Influence of Fiber Type and Dosage on Tensile Property of Asphalt Mixture Using Direct Tensile Test

Abstract

In engineering practice, fiber addition is a frequently used method to improve the tensile property of asphalt mixture. However, the optimum fiber type and dosage have not been determined by direct tensile tests. In this paper, monotonic tensile tests were conducted on three kinds of stone mastic asphalt (SMA13) mixtures, that is, granular-lignin-fiber-reinforced SMA (GFSMA), flocculent-lignin-fiber-reinforced SMA (FFSMA), and basalt-fiber-reinforced SMA (BFSMA) at different fiber dosages to probe the influence of fiber dosage on their tensile mechanical indexes (tensile strength, ultimate strain, elastic modulus, and strain energy density) and to determine the optimum dosage of each kind of fiber. The results showed that with the elevation of fiber dosage, the tensile strength, elastic modulus, and strain energy density of all three kinds of asphalt mixtures increased first and then decreased, while the ultimate strain increased constantly. The optimum dosage was 0.50 wt%, 0.45 wt%, and 0.50 wt% for granular lignin fiber, flocculent lignin fiber, and basalt fiber, respectively. On this basis, strain-controlled direct tensile fatigue tests were conducted on the three kinds of asphalt mixtures at the corresponding optimum fiber dosage. The results indicated that asphalt mixture reinforced with 0.50 wt% granular lignin fiber exhibited ideal direct tensile fatigue performance with respect to fatigue life and accumulative dissipated energy. Therefore, granular lignin fiber is recommended as the favorable fiber type, and its optimum dosage is 0.50 wt%. Moreover, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) demonstrated that the essence of the impact of fiber dosage and type on the tensile property of SMA is whether the reinforcement effect on the mixture matrix outweighs the negative effect of the defects between fiber and mixture matrix, or whether the reverse applies.