Homothetic behaviour investigation on fracture toughness of asphalt mixtures using semicircular bending test

The objective of this study was to investigate the homothetic behaviour of asphalt mixes in respect of fracture toughness. A total of 216 samples encompassing six dense graded asphalt mixes were tested at three temperatures with four replicates per mix type using static semicircular bending test based on the AASHTO TP 105-13 protocol. A mixed-level factorial design was employed to understand the effect of variables: asphalt content, air voids, temperature, and thickness. Statistical analyses showed that the change in the thickness from 40 to 50 mm produced an insignificant change in the fracture toughness. It was also found that the selection of the specimen thickness to evaluate fracture toughness in the range of 40-50 mm was not significantly dependent on asphalt mix material properties and temperature. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.