Construction and Building Materials 106 (2016) 382–391

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Construction and Building Materials

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

Rutting performance of rubberized porous asphalt using Finite Element

Method (FEM)
Reaz Imaninasab a,⇑, Behazad Bakhshi b, Bahram Shirini a
a
Department of Civil Engineering, Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran, Iran
b
Department of Civil Engineering, Zanjan University, Zanjan, Iran

h i g h l i g h t s

Finite Element Method was employed to estimate rut depth of rubberized porous asphalt using static and repeated loading.

Parameters of creep power law were determined using dynamic creep test.

From 10% to 20%, crumb rubber reduced the rut depth regarding both loading simulation.

Static loading resulted in slightly greater rut depth.

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

Article history: The aim of this study is to investigate impact of crumb rubber on rut depth reduction. Dynamic creep and
Received 30 June 2015 indirect resilient modulus tests were performed on control porous mix as well as rubberized mixtures
Received in revised form 16 December 2015 containing modified binder content at concentrations of 10%, 15%, and 20%. Results of dynamic creep test
Accepted 17 December 2015
were used to calibrate parameters of creep power law and resilient modulus (MR) was assigned to pave-
Available online 24 December 2015
ment layers. By conducting static and repeated loading in ABAQUS, it is found that static loading results in
slightly greater rut depth than repeated one. Moreover, results show that 10%, 15%, and 20% rubber con-
Keywords:
tent causes rut depth reduction of 41%, 56%, and 61% with regard to static loading and 40%, 55%, and 60%
Porous asphalt
Rut depth
regarding repeated loading, respectively.
Finite Element Method (FEM) Ó 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Dynamic creep test
Static loading

1. Introduction improve rutting properties of porous asphalt, but also is it environ-

Rutting is one of main distresses of pavements [2]. It is defined
as the permanent deformation of pavement along the wheel path
caused by load repetition. Rutting may be observed deep in the
subgrade or be limited to surface [8,2]. Among the different layers
contribution to rutting, cumulative permanent deformation in sur-
face is known to be responsible for major rut depth of pavement
surface [2].
Porous asphalt is a gap-graded asphalt mixture that is not rut
resistant compared to conventional dense-graded asphalt mix
[23]. Nevertheless, it is mainly used for water drainage purposes.
This type of asphalt mix also has other advantages including fric-
tion increase, vision sight improvement while raining, and noise
reduction [19]. Using rubberized asphalt cement not only does
⇑ Corresponding author at: Asphalt Mixtures and Bitumen Research Center, Iran
University of Science and Technology, Narmak, Tehran Postal code: 1684613114,
Iran.
E-mail address: Imany_reza@civileng.iust.ac.ir (R. Imaninasab).
mentally friendly because of recycling used tire and service life
increase [17,21].
There are many experimental studies that evaluate impact of
crumb rubber on rutting resistance improvement [27,24]. In labo-
ratory, different tests such as dynamic creep, static creep, wheel
tracking and indirect tensile tests can be used to evaluate rut resis-
tance of asphaltic materials. Among these tests, NCHRP reported
that dynamic creep test is better correlated with measured rut
depth and had high capability to estimate rutting potential of
asphalt layer [26].
Choosing a suitable constitutive equation to model creep
behavior of asphalt mixtures and calibration its parameters using
results of dynamic creep and resilient modulus tests, Finite Ele-
ment Method (FEM) can be used to simulate rutting process of
pavement structure under external load repetition and determine
each layer contribution to rut depth [25]. This way, an empirical–
mechanistic solution is employed to evaluate rutting resistance
of asphalt mixes which is definitely more sophisticated.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2015.12.134
0950-0618/Ó 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 R. Imaninasab et al. / Construction and Building Materials 106 (2016) 382–391
Asphalt mixtures are composed of elastic, plastic, visco-elastic
and visco-plastic deformations under repeated loading [20]. To
estimate rut depth of asphalt layer, nonlinear visco-plastic Finite
Element Analysis (FEA) is commonly performed using ABAQUS or
ANSYS programs. Moreover, because of large longitudinal dimen-
sion, 2D models are often adopted for modeling purposes [8,2].
In this research, rut depth of rubberized porous asphalt at dif-
ferent concentrations of 10%, 15%, and 20% were predicted using
Finite Element Method and compared with unmodified one. In
addition, rut depth obtained from repeated loading were compared
with that obtained from static loading simulation. Finally, the sen-
sitivity of creep power law’s parameters and resilient modulus
with regard to rutting potential were investigated.
2. Methodology
Within this research, used materials and their preparation, mix
design procedure and sample fabrication were first carried out.
After determining optimal binder content for each concentration,
dynamic creep and indirect resilient modulus tests were per-
formed on control and modified samples to calibrate parameters
of creep power law and determine resilient modulus, respectively.
A 3D model is then developed in ABAQUS in order to be assigned
with different required properties. Finally, loading specifications
were determined with accordance to 80 kN dual axle load assem-
bly and single direction traffic with velocity of 20 km/h.
3. Used materials
Physical properties of used Lime aggregates are presented in Table 1 and, as
shown in Fig. 1, used gradation falls within the upper and lower limits of the pro-
posed gradations of Iran Highway asphalt paving code [6]. Properties of used 60/70
bitumen by penetration are also presented in Table 2. Furthermore, the used rubber
was produced from car tires by ambient shredding. The particle size distribution of
rubber content is given in Table 3. In order to blend rubber with virgin binder, high-
speed stirrer apparatus was used at reaction temperature of 180 °C and a reaction
speed of 3500 rpm for 30 min [18].
4. Sample preparation and mix design
Cylindrical specimens weighting 1000 g with a diameter
100 mm and approximate height 67 mm were compacted by
Suprepave Gyratory Compactor (SGC). Compaction parameters
of SGC, presented in Table 4, were set to be equivalent to 50
blows of Marshall hammer. For mix design and all performed
tests in this research, average of three identical samples, which
were fabricated as described, were used as the result for each
mixture type.
Optimal binder content of porous asphalt is determined accord-
ing to Cantabro test (ASTM C131) results and air void content. It is
the average of binder contents that are related to 18% air void con-
tent and 20% Cantabro Loss. However, any binder content that falls
within these two binder contents is an acceptable optimal binder
content. Overall, mixtures at selected optimal binder content must
satisfy following criteria:
Table 1
Aggregate physical properties.
Measured properties Standard (ASTM) Value
Bulk specific gravity of coarse aggregate (g/cm3) C127 2.59
Bulk specific gravity of fine aggregate (g/cm3) C127 2.52
Water absorption of coarse aggregate (%) C127 2.2
Water absorption of fine aggregate (%) C127 2.4
Los Angeles abrasion value (%) C131 22.3
Percentage of Fractured Particles in one side D5821 97
Percentage of Fractured Particles in two sides D5821 94
383
(1) Minimum air void of 18%.
(2) Maximum CL of 20% for unaged specimens.
In addition, there are maximum amount of draindown accord-
ing to AASHTO T305-97 and minimum coefficient of permeability
according to ASTM D3637 that must be satisfied. Table 5 presents
optimal binder content as well as amount of draindown and coef-
ficient of permeability for different types of mixtures. Although
15% and 20% rubberized asphalt do not satisfy minimum perme-
ability requirement, they effectively contribute to rutting
resistance.
5. Rutting of pavement system
There are three types of rutting mechanism that occur in pave-
ment system [8]:
(1) Rut depth is limited to the asphaltic layers (Fig. 2).
(2) Rut depth is due to densification of all layers of pavement
system (Fig. 3).
(3) Rut depth is due to subgrade settlement (Fig. 4).
The first mechanism is common where layers beneath the
asphaltic layers are sufficiently stabilized. It involves no volume
change and gives rise to shear displacements in which both depres-
sion and heave are usually manifested along wheel path. The sec-
ond mechanism is combination of plastic flow of asphaltic layer
and the whole layers densification. It is mainly because of lack of
compaction within construction. The third mechanism is observed
in pavements constructed over weak subgrade. As shown in Fig. 4,
pavement layers’ thicknesses do not decrease in this type of
rutting.
In this study, by assuming stabilized base, subbase, and sub-
grade, the first mechanism is investigated for rubberized porous
asphalt mixtures. Dynamic creep test is employed to determine
parameters of creep power law. Moreover, resilient modulus val-
ues of asphalt mixtures under study were determined by perform-
ing indirect resilient modulus test and resilient modulus values of
other layers were selected based on realistic values. Creep power
law and resilient modulus are determinant for rut depth prediction
of pavements.
5.1. Dynamic creep test
Three kinds of curves are obtained from dynamic creep test that
represent resilient modulus, creep modulus, and permanent defor-
mation [20]. Eq. (1) shows different types of deformations occurs in
visco-elastoplastic materials under load applications. Furthermore,
Fig. 5 shows the deformation elements of square loading pulse of
dynamic creep test.
eðtÞ ¼ ee þ ep þ ev e ðtÞ þ ev p ðtÞ ð1Þ
where e(t) is total deformation after elapses of time (t), ee is the elas-
tic deformation, ep is the plastic deformation, eve is the visco-elastic
deformation, evp is the visco-plastic deformation.
Resilient (sum of elastic and visco-elastic) and permanent (sum
of plastic and visco-plastic) deformations versus cycles can be
identified in using resilient modulus and permanent deformation
curves [12]. For modeling purposes, the plastic component of per-
manent deformation is not considered separately, instead it is
assumed to be a part of visco-plastic deformation which is com-
monly counted as permanent deformation [15].
Cumulative visco-plastic deformation versus number of cycles
curve is the most important outcome of the dynamic creep test
[12]. It consists of three zones that is illustrated in Fig. 6. The primary
384 R. Imaninasab et al. / Construction and Building Materials 106 (2016) 382–391

100
90
80 Upper
70 Limit

past percent
60
Used
50 Gradaon
40
Lower
30
Limit
20
10
0
0.01 0.1 1 10 100
sieve size (mm)

Fig. 1. Particle size distribution.

Table 2 load pulse can be imposed by this apparatus but its software was
Binder properties. developed in accordance with Australian Code [16]. Therefore,
Measured properties Standard (ASTM) Value square pulse wave with frequency of 0.5 Hz (allocating 0.5 s for
Penetration at 25 °C (0.1 mm) D5-73 64
loading and 1.5 s for rest) was chosen according to AS 2891.12.1.
Softening point (R &B °C) C36-76 53 Before carrying out the test, specimens were kept at least 5 h at
Ductility at 25 °C (cm) D113-79 >100 cm 40 °C temperature. Setup parameters of dynamic creep test are
Density at 25 °C (g/cm3) D70-76 1.05 presented in Table 6. Notice that mean slope of three identical
Flash point (°C) D92-78 308
specimens for each mix type was used to define slope of secondary
zone.

Table 3
Crumb rubber particle size distribution.
5.2. Resilient modulus
Sieve size (mm) Past percent
0.6 100 Resilient modulus (MR) is of fundamental materials property
0.425 91 that is required for all used materials in any Finite Element Analy-
0.3 78
sis. It represents the ratio of an applied stress to the recoverable
0.18 43
0.15 8 strain that takes place after the applied stress has been removed.
0.075 0 The MR was determined from tests on cylindrical specimens for
each mixture at designed asphalt contents in the indirect tension
mode. Approximately 15% of the indirect tensile strength of each
Table 4 mixture was applied on the vertical diameter for conventional
Setup parameters of Suprepave Gyratory Compactor. and rubberized specimens. The frequency of load application was
Setup parameters Value 1 Hz with load duration of 0.1 s to represent field conditions and
a resting period of 0.9 s [3].
Stress level (kPa) 600
Number of gyration 50
Angle (°) 1.25
Rotational speed (rpm) 30
6. Creep power law

The constitutive model of time-hardening version of creep

Table 5
power law is presented by Eq. (2) as it is defined in ABAQUS Finite
Optimal binder content at different crumb rubber contents.
Element program. It is simple, however, practical for problems
Crumb Optimal Draindown Coefficient of related to rutting of flexible pavements [25].
rubber binder (maximum permeability (minimum
content (%) content (%) amount 0.3%) 100 m/day)
e ¼ Arn tm ð2Þ
0 5.3 0.19 122.85
10 5.3 0.16 113.9
15 5.9 0.12 85.91 where e is creep strain rate, r is uniaxial equivalent deviatoric
20 5.8 0.11 54.41 stress, and t is loading time. A, n, and m are constant related to
the material properties. According to the creep test carried out in
zone is identified as initial rutting within which densification of previous researches [13,20], A, m, and n range from 0.47  105 to
asphalt mixtures happens. In the secondary zone, shear rutting 1.03  105, from 0.78 to 0.75, and from 0.82 to 0.85, respec-
occurs and the slope of cumulative deformation versus cycle is tively. These parameters depend on aggregate size, aggregate angu-
approximately constant [5]. The slope of this zone is used to deter- larity, and asphalt viscosity [8]. In this research, parameters’ value
mine one of the parameters related to time-hardening creep power of control and rubberized asphalt mixes at concentrations of 10%,
law. Moreover, number of load cycle repetition for initiation of ter- 15%, and 20% are computed according to repeated loading results
tiary stage is called Flow Number. It is the minimum slope occur- obtained from dynamic creep test. It should be noted that if creep
rence of in Fig. 6. power law is used to model time-related behavior of materials,
In this research, UTM-5 at Iran University of Science and Tech- repeated and continuous loading have the same estimation of creep
nology was used for carrying out dynamic creep test. Any type of strain on condition that the total loading periods are the same [14].
 R. Imaninasab et al. / Construction and Building Materials 106 (2016) 382–391 385

Fig. 2. Rut depth limited to the asphaltic layers.

Fig. 3. Rut depth due to densification of all layers of pavement system.

Fig. 4. Rut depth due to subgrade settlement.

7. Finite Element Method e ¼ Bu ð3Þ

where B is the strain–displacement matrix.

Finite Element Method involves dividing a complex domain into
In 1968, Duncan [7] first used FEM to analyze flexible pavement
triangles and quadrilaterals subdomains called finite elements
which then leads to development of ILLI-PAVE by Raad and Fig-
[10]. The displacements within each finite element are interpo-
ueroa in 1980. This program never caught on as the result of high
lated using the nodal displacements. On the other hand, the strain
memory usage requirement. Later in 1989, Harichnran developed
vector is obtained from the nodal displacements using appropriate
nonlinear Finite Element computer program ‘‘MICH-PAVE” in
cinematic relations that depend on the problem (e.g., plane stress,
Michigan State University for pavement analysis purposes. Nowa-
plane strain, solid). In a matricial form, these relations are:
days, Finite Element programs such as ABAQUS, LS-DINA, DSC-
386 R. Imaninasab et al. / Construction and Building Materials 106 (2016) 382–391

Although, because of large longitudinal dimension, 2D models

are acceptable for estimating rut depth of pavements, here 3D
models are used to compute more accurate and realistic responses
[11]. The analytic model is an asphaltic layer with 1.3 m length and
0.1 m thickness. The dimensions are selected to meet minimum
number of elements required in order to avoid solution time exten-
sion. The thickness of other pavement layers is shown in Fig. 7 and
its properties are presented in Table 7. Moreover, subgrade is a
semi-finite layer and it must be modeled with springs having stiff-
ness modulus of K. However, since determining the stiffness mod-
ulus of spring is complicated, assuming 2 (m) thickness for
subgrade that causes negligible stress in such depth is logical.
Therefore, considering the surface at depth of 2 (m) of subgrade
as rigid bearing is an acceptable assumption.
As the selected element is C3D8R, the elemental rotation is con-
straint, three degree of freedom are defined for boundary condi-
tions. Moreover, the contact conditions between layers are tie.
In this research, pavement layers under both static and cyclic
loading of 80 kN exerted by a dual wheel axle assembly are evalu-
ated. In repeated loading, loading period is 5 s that is followed by
1 s rest period. Loading pattern is shown in Fig. 8. It simulate ALF
Fig. 5. Deformations of visco-elastoplastic materials. machine loading pattern which represents single direction traffic
with velocity of 20 km/h. In addition, it is assumed that 40 kN
wheel load is equally distributed over the contact surface with tire
pressure of 700 kPa. According to Huang recommendation, a rect-
angle plus two semi-circle, which is shown in Fig. 9 and is com-
monly used as the contact section between tire and asphalt
surface, is equivalent to a rectangle with area of 0.5227 L2 and
width of 0.6 L. As shown in Fig. 10, the length of 0.33 m is calcu-
lated for the equivalent rectangle [9].
Due to symmetry, the pavement under half wheel load is con-
sidered. A pavement block under half wheel load, having a length
of 1.3 m, a width of 1.5 m and a depth of 3.02 m, is considered
for the analysis. This pavement structure was loaded in an area
of 0.144 m  0.198 m which represents the half wheel load of
the area shown in Fig. 10. Loading and boundary condition that
is in ABAQUS analysis are shown in Fig. 11. Furthermore, mesh of
the used model is shown in Fig. 12.
Although, for comparison purposes in this research, a specific
Fig. 6. Creep curve of dynamic creep test. loading condition is used, the condition can be varied to simulate
other type of loading conditions. For repeated loading, load repeti-
tion can be selected with accordance to predicted number of cycles
Table 6 that each axle type is expected to pass over pavement during its
Dynamic creep test parameters. design life. Then rut depth that axles may cause, accumulates to
Parameter Value calculate overall rut depth and it can be compared with rut depth
Loading pattern Rectangular threshold. This way, different pavement configuration can also be
Loading period 500 ms investigated regarding rutting which may lead to a new M-E
Rest period 1500 ms approach development. It can estimate rut depth directly instead
Contact stress 10 kPa of determining critical compressive stress and strain to find the
Applied repeated stress 200 kPa and 300 kPa
Termination criteria 400,000 cycles of load repetition or 300,000 ls

SST20, and CAPA-3D are commonly used in Netherlands to

investigate nonlinear dynamic response of pavements.
ABAQUS, which is used in this research, is a powerful FEM pro-
gram that can solve complex problems easily using nonlinear anal-
ysis. The software has a library with large number of finite element
and with various materials’ behavior models. ABAQUS is also able
to choose reasonable increments and logical standard deviations
automatically. To establish correlation between the specification
of transverse section and rutting distribution of hot mix asphalt,
modeling can be performed by ABAQUS effectively [1]. In recent
years, using Finite Element Method (FEM) to analyze pavement
structure has been growing because nonlinear correlation between
stress and different types of strains can be easily established [4].
Fig. 7. Pavement configuration.
 R. Imaninasab et al. / Construction and Building Materials 106 (2016) 382–391 387

Table 7
Properties of pavement layers.

Layer type Elastic modulus (MPa) Poison ratio

AC 60/70 1455.67 0.35
CR-10% 2044.33 0.35
CR-15% 1933.33 0.35
CR-20% 754.33 0.35
Base 138 0.35
Subbase 72.45 0.35
Fill 62.1 0.35
Rockfill 96.6 0.35
Subgrade 52.2 0.35

800

600
Stress (KPa)

400

200

0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5 5.5 6
Time (sec)

Fig. 8. Loading pattern.

Fig. 11. Loading and boundary condition of the model in ABAQUS.

Fig. 9. Contact surface of tire.

Fig. 10. Equivalent contact surface.

number of allowable load repetition and calculating incremental
damage factor.
8. Results and discussion
Slope of the secondary territory of dynamic creep test is used to
compute the creep power law parameters. As the temperature in
Fig. 12. Mesh of the model in ABAQUS.
the analysis is fixed at 40 °C, the derived parameters of creep
power law are just applicable for the same temperature. The rela-
tionship between viscoplastic axial strain of second stage versus
time at stress levels of 200 kPa and 300 kPa for control mixture
and rubberized mixtures at concentrations of 10%, 15%, and 20%
388 R. Imaninasab et al. / Construction and Building Materials 106 (2016) 382–391

10000 10000
y = 0.516x + 1273. y = 0.315x + 857.1

Visco Plasc strain (10-3)

Visco Plasc strain (10-3)

R² = 0.969 R² = 0.988

y = 0.395x + 521.8 y = 0.148x + 854.8

R² = 0.975 R² = 0.976

1000 1000
AC-200KPa
AC-300KPa CR15%-200KPa
CR15%-300KPa

100 100
100 1000 10000 100 1000 10000
Time (sec) Time (sec)
(a) AC 60/70 (c) CR-15%
10000
10000 y = 0.404x + 1660.
Visco Plasc strain (10-3)

Visco Plasc strain (10-3)

R² = 0.983 y = 0.298x + 1534.
y = 0.2791x + 1031. R² = 0.972
R² = 0.971
y = 0.132x + 1042.
R² = 0.977
1000 1000
CR10%-200KPa
CR10%-300KPa CR20%-200KPa

CR20%-300KPa

100 100
100 1000 10000 100 1000 10000
Time (sec) Time (sec)
(b) CR-10% (d) CR-20%
Fig. 13. Visco plastic strain rate.

are shown in Fig. 13, respectively. Parameter (b) of creep power tic strain at Flow Number (FN) is used. Eq. (4) gives a creep model
law is estimated as the average tangent of slopes for each mixture. in which the left side of the equation is known for three stress
Having parameter (b), at least two stress levels are required to levels of 0 KPa, 200 KPa, and 300 KPa. In addition, parameter b
be performed on each type of mixture at 40 °C in order to be able relates with parameter (m) of creep power law as defined in Eq.
to form quadratic regression equation. At this stage, only viscoplas- (5) [22].

0.5
1.4
y = 4E-06x2 + 0.003x
β

0.4 y = 2E-06x2 + 0.00001x 1.2 R² = 0.99

Visco Plasc Strain/t
Visco Plasc Strain/tβ

R² = 0.99
1
0.3
0.8

0.2 0.6
0.4
0.1
0.2

0 0
0 100 200 300 0 100 200 300
Stress (KPa) Stress (KPa)
(a) AC 60/70 (c) CR-15%
0.8
1
0.7 y = 3E-06x2 + 0.00001x
0.9
Visco Plasc Strain/tβ

R² = 1
y = 3E-06x2 + 0.0018x + 3E-15
β

0.6 0.8
Visco Plasc Strain/t

R² = 1
0.5 0.7
0.6
0.4
0.5
0.3 0.4
0.2 0.3
0.2
0.1
0.1
0 0
0 100 200 300 0 100 200 300
Stress (KPa) Stress (KPa)
(b) CR-10% (d) CR-20%
evp
Fig. 14. tm
versus stress level at FN.
 R. Imaninasab et al. / Construction and Building Materials 106 (2016) 382–391 389

Table 8 By determining coefficients (b1 and b2) of second order equation

Parameters of creep power law. B(r), creep model is presented as Eq. (7). Using regression analysis,
Type of mixture A (105) n m b1 and b2 are determined and creep power law’s parameters can be
AC 60/70 1.15 1.6 0.5445 obtained from it.
CR-10% 1.15 1.6 0.6585
0.7685
CR-15%
CR-20%
1.15
1.15
1.6
1.6 0.785
evp ðr; t; NÞ ¼ ðb1 r þ b2 r2 Þ  t b ð7Þ
Parameters of creep power format that are obtained from Eq. (7)
are shown in Table 8. Among them, just parameter (m), which is
evp ðr; t; NÞ directly derived from curves of dynamic creep test, is not constant
¼ BðrÞ ð4Þ for different dosage of crumb rubber. Parameters (n) and (A) are
tb
independent form rubber content of porous asphalt at 40 °C.
m¼b1 ð5Þ Deriving the creep power law’s parameters, creep behavior of
evp
pavement layer system block, as previously described, can be mod-
Fig. 14 shows tb (viscoplastic strain at Flow Number (FN) over eled. Two conventional types of loading including static and cyclic
tb) versus stress level for mixtures at different rubber content. They were used to simulate in situ loading condition. It should be noted
are second order polynomial, so B(r) is described as Eq. (6): that creep behavior is just defined for the asphalt layer and rest of
the layers are assumed to be enough stabilized with a modulus of
BðrÞ ¼ b1 r þ b2 r2 ð6Þ
elasticity defined at Table 7. Permanent deformations of the

(a) AC60/70 (c) CR-15%

(b) CR-10% (d) CR-20%

Fig. 15. Permanent deformation for cyclic loading.
390 R. Imaninasab et al. / Construction and Building Materials 106 (2016) 382–391

(a) AC60/70 (c) CR-15%

(b) CR-10% (d) CR-20%

Fig. 16. Permanent deformation for static loading.

pavement system block for different mixtures after 332 cycles are depth followed by concentrations of 15%, 10%, and control mix-
depicted through Fig. 15. Results of equivalent static loading ture, maximum permanent deformations of static loading are
(2000 s loading) on the same model are also shown through Fig. 16. greater than those of cyclic for each type of mixture. It is due
Although both loading types suggest the same order of rut to no rest interval to let mixtures recover in static loading during
resistance ranking; 20% crumb rubber content has the least rut the period.
Although elastic modulus of CR-20% is far less than CR-15%, its
rut depth is even a bit greater than the later. By comparing Tables 7
and 8 with Table 9, it can be inferred that resilient modulus has no
Table 9
Rut depth summary. effect on rut depth and it has direct relation with absolute value of
parameter (m), i.e., the greater (m) value results in more rut resis-
Loading type Control CR-10% (mm) CR-15% (mm) CR-20% (mm)
tance mixture. Parameter (m) increases with average slope of per-
(mm)
manent deformation curve in secondary zone at performed stress
Static loading 8.8 5.2 3.9 3.4
levels decrease. Therefore, it is concluded that less rut resistant
Repeated loading 8.3 5 3.7 3.3
asphalt mixes have greater average visco-plastic slope.
 R. Imaninasab et al. / Construction and Building Materials 106 (2016) 382–391
9. Conclusion
This study focuses on impact of crumb rubber on improvement of
porous asphalt mixes. Mixtures containing modified binder content
at concentration of 10%, 15%, and 20% were compared with control
mixture using Finite Element Method. The results obtained from
performing static and cyclic loading show following conclusion:

Greater rut depth is computed by static loading than repeated
loading as the former has no rest period to recover.

Regarding static loading results, using 10%, 15%, and 20% crumb
rubber content reduce rut depth by 41%, 56%, and 61% com-
pared to control mixture.

Regarding repeated loading results, using 10%, 15%, and 20%
crumb rubber content reduce rut depth by 40%, 55%, and 60%
compared to control mixture.

Parameter (m) of creep power law is indicator of rutting poten-
tial of asphaltic mixtures. The greater its absolute value is, the
more rut resistant the mixture will be.

Resilient modulus relates to recoverable deformation and has
no direct effect on rut depth prediction model used in this
study. However, correlations have been established between
resilient modulus and asphalt mixes’ creep properties.
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