Comparing Resilient Modulus and Dynamic

Modulus of Hot-Mix Asphalt as Material

Properties for Flexible Pavement Design
Amara Loulizi, Gerardo W. Flintsch, Imad L. Al-Qadi, and David Mokarem
direction. Usually the loading consists of a haversine pulse with
duration of 0.1 s followed by a rest period of 0.9 s. However, a pulse
duration of 0.03 s followed by a rest period of 0.97 s was used in this
study to simulate the pulse load induced from moving trucks and
from falling-weight deectometer testing (3). The vertical and horizontal deformations at the center of the specimen that result from
the applied pulse load are recorded as the output of the test.
In this study, to obtain the resilient modulus value from the measured vertical and horizontal deformations, the Roque and Buttlar
(4) procedure was used. This procedure corrects for the effect of
specimen bulging, which causes the externally mounted extensometers to rotate and results in errors in the vertical and horizontal
deection readings. With this procedure, the resilient modulus (Mr)
is computed as follows:

With the current trend toward developing mechanistic flexible pavement design and the need for more reliable design procedures, accurate
characterization of hot-mix asphalt (HMA) properties is needed. Resilient
and dynamic modulus tests were performed at five temperatures on two
typical mixes used in the Commonwealth of Virginia to compare the test
results. The dynamic modulus was measured at six frequencies at each
of the testing temperatures, and the resilient modulus test was performed at one loading time. The study found that the size of the specimen statistically affected the measured resilient modulus value. Resilient
modulus values obtained in the 100-mm-diameter specimens were higher
than those obtained in the 150-mm-diameter specimens at all testing
temperatures. No statistical differences were observed in the resilient
modulus of the two mixes. However, statistical differences were found
in the dynamic modulus of the two mixes. A strong relation between the
dynamic modulus test performed at 5 Hz and the resilient modulus was
found. Three different pavement structures were analyzed to estimate
the variation of their bottom-up fatigue life when different moduli were
used for the HMA layer. It was found that the measured dynamic moduli resulted in the highest fatigue life estimates for the three considered
pavements. It is concluded that the dynamic modulus test provides a
better characterization of HMA than the resilient modulus test because
it provides full characterization of the mix over temperature and loading
frequencies.

Mr =

ycorr )

xcorr

 xcorr

(1)

where
xcorr
ycorr

xcorr

=
=
=
=

corrected horizontal point stress,

corrected vertical point stress,
Poissons ratio, and
corrected horizontal strain.

The dynamic modulus test, known also as the complex modulus

test, is performed by the application of sinusoidal vertical loads to
cylindrical specimens and the measurement of the corresponding
vertical deformation (Figure 1b). The test is usually performed at
different temperatures and at different frequencies. The applied
stress and corresponding measured strain are represented as follows:

Although several testing procedures are accepted to characterize

hot-mix asphalt (HMA), only resilient modulus test results are incorporated in the current accepted AASHTO pavement design guidelines (1). However, in the mechanisticempirical (M-E) design
guide proposed by the recently completed NCHRP Project 1-37A
and currently under evaluation, this test has been replaced by the
complex dynamic modulus test to characterize HMA (2).
The HMA resilient modulus test, ASTM D 4123, is relatively
simple and can be conducted on eld cores. The test is performed
by loading a cylindrical specimen along and parallel to its vertical
diametral plane (Figure 1a). This loading conguration develops a
relatively uniform state of tensile stresses perpendicular to the load

= 0 sin ( t )

(2)

 =  0 sin ( t )

(3)

where
0
0

t
f
T

A. Loulizi and G. W. Flintsch, Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, 3500 Transportation Research Plaza, Blacksburg, VA 24061. I. L. Al-Qadi, Illinois Center for
Transportation, Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, University of
Illinois, UrbanaChampaign, 1611 Titan Drive, Rantoul, IL 61866. D. Mokarem,
Virginia Transportation Research Council, Virginia Department of Transportation,
530 Edgemont Road, Charlottesville, VA 22903-2454.
Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board,
No. 1970, Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, Washington,
D.C., 2006, pp. 161170.

161

=
=
=
=
=
=
=

applied stress amplitude,

measured strain amplitude,
2f = angular frequency,
time,
1/T = frequency,
period, and
phase angle, computed as shown by Equation 4.

t
360
T

(4)

162

Transportation Research Record 1970

(a)
FIGURE 1

(b)

Testing setups for (a) resilient modulus test and (b) dynamic modulus test.

where t is the time lag between the applied stress and the corresponding strain.
The dynamic modulus is calculated by using Equation 5. The inphase and out-of-phase components are obtained with Equation 6
and Equation 7, respectively.
0
0

(5)

E = E* cos ( )

(6)

E = E = E* sin ( )

(7)

E* =

Given that the two test methods have been widely used worldwide
and may be used interchangeably, there is a need to compare the
results obtained from both tests. Therefore, this study was initiated
to compare the resilient modulus and dynamic modulus tests on two
typical mixes used in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM
The two mixes used in this studya surface mix, SM-9.5A, and a
base mix, BM-25.0were designed in accordance with Superpave
specications. All specimens were prepared according to the job
mix formulas (JMFs) provided by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT). All specimens were prepared with a Troxler
gyratory compactor. The specimen sizes were as follows:
Resilient modulus specimens. All BM-25.0 specimens were
compacted 150 mm (6 in.) in diameter by approximately 115 mm
(4.5 in.) in thickness and were then cut to a final thickness of

75 mm (3 in.). Two specimen sizes were used for the SM-9.5A mix:
150 mm (6 in.) in diameter by 115 mm (4.5 in.) in thickness and
cut to a nal thickness of 75 mm (3 in.) and 100 mm (4 in.) in diameter by 125 mm (5 in.) in thickness and cut to a final thickness of
50 mm (2 in.). All specimens were cut from the middle of the
compacted specimens.
Dynamic modulus specimens. Specimens 150 mm (6 in.) diameter by 178 mm (7 in.) thick were prepared for both mixes, which
were later cored and cut to a nal size of 100 mm (4 in.) in diameter
by 150 mm (6 in.) in thickness.
The gradation of the batched aggregate was checked by using
representative samples from each aggregate mixed according to
the JMF. For each aggregate batch, three sieve analysis tests were
performed; the gradation curves are shown in Figure 2.
The volumetric properties for both mixes were obtained. For the
SM-9.5A mix, the average air voids of the prepared specimens were
3.6% for the resilient modulus test and 4.2% for the dynamic modulus test. For the BM-25.0 mix, the average air voids of the prepared
specimens were 6.2% for the resilient modulus test and 5.0% for the
dynamic modulus test. For both types of tests, ve testing temperatures were selected: 15C, 5C, 20C, 30C, and 40C. Two specimens were tested at each temperature. In addition, six frequencies
were used at each temperature for the dynamic modulus test: 0.1,
0.5, 1, 5, 10, and 25 Hz.

RESULTS
Resilient Modulus
Table 1 shows the results for all the tested specimens for both mixes.
During testing, horizontal and vertical deformations were measured

Loulizi, Flintsch, Al-Qadi, and Mokarem

163

TABLE 1

100

Resilient Modulus Results

90

Percent Passing

70

ID

60

Gradation 1
Gradation 2
Gradation 3
Average

50
40
30
20
10
0
0.075 0.3 0.6 1.18

2.38

4.75

9.5

12.5

Sieve Size Raised to 0.45 Power

(a)

Percent Passing

Average

Mr

80

100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0

Temp. (C)

(MPa)

(ksi)

(MPa)

(ksi)

16,572

2,404

12,655

1,836

7,829

1,136

5,099

740

2,644

384

SM-9.5A
100-mm specimens (gauge length = 25.4 mm)
S45
S52
S46
S53
S47
S54
S48
S55
S49
S56

15
15
5
5
20
20
30
30
40
40

14,541
18,602
11,969
13,341
8,336
7,322
5,674
4,523
2,606
2,682

2,109
2,698
1,736
1,935
1,209
1,062
823
656
378
389

150-mm specimens (gauge length = 38.1 mm)

Gradation 1
Gradation 2
Gradation 3
Average

0.075 0.6 1.18 2.36 4.75

9.5 12.5

19

25

37.5

Sieve Size Raised to 0.45 Power

(b)
FIGURE 2 Aggregate gradation for (a) SM-9.5A mix and
(b) BM-25.0 mix.

from both sides of the specimen and hence the resilient modulus was
calculated accordingly.
The variability between the two sides was found to be high for
most of the tested specimens. This variability has been attributed to
imperfect centering of the specimen, different aggregate orientation
from one side to the other, or the air distribution throughout the
specimen depth, or all three factors. The results shown in Table 1
represent the average values of the two sides. Averaging the two
sides gave reasonable results for the tested temperatures. As would
be expected, the resilient modulus decreases with an increase in
temperature.
Figure 3 shows a comparison of the resilient modulus values measured for the two specimen sizes for the SM-9.5A mix; the resilient
moduli obtained for the 100-mm specimens were always higher
than those obtained for the 150-mm specimens. As the temperature
increases, the difference between the two sizes becomes more
notable. On average, the ratios of the resilient modulus obtained for
the 100-mm specimens to those obtained for the 150-mm specimens
were 1.02, 1.08, 1.18, 1.23, and 1.26 at 15C, 5C, 20C, 30C, and
40C, respectively.
The resilient moduli of the 150-mm specimens of the SM-9.5A
mix and the BM-25.0 mix are compared in Figure 4. It can be
observed that the variation within the same mix specimens (at the
same temperature) is high. Furthermore, no clear trend in the relationship between the two mixes was noted. A statistical analysis was
conducted to evaluate the effect of the mix type and specimen size.
The SAS software was used to analyze the data as a completely ran-

S7
S10
S8
S13
S9
S19
S11
S14
S12
S18

15
15
5
5
20
20
30
30
40
40

17,864
14,720
10,949
12,390
5,688
7,632
4,447
3,840
2,220
1,972

2,591
2,135
1,588
1,797
825
1,107
645
557
322
286

16,292

2,363

11,669

1,693

6,660

966

4,144

601

2,096

304

15
15
5
5
20
20
30
30
40
40

15,182
18,912
11,852
10,521
8,556
6,571
4,164
4,440
2,565
1,986

2,202
2,743
1,719
1,526
1,241
953
604
644
372
288

17,047

2,473

11,187

1,623

7,564

1,097

4,302

624

2,275

330

BM-25.0
B7
B10
B8
B13
B9
B16
B11
B14
B15
B18

domized design with effect type (SM-9.5A or BM-25.0), size within

type (100 mm and 150 mm), and temperature as covariates. It was
found that the temperature and the specimen size were signicant
for the resilient modulus (p-values < 0.05). However, the mix type
was found not to have a signicant effect ( p-value of 0.637 > 0.05)
even though there are major differences between the two mixes,
especially in the void content (2.6% difference in the void content
between the two mixes).

Dynamic Modulus
Figure 5 shows the measured dynamic modulus results for the SM9.5A and BM-25.0 mixes as a function of frequency for each testing temperature. As expected, under a constant loading frequency,

164

Transportation Research Record 1970

Resilient Modulus (MPa)

18000
16000

150 mm

14000

100 mm

12000
10000
8000
6000
4000
2000
0
-15

20
Temperature (C)

30

40

FIGURE 3 Comparison between resilient modulus of 100-mm and 150-mm

specimens.

the magnitude of the dynamic modulus decreases with an increase

in temperature; under a constant testing temperature, the magnitude
of the dynamic modulus increases with an increase in the frequency.
Figure 6 shows the calculated phase angle results for both mixes. It
can be seen that the phase angle for both mixes decreases as the frequency increases at testing temperatures of 15C, 5C, and 20C.
However, at testing temperatures of 30C and 40C, the behavior of
the phase angle as a function of frequency is more complex.
At 30C, the phase angle seems to increase up to frequencies of
0.5 Hz, and then it starts to decrease with an increase in frequency.
At 40C, the behavior of the phase angle with frequency is even
more complex. At this temperature, the phase angle seems to
increase from 0.1 Hz to 0.5 Hz, starts to decrease from 0.5 Hz to 1 Hz,
and then starts to increase again with frequency. At constant high
frequencies (1 Hz to 25 Hz), the phase angle increases with an
increase in temperature; at lower frequencies, the behavior of the
phase angle with temperature is more complex. The complex behavior of the phase angle at higher temperatures or lower frequencies
could be attributed to the increasing effect of the aggregate interlock. This nding is in agreement with the ndings from other
researchers, who reported that the elastic behavior of the aggregate

20000

log E * = +

1 + e log fr

(8)

where , , , and are sigmoidal function coefficients (t parameters),

and fr is the reduced frequency, which is given by
log fr = log f + log aT

(9)

where aT is the shift factor at temperature T.

BM-25.0
SM-9.5A

18000
Resilient Modulus (MPa)

overwhelms the response of the specimen at high temperatures and

low frequencies (5).
A master curve of the dynamic modulus at the reference temperature of 20C was constructed to complete the characterization of
the material. The method developed by Pellinen and Witczak (6)
was used in this study to construct the master curve. The method
consists of tting a sigmoidal curve to the measured dynamic modulus test data using nonlinear least-squares regression techniques.
The shift factors at each temperature are determined simultaneously
with the other coefficients of the sigmoidal function. The function
is given by

16000
14000
12000
10000
8000
6000
4000
2000
0
-15

FIGURE 4

20
Temperature (C)

30

40

Resilient modulus comparison between SM-9.5A and BM-25.0 mixes.

Loulizi, Flintsch, Al-Qadi, and Mokarem

165

-15C

|E*| (MPa)

100000

5C

20C

30C

40C

10000

1000

100
0.01

0.1

1
Frequency (Hz)

10

100

(a)

-15C

|E*| (MPa)

100000

5C

20C

30C

40C

10000

1000

100
0.01

0.1

1
Frequency (Hz)

10

100

(b)
FIGURE 5

Dynamic modulus results for (a) SM-9.5A mix and (b) BM-25.0 mix.

The SAS statistical software package was used for the nonlinear regression analysis; the determined coefficients for both mixes
are shown in Table 2. The best-fit master curves for both mixes are
presented in Figure 7.
In order to compare the dynamic moduli of the two mixes, a plot
of the dynamic modulus ratio of the BM-25.0 mix to that of the
SM-9.5A mix was computed (Figure 8). The plot shows that BM-25.0
has a higher dynamic modulus than that of SM-9.5A at all tested frequencies and temperatures. To verify the statistical signicance of
the obtained results, SAS was used to model the natural logarithm
of the dynamic modulus data as a dependent variable with effect
type (SM-9.5A or BM-25.0), natural logarithm of the frequency,
and temperatures as covariates. Results of the analysis showed that
all considered effects were statistically signicant; calculated p-values
are smaller than 0.05. This nding suggests that the dynamic modulus for both mixes is different, as would be expected. Although the
BM-25.0 mix has higher air voids, the larger aggregate content and
lower asphalt content increased the aggregate interlock.
Once the dynamic modulus master curve was established for
both mixes on the basis of the measured values, the Witczak prediction equation was used to generate the dynamic modulus master
curves for both mixes (2). The Witczak prediction equation is as
follows:

.log E * = 3.750063 + 0.02932 0.001767 ( )2

200
200
Vbeff
0.058097Va 0.802208
Vbeff + Va

[ + 3.871977 0.0021 + 0.003958

0.000017 ( ) + 0.005470
4

38

38

1+ e

34

0.603313 0.313351 log( f ) 0.393532 log( )

(10)

where
E*
200
4
34
38
f
Vbeff
Va

=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=

dynamic modulus (psi),

percent passing No. 200 sieve,
cumulative percent retained on No. 4 sieve,
cumulative percent retained on No. 34 sieve,
cumulative percent retained on No. 38 sieve,
frequency (Hz),
effective bitumen content (% by volume),
air void content, and
bitumen viscosity (106 poise).

The bitumen viscosity varies with temperature according to

log [ log ( )] = A + VTS log ( TR )

(11)

166

40

Transportation Research Record 1970

-15C

5C

20C

30C

TABLE 2

40C

Parameter

35
Phase angle ()

Parameters for the Dynamic Modulus Master Curve

30

Value

Parameter

Value

1.87615
2.41534
1.28301
0.59499

log(a15)
log(a5)
log(a20)
log(a30)
log(a40)

4.70518
1.21741
0
1.15024
2.26248

2.1358
2.26117
1.11630
0.62793

log(a15)
log(a5)
log(a20)
log(a30)
log(a40)

4.38421
1.60879
0
1.15168
2.05835

SM-9.5A

25

20
15
10
5
0
0.01

0.1

1
Frequency (Hz)

10

100

(a)

40.0

-15C

5C

20C

30C

BM-25.0

40C

Phase angle ()

35.0
30.0
25.0

methods consist in nding A and VTS based on calculation of viscosities at different temperatures with the measured complex shear
modulus on the original (unaged) binder and the rolling thin-lm
oven (RTFO)aged binder, respectively. At an angular frequency of
10 rad/s, the viscosity, , is related to the complex shear modulus,
G*, and phase angle, , as follows (2):

20.0
15.0
10.0
5.0
0.0
0.01

0.1

1
Frequency (Hz)

10

100

(b)
FIGURE 6 Phase angle results for (a) SM-9.5A mix and
(b) BM-25.0 mix.

where is the binder viscosity expressed in centipoise, TR is the

temperature in degrees Rankine, and A and VTS are regression parameters.
For this study, three different ways were used to nd A and VTS.
The rst is to use the default values as suggested by the proposed
AASHTO M-E design guide for a PG 64-22 binder. These default
values are 10.98 for A and 3.68 for VTS. The second and third

100000

G* 1
10 sin

4.8628

For the original binder, the calculated A- and VTS-values were

11.66 and 3.94, respectively, and for the RTFO-aged binder 1.89
and 4.01, respectively. Figure 9 shows the dynamic modulus master
curves for both mixes obtained with Equation 10 and the three different values for A and VTS. The graphs also show the master curves
generated for the measured data for comparison purposes. From Figure 9, it is noted that although the predicted dynamic modulus values are on the same order of magnitude as the measured ones,
signicant differences exist, especially in the frequency range of
0.01 Hz to 1,000 Hz. In this frequency range, the predicted values

Measured SM-9.5A

Fit SM-9.5A

Measured BM-25.0

Fit BM-25.0

|E*| (MPa)

10000

1000

100
1.E-04 1.E-03 1.E-02 1.E-01 1.E+00 1.E+01 1.E+02 1.E+03 1.E+04 1.E+05 1.E+06 1.E+07

Reduced frequency (Hz)

FIGURE 7

(12)

Developed dynamic modulus master curves for SM-9.5A mix and BM-25.0 mix.

Loulizi, Flintsch, Al-Qadi, and Mokarem

167

-15C

1.6

5C

20C

30C

40C

|E*|BM25.5 / |E*|SM-9.5A

1.4
1.2
1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
0.1

FIGURE 8

0.5

1
5
Frequency (Hz)

10

25

Ratio between BM-25.0 mix dynamic modulus and that of SM-9.5A mix.

100000

|E*| (MPa)

10000

Measured/fit
1000

Witczak/default
Witczak/original VTS
Witczak/RTFO VTS

100
1.E-04 1.E-03 1.E-02 1.E-01 1.E+00 1.E+01 1.E+02 1.E+03 1.E+04 1.E+05 1.E+06 1.E+07
Reduced frequency (Hz)
(a)
100000

|E*| (MPa)

10000

Measured/fit
1000

Witczak/default
Witczak/original VTS
Witczak/RTFO VTS

100
1.E-04 1.E-03 1.E-02 1.E-01 1.E+00 1.E+01 1.E+02 1.E+03 1.E+04 1.E+05 1.E+06 1.E+07
Reduced frequency (Hz)
(b)
FIGURE 9

Dynamic modulus predicted with Witczak equation: (a) SM-9.5A mix and (b) BM-25.0 mix.

168

Transportation Research Record 1970

underestimate the measured dynamic modulus. The predicted

dynamic modulus with the default A and VTS parameters and those
obtained with the RTFO-aged binder were the closest to the measured
values.

almost 1.4 times the resilient modulus. The average air void contents
for the SM-9.5A specimens prepared for both test types were close
(3.6% for the resilient modulus and 4.2% for the dynamic modulus),
whereas for the BM-25.0 mix, the average air void contents were
different for both tests (6.2% for the resilient modulus test and 5.0%
for the dynamic modulus test). The high air voids in the resilient
modulus test specimens of the BM-25.0 mix could have signicantly
reduced the measured resilient modulus value.

Comparison Between Dynamic Modulus

and Resilient Modulus
To compare the dynamic modulus and the resilient modulus data,
the time of loading should be equivalent in both tests. Since in this
study the loading time used in performing the resilient modulus test
was 0.03 s, the equivalent angular frequency would be 33.3 rad/s
( = 1/t, where is the angular frequency and t is the loading time).
The angular frequency is then converted to frequency by division of
2. This computation results in a frequency of 5.2 Hz. Hence, the
comparison was conducted between the dynamic modulus at 5 Hz
and resilient modulus tests.
Figure 10 shows a plot of the average dynamic modulus results
versus the average resilient modulus per mix. It is clear that there is
a strong correlation between the dynamic modulus and the resilient
modulus and that the correlation is mix dependent. For the SM-9.5A
mix, the dynamic modulus is almost equal to 1.07 times the resilient
modulus. For the BM-25.0 mix, the dynamic modulus is equal to

Effect of Modulus Test Type Selection

on HMA Fatigue Life
To study the effect of choosing the HMA modulus value on its
fatigue life, three different pavement cross sections were investigated (Pavements A, B, and C). All pavements consist of a subgrade
with a resilient modulus of 69 MPa (10 ksi), 152 mm (6 in.) of granular base with a resilient modulus of 276 MPa (40 ksi) and 51 mm
(2 in.) of SM-9.5A HMA surface mix. However, Pavement A has a
76-mm (3-in.) BM-25.0 HMA base mix, Pavement B has a 152-mm
(6-in.) BM-25.0 HMA base mix, and Pavement C has a 229-mm
(9-in.) BM-25.0 HMA base mix.
Figure 11 shows the three different pavement designs. The load
considered in this study consists of a set of dual tires carrying a total

25000
Line of equality

|E*| (MPa)

20000
y = 1.07x
R2 = 0.97

15000
10000
5000
0
0

5000

10000
15000
MR (MPa)

20000

25000

20000

25000

(a)
25000
Line of equality

|E*| (MPa)

20000
y = 1.4x
R2 = 0.99

15000
10000
5000
0
0

5000

10000
15000
MR (MPa)
(b)

FIGURE 10 Comparison between dynamic modulus and resilient modulus:

(a) SM-9.5A mix and (b) BM-25.0 mix.

Loulizi, Flintsch, Al-Qadi, and Mokarem

40 kN
724 kPa
330 mm

51 mm SM-9.5A

51 mm SM-9.5A

40 kN
724 kPa
330 mm

51 mm SM-9.5A

76 mm BM-25.0
152 mm BM-25.0
229 mm BM-25.0
152 mm Aggregate
152 mm Aggregate
152 mm Aggregate
Subgrade
Subgrade

Pavement A
FIGURE 11

Pavement B

Subgrade

Pavement C

Considered pavement designs.

load of 40 kN (9,000 lb), with a tire ination pressure of 724 kPa

(105 psi) and separated by a distance of 330 mm (13 in.) center to
center.
Only bottom-up fatigue was considered in this study and the fatigue
model as suggested by the proposed AASHTO mechanisticempirical
design guide was used. The fatigue law is given by
1
N f = 0.00432 k1 C
t

3.9492

1
E

1.281

(13)

load was determined for each pavement structure by using three different inputs for the HMA material properties at ve different temperatures (15C, 5C, 20C, 30C, and 40C). The three different
considered modulus selections were based on the measured resilient
modulus for both HMA mixes, the measured dynamic modulus for
both HMA mixes, and the predicted dynamic modulus for both
mixes with Equation 10 and the default A- and VTS-values.
Figure 12 shows the allowable number of repetitions of the
standard load at the five different temperatures for the three studied pavements with the three different inputs for the HMA properties. For Pavement A, the fatigue life estimated with the measured
dynamic modulus values is always higher than those estimated with
the measured resilient modulus or the predicted dynamic modulus.
This result is mainly because the measured dynamic modulus was
the highest at all temperatures, which results in the smallest calculated horizontal strains under the HMA layer and therefore longer
fatigue life.
The number of repetitions to failure estimated with the predicted
dynamic modulus is higher than that estimated with the measured
resilient modulus at temperatures of 15C and 5C; at higher temperatures, the opposite nding is observed. This result is mainly
because the fatigue law is a function of the horizontal transverse

Fatigue Life (Millions)

40 kN
724 kPa
330 mm

169

100

MR

|E*| Measured

|E*| Predicted

10

where

-15

The calibration parameters used in Equation 13 are dened as

follows:
k1 =

1
0.003602
0.000398 +
1 + e(11.023.49hac )

20

30

40

Temperature (C)

(a)

Fatigue Life (Millions)

Nf = number of repetitions to fatigue cracking,

k1 = correction parameter for different asphalt layer thickness
(hac) effects,
C = laboratory-to-eld adjustment factor,
t = tensile strain at critical location, and
E = stiffness of material.

1000

MR

|E*| Measured

|E*| Predicted

100

10

(14)

-15

20
Temperature (C)

30

40

(b)

C = 10

(15)

where
Vb

M = 4.84
0.69
Va + Vb

(16)

where Vb is the percentage of effective binder content and Va is the

percentage of air voids.
The pavements were analyzed with the KenPave software (7 ).
The allowable number of repetitions for the considered standard

Fatigue Life (Millions)

where hac is the total thickness of the asphalt layers in inches.

10000

MR

|E*| Measured

|E*| Predicted

1000

100

10
-15

20
Temperature (C)

30

40

(c)
FIGURE 12 Predicted fatigue life: (a) Pavement A, (b) Pavement B,
and (c) Pavement C.

170

strain under the HMA layer and the HMA stiffness, which are correlated. In fact, higher stiffness results in lower fatigue life, but it
also results in smaller strains under the HMA layer, which means
higher fatigue life. Pavement B behaved in the same manner as
Pavement A with higher fatigue lives in all cases since the pavement
is thicker. For the thickest pavement (Pavement C), the same result
is observed, except that the fatigue life estimated from the predicted
dynamic modulus is higher than that predicted with the measured
resilient modulus at all considered temperatures.
As expected, the pavement thickness is the controlling parameter
for fatigue life. As shown in Figure 12, the fatigue life of Pavement B,
which is 76 mm HMA thicker than Pavement A, is 10 times higher
than that of Pavement A regardless of the HMA property input. Similarly, Pavement C, which is 152 mm HMA thicker than Pavement A,
has on average 40 times higher fatigue life than Pavement A.

Transportation Research Record 1970

Three pavement structures were analyzed with the modulus data

from the dynamic test and the resilient test. It was found that the
fatigue life of pavements is affected by the choice of the HMA modulus. In general, fatigue life estimates obtained with the predicted
dynamic moduli were smaller than those obtained with the actual
measured values. However, as expected, the HMA thickness was the
controlling factor in predicting fatigue life.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This research is sponsored by the Virginia Department of Transportation. The help of Billy Hobbs, Samer Katicha, and Myunggoo
Jeong from Virginia Tech Transportation Institute; Kevin McGhee
and Troy Deeds from the Virginia Transportation Research Council; and Susanne Aref from the Statistics Department at Virginia
Tech is greatly appreciated.

SUMMARY
REFERENCES
In this study, resilient modulus and dynamic modulus tests were
conducted on two typical mixes used in the commonwealth of Virginia: SM-9.5A and BM-25.0. The size of the specimen was found
to statistically affect the measured resilient modulus value. Resilient
modulus values obtained in the 100-mm-diameter specimens were
higher than those obtained in the 150-mm-diameter specimens at all
testing temperatures. For the dynamic modulus test, at temperatures
of 15C, 5C, and 20C, the phase angle decreases as the frequency
increases, whereas at 30C and 40C, the behavior of the phase
angle as a function of frequency becomes complex, possibly because
of the increasing effect of the aggregate. A similar pattern was
observed with frequency (low frequency corresponds to high temperature). A sigmoidal function was used to t the dynamic modulus
data, with very good results. The BM-25.0 mix had a higher dynamic
modulus than the SM-9.5A mix at all frequencies and at all tested
temperatures.
A strong relation was observed between the dynamic modulus
test performed at 5 Hz and the resilient modulus test performed at a
loading time of 0.03 s. However, the dynamic modulus test provides
a better characterization of HMA than the resilient modulus test
because it provides full characterization of the mix over temperature
and loading frequencies.

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The Characteristics of Bituminous Paving Mixtures to Meet Structural Requirements Committee sponsored publication of this paper.