Flexural Beam Fatigue Device
The device is used to determine the fatigue life and fatigue energy of compacted HMA samples with dimensions of 50 mm thick by 63 mm wide by 380 mm in length. The system is designed to conduct AASHTO TP-8 “Standard Test Method for Determining the Fatigue Life of Compacted Hot-Mix Asphalt (HMA) Subjected to Repeated Flexural Bending”. However, the system is designed to also provide a wide range of loading types (haversine and sinusoidal) for both stress and strain controlled modes. (Figure 13a)
 Figure 13a – Flexural Beam Fatigue Device |
The device is enclosed in an environmental chamber to provide a wide range of potential temperature applications (-10oC to 60oC).
Samples for the Flexural Beam Fatigue Device are compacted with the lab’s vibratory compactor which has been modified to compact the specified sample size. Figure 13b shows the samples before and after being cut to the required dimensions.
|
