Paper No.

548

FATIGUE BEHAVIOUR OF POLYMER MODIFIED

BITUMINOUS CONCRETE MIXTURES

SHIVANGI GUPTA* & A. VEERARAGAVAN**
ABSTRACT
Conventional bituminous mixes have performed satisfactorily well on a wide range of roads in the past, but it is
seen that bituminous mixes are now exposed to greater stresses because of the increase in magnitude of
commercial vehicles and higher tyre pressures. Thus, the performance of neat bituminous mixes is generally
unsatisfactory for paving applications due to the increased magnitude of wheel loads and tyre pressures of
current traffic.
The purpose of present work is to study the benefit of SBS (Styrene Butadiene Styrene) polymer modified
bituminous mixes on fatigue performance. The physical and mechanical properties of polymer modified and
conventional binder mixes are evaluated. Mixes are compacted using both Marshall and Superpave Gyratory
Compactor (SGC) and a comparison between the two is established in terms of the resilient modulus and fatigue
life. Repeated load indirect tensile test equipment is used to evaluate the life to crack initiation and resilient
modulus of the bituminous mixes. Retained Marshall stability and indirect tensile strength ratio tests were
conducted. The improvement in fatigue life of polymer-modified mixes over the conventional mixes is reported.
The research paper also describes the application of LEFM (linear elastic fracture mechanics) to characterize
crack propagation using Indirect Tensile Fatigue Test (ITFT).
1

LOAD.W

INTRODUCTION

Fatigue failure is one of the main distress mechanisms

causing degradation of pavements. Fatigue is caused by
repeated traffic loadings, which result in crack
initiation, crack propagation and eventually
catastrophic failure of the material due to unstable crack
growth (Jacobs; 1995). Wide cracking of bituminous
layers of flexible pavements is a very common sight on
national highways in India. These cracks not only
decrease the load spreading capacity of bituminous
layers, but also allow water to percolate to the base and
subgrade, thereby accelerating the complete destruction
of pavement, if timely maintenance is not taken up
(Pandey; 2003). A single wheel load moving over
pavement may cause high tensile strains at the bottom of
the bituminous layer as illustrated in Fig 1
(Santucci;1998).
* Former M.S. Scholar
** Professor

NOT DRAWN
TO SCALE

PAVEMENT
STRUCTURE

SUBGRADE
COMPRESSION

TENSION

Fig. 1 Tensile and Compressive Stresses in Pavement

The fatigue cracking caused by traffic on the bituminous

layer is a very common occurrence and must be given a
careful consideration in pavement design and selection
of materials to preclude premature cracking of
bituminous pavements. In this regard different types of

Civil Engg. Deptt. IIT Madras, Chennai

e-mail: shivangi145@gmail.com
e-mail: av@iitm.ac.in

Written comments on this paper are invited and will be received upto 30th June, 2009.

Journal of the Indian Roads Congress, January-March 2009

56

GUPTA & VEERARAGAVAN ON

additives are added to bitumen to improve its thermo

mechanical properties which can offer high resistance to
fatigue cracking and permanent deformation in
bituminous layers. Therefore there is a need to carry out
studies to evaluate the performance of the bituminous
mixes with modified binders and to obtain information
on the long term benefits over conventional binders.
An axle load survey (Reddy and Pandey 1994) indicated
that about 73 percent of the commercial vehicles
moving on the national highways in the eastern sector of
India have axle loads in excess of the standard axle load
of 8.2 tonnes and about 65 percent exceed the legal limit
of axle load of 10.2 tonnes. Also, large variations in
seasonal and daily temperatures are responsible for the
early deterioration of flexible pavements (Shukla and
Gokhale 1987). During the summer, high temperature
can soften the bitumen binder and consequently reduce
the stiffness of bituminous mixes. On the other hand, in
winter, low temperatures can stiffen the binder and
reduce the flexibility of paving mix resulting in
cracking. Hence, better performing bituminous mix
using suitable modified binder may solve the problem to
some extent.
The bitumen binder obtained from refineries meet the
existing specifications, but does not provide the desired
performance in the field. Sikdar and Jain (1999), Salter
(1987), Shukla and Jain (1984) have showed that the
properties of bitumen can be improved by incorporation
of additives or blend of additives such as sulphur,
polymers, rubber etc.
Isaccon and Lu (1999), Baker (1998) tested the various
properties of modified binders and showed that
elastomeric binders increase both rut resistance and
fatigue life. They observed that SBS modified
bituminous mixes have longer life than conventional
mixes. Bose and Jain (1984) found that 6 percent SBS
reduces temperature susceptibility, bleeding at high
temperatures and brittle behavior at low temperatures of
the mixes. The durability and fatigue life of 5 percent
SBS modified mixes were found to be three times higher

than the conventional mixes. Kumar et al., (2004)

studied the rheology of polymer modified bitumen
(SBS) and concluded an improvement in physical
properties and temperature susceptibility of SBS
modified binder as compared to unmodified neat binder.
Indian Road Congress specifications (Special
Publication 53-2002) indicate that the time period of
new renewal may be extended to 50 percent in case of
bituminous resurfacing with modified mixtures than
unmodified ones.
Read (1996) carried out Indirect Tensile Fatigue Test
(ITFT) on bituminous mixes using the Nottingham
Asphalt Tester. Fatigue studies were done for four mixes
consisting of 30/40 grade Hot Rolled Asphalt (HRA),
Styrene Butadiene Styrene (SBS) and 20 mm dense
bituminous macadam (DBM).
2

OBJECTIVES OF THE PRESENT STUDY

1) To investigate the performance of SBS polymermodified bituminous mixes compacted by

Superpave gyratory compactor and
Marshall
Compactor.
2) Measurement of mechanical properties of
bituminous concrete which includes Indirect tensile
strength and resilient modulus tests.
3) Study the moisture susceptibility of conventional
and SBS modified bituminous mixes.
4) Study the number of cycles to crack initiation at
different temperatures and load levels.
5) Characterize the crack growth behavior of neat and
polymer modified mixes under dynamic loads using
fracture mechanics approach.
6) Development of empirical models to predict crack
initiation and crack propagation in bituminous
mixes.

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FATIGUE BEHAVIOUR OF POLYMER MODIFIED BITUMINOUS CONCRETE MIXTURES

The aggregates used in the present study were tested and

found to meet MOSRTH (Ministry of Shipping, Road
Transport and Highways) Specifications (Fourth
Revision). Coarse aggregate, fine aggregate and quarry
dust were used in the bituminous concrete mix. The
properties of aggregates are given in Table 1.

the polymer modified binder as well as conventional

binder. The viscosity temperature relationship was
developed to determine the mixing and compaction
temperatures. The rotational viscosity was determined
by measuring the torque required to maintain a constant
rotational speed (20 rpm) of a cylindrical spindle
(LV21) while submerged in bitumen binder at constant
temperature by Brookfield viscometer. The viscosities
at different temperatures are given in Table 3.

Table 1 Properties of aggregates used in the

present study

Table 3 Comparison of Viscosity Values of PMB 70

and Neat bitumen binder at different temperatures

LABORATORY INVESTIGATIONS

3.1 Aggregates

Properties Tested

Test Results

MOSRTH
Specification

Crushing Value

33.2%

45% max

Aggregate Impact Value

28.1%

30% max

Los Angeles Abrasion Value

13.7%

30% max

Water Absorption Value

0.85%

2% max

2.65

2.5 3.0

20.2%

30% max

Specific Gravity
Combined (EI + FI) Index

3.2 Binder
For the laboratory study, bitumen binder of grade 60/70
and binder modified with SBS (PMB 70) were
considered in the present investigation. The physical
properties of binders are given in Table 2.

Temperature

Viscosity

( C)

Neat(60/70)

60
135

1023(poise)
0.83(pa.s)

150

0.48(pa.s)

PMB 70
1.6(pa.s)
0.875(pa.s)

It can be seen from the Fig. 2 that as the shear rate

increases, the viscosity also increases and this is the case
only with non Newtonian fluids like polymer modified
binder, thus making pumping and application of fluid
easier in fields, but for neat binder, the effect of shear
rate at higher temperatures is constant.

Property

BIS Test
Method

Penetration 250C (100 g,

5 s),0.1mm

IS 1203-1978

66

68.67

Softening point(Ring
and Ball),0C, Minimum

IS1205-1978

43.75

63

79

100

81

1.01

1.03

Ductility at 270C (5 cm/min IS 1208-1978

pull), minimum
Elastic recovery(150 C),
%, minimum
Specific gravity

IS 1202

AC 60/70 PMB-70

Viscosity (Pas)

Table 2 Physical Properties of Binders

Fig. 2 Variation of Viscosity VS. Shear rate at 1350C

3.4 Preparation of Mixes

3.3 Viscosity-Temperature Test
The rationale behind using rotational viscometer is that
high rates of shear are seen during pumping and mixing.
Brook field viscometer is used for the viscosity tests on

3.4.1 Mixing and compaction temperatures

The binder is heated to produce kinematic viscosity of
-6
2
-6
2
170 20 x 10 m /s and 280 30x10 m /s are normally

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GUPTA & VEERARAGAVAN ON

chosen as the mixing and compaction temperatures.

Mixing temperature can be taken as the temperature that
produces a uniform and sufficient coating of the coarse
aggregates. A mixing temperature of 1800C and a
compaction temperature of 1650C were selected for SBS
modified mixes.

Table 5 Volumetric Properties at Optimum Binder

Content
Binder
type in
mix

%
OBC

Stability
(kN)

Flow

Air
(mm)

VMA
voids(%)

VFB
(%)

60/70

4.75

18.55

2.95

3.50

75

14.91

PMB-70

5.0

23.50

3.10

3.14

74

15.70

3.4.2 Compaction Of Mixes

Two compaction methods were considered in the
present study. They are :
a) Marshall Compaction

The Marshall stability of SBS modified mix is observed

to be more by 25 percent as compared to unmodified
mix. The flow value of modified mixes was higher than
that prepared by unmodified mixes.
3.4.5 Binder Optimization By Superpave Method

b) Superpave Gyratory Compaction (SGC)

The grading of aggregates selected for the research as

per MOSRTH (2001) Specifications is presented in
Table 4.

The value of design binder content is 4.5 percent and 4.8

percent for unmodified and SBS modified mixtures,
corresponding to 4 percent air voids at 125 gyrations.
The results of Superpave mix properties at design binder
content are given in Table 6.

Table 4 Aggregate Gradations of Bituminous

Concrete Mixtures Selected

Table 6 Design Mixture Properties at Optimum

Binder Content

3.4.3 Aggregate Gradation Adopted

Specified limits

3.4.4

Sieve size(mm)

Percent
passing

Adopted

26.5

100

100

19.0

79-100

90

13.2

59-79

75

9.5

52-72

Mix
Properties

Result
Neat
SBS
Acceptance
bitumen modified Criteria
binder
binder

OBC

4.5

4.8

72

Air voids (%)

4.0

VMA (%)

14.15

13.19

13.0
(minimum)

VFB (%)

72

74.31

65-75

Dust Proportion

0.93

0.923

0.6-1.2
<89

4.75

35-55

46

2.36

28-44

37

1.18

20-34

25

0.600

15-27

18

0.300

10-20

12

0.150

5-13

11

Gmm@ Nini= 9,%

85.7

86.1

0.075

2-8

Gmm@ Ndes= 125, %

95.9

96

Gmm@ Nma= 205, %

98

97

Binder Optimization By Marshall Method

The volumetric and mechanical properties of

bituminous mixes with SBS modified and neat binder at
optimum binder content are given in Table 5.

<98

From the Table 6, it can be seen that the mix satisfies the
specific target levels for Superpave compaction. At Nini,
Ndes and Nmax, the target air voids level is met, ensuring
that the mixture will not be tender and thus HMA may
not fail prematurely.

Journal of the Indian Roads Congress, January-March 2009

FATIGUE BEHAVIOUR OF POLYMER MODIFIED BITUMINOUS CONCRETE MIXTURES

3.4.6

Tests On Bituminous Mixes

investigations in the past by Read (1996), Gilmore et al.

(1984) employed this test (ASTM D 4123) for
evaluating fatigue performance of bituminous mixes.

3.4.6.1 Retained Marshall Stability

Marshall Stability of compacted specimens was
determined after conditioning them by keeping in water
bath maintained at 60oC for 24 hours prior to testing.
This stability, expressed as a percentage of the stability
of Marshall specimens determined under standard
conditions, is the retained stability of the mix. From
Table 7, it can be seen that modified mixes showed
better performance than unmodified ones.
Table 7 Moisture Susceptibility of Bituminous
Concrete Mixes

Mix

Tensile
Stability
Strength of uncondiRatio
tioned
(%)
specimen
(kN)

59

Stability Retained
of Condi- Marshall
tioned
Stability
specimen
(%)
at 600C
(kN)

BC Mix

86

4.87

4.17

71

SBS Mix
modified
Mix

94

5.90

5.52

89

3.4.6.4 Experimental Set Up

An indigenously fabricated repeated load testing
equipment at the Transportation Engineering
Laboratory of Indian Institute of Technology Madras
was used for conducting repeated load indirect tensile
test. Haversine pulsating loads were applied
diametrically to the specimens through the piston of
double acting cylinder with the help of personal
computer. A loading period of 0.1s and rest period of
0.9s was applied during the test to simulate high vehicle
speeds. The load repetitions are continued till the
specimen failed. When the permanent horizontal
deformation in the specimen is 5 mm, the tensile crack is
about 0.8 mm wide and is found to be adequate to
describe the fatigue life for a given mix (Gilmore et al.
1984). Two types of mixes were tested using two
methods of compaction, viz.
a) Bituminous Concrete mix by Marshall and Gyratory
compaction

3.4.6.2 Indirect Tensile Strength Ratio Test

Test is evaluated either by testing loose mix or
compacted specimens. Compacted specimens were
tested for retained strength or tensile strength ratio.
Average tensile strength of conditione d samples
TSR (Tensile strength ratio %) =
Average tensile strength of controlled specimens

Table 7 shows the results of moisture susceptibility test.

Thus, it can be seen that modified mixtures have higher
tensile strength and retained stability as compared to
conventional or neat mixtures.
3.4.6.3 Repeated Load Indirect Tensile Test
Resilient Modulus for both the modified and
unmodified mixes determined in the present
investigation by conducting repeated load indirect
0
tensile tests at 30, 35 and 40 C temperatures. The test
method was selected because of its simplicity and the
ease with which samples can be prepared. A number of

b) SBS modified bituminous concrete mix by Marshall

and Gyratory compaction
3.5

Fatigue Test Results

The parameters used to evaluate the fatigue

characteristics of the mixes were:
a) The number of cycles to crack initiation (Ni)
b) Initial tensile strain (i)
c) Resilient modulus (Mr) and
d) The effectiveness factor (EF)
Effectiveness factor is defined as the ratio of cycles to
failure of polymer modified mixes to that of
conventional mixes which is given by
N F ( PMB)
EF =
N F ( AC )

Nf is the number of cycles to failure.

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GUPTA & VEERARAGAVAN ON

The following expressions from Kennedy (1978),

Mohammed (1993) were used for the computation of
resilient modulus and initial tensile strain values from
the experimental data. The data collected after initial
conditioning of the specimen were used in the analysis.
Resilient Poisson ratio,
Resilient Modulus,
Initial tensile strain,

3.59 r
0.27
r=
Vr
P (0.27 +

r)
Mr=
H r .h

(1+
3
)

= r
Mr

mixes are expected to have better fatigue strength at

intermediate temperatures and high rutting resistance at
high temperatures.
From Table 8, it can be seen that polymer modified
mixes are 1.2, 1.79 and 2.1 times more effective in crack
initiation than neat mixes.
Table 8 Effectiveness of SBS Modified mixes
Temperature
(0C)

Cycles to
failure

Effectiveness
factor

PMB
70

BC
60/70

N F ( PMB )
N F ( AC )

Where P = applied peak constant load (N), h is height of

specimen (mm); and Hr and Vr are the resilient
horizontal and vertical deformations (mm) respectively.

30

24257

20123

1.21

35

14714

8217

1.79

3.6 Comparison Between Superpave Gyratory And

Marshall Compaction Methods

40

4231

2019

2.1

For comparison, the number of cycles and tensile strain

for load level of 100 N at different temperatures is
shown in Table 9. It can be seen from Table 9 that
resilient modulus values were affected by the increase in
temperature. At higher temperatures, the mixes tend to
soften and lose strength with an increase in deformation.
The reduction in resilient modulus due to the increase of
temperature ranges from 34 to 41 percent and 25 to 29
percent for Marshall and SGC compacted specimens
respectively. For SBS Modified mixes, the reduction in
resilient modulus due to increase in temperature was 23
to 27 percent for Marshall and 21 to 28 percent for SGC
specimens.

Table 9 Results of Repeated Load Indirect Tensile

Test

From fatigue results, it can be observed that the initial

tensile strain for both the Marshall and SGC specimens
increased with increase in temperature. The fatigue life
reduction due to increase of temperature ranges from 57
to76 percent and to 39 to 71 percent for SGC compacted
BC mixtures and SBS modified mixes respectively for
o
the study temperature range of 30C to 40 C. For a
constant temperature, the fatigue life of SGC compacted
SBS modified mixtures specimen is 2 to 2.5 times of the
unmodified BC mixtures. From Table 9, it is also
observed that the modulus values of modified mixes
were higher at high temperatures, which indicate that
modified mixes have higher stiffness at high
temperatures compared to neat mixes, thus making
them less temperature susceptible. Thus SBS modified

SGC Specimens

Temperature
(0C)

Resilient Fatigue life

modulus life (Cycles
(MPa)
to
failure)

Initial
tensile
strain
(microstrains)

NEAT BITUMINOUS MIX

Marshall specimens
30

1,653

19,167

91

35

987

8,168

112

40

614

1,919

129

30

1,710

20,123

93

35

1,264

8,217

121

40

946

2,079

135

POLYMER MODIFIED BITUMINOUS CONCRETE

MIXTURES
Marshall specimens
30

2,046

22,257

56

35

1,569

14,200

83

40

1,132

3,633

101

SGC Specimens
30

24,257

43

35

1,710

14,714

77

40

1,231

4,231

95

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FATIGUE BEHAVIOUR OF POLYMER MODIFIED BITUMINOUS CONCRETE MIXTURES

61

3.7 Permanent Deformation

ANALYSIS AND RESULTS

The improvement in resistance to plastic deformation

with polymer modification can be confirmed from Fig 3
and 4. Fig 3 and 4 depict the accumulation of Horizontal
Plastic Deformation (HPD) and vertical plastic
deformation (VPD) mixtures as a function of number of
cycles. The number of cycles required to accumulate
given values of HPD and VPD is much higher in SBS
modified bituminous concrete mixtures. It has been
observed that the accumulation of HPD and VPD is
responsible for fatigue cracking and rutting potential of
bituminous concrete mixtures. The increased resistance
to plastic deformation caused considerable increase in
the fatigue life and resistance to rutting.

Study of the fatigue behavior of bituminous concrete

mixtures usually include
4.1 Phenomenological Approach
This approach is useful for the process of crack
initiation. It considers a load control or deflection
control mode, which correlates the number of cycles Nf
to the applied stress () or the strain () through
empirical constants. The relationship between strain life
and number of cycles to failure can be obtained from
1 n
Nf =
K( )

where
Nf is the number of load repetitions to failure
is the tensile strain level in micro strains
K (depends on material properties) and n (slope of
the curve) are empirical constants.
Fig. 5 where 6, 7 shows the relationship between tensile
strain and number of cycles at different temperatures.
Table 10 shows the regression values K and n at
different temperatures obtained from figures.
Fig. 3 Relation between accumulation of
Horizontal Plastic Deformation
and Number of Cycles

Fig. 4 Relation between accumulation of

Vertical Plastic Deformation and Number of Cycles

Fig. 5 Fatigue Life of Mix at 30oC

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Initial Tensile Strain (micro-strains)

GUPTA & VEERARAGAVAN ON

Fig. 8 Variation of Crack length with Cycles at 40oC

o

Fig. 6 Fatigue Life of Mix at 35 C

The Fig. 8 indicates that the cracking initiated at 130

cycles for BC mixtures and propagated very rapidly till,
the mixture reached its failure at 223 cycles, while for
SBS modified mixtures, cracking initiated at 237
numbers of cycles and propagated till the mixture failed
at 394 cycles. Thus it can be seen that the crack initiation
and propagation lifetime are relatively greater in case of
SBS modified mixes than in conventional mixes.
To see the effect of temperature on crack lengths, a
higher load of 2400 N (50 percent of failure load) was
applied and thus the crack lengths and number of cycles
were measured. Fig. 9 shows the effect of temperature
on crack length. Crack growth vs stress intensity factor
was studied for neat and SBS modified bituminous
concrete mixes and the results are plotted in Fig. 10
and 11.

Fig. 7 Fatigue Life of Mix at 40 C

4.2 Fracture Mechanics Approach
This approach is useful to analyze crack propagation. In
this, the applicability of Paris equation on both the SBS
modified and conventional mixes has been examined
(Sewell 2005). The relationships between crack length
(c) vs. number of cycles (N) for PMB and BC mixes is
shown in Fig 8.
Fig. 9 Crack length at different temperatures
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FATIGUE BEHAVIOUR OF POLYMER MODIFIED BITUMINOUS CONCRETE MIXTURES

63

5) The fatigue life of SBS Modified mix was 2.1 to 2.4

percent higher than the conventional mix.
6) For the constant number of cycles, at the constant
temperature, crack length was higher for
conventional mix than SBS modified mix.
6 CONCLUSIONS
10,000

100,000

Fig. 10 Crack Growth for BC Mixes

VS

10,000

100,000

Fig. 11 Crack Growth for SBS Modified

bituminous Concrete Mixtures

Thus from the Fig. 10 and Fig. 11, the regression

coefficients are found to be A= 1 x 10-6 and n=7.26 for
neat bituminous mixes; A=6x10-7 and n = 6.76 for SBS
modified bituminous concrete mixes.
5

SUMMARY OF RESULTS

1) Higher density values are observed for SGC

specimens and this may be due to the higher
compaction effort. The specimens prepared using
SGC are found to have higher fatigue life.
2) The strength parameters like tensile strength,
Marshall stability values of the SBS modified mixes
were higher by 21 percent and 25 percent than
conventional mixes.
3) Higher tensile strength ratio is observed polymer
modified mixes which indicate better cohesive
strength of these mixes as compared to conventional
mixes.
4) An increase of 2 to 2.5 times in resilient modulus of
polymer-modified mixes was observed as compared
to conventional bituminous mix.

1) The results obtained from the present investigations

show the superiority of SBS modified mixes over
the conventional mixes. Thus polymer modified
mixes may be recommended for national highways
where traffic volume is substantially high.
2) Empirical approach is acceptable only if crack
initiation is considered and not where crack
propagation is considered. Especially in the design
of overlays over existing cracked pavements,
fracture mechanics principles may be used to take
into account the detrimental effects of stress
concentrations around the crack tip.
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Journal of the Indian Roads Congress, January-March 2009

64

GUPTA & VEERARAGAVAN ON

FATIGUE BEHAVIOUR OF POLYMER MODIFIED BITUMINOUS CONCRETE MIXTURES

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