirect tensile fatigue test results of asphalt mixtures with 1.E+01

various fiber types at different stress ratios corresponding to the 0.50 0.60 0.70 0.80 0.90 1.00 1.10
indirect tensile strength are shown in Fig. 6. When compared with Stress /MPa
the control mixture, the loading repetitions to failure (Nf) of fiber-
modified asphalt mixture are increased. For example, the Nf at 0.3 Fig. 6. Nf versus stress levels for different asphalt mixtures.
stress ratio for three fiber-modified asphalt mixtures are 2.1 times
(cellulose fiber), 3.6 times (polyester fiber), 2.3 times (mineral
fiber) of the corresponding Nf of the control mixture, respectively. concentrated stress produced by fatigue loading can be absorbed
It indicates that the fatigue property of asphalt mixtures can be and dispersed by fibers and the development of micro-cracks can
improved with the addition of fiber. The reason maybe that the be delayed, which result in the postpone of damages for asphalt

4500

4000

3500
Fatigue parameter /MPa

3000

2500

2000
Control Cellulose fiber
1500
Polyester fiber Mineral fiber
1000

500

0
0.1 1 10 100

Frequency /Hz

Fig. 4. Fatigue parameters of asphalt mixtures at 15 °C.

1602 Q. Ye et al. / International Journal of Fatigue 31 (2009) 1598–1602

Table 4 (2) The fatigue parameter jE j  sin d, which is determined on the
Parameters for fatigue equation of asphalt mixtures. basis of dynamic response measurements, is reduced when
Items Nf Parameters various fibers are added into asphalt mixtures. The polyester
0.5 a
0.4 0.3 K n fiber exhibits a better role in improving the fatigue resis-
tance for asphalt mixture.
Control 1011 1491 6711 718.3 3.6770
Cellulose fiber 1541 2941 14,361 1012.5 5.2920
(3) Fatigue test results further demonstrate that the addition of
Polyester fiber 1911 4271 24,141 2446.5 4.5217 fiber modifiers improves the fatigue resistance of asphalt
Mineral fiber 1571 3921 15,511 2029.3 3.5892 mixtures. The fatigue test results also show a strong relation
a
Note: The stress ratio of 0.5 corresponding to the indirect tensile strength of
with the fatigue parameter estimated from dynamic
asphalt mixtures. response measurements. Among these three types of fiber,
polyester fiber shows the most positive effects on fatigue
improvement of asphalt mixture.

mixtures. It is obviously that the fatigue property of asphalt mix-

ture is enhanced significantly at lower stress levels.
The fatigue property of asphalt mixture can be depicted by the
fatigue equation as follows [12]:
Nf ¼ KðrÞn
where Nf is the fatigue life; r is the applied stress; K, n are
constants.
Table 4 gives the regression constants of asphalt mixtures with
and without fibers. It can be observed that the values of K and n are
increased when different fibers are added, which result in an
increase in cycle numbers to failure for asphalt mixtures, especially
at lower stress levels. Moreover, it can be seen that polyester fiber
is more effectively to improve the fatigue resistance property of
asphalt mixture, which is in agreement with the analysis of fatigue
parameters determined from the dynamic response measure-
ments.
4. Conclusions
Based on the study of the dynamic and fatigue properties of fi-
ber-modified asphalt mixtures, the following conclusions can be
obtained:
(1) The dynamic modulus of fiber-modified asphalt mixtures
increases with the increase of frequency, while the phase
angle decreases with the increase of frequency. Compared
with the control mixture, both dynamic modulus and phase
angle decreases after the introduction of fibers.
Acknowledgments
The author is grateful to the Department of Transportation in
ð3Þ Hubei Province, China and Headquarters of Hu-Rong Expressway
in Hubei Province for its financial support of this work.
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